Hey, guys. I'm back.
The reason this chapter took so long is that I am changing positions at my job. I was steadily growing tired of my older position when I first got the job(it became pretty tedious over the years) so I decided to switch gears. Turns out it's a much more rewarding experience so the last couple of weeks have been me slowly acclimating to my new position while teaching my replacement the ropes of the old one. It's been pretty exhausting so I hope you can all understand.
DOOM, My Hero Academia, and Darksiders belong to their respective owners. I do not own either of them.
Beta read by Zeroth17.
Chapter 26
Infirmary
"No, I...I ain't-I ain't talking about that freak, alright? He's not here, is he?!"
-Scout, Team Fortress 2
MUSUTAFU GENERAL HOSPITAL
3RD FLOOR-11:30 PM
Izuku Midoriya stared up at the ceiling silently as several announcements were heard over the PA system outside his room. It had been a while since he and his friends arrived at the hospital. He went through the regular check-up procedures, including patching up his wounds, dressing him in a hospital gown, and placing him in a room. The same went for his friends who were escorted to their separate rooms and received their check-ups. He was now alone, laying down on the bed, left to his thoughts. He turned towards the window and gazed at the cityscape beyond, making out several broken windows on the buildings.
Izuku sighed as he eased into his bed. He could hear the clamoring of news reporters outside the front gates of the hospital and he couldn't blame them. They were scared. They wanted answers. But how was the HPSC supposed to tell them that one man annihilated the Steel Sabers and defeated an army of Pro Heroes? He really hoped that the news of All Might's loss against the Vigilante and his condition wouldn't be made public. He heard several knocks on the door and it opened to reveal a nurse with a clipboard in her hands.
"Mr. Midoriya? You have visitors who wants to see you."
The Nurse stepped back and Izuku saw his friends standing outside the door. They had all been changed out of their clothes and wore hospital gowns like Izuku; the dress clothes they wore to the party probably needed to be disposed of due to the blood. They all filed into the room as the nurse shut the door behind them.
Midoriya managed a weak smile. "Glad to see you're all okay."
"We feel the same." Uraraka replied; the rest of the group shared her comforting smile. But Izuku could tell they were all extremely tired.
"Where's Shoto and Bakugou? And Mirio?" Midoriya asked.
"Shoto's asleep; we didn't want to disturb him. Mirio and his friends were sent to a different hospital." Momo answered. "Bakugou... doesn't want to see anybody right now."
Izuku sighed as he hung his head. It didn't surprise him. A long silence followed afterward, with everyone awkwardly averting their eyes from Midoriya. They didn't know what to say. They were all so exhausted from the events that they didn't have the strength to muster up a conversation. The only thing running through their heads on repeat was the psychopathic Vigilante butchering the Steel Sabers. None of them wanted to speak about the subject. That is until...
"So, are we not gonna talk about that maniac?" Mineta blurted out.
Iida tensed up. "No we're not, Mineta."
"But-but-but aren't you guys the least bit curious why he came here?!" Mineta ignored Tenya, raising his voice. "And how was he able to beat up all those Heroes?!"
Jiro hugged her arms, shivering as the horrific memories came back to hunt her. She grew sick when she remembered the Vigilante decapitating one of the Villains in the ballroom and sending a severed head flying onto her lap. "Mineta-"
"Izuku, you said you met this guy a few days before, right?!" Mineta turned to Izuku in desperation. "Who the hell is he?!"
"STOP IT!" Denki suddenly yelled, startling Mineta and the others. The room grew quiet again as Mineta turned away, twiddling his fingers together with an ashamed look. Denki stared down at his feet while clutching his arm; the last thing he needed was to be reminded was the bloodbath he and his friends went through.
"I don't know..." Izuku whimpered as tightly clenched his hands around the blanket, his head still hung. "I honestly don't know who he is..." Uraraka gently placed a hand on Midorya's shoulder to calm him down. Everyone stayed silent again out of respect for Izuku until there was another knock was heard. The same nurse from before poked her head through the door.
"Pardon me, Mr. Midoriya but you have more visitors."
She fully opened the door to reveal the rest of Class 1-A standing in the hall anxiously. The others were surprised to see all of their friends gathered outside the hall; it was completely unexpected but there were no complaints. The nurse allowed the students to quietly enter the room before closing the door behind them. As soon as she did, Mina let out a sob as she embraced Momo and Jiro in a tight hug. The two teared up and hugged her back as the others gave them some space.
