[Chapter 8]
Two Magical Girls stood facing each other in the scorched ruins of a cafe, surrounded by charred corpses. There was a moment of crystalline silence that threatened to shatter at the slightest movement.
The stench of burnt flesh made Izuku want to cry and run away, but she held her ground. She had to. The alternative was letting Mustard do as she pleased, to kill everyone and everything in her way.
"Oi, oi. What do you think you're doing, Midoriya-san?" Mustard asked, cocking her head to the side. "Ah. You've got some scores to settle too, don't you? Let's kill them together, then."
"Stop. Please…" Izuku put up a pair of shaking fists. "Don't make me do this."
Mustard gazed upon her with those tiger-eyes, letting out what could have once passed for a tired sigh. Instead she exhaled pure energy, breathing purple flames like a beast of myth.
"Izuku… Miracle. Think about it. We can do whatever we like." she whispered. "All the people who ever bullied you, hurt you… You're just gonna let them get away scot-free? After everything they did to you?"
Izuku's lip trembled, remembering all the times Bakugo beat her, humiliated her. All the times she went home covered in burns and bruises, the stolen belongings, the insults, the laughter. Nine years of it. Mustard's gaze softened for a moment, knowing what it was like.
She blasted into the skies with a trail of sparkling purple light. Miracle followed after a moment, the two of them turning into streaks of color against the bright morning sky.
"Mustard, stop!"
"I never did anything to them, y'know? They just picked on me because I was the weakest, a kid who gets knocked out from using their own Quirk. The others laughed, and the teachers looked away. So it's okay to pick on those weaker than you, right? That's the lesson I've been taught."
A pair of tremendous booms echoed above Musutafu City when both girls went supersonic, drawing the attention of everyone around. Mustard's palms flared with incandescent light, and Izuku saw the target in her flight path. Ondera Middle School, a sister school to Aldera.
"Thank you, my teachers." The plasma in Mustard's hands shaped themselves into a pair of spears.
Izuku charged. She tackled the other girl mid-air, but it was too late. Twin javelins of pure destruction sailed through the air, and Izuku could only watch in horror as they impacted the school's rooftop and punched into the heart of the building. Glass and concrete shuddered before shattering in a deafening explosion of purple light, reducing the educational institution to a burning ruin.
Mustard didn't stop to enjoy her work. She immediately turned in the direction of Aldera Middle School, preparing for another attack run. Izuku chased her, teeth grit. It was the weekend, but there might still be people there. Her schoolmates, who'd done nothing—
That's right, they did nothing. They just watched as Bakugo hurt you day after day.
The invasive, treasonous little thought made Izuku hesitate, just for a second. That single second was all Mustard needed to incinerate Aldera. She thrust her left hand forward and a tiny ember manifested, ethereal energies concentrating atop her palm. All was silent for a moment until the conflagration screamed, unleashing a white-hot beam plasma with the width of a swimming pool. Izuku's school was vaporized nearly instantly from the blast, the temperature in the surrounding air jumping by thirty degrees.
Civilians screamed in panic, running from the hellish inferno while Mustard raked the beam across the landscape like a child playing with a laser pointer, targeting the homes of her bullies. She made rings of fire that burned inwards to trap some of her tormentors within, ensuring a slow, painful death of being cooked alive. Cars crashed when the roads melted to tar beneath them. Windows shattered, lampposts wilting like dying flowers. Izuku could see people below dropping like flies from the heat alone.
Mustard was a child with a magnifying glass and Musutafu City was an anthill.
"STOP!"
She crashed into her fellow Magical Girl, forcing her hand upwards. Mustard retaliated with a jawbreaking right hook that sent Izuku spinning, the shockwave parting the cloudy skies. Countless fires burned below them, thick columns of black smoke rising into the air.
"Matsuda-san, please!" Izuku cried. "Why are you doing this?!"
"Matsuda Kenji isn't here right now." the other girl replied, a sickeningly sweet blush on her face. "My name is Magical Girl Mustard, and I'm here to save you all~"
Purple lightning arced off her body like a tesla coil while her left eye flared with a golden hue; a poisonous, unholy light that radiated from the depths of her soul. From the look on her face she was… enjoying what she'd done, relishing in the murder of the people who hurt her. Izuku leapt forward with her fists held tight, knuckles lancing into her jaw. They hit with a sickening crack that split the air, but all Mustard did was wrap her arms around Izuku in a loving hug.
Then she set herself aflame.
Izuku screamed. The pain was unlike anything she'd ever felt before, every nerve in her body lighting up with agony and begging for it to stop. Even taking a breath resulted in burning, excruciating pain, the superheated air clawing at the inside of her lungs like a dozen red-hot pokers. At point-blank range Mustard's plasma could vaporize steel, Izuku's Glitter flaring wildly to shield her from the unimaginable heat of a star.
"They deserve to die, Miracle. Every last one of them, for daring to hurt superior beings like us…" Mustard said. "They hurt me when I was weak. It's only fair that I return the favor."