"How'd you guys know where to find us?" Kirishima smiled, happy to see his friends.
"Oh, Jiro texted us a while ago. Told us where you guys were and we came over here as fast as we could." Sero explained. "Had to beg our parents though but it was worth it."
"When the whole attack happened, all we could do was think about if you were all okay." Tsyuyu held Uraraka's hands, relieved to see her.
"We were so worried!" Mina bawled as she continued hugging Momo and Jiro.
Sato went over to Midoriya and set down a plastic bag filled with oranges near the edge of his bed. "I grabbed some of these from home before I left. Thought you could use some vitamin C."
"And I bought you some of my Gruyere cheese!" Aoyama presented Izuku with a block of delicately wrapped cheese as sparkles danced around him. Sato sweatdropped.
"Thanks." Midorya complimented, taking the cheese from Yuga. "After that hospital food, I could use something with more taste." He admitted as he started peeling one of Sato's oranges.
"Have you guys been keeping up with the news?" Denki asked. He knew he shouldn't have asked that given their current emotional state but the question came out by accident.
"Yeah. We watched the Sabers make their broadcast right up until...he came." Mezo gulped while Koji nervously fidgeted. "When he started killing them, we shut off the TV until it was safe to turn it back on."
"It was the same for us." Hagakure said. She lowered her head and anxiously rubbed her arm. "Do you...guys think our teachers were gonna tell us about what happens if we face something like the Sabers? Or the Vigilante? I mean, is that kind of violence going to be common when we become Pros? Are we going to have to...kill a Villain if we can't stop them?"
Everyone was quiet. It was a question that lingered in the back of their heads when they first entered U.A. Academy. At first, they were so focused on their studies that the question never occurred to them. But now after the massacre on I-Island, they all wondered if they truly had what it took to face the harsh realities of Heroism. But could they take a life?
Tokoyami folded his arms and shut his eyes. "Being a Hero does not come without risks or difficult choices."
"We were going to have to face that fact sooner or later." Momo added forlornly as she and Jiro gently let go of Mina.
Yuga let out a mirthless chuckle as he stared down at the floor. "When you think about all those horror movies, you know that gore is just special effects or CGI. But earlier on the TV...when we all saw the real thing..."
"Hey, uh...Aoyama?" Sero stepped forward.
The petite boy was shaking now, his eyes quivering and rife with fear. "Is that really what we look like on the inside? What we all look like-"
"Aoyama!" Sero exclaimed as he gently shook Yuga's shoulders. The boy glanced at Hanta who gave him a pleading expression. "Not now, okay?"
Aoyama nodded and looked away, feeling guilty that he brought up the subject of the carnage on live television. It seemed that whenever they wanted to talk about something, it kept revolving back to what happened on I-Island. No one knew anything else to say that wouldn't remind the others who went to I-Island of the horrors they witnessed. Once again, there was nothing but silence from everyone.
"Excuse me! You are not supposed to be here!"
"Outta the way, toots!"
The sound of a commotion from outside the door jostled the teens out of their depressive mood. Before anyone could wonder what was going on, the door to Izuku's room was suddenly kicked open so fast that it almost smacked Uraraka and Tsuyu in the face! Standing at the door was a cameraman and American reporter Tony Pope, clad in a grey suit and pants along with a tan fedora as he held a mic in his hand.
"THERE HE IS! A SURVIVOR FROM I-ISLAND!" Tony hollered. His cameraman was beside him as they barged into the room, bowling over Koda and Mineta in the process. Izuku uttered a confused yelp as Tony shoved the mic against his cheek as the camera was trained on him.
"HEY! What the hell, buddy!?" Kirishima yelled as he helped Koda up to his feet.
"Young man! Can you tell us what really happened on I-Island?! What happened to the Steel Sabers?! Did the Vigilante kill them all?! What became of the Heroes?! Did All Might defeat the Vigilante?! Were there any civilian casualties?! What's the estimated body count?!" Tony rattled off as he jabbed the mic in his face.
"I-I-I-I-uh-uh-uh-!" Izuku stammered. He was having a very difficult time understanding the reporter because he was speaking English, a language that he only just started learning in Present Mic's class.
"How dare you, sir! This is a hospital!" Iida shouted as he chopped the air. "Do you have any idea what my friend has been through?! Leave him be!"
"Shove it, four eyes!" Tony barked at him before focusing back on Izuku. "Little boy, you hold the proverbial key to revealing the horrible massacre on I-Island! For the sake of everything sweet and good, you have to tell us! C'mon, spit it out! BE A MAN! BE SOMEBODY-!" Tony's desperate rant was instantly cut off when several stands of white Capture Tape wrapped around his arm and the camera his stooge was holding. Class 1-A turned towards the door and their faces lit up with elation at the person standing in the doorway: Shota Aizawa!
Aizawa was still wearing his tattered Hero costume though he did have some bandages wrapped around his arms. His eyes were heavily bloodshot; making him look scary as hell. Tightly grasping the Capture Tape and glaring at Tony wrathfully, Aizawa spoke to him in perfect English, "You have five seconds to get that mic away from my student before I give you a colonoscopy with that camera."
Tony felt his pants grow heavy as he slowly moved the mic away from Midoriya. Just as Aizawa retracted the tape, three security guards moved past him and promptly restained Tony and his cameraman. The two were now being roughly escorted out of the room, much to everyone's relief.
"Come on, let's go."
"HEY, LEGGO! I'M A MEMBER OF THE PRESS! I HAVE RIGHTS!"
"We're so sorry, he managed to slip past us."
Once they were gone, Aizawa turned to his students and rubbed his tired eyes. "Sorry I couldn't come sooner. None of you should have to put up with people like him."
"T-t-thank you, Sensei." Midoriya stuttered. He wanted to say that it wasn't a problem but he was just happy to see his teacher again. Aizawa smiled in response before regarding the others.
"Good to see the rest of you visiting your fellow classmates. Any idea where Shoto and Bakugou are?" Aizawa asked.
"Todoroki is asleep right now and Bakugou wants to be left alone." Uraraka answered while appearing crestfallen at the last bit of information.
"Oh, man. It's really bad this time isn't it?" Sato's shoulders sagged. Uraraka nodded.
Aizawa frowned. This was going to be a problem soon, although this behavior was expected after Katsuki learned about All Might's condition. He would deal with that later. "In any case, having you all in one place saves me the trouble of contacting you one by one about an important announcement."
"Announcement?" Mezo tilted his head.
Aizawa glanced toward the door. "You can come in whenever you're ready." The sound of tiny feet shuffling across the floor was heard outside the door and a diminutive, white-furred, anthropomorphic creature with distinctive mammalian features wearing a black waistcoat with matching pants and a pair of orange sneakers entered the room.
"Principal Nezu?!" Class 1-A exclaimed in surprise.
"That's right!" Nezu happily said as he waved his paw at the students. "Your principal has come to check up on you all! Let me just say that it warms this tiny little heart to see you safe and sound!"
He trotted up to Izuku's bed and looked up at the bandaged boy. "I'm overjoyed to see you and the others are doing well. We at U.A. always look out for the well-being of our students." Nezu turned around to face the others and cleared his throat. "It is fortunate that you are all gathered here for it concerns U.A. as a whole."
This caused everyone to look at each other worriedly. How did the I-Island disaster affect their school? Would they still be enrolling or were their dreams as Heroes over? Aizawa's expression did not change.
"I've been kept up to date with the situation on I-Island. Due to an alarming number of our staff currently incapacitated, I have decided to temporarily close U.A. until our teachers have recovered. All classes will be suspended until further notice and regrettably, the Training Camp we had set up for your summer break has been canceled due to the Pussycats being out of action." Nezu explained. He noticed everyone sporting concerned expressions but he was quick to ease their misgivings. "But fret not, you'll still be enrolled at U.A. and classes will resume once the staff returns."
This eased whatever worries the Students had but Nezu wasn't done yet. "However, your teachers will be engaging in an important discussion with you all concerning the...events at I-Island. For those who went there, I will have a private meeting with you."
Izuku and Uraraka glanced at each other worriedly while Iida, Momo, Denki, Kirishima, Jiro, and Mineta did the same.
"But know that none of you are in trouble, there are just several important things we have to talk about. But we won't be discussing that right now. All of you have been through a lot and you need time to recover. The safety, health, and welfare of the student body are a top priority at U.A." Nezu assured them delicately.
"With that being said, those who are visiting: go home and use this time to review your studies or anything else you learned from your final exams. Those admitted here with injuries: go back to your rooms and get some rest; you'll need it." Aizawa advised his class. He also needed rest after the hell he endured on I-Island and Lord knows his students needed it too.
As much as everyone hated to leave so soon, their teacher had a point. One by one, they all said their goodbyes to each other (with some hugs from Mina) and left while others returned to their hospital rooms. Before heading out herself, Uraraka gave Izuku a heartfelt smile and said, "Get well soon."