The world spun and Izuku found herself soaring backward, crashing through reinforced concrete and steel rebar as if they were wet paper. Her groan of pain turned into a strangled gasp when Mustard's fingers closed around her throat, wringing her neck like a towel. Countless glass shards spun into the air as she proceeded to grind Izuku's invulnerable face against the side of an office building with a sudden burst of speed, hurling her into a series of support columns right after.
They shattered from the impact, and the building began to collapse. Izuku blinked the stars out of her eyes and gasped, flying back into the degrading structure in a desperate attempt to stop it from falling. Even with all her incredible strength she couldn't do it; with such a small surface area she instead pierced through hundreds of tons of falling rubble like an upright nail through a foot. Screams echoed as the building crumbled around her.
She burst from the rubble and dust cloud as an emerald comet, fingers interlocking with Mustard's when their hands met in a thunderous crash.
"Stop. Stop…" Miracle begged, tears forming in her eyes.
"I said that too, y'know." Mustard smiled sadly. "They never did."
Wisps of plasma escaped between her fanged canines, lighting up the inside of her mouth.
"And now, neither will I."
Mustard roared. The dragon-breath she unleashed was a wide-angle blast that Izuku barely managed to block, the torrent of pure energy swirling past her like a river around a rock. Behind her the neighborhood burned, turning molten in an instant. The heat flash-boiled the tears on her cheeks and turned them to steam. She rushed through the inferno to deliver a teeth-rattling uppercut that forced Mustard's mouth shut with a click, followed by a straight punch which sent the other girl flying.
Klaxons blared all across the city, both girls catching the sight of multiple heroes and helicopters converging on their location. They were yelling, screaming at them to stop.
"You might be the only one who can stop me, Miracle." Mustard laughed. "All this time, we were holding back. Let's show them what we can really do."
"Mustard, don't hurt them—"
"Nobody messes with a Magical Girl."
Mustard was a flash of purple that hurtled towards the nearest helicopter, teeth bared in a manic grin. The news cameras captured the moment of her gloved fist headed right at the pilot, about to cave his face in until Miracle shoulder-charged her into a building. The emerald Magical Girl caught her in a rear naked chokehold but Mustard spun like a ballerina, purple bolts of destruction scattering in every direction.
One hit another nearby helicopter and caused its engine to burst into flames, the aircraft spiraling towards the ground. Miracle immediately let go and rushed in to save it, allowing Mustard to escape in the process.
When Izuku finally got the downed chopper back on solid ground the wet thud of a body hitting the floor caused her to jolt. She recognized the blue uniform paired with a pair of heavy-duty gauntlets. Death Arms, a hero he remembered from Mt. Lady's debut. A shower of red rain splattered across the street when Mustard tore another hero in half above, Izuku suppressing a scream of horror.
If I stop to save them, Mustard will kill more. I have to focus on fighting her.
By the time Izuku regained altitude Mustard had killed two more heroes, holding their torsos by their necks. Only the torsos; she'd cut them in half. Though she should have been covered in blood Mustard's dress looked pristine as ever, her plasma having burnt off any traces of filth.
"No…" Izuku whispered.
"Well, they struck first. I struck back." Mustard shrugged, still smiling with that lovesick look on her face. "It's just the way it is, right~? It can't be helped, right~?"
All around them the heroes fired, Quirk effects and support munitions bombarding both Magical Girls from every direction. When the smoke cleared they were completely unscathed, hovering in the air like a pair of sparkling, invulnerable goddesses.
Miracle surged forward, and so did Mustard. Unstoppable force met immovable object.
Musutafu City burned around them.
[x]
Cold sweat ran down the HPSC President's face as she watched the live feed. It was only a matter of time, but she didn't expect it to happen this soon. They weren't prepared enough, and Agent Intelli hadn't found the source yet.
The command center around them was bustling with activity, numerous operators attempting to coordinate the heroes. A useless effort, seeing as both Magical Girls looked to be nigh-invulnerable. Miracle and Mustard lived in a world of cardboard, and all the previous threat assessments and simulations about them were way off the mark. The President knew it wouldn't be long before their battle escaped Musutafu and spread to the rest of the prefecture.
According to the reports Mustard was the instigator, while Miracle was trying to save as many people as she could. The purple girl had seemingly lost her mind and was attacking indiscriminately, each blast of her plasma capable of torching an entire city block.
"All units, focus on Mustard." The President ordered, clenching her teeth. "Miracle is on our side."
As much as it pained her to admit it, they needed Miracle. If not for her keeping Mustard busy, the body count would have doubled or even tripled. The President pushed her pride aside and focused on the bigger picture. They could handle Miracle later. Right now, all that mattered was containing this catastrophe.
"Get General Nakamura on the horn. Tell him to send everyone—Army, Air Force, Navy, the Marines." the President spat. "Have our ground troops focus on evacuating the surrounding area, and get the F-50s and X-66s into the air! Line the battleships up on the coast and target Mustard, we're gonna need the railguns."
"E-everyone, ma'am?"
"EVERYONE!"
The staff before her jolted, finally rushing into action. She took a deep breath and forcibly calmed herself, trying to think. If they were lucky the X-66s and their energy weapons would have a chance of taking down Mustard. For now, all they could do was hope.