Izuku blushed in response as Ochako left the room. "Ahhhh, young love." Nezu humorously commented, causing Izuku to turn red and Aizawa to gag. The Principal left the room and Shota started to follow him until-
"Sensei, wait!" Izuku called out to him, making Aizawa stop. Something had been gnawing at the back of his mind ever since the Yagi revealed his secrets back at the airport. If his teacher was already aware of One for All then...
"Back when we had the Quirk Apprehension Test, when you told me I didn't have control over my Quirk, did you already know that I had One for All?" Izuku questioned.
Aizawa still had his back turned to him. Shota's shoulders sagged as his head dipped downwards a little. He then let out a long, drawn-out sigh. "Yes, I did. Had to make sure you were ready to carry the burden."
This came as a shock to Izuku. Not only because his teacher knew about OFA and was secretly testing him, but he actually saw the Quirk as a "burden". Aizawa then left the room, leaving Izuku to think about his teacher's words. But at this point, he was too tired to think and laid back in his bed, ready to let sleep finally claim him-
"Oh, one more thing!" Nezu popped up outside the open door, startling Midoriya. "You have one more visitor!"
At first, Midorya appeared exasperated but his eyes widened in surprise at the person coming into view. "M-mom?"
It was Inko Midoriya; shaky hands clasped together and tears streaming down her face. It took all but three seconds for her to leap clear across the room, latch on to Izuku in a bone-crushing hug and unleash the floodgates. "MY BAAAAABBBBYYYYY!" Inko bawled as literal geysers of tears gushed from her eyes. Izuku couldn't fault her for her overreaction: she was probably glued to the TV watching the I-Island siege and fearing for her son's life, especially after that gigantic explosion. Izuku hugged her mom back, happy to be in his mother's arms as she continued to sob.
As Nezu smiled warmly at the touching scene, Shota quietly closed the door. But then they had to back away from it when a steady flow of tears pooled underneath the door.
"I wonder if that's a Quirk." Nezu commented in curiosity.
"Could be." Aizawa shrugged.
MUSUTAFU GENERAL HOSPITAL
4TH FLOOR
Adorned in a hospital gown, Miruko silently stood at the window of her hospital room as she stared at the starry night sky. The rain had stopped hours ago though droplets remained on the glass, steadily dripping down the glass and adding a sense of calm for the Rabbit Heroine. After a few seconds of stargazing, she walked back over to her hospital bed and flopped down face-first onto her pillow.
She rolled over and looked at her bandaged arms and legs which covered her wounds. At first, she smiled, knowing that all those scars would make her look badass. But then Rumi frowned when she remembered the Vigilante helping her back on I-Island. Ever since that mall incident, she had been relieving her past memories as Tiger Bunny on a regular basis. Every encounter with the Vigilante and every bloody scene of ultraviolence kept giving her more flashbacks. As much as she hated being reminded of her violent past self, she pined to return to her old ways where she was unrestrained by the law and could let herself loose. But she remembered the promise she made to Keigo and did her best to put those temptations to rest.
But what was driving her nuts to no end was that she couldn't stop thinking about the Vigilante. His armor, his weapons, his strength, his motivations, the man was an enigma. Sure, Hawks pointed out the theory that the Vigilante wanted to save the hostages but they still knew nothing about the man's identity. The sentient AI he had with him only creeped her out further; what was stopping that thing from going full-on Skynet?
And yet despite everything, he saved her life on multiple occasions.
Rumi sat back up and scratched her right ear. What was that guy's deal? Was she just a helpless maiden in distress to him? Maybe she was overthinking that last part. She sighed as she sat cross-legged on her bed, deep in thought over the whole ordeal. All she wanted to do was get out there, track that nutcase down and find out who he was and why he saved her. All Miruko wanted is an honest answer from him.
There was a knock on the door and it opened to reveal Hawks, still in his Hero costume. "I figured you'd still be up."
"I was restless. You seem to be up and at em'." Miruko replied with a smile.
"Actually, I'm about ready to doze off. Thank goodness this place has a coffee machine!" Hawks playfully waved his hands.
"That's no excuse to deny yourself a decent night's sleep!" An irritated old voice came from behind Keigo, causing him to wince. Shuffling past Hawks was Chiyo Shuzenji, AKA the Youthful Heroine Recovery Girl. She was an elderly woman in her mid 70's wearing a white lab coat with a red and yellow dress that was held by a metal belt that bore a pink R-shaped buckle. She wore a pink helmet with a dark purple visor, had her hair done up in a bun, and walked with a cane resembling a cartoony syringe.