Gasps circled around the room when Mustard hit Miracle with a colossal purple starbust, the plasma somehow containing enough kinetic energy to make the remote drone camera wobble from a distance. Miracle's tiny body punched right through a building before carving a deep ravine into the road, then skipping across the pavement like a thrown pebble atop a lake. She finally stopped against a wall when the back of her head hit the brickwork with an audible crack. There she lay still and unmoving in a crater, burst pipes fountaining water over her petite, doll-like form.
Everyone watched with bated breath as she got up after a moment, standing from a crash-landing that would have pulverized even the toughest heroes. The ground ruptured beneath her as she leapt, speeding back into the fight like an emerald bullet.
The president glanced at the beaded bracelet on her wrist, a gift from her son after he visited a temple in Osaka. She remembered the atrocities the previous HPSC Administration had committed, their experiments and lies. All the pain and negative karma they accrued was now coming back in the form of a purple Magical Girl. This was to be their repentance, divine retribution for their sins.
She did the one thing she hadn't done in years, closing her eyes and clasping the bracelet together with both hands.
"God help us."
[x]
"Saiko-nee?"
"What is it, Eri-chan?" Saiko looked up from her paperwork, glancing at the child standing by the door.
"The TV." Little Eri pointed, looking worried. "Something's wrong with the TV."
"Alright, sweetheart." Saiko stood and ruffled the little girl's hair, walking into the living room. "Let's see what I can—"
She paused upon seeing the screen, eyes widening at the words displayed in bold text. Eri flinched when it began playing a loud, haunting tone that was repeated across the city like an air raid siren. The J-Alert message was on all channels, depicting a map of the general area around Tokyo highlighted in red.
'THIS IS THE EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM. S-CLASS VILLAIN ATTACK IN PROGRESS.'
'STAY IN YOUR HOMES.'
Eri sniffed, looking around in fright until Saiko scooped her up with one hand while dialing Mei with the other. The other girl picked up immediately, already aware of the situation.
"Hatsume-san—"
"Saiko, it's happening. Mustard is razing Musutafu City as we speak." Mei's voice echoed from the other end of the line, the sound of rushing wind obvious in the background. "I've been ordered to sortie in the Thunderchild."
"Then it's worse than I thought." Saiko bit her lip. "What about Miracle?"
"She's doing everything she can to stop her, but without a ranged Quirk…" Mei hesitated. "She's losing, Saiko."
"So she's still on our side?"
Before Saiko could get an answer the ground beneath them began to shake, causing her to stumble. People were screaming outside, terrified by what they thought was the beginning of an earthquake. Saiko knew better. Earthquakes didn't pulse like that. The tremors had a rhythmic cadence, pounding into their bones like the beat of a drum.
They were the impact of punches.
Saiko's eyes widened. This was beyond anything she ever expected. Miracle and Mustard were going to level the entire city if their fight continued. Eri began to sob with terror, Saiko wrapping her into a tight hug in a futile attempt to calm her down.
"Get them into the air, Hatsume-san! We can't risk them shattering the faultlines!"
"I see them! They're in a crater, and Mustard is… she's…"
Static crackled over the line and the call ended abruptly. Dust drifted down from the ceiling as another tremor shook the entire building, Saiko rushing towards the windows to see what was happening. She could see the two Magical Girls in the distance, twin points of green and purple light that clashed in the horizon.
Miracle was trying to drag Mustard away from the city, green slamming into purple with an explosion that could be heard from miles around. The shockwave from the impact alone cracked every window below them, and Saiko could actually feel it from where she stood.
She made her decision, grabbing a backpack full of essentials and Eri. They couldn't stay here, not while those two were duking it out.
Military jets screamed across the sky just as they rushed out the door, Saiko and Eri headed in the opposite direction. She looked up, recognizing the silhouettes. Japanese F-50s flying alongside American X-66s…
…and the Thunderchild prototype Agent Hatsume was piloting.
"Good luck, Mei." Saiko whispered.
[x]
Midoriya Inko panicked, the entire apartment shaking around her. She rushed around the house and grabbed all she could, her hands full of papers and notes.
Pinky watched it happen, having stuck himself to the corner of the ceiling.
He understood that this was the progenitor of the one that helped him. His origin source. The light within her was similar to the green-haired boy's, but so much dimmer. It was panicking alongside her, sensing the two Ascended Ones outside fighting for dominance.
Snaking cracks ran up the walls, Inko freezing in terror just as she finished packing both her and Izuku's passports. There was an explosion that rocked the earth, shaking the building's foundations. Pinky remained calm, knowing he would return to the Rainbow World if he was vanquished here. The same could not be said for the other Quirk.
Help. Help. Help.
Pinky listened. The woman's light was broadcasting on all spectrums, knowing that it was too weak to save its host. It was a tiny candle's flame in the wind, about to be snuffed out by even the slightest breeze. Now they were at the edge of a hurricane.
Help. Help. Help. Help. Help.
Humans became sad when other humans died. If the progenitor perished, Izuku would be sad. An unacceptable outcome. Pinky reached out, extending his thought-anchor. The little light turned to him, a tiny spark of hope present in its thoughts.
Query. Identify. Danger.
The slime thought for a moment before answering.
***Friend.***
Above Inko the roof crumbled, the apartment building collapsing around her. She screamed, squeezing her eyes shut while clutching on to a wooden frame holding a photo of her and Izuku. The woman sobbed, crying out her son's name.
***Help Friend.***
Pinky swallowed up her despair and terror, growing tenfold. He pounced on her cowering form and enveloped her with his body right before the rubble crushed her, maximizing viscosity while minimizing acidity to form an impenetrable suit of ooze armor. Inko looked around herself in shock as she sat in an air pocket inside him, suspended within his torso. The slime took on a humanoid shape, massive arms lifting the large slab of concrete and steel beams off them. He began digging their way out, grasping fingers melting through the wreckage and clawing to freedom.
"W-wha…?" she gasped.
***Acid Man.***
[x]
Miracle panted, taking in deep lungfuls of air. Her beautiful green-and-white dress was scorched and torn in places, but was already regenerating before her eyes. She didn't pay it any mind as she readied another heavy punch, pulling her fist back with a roar.
"Smash!"
Gloved knuckles hit Mustard's face with the sound and force a bomb detonating. Her rapid-fire punches were an artillery barrage, bombarding Mustard with unrelenting force. The other girl answered with a backhand that struck Izuku across the cheek lightning-fast, snapping her head to the right. They struggled against each other, with Izuku trying to pull her higher into the sky to avoid the city below. Mustard didn't just use the plasma to burn; it was also added propulsion. Twin jets of plasma bloomed atop her back, like a pair of angelic wings when she spear-tackled Izuku and sent them careening downward. Izuku slammed an elbow down even as her back crashed through trees, buildings, and people.
We can't stay here! I have to get her as high as possible, where I don't have to worry about collateral damage—
There was no time to think, and she pushed down all the crushing fear and horror as deep as she could. There was nothing she could do but fight. Her petite arms wrapped around Mustard's waist and tried to fling her upwards, only for the two of them to flip end-over-end until they crashed into the asphalt below. Cars leapt six inches off the ground from the impact. Every window within three blocks shattered, and those within five cracked. People all around them tried to run, save for one stupid, silly little boy.
"Look, mommy! Heroes! Can you fly, Miss hero?"
"Satoru, no!"
Izuku blinked the blood out of her eyes, dazed and struggling to stand. A boy no older than five was approaching them, and Mustard picked him up by his jacket. A woman she assumed was his mother was screaming, begging her to let him go but Mustard ignored her wails.
"Yes, little boy. I can fly." Mustard cooed. "Would you like to fly too?"
She can't be thinking of…
"Up, up—" The purple Magical Girl pitched her arm back, as if she was preparing to throw a baseball.
She was.
"—and away!" Mustard laughed, hurling the child at a nearby building.
Miracle leapt to her feet and the world slowed. Time trickled to a crawl, her enhanced reflexes pushed to the limit when she moved to save an innocent life. The concrete below her ruptured upwards, her Glitter flaring on overdrive to help her attain the speed she needed. Upon her cheeks the clover symbols pulsed, glowing with an unearthly emerald light.
She barely caught the child just as he was about to splatter against the wall like a thrown egg, wincing when she felt something break in his tiny, fragile body. The boy let out a gasp when the wind was knocked out of him, drifting off into unconsciousness a moment later.
Izuku returned back to the horrified mother, who snatched her child out of the girl's arms the moment she landed.
"I-I'm sorry, I think I might have broken a rib or two…" Izuku stammered. "It was the speed, I couldn't—"
Her words were left unheard when the woman turned and ran, right as Mustard punted Izuku into the air with a vicious kick to the gut. The Magical Girl's face met the corner of a rooftop on the way up with a sickening crunch, the sharp pain and sudden disorientation stunning her. Mustard struck her again, knocking her into the bright blue sky. Blood filled the inside of Izuku's mouth, her limbs flailing like a doll's.
Stop her. The single thought was the only thing keeping her conscious through the blinding pain. I have to stop her, or everyone will die.
Miracle shot past a helicopter before reorienting herself, catching a glimpse of blonde hair and a blue denim super-suit. Best Jeanist, the Number Four Hero. The Hero Association was starting to bring out the big guns.
It's not enough, Izuku realized. We need both All Might and Endeavor. Where are they?
Mustard was heading right for them, a corona of purple energy flaring around her. Rocketing forward, Izuku met her in another head-on clash that split the skies. She grappled with the other girl, snaking both arms under hers and holding her steady so Best Jeanist could work his magic. The veteran held out a hand and Izuku braced, expecting her clothes to tighten around her… but absolutely nothing happened. Their dresses were completely unaffected by the hero's fiber manipulation Quirk.
Manic, hyena-like laughter filled the air as Mustard cackled, her eyes unleashing twin beams that cut the helicopter in half. An elbow knifed into Izuku's stomach and she gasped with pain, losing her grip. Best Jeanist escaped with the pilots while they fought, his costume billowing into a cloth parachute.