"Oh, come on. Don't act like you don't chug down a couple of cups during the night shift." Miruko retorted before giving Recovery girl a smug grin as she approached her bed. "And besides, I don't need coffee thanks to my constantly energetic rabbit nature! I can keep going and going and going-"
Rumi's boasting was cut short when Chiyo whacked her cane against the rabbit Heroine's knuckles, causing her to yank her hand back.
"OW! What the-?!" Miruko clenched her stinging hand.
"Don't get smart with me, missy!" Chiyo snapped as she pointed her cane at her. "This is the eighth time this month you've been admitted to a hospital! With injuries that you so obviously neglected to avoid I might add! What part of dodging an attack isn't getting through your thick skull?!"
Miruko stared bug-eyed at the irate elder before glancing at Hawks who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded. "Don't look at me, you're the one who's acting like a smartass."
Chiyo glared at Miruko for a couple more seconds before letting out a sigh and switching to a saddened frown. "Honestly, you poor thing, why must you constantly push yourself like this?"
Rumi felt terrible for making the old lady sad and felt a little annoyed by getting called out on her antics again. Still, she didn't want to see Recovery Girl like this so cut to the chase. "So...did you come to give me a check-up?"
"At the insistence of your friend, yes." Chiyo replied. "Sit a bit closer so I can get a better look at you." Miruko scooched up closer to the edge of her bed while Recovery Girl pulled up a chair from the corner of the room. Chiyo carefully undid the bandages around Rumi's limbs and dispensed them in a medical waste bin. She then inspected the sealed-up wounds around Rumi's arms and legs carefully; examining every inch of her as she did. Recovery Girl continued her diagnosis for several more seconds until she took a step back with an astonished look.
"This is astounding...the wounds have healed up so perfectly I don't need to use my Quirk on you." Chiyo marveled.
'Thank God!' Miruko inwardly thought in relief. That thing Chiyo did with her lips made her flesh crawl.
"Is that so?" Hawks tilted his head as he walked over. "Those medical instruments are a lot more advanced than I thought."
"What do you mean by that?" Chiyo inquired.
"Well, back when I got hurt on I-Island the Vigilante-" Miruko started before Chiyo cut her off.
"Wait, the Vigilante? The one that's all over the news?" Chiyo raised an eyebrow.
"Yup. He brought me into a lab and used some high-tech tools to patch me up." Miruko finished before taking a closer look at the scars on her arm. "Did a pretty good job too."
Recovery Girl took a closer look at Miruko's wounds again. "This level of tissue regeneration is nothing short of incredible. I've heard I-Island had been making considerable progress in terms of medical technology but this is still amazing work. Unless...of course!" She snapped her fingers.
"Something we should know?" Hawks asked.
"A few months ago, some officials from I-Island came to me with a proposal that they could potentially create surgical inventions based on my Quirk. I agreed and called up a friend of mine who used to craft Support Items for me back in my glory days." Chiyo explained. "Together, we drafted blueprints of said inventions and submitted them to I-Island's R&D department. It's been a while since I last heard an update about the project from them but if what you're saying is true, then they were able to successfully create working versions of our proposed inventions."
"At least that clears up one mystery." Hawks grinned.
Recovery Girl chuckled. "I'd say they're in pretty good hands. I-Island may be in a sad state of affairs but I'm confident that someday the project will be picked up again in the future."
Miruko flexed her armed a little, smirking at the feeling of her strength returning to her. "Say, was there any other reason why you agreed their offer?" She asked out of curiosity.
"Because, Rumi, none of us stay young forever. Give or take a couple of years, I'll be too old to continue being a Hero." There was a pause in the air as Miruko and Hawks sadly knew this was all too true. "But until there comes a time when someone with a Quirk similar to mine takes my place, we'll use those tools as substitutes. But they are very handy substitutes so there's no need to worry."
That provided some measure of comfort for the two Heroes as Recovery Girl headed for the door. "I need to go check up on the other patients, do yourselves a favor and get some rest."
Chiyo left the room and Hawks plopped himself down on the seat next to Rumi's bed. "So...hell of a night, huh?"
Miruko rubbed her tired eyes. "You can say that again."
"If there's one silver lining to all this, no innocents got killed. I'd call that something of a win." Keigo opinionated.
"Yeah, and the Steel Sabers are dead. Glad those sick bastards are finally gone." Miruko seethed with a particular amount of venom at the last part.
Hawks uncomfortably winced. He was afraid this behavior change would happen eventually due to the extreme violence she kept being exposed to. He decided to quickly change the subject. "I checked up on our friends and the other Heroes earlier. They're gonna be fine, Recovery Girl worked her magic and they'll make a full recovery soon." The same could not be said for Endeavor, however. Out of all of the Heroes who were beaten by the Vigilante, he received the worst wounds from him. Chiyo used her Quirk on him to accelerate the healing of his wounds but it was still going to be a while before he regained consciousness.
"Good to know." Miruko nodded. Her features became sullen. "Forty-eight of us. Forty-eight of us including All Might couldn't take that guy down."
"I know. It's honestly pretty scary." Hawks sighed as he shook his head.
"It was kinda...awesome." Miruko slowly began to smile.
Keigo stared at Rumi, mortified. "What?"
"I mean, he beat forty-eight Pro Heroes and All Might all by himself. Just how crazy strong is he?!" Miruko rambled, becoming increasingly more excited by the second. "I don't know what kinda Quirk he has that made him so strong but, holy crap, that guy is something else! When was the last time someone could take on All Might and win? I gotta know more about this badass! He-"
"You do know that you're praising the guy who put all our friends and colleagues in the infirmary, right?" Hawks cut her off, having grown disturbed by her apparent admiration for the Vigilante.
Miruko stopped smiling as she realized what she was saying. "Well...yeah..."
"Most of them still unconscious?" Hawks continued, never taking his eyes off her.
"Okay, I get it but he held himself back!" Miruko quickly responded. "He didn't want to seriously hurt them-"
"But what if he didn't want to incapacitate them? What if he wasn't feeling merciful? What if he decided to kill everyone and All Might? Would you still think he's awesome?" Hawks finished, the cold look and tone of his voice borderline uncharacteristic with his normally laid-back attitude.
Rumi was at a loss for words. She tried to defend herself but she couldn't think of any way to convince her friend that she wasn't sounding like a lunatic. Rumi could only avoid Keigo's heated gaze as her ears lay flat against the side of her head. Hawks shook his head as he got up from his seat. "Alright, I'm going before this gets any more uncomfortable. Get well soon." He left the room and closed the door, leaving the Rabbit Heroine all by herself.
The Rabbit Heroine stared at the door with an unreadable expression. Miruko did not get angry or vent her frustrations by breaking something, she just laid back down and calmed herself down. She got herself comfortable and closed her eyes. Rumi needed to get her head screwed on straight and the first thing she was going to do when she would be released from the hospital was to find that Vigilante. She screwed up the first time around by not questioning him sooner and she was going to thoroughly interrogate him when she caught him.
Miruko groaned when she realized that would be a stupid idea. If All Might and a dozen Heroes couldn't stop this guy then what chance did she have? But one way or another, she was going to get answers from him. Maybe that'll stop her from constantly thinking about him and admiring him for some messed up reason. Miruko opened her eyes when it was clear that she was too spun up to get any sleep and stared up at the unfamiliar ceiling...
"Huh. I wonder if this is how it feels to be that wimpy kid from that old robot anime." Miruko said to herself. She turned her head over towards the window out of boredom and she immediately noticed something. From her window, on the left side of the hospital building, she saw someone slowly walk past the hallway windows. The person was a woman dressed in the same blue gown miruko wore and had her head hung low as she plodded down the hall almost lifelessly.
Miruko sat up when she recognized the person's green hair. "Ragdoll?"
She watched Ragdoll enter a supply room and closed the door behind her. Miruko felt something was seriously wrong with Tomoko. Ever since she saw her back on the helicopter leaving from I-Island, she never got the chance to ask anyone what was wrong with her. Taking note that Ragdoll was on the same floor as her room, Rumi got off of the bed and peered out the door. There was nobody around so Miruko quickly walked out into the hallway and navigated her way over to where Ragdoll was a few seconds ago. Maybe she could try to help her or at least try to understand what happened to her.
Hawks trekked through the hall with his hands in his pockets, though he had no destination to speak of. He stopped and slumped against the wall with a regretful frown.
He fucked up.