Roaring jets helped to bring Izuku back into focus, JASDF fast-movers hurtling past in streaks of white and gray. They opened fire on Mustard, guns blazing while missiles rushed off their wings. Heavy caliber rounds that would have perforated tanks bounced off Mustard's Glitter harmlessly, and she looked up with mild interest.
"Ever seen Endeavor's special moves?" Mustard smirked and raised her hand, a tiny orb of plasma atop all five fingers. "Hell Spider."
Heat rays lanced through the air like glowing whips, Mustard sweeping them in a wide arc to catch every missile headed for her. Unlike Endeavor's attack hers had tracking, the purple beams curving mid-air like heat-seeking rockets until they sliced through the attacking jets like a knife through butter. Izuku leapt in front of one to protect the pilot and the beam cut straight through her dress and into her midsection, the searing pain causing her to cry out. When she looked down the cloth was already healing, while her pale skin remained unmarked and pristine. The lone jet tried to circle around, only for Mustard to snap it in half with an axe kick before Izuku could stop her. Thankfully, the pilot managed to eject at the last moment, and Mustard was too busy fighting Izuku to go after him.
She was beginning to understand. The Magical Girl Quirk was already this strong, and Mustard had another Quirk stacked on top of it. Quirks were like muscles—the more one used them, the stronger they would get. Mustard was always in her female form every single time they'd met up, meaning she was keeping the Quirk active far longer than Izuku. The detrimental effects Izuku felt the first time, the way the Quirk altered her personality… Mustard must have had it magnified for her with how long she stayed as a girl. Was she even Matsuda anymore, or had the Quirk corrupted her into something else?
Something more than human.
Behind her a new quintet of jets opened fire with lasers. Mustard dodged three in a flash of purple, but one clipped her on the shoulder while another seared away the tip of one of her twin-tails. She looked at them with mild annoyance, firing another salvo of heat rays. To their surprise spherical shields manifested around the planes and deflected the beams, the jets circling about like sharks smelling blood in the water. Izuku caught sight of the emblem on the wings as they made a collective u-turn, their wide airframes and flying-wing design unlike the contemporary aircraft that attacked earlier.
Their insignia was white five-pointed star atop a dark circle, three stripes of alternating white and red beneath them. The U.S Air Force… pilots from a nearby base?
Mustard didn't give a damn about foreign policy. Sweeping her hands in a wide arc, she manifested a plasma curtain that rushed towards the jets like a tidal wave. It was too late for them to change course, and Izuku was forced to protect them. Her gloved hands came together in a deafening thunderclap, the powerful shockwave dispersing the curtain into spiraling purple embers.
"Not bad." Mustard smirked. "How about this, then?"
Five streams of plasma surged from her body, four from each limb and one from her mouth. They each targeted a different aircraft and Izuku couldn't protect them all, forced to focus on the one closest to her. The jets twisted and spun in acrobatic, death-defying maneuvers, but the plasma chased them relentlessly like it had a mind of its own. Then it caught them, splashing against their shields… but sheer heat melted the aircrafts within into molten slag. Soon there was only one jet left and it turned about with its gunports glowing, ready to avenge its partners.
Miracle worked together with it, rushing in just as the pilot fired. Twin lasers leapt from Mustard's eyes and clashed against the attack, piercing straight through. Izuku didn't look back even when the jet detonated behind her, intent on dragging Mustard to where she couldn't hurt anyone.
She tackled the other girl and rocketed upwards. Together they breached the stratosphere, then the atmosphere of the planet itself. Izuku held her breath, and pushed.
Space was colder than she ever thought it'd be, but that didn't stop Mustard. Ordinary flames required three things; heat, oxygen, and a fuel source. Mustard didn't need any of those. She was the source of the inferno, a walking fusion reactor that seemed to have limitless energy. Izuku grit her teeth and checked her own reserves, finding more than she would ever need. The Magical Girl Quirk had grown exponentially stronger with the Angels they'd defeated and all the training they did together.
Two girls stared at each other in the blackness of space, one with despair and the other with mild interest. There was no air so no sound could be heard, but neither of them needed words to convey their feelings. Izuku hoped she could choke the other girl out in space, but she was holding her breath too. Judging by the feeling in her lungs, they could go on without air for hours.
Mustard, please stop. It's not too late… Izuku was crying, her tears floating in zero gravity. You're still my friend…
Mustard shook her head, a sad, melancholic smile on her face. It warped to become a cruel leer, and Izuku realized the loud, crude boy she knew wasn't there anymore. This was someone else, fused with the darkest parts of his psyche. A demon had possessed Matsuda, wearing his skin like a mask.
She let loose a supernova from atop her skin.
Izuku screamed soundlessly when the burning light hit her, engulfed by the otherworldly flames. The spherical fireball expanded in all directions like a wave, annihilating everything in its path. Gold and purple lighting carved lines across space, the ephemeral thunderstorm swirling around Mustard like a tornado. Izuku hurtled forward anyway, pushing past the pain and breaking through her limits. The clover symbols on her cheeks flared and flickered before disappearing entirely, power surging through her veins while she clashed with Mustard. A limiter had been broken.