He shouldn't have just written her off and walked away. He should have talked to her more or at least try to guide her back on the right path. Keigo silently cursed to himself as he covered his eyes; the lack of sleep and everything he endured on I-Island had affected his thinking process pretty badly. After he got some shut-eye, the first thing he was going to do was talk to Rumi more to help snap her out of her Tiger Bunny mindset and then apologize for leaving her like that. Keigo helped Rumi bury her Tiger Bunny persona eleven years ago, he wasn't going to watch her turn into a Vigilante again. Speaking of whom, where did that guy go after the battle?
"Ah, Keigo! So glad to see an alumnus from U.A.!"
Keigo was briefly startled by a tiny voice approaching from the left along with footsteps. Hawks glanced down the hallway to see Nezu and Eraser Head walking towards them. The Wing Hero flashed them a grin. "Good to see my old principal here of all places." He bent down to shake Nezu's paw. "Surprise seeing you here too, Eraser Head. How ya feeling?"
"Like I want to fall over and slip into a coma." Was Aizawa's gruff response.
"Heh. Likewise." Hawks admitted, feeling just as tired as Shota.
"I've heard Ms. Usagiyama was admitted here as well. How is she?" Nezu inquired.
"Oh, she's doing fine. Energetic as always." Hawks answered, leaving out certain details. Aizwaw was quick to pick up that Keigo wasn't telling them everything but was too tired to ask why.
"Now, Keigo, I've been told by Aizawa that you and Rumi have been briefed on Toshinori's condition and the enemy he faces. We normally don't let too many Heros in on this secret so I'm hoping you two keep this 'on the down low' so to speak." Nezu requested.
"No need to worry." Keigo raised a hand. "It's still a lot to process but our lips are sealed. What's going to happen now?"
Aizawa sighed. "The HPSC is still assessing the damage and the number of Pro Heroes hospitalized means we're gonna be short-handed-"
"EVERYONE!" The group suddenly heard Recovery Girl yell. They snapped their head around to witness Chiyo, along with several orderlies and a doctor, running towards them as fast as they could. "Have any of you seen Tomoko?!" She frantically asked the men as she and the others stopped before them.
"Why? What's wrong?" A confused Nezu questioned.
"Tomoko's gone! She was supposed to be in intensive care but she attacked one of the nurses and ran off!" Chiyo revealed fearfully. Keigo and Aizawa regarded each other with dread. Ragdoll's sudden mental breakdown was still fresh in their minds but they did not think it would get this bad.
Nezu was stunned to hear that. "No...that-that cant be Tomoko. That sweet woman wouldn't hurt a fly! That simply couldn't have been her!" He reasoned.
"But she did." A doctor confirmed. "But that's not the worst part: she managed to steal a-"
In that instant, a shrill scream echoed down the hall along with the sound of something getting knocked over.
Miruko's back and a shelving unit hit the floor hard as a frenzied Tomoko pinned her to the ground. She barely had enough time to catch Ragdoll's hands, stopping the scalpel from puncturing her eye! To Rumi's confusion and shock, Ragdoll was slowly overpowering her even though she was more physically built than her. Ragdoll's once cutesy, innocent face was now a visage of complete insanity. Her bedraggled hair draped in front of her now wide eyes; her pupils were like pinpricks. Tomoko had both hands around the scalpel as she forced it down towards Miruko while heavily breathing through her clenched teeth.
"RAGDOLL, PLEASE STOP! IT'S ME, MIRUKO!" Rumi desperately shouted as she tried to force the scalpel away from her.
"NO! YOU WON'T TAKE MY EYES! YOU WON'T TAKE MY EEEEYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEESSSSS!" Tomoko screamed in terror and rage!
The tip of the blade inched closer and closer, dangerously nearing Rumi's eye as she struggled with the now insane Heroine. She couldn't kick Ragdoll off of her due to the risk of seriously injuring her due to her powerful leg strength. She strained against Ragdoll's unnatural strength as the blade of the scalpel was now inches away from her eye...until multiple strands of Capture tape wrapped around Ragdoll's hands and yanked them away from Miruko's face! More strands coiled around the green-haired mental case; she was flung into the closest wall as the orderlies and the doctor rushed into the room.
"HOLD HER DOWN! I NEED TO SEDATE HER!" The doctor yelled as his finger transformed into a syringe.
The orderlies held down the Hero's right arm as the doctor jammed the finger syringe into her wrist and it automatically pumped sedatives into Ragdoll's bloodstream. Tomoko struggled against her restraints before she finally went limp. Miruko sat up at looked towards Eraser Head entering the room along with Recovery Girl, Hawks, and the principal of U.A., Nezu. Miruko watched the orderlies and the doctor haul the motionless woman out of the room; slowly reaching up to her face as a chilling realization set in.
Had Eraser Head been a few seconds too late, Ragdoll would've gouged Rumi's eyeball out.
Hawks was at her side, helping her up as gently as he could. "Hey, you alright?"
Miruko nodded as Nezu approached her. "Rumi, my God, what happened?"
"I-I-I-I-I saw Tomoko out in the hallway from my room, so I went to check on her. I found her huddled in the corner doing...something and as soon as I tapped her on the shoulder, she goes ballistic!" Miruko recounted. "She was tryin' to stab my damn eye out! What the fuck happened to her!?" She rounded on Aizawa and Hawks.
"We're not sure. When the other Heroes and I were traveling to I-Island, I asked Ragdoll to use Search to find you. But when she located the Vigilante...she just started screaming her head off." Hawks revealed. "Kept saying 'it came from hell' over and over again until Midnight knocked her out."
Miruko and Nezu processed what they learned with confusion. They never heard anything like that happening to Tomoko's Quirk. Did the Vigilante have something to do with it? What could he have done to cause Ragdoll to snap like that?
"This is most concerning." Nezu surmised. "The Vigilante must have some form of Quirk that blocks any scanning-type power. But that doesn't explain this sudden irrational behavior from Tomoko."
"Hate to burst your bubble but we think this guy might be Quirkless." Aizawa said, eliciting astounded looks from Rumi and Nezu.
"He has no Quirk?!" Miruko exclaimed.
Nezu's mouth hung open."But that shouldn't be possible...that is unless his suit has something to do with-"
"Oh my goodness..." everyone heard Chiyo whisper in fear. The group turned toward the other end of the supply room where they saw Chiyo staring at something on the wall. They all walked over to get a better look and everyone gasped. Messily etched into the wall was the symbol of the Vigilante.
"That's-that's the same thing the Vigilante drew back on I-Island!" Miruko jabbed her finger at the symbol.
Nezu went over and took a closer look. "She drew this?" He wondered as he looked over his left at the scalpel lying on the floor.
"But how did she know about this? Ragdoll never set foot on I-Island. She doesn't even know about this symbol yet." Hawks tried to make sense of this disturbing reveal.
"She drew something else." Aziawa noticed on the far wall. Everyone glanced over their shoulders and was in for another disturbing sight: a scrawled drawing of the Vigilante, wielding a giant sword and some kind of comically oversized gun standing atop what appeared to be a mountain of skulls. But what caused their blood to run cold was the message at the bottom of the drawing...
THEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIMTHEONLYTHINGTHEYFEARISHIM
Everyone could only gaze upon the chilling scrawlings in total silence. It was one of the most unnerving, disturbing things they had seen in a very long time. "Who the hell is 'they'?" Miruko broke the silence. No one answered her.
Nezu suddenly donned a resolute look on his face as he dug out his phone and started taking pictures of the draws. "I'm sending these over to Sir Nighteye. Maybe he can make sense of these scribblings."
"But isn't he over in Ireland? I heard he's helping out with a big case." Aizawa pointed out.
"True but once he's done he'll probably head back home to aid us in our investigation of the Vigilante." Nezu reasoned hopefully as he pressed a few buttons.
Recovery Girl went over to the scalpel on the floor and picked it up. "I need to go tend to Tomoko and...reevaluate her mental condition. As for you-"
"I know, get some rest." Miruko groused in annoyance. The group left the room with Hawks and Miruko hanging back.
"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Hawks patted her back.
"Yeah, I'm just gonna head back to my room and sleep now." Miruko muttered, still shaken after what happened with Ragdoll. Hawks nodded sympathetically as he went to the door and left. Before leaving, Miruko glanced at the drawings on the wall. What the hell did the Vigilante do to Tomoko? And was Eraser Head really telling the truth about him being Quirkless? What were they up against? Feeling herself grow weary with exhaustion, Miruko shuffled out of the room. She then thought about the message underneath the picture as she returned to her room. Did Tomoko mean the Villains feared him?
Or was it something else?
To be continued...
Looks like everybody is going to need some serious psychological evaluations.
While the first parts concerning Izuku and Miruko have been mainly played for drama, the stuff with Ragdoll was played for straight horror. Her insanity and carving stuff on the wall with a scalpel were primarily inspired by Dead Space. Anybody play the awesome remake yet? However, that section was going to be very bloody.
It was originally going to play an homage to the 2013 remake of Evil Dead