Two godlings fought in the heart of the inferno, green and purple light flashing high above the Earth. Space was filled with explosions when Mustard lashed out with a shotgun blast of plasma orbs, followed by ten heat-seeking beams from each finger. Lines of fuchsia cut across the blackness of space, trailing behind an emerald comet that zigzagged about at the speed of sound. It wasn't enough, and Izuku willed herself to go faster. Hit harder.
They crashed through a satellite, scattering debris into Earth's orbit. Just as Izuku was about to land another punch a bolt of pink struck Mustard in the back, the girl whirling about with a wordless snarl. Reinforcements had arrived, in the form of another jet.
One jet.
The space-worthy aircraft was different from the others before, featuring a bulkier build with four wings instead of two. It charged straight at Mustard, and Izuku thought it was a foolish, reckless move until it opened fire. Whatever it shot at Mustard actually knocked her back, stunning her for a brief moment. There were fragments of it hanging in space, and Izuku recognized the vague shape of giant bullets within the pink bolts when it fired again. A railgun, launching super-dense slugs with uncanny precision.
Mustard attempted to give chase but Miracle was upon her in an instant, her dainty fists raining down blows that could demolish a skyscraper. There was no finesse in her attacks, Izuku launching a barrage full of bitter desperation. The distraction gave the jet enough time to gain some distance, angling itself to launch another watermelon-sized shell at them.
The projectile shot through the air in a blinding bolt, but Mustard wasn't going to fall for the same trick twice. She raised her hand and caught the railgun round, tossing it right back with equal force. The massive slug clipped the jet's wing but to Izuku's surprise it transformed to preserve its momentum, mechanical limbs extending outwards while the main body unfolded into a more humanoid form. A single glowing eye flashed upon its head, and they both recognized the pink lightning arcing from its body. The same technology as the lightning cage in Felucia City, during the encounter with the Jellyfish Angel.
YOU.
Mustard's voice was a resonating hiss of venom that somehow echoed in Izuku's head, carrying a tone of blinding fury. Her hand sliced across the air in a cutting arc, amputating the cyclopean mech's legs at the knees. It ignored the loss, still charging forward like a bull. The railgun had been thrown aside in favor of a more close-combat weapon, a massive piledriver erupting from its right arm.
Izuku caught Mustard in a crushing bear hug, lining them both up with the huge metal spike. If there was even a chance of ending this now, this was it. Whoever made that technology had a chance of hurting them—
No such luck. Mustard met the attack head on, biting down on the piledriver's spike and shattering it with her teeth. Her gaze melted the mech into scrap metal, and Izuku saw the pilot's spherical cockpit eject just moments before it exploded.
Mustard laughed. She continued laughing all the way down while entering atmospheric re-entry with Miracle, burning up in the Earth's atmosphere with the downed mech pilot.
Izuku tried to go after the falling cockpit but Mustard held on tight, her distorted laughter consisting of two voices overlapping.
"Where are you going, Izuku-Izuku?" Fingers that could slip through steel dug into her waist. "It's a date in the starry sky!"
Izuku didn't know how long they fell, covered in flames. Though the heat was nothing compared to Mustard's plasma her heart was hammering in her chest, blood thundering in her ears while the wind rushed past. She realized they could survive even this. If so… what could even hurt them anymore?
Mach 1. Mach 2. Mach 3.
They hit Dagobah beach like a meteor, the explosion creating a crater half a kilometer across. Izuku lay bleeding at the bottom, every cell in her body just screaming, begging for her to stop. She used the pain to keep herself awake instead, as fuel that powered the blaze in the furnace of her soul. Blood leaked from her mouth and ears, the girl forcing herself to stand. It got all over her pretty green and white dress, dying it an ugly red.
Mustard was walking towards her in the crater, sand turning to glass beneath her feet. Seawater rushed in only to instantly turn into clouds of superheated steam upon nearing Mustard. She strode towards Izuku while shrouded, her eerie, golden left eye shining through the veil.
"Mustard…" Izuku choked. "Kenji-kun—"
Her only response was to hit Izuku harder than she ever had before. The Magical Girl's body sailed backwards for what felt like minutes until she crashed against solid rock and snow, rolling to a stop. When Izuku got up she found herself atop a mountain, hundreds of miles away from the beach they were on moments earlier.
Mt. Fuji.
A fuchsia thunderbolt fell from the skies and slammed Izuku deeper into the rock. Mustard was relentless, hammering away at Izuku's impenetrable guard with plasma-charged haymakers. An explosion accompanied each punch, breaking the ground apart. Eventually the volcano itself couldn't take anymore and broke beneath Izuku's back, scorching magma pooling around them both. Neither girl seemed to notice it, having grown far beyond anything human. Mustard was beginning to get frustrated, knowing Izuku was still capable of fighting on… and yet she continued to shield herself, refusing to do so.
"Fight back!" Mustard howled, her two voices thirsting for blood. "I know you've still got plenty to spare, fight back!"
"No!" Izuku cried, sobbing. "Stop! The more we fight, the more we end up destroying everything around us! We can't hurt anyone anymore!"
"They don't matter, none of them do! All these little people are no more than ants, just waiting to be crushed underfoot!" Mustard shrieked. "They hurt us when we were weak, so now it's our turn to do the same!"
A sharp slap that cut across Izuku's cheek hurt more than any of the punches.
"You k-killed them… innocent people and heroes…"
"We're predators, Miracle. A predator improves the stock… Those who survive will grow stronger from the pain, just like we did." Mustard sneered. "Let our existence be a reminder to these so-called heroes that they've grown soft and complacent."
"H-how can you say that? This isn't right, Matsuda-san! Kenji, please—"
"Kenji's not here right now!"
She stomped down on Izuku's stomach, eliciting a scream of pure agony when she drove the heel in deep.
"Fight!" Mustard roared. "What the hell's wrong with you, why aren't you fighting back?!"
"Because you're my friend!"
Miracle sniffled, looking up with her big, teary eyes when Mustard paused. The emerald Magical Girl was a sobbing mess on the ground, steam sizzling into the air when her tears hit the lava around them.
"I-I'm sorry, Kenji-kun. I should have noticed, or said something, o-or…" Izuku got up, hiccuping. "I couldn't do anything for you when you were hurting… I'm so sorry!"
Mustard was silent, and for a moment she thought she'd gotten through… until her gloved hands closed around Izuku's throat like a vice. Mustard poised her thumbs over Izuku's throat and squeezed, crushing the life out of her. Malice swirled within her golden left pupil.
HE'S MINE.
Izuku felt herself being thrown through the air again, flopping bonelessly like a rag doll. She crashed into the tiny, nearly-deserted town at the base of the mountain, chest rising and falling in erratic breaths. Mustard's heel stamped on her head a moment later, the asphalt spider-webbing with cracks.
"The weak should fear the strong, and we're at the top of the food chain now. You're strong, Miracle. Act like it."
"No…" Izuku groaned.
"No? If you refuse to use your strength then you're nothing but prey, waiting to be devoured." Mustard cocked an eyebrow, grinding her heel. "Is that what you want?"
She looked off into the distance, at the devastation they'd unleashed.
"Seventeen minutes, that's how long we fought. We've shown them what we're capable of. No more running, no more hiding… Those with power can make their voices heard, Izuku-Izuku. I refuse to be that weak, spineless little boy who couldn't even protect himself." Mustard breathed. "If I can't kill myself, then I'm going to kill everyone else instead."
Izuku struggled to stand, but the boot pinning her head down felt like a hundred anvils. Mustard had gone completely off the edge, losing herself to the corrupting madness within.
"It's my turn now. With this power no one will hurt me ever again… and everyone will be able to live as they like."
"W-what?" Izuku whispered.
"I have plans, Izuku." Her undulating, two-tone voices were back again. "These so-called heroes are the reason for all the suffering we ever faced. Think about it. A society that values power above all—"
Bakugo's face flashed in Izuku's mind, the blonde bully sneering in derision while emptying a carton of spoiled milk onto her head. Her classmates' mocking laughter cut into her very soul, and the teacher did nothing but roll his eyes. She sniffled as she slowly gathered up her wet belongings and notes.
"—and the corrupt heroes that enable it. We've both seen it, the fact that heroes are nothing more than clout chasers and glory hounds. This world is rotten to the core because of them, and we have to burn it all down so a new one can take its place."
"With you… as its queen?"
"No. As its protector."
"All Might will… stop you…" Izuku grit her teeth, slowly rising against the heel on her skull. "He'll…"
"All Might? Please." Mustard scoffed. "What's the big blue banana gonna do, smile at me? I beat you, Miracle. We're the two strongest beings on this planet, and I beat you."
She stomped down again, driving Izuku's face into the dirt.
"I BEAT YOU! Me! Mustard, the one and only!" she howled, her two voices overlapping in a distorted screech of victory. "No one can stop me now, not All Might, not Endeavor, and certainly not you! And when you're back in your weak, pathetic male form I'm gonna tear out your tongue so you'll never again say the words hen—"
Even when drunk on power and victory Mustard realized her mistake almost immediately, having forgotten her one true weakness hidden in the great shadow of her hubris.
"—shin." Mustard finished too late, cupping her mouth in horror.
There was a tremendous bang and a flash of blinding light. Izuku leapt to her feet, fingers knifing and ready to plunge into Mustard's chest, a blistering rage taking hold and demanding that she rip the boy's heart out while he was weak and vulnerable. To kill him before he killed anyone else.
What Izuku found instead was a thin, frail boy crying in the dirt. Matsuda Kenji was sobbing uncontrollably, hugging his knees to his chest while tears ran down his cheeks. The sight alone was enough for Izuku to pause, the hand poised to stab him trembling in hesitation.
"I-Izuku? Is that you?" Matsuda whispered.
"Matsuda-san?" Izuku asked in disbelief.
"It wasn't me. I-I won't transform again, it wasn't me." Matsuda rocked back and forth like a traumatized child, shaking. "It was her. I couldn't stop her…"
Izuku's eyes widened in horror. He was telling the truth. Matsuda could transform back into Mustard at any moment and finish her off, but he refused to do so. Instead he was terrified of her; of his own Quirk that somehow gained power over him, to possess him so thoroughly that it brought out the darkest parts of his psyche.
"Not me. Not me." Matsuda repeated over and over, his eyes empty and unseeing.
The Magical Girl Quirk had twisted his mind, taking the reins while forcing him to watch the atrocities they committed together. A part of Izuku wanted to take him away with her, but a loud rumble behind her forced her to rethink her priorities.
Mt. Fuji shook, belching a column of thick gray smoke that soon became bursts of glowing magma. Their battle had destabilized the volcano and it was beginning to erupt. Izuku hesitated but moved into action when her superhuman hearing picked up screams on the other side of the mountain, looking back at Matsuda fearfully before flying off to save the trapped civilians. He was still sitting there, staring at the floor and mumbling to himself incoherently. His mind was gone.
When Izuku returned after lifting an entire cabin full of people out of the lava's path the town had already turned into an evacuation gathering point. A few ambulances were busy loading up as many people as they could and Izuku spied Matsuda on a stretcher, catatonic and staring at nothing. The emergency medical technicians had assumed he was one of the many shock victims, carting him away to safety.
Izuku did nothing but watch, unsure of what to do. Where would she even take him? He was better off being in a hospital where the doctors could help. Matsuda was powerless now, Mustard trapped within him like a genie in a bottle. She got the feeling they would remain that way for quite a while. Izuku instead spent the next few hours in an empty, lifeless daze, locating survivors and helping them evacuate the area. The grateful civilians didn't seem to know she was partly responsible for the disaster.
A pro hero, Power Loader, requested her help in getting the volcano back into a controlled state. She blindly agreed, all too eager to help fix what she and Mustard broke. Wading into the magma under his instruction through a special heatproof earpiece she ventured deeper and deeper, shrugging off the toxic gasses and unbearable heat. Planting his devices deep in the heart of the burning mountain halted the eruption just like he said it would, but when she returned to the surface dozens of heroes surrounded her. All Might was there… and he wasn't smiling.
"I'm sorry, kid." Power Loader hung his head. "They were listening in on our comms."
"Miracle." All Might growled, making Izuku shake in her shoes with pure terror. "You are under arrest for—"
She didn't let him finish, leaping into the sky. Alarmed shouts and gunfire echoed below, but no one could catch her. At the speed she was going the dried blood and dirt simply burned away from the air friction upon exiting the atmosphere. Even her wounds had vanished while her dress was immaculate, leaving her pristine and unblemished.
Miracle sniffled, her tears floating away into the dark void of space. She didn't stop until she landed on the moon, finding a large, flat rock to sit on. There she curled up, hugging her knees and shivering.
Each and every horror she witnessed was slowly sinking in, crushing her beneath a wave of shame, guilt, regret and fear. Izuku tried to will herself not to cry, but the tears were spilling forth like a dam bursting. It was all her fault. Maybe if she just said something, did something to help her friend…
Matsuda's words echoed in her head. Boys don't cry.
But I'm a girl now, so it's okay, right?
Miracle sobbed into her knees, all alone on the moon. She cried and cried for what felt like hours, her heart broken into tiny little pieces. The pain in her chest wouldn't go away, stabbing and tearing within her like a twisting, serrated knife.
She didn't dare to head back to Earth, afraid of what she'd find. All she wanted to do was disappear…
A hand landed on her shoulder.
Izuku looked up, still sniffling. All of a sudden she was no longer on the moon, but floating within an empty white void that stretched on for eternity. Two figures were slowly headed towards her, the Magical Girl raising her fists in alarm and panic.
"W-wha, who… what's going on?"
The figures drew closer, and izuku froze. One of them was a non-human creature that Izuku soon realized had to be a Quirk, the entity looking like a pillar of dark red tendons and corded muscle tissue. Its head was an eyeless, jawless human skull that was bleached bone-white, staring into Izuku's soul.
The other was a girl her age, completely naked yet featureless like a mannequin from the neck down. Her golden, catlike eyes were all too familiar, framed by blonde hair tied in two messy buns. Her sad, tired smile revealed a pair of sharp canines.
She was the golden Magical Girl from the bridge, the one who saved her and inadvertently created both Miracle and Mustard.
Izuku's jaw dropped, unable to believe her eyes. There were visible similarities yet startling differences between the strange girl and her own civilian form, but if one put them side by side they could be mistaken for sisters.
"You're…" Izuku began, bewildered.
"Hello, Miracle. Or do you prefer Mikumo-chan, or perhaps Midoriya-kun?" the vestige said with a voice full of melancholic sorrow. "Three in one, and one in three."
"Who are you?"
"My name is Toga Himiko." The ghostly phantom smiled. "I believe you have something of mine."
[Midoriya Izuku]
[Quirk: Transform]
[Chapter 8 End]
[End of Arc 1]
Thank you for reading!
Wishing you all a Happy Valentine's Day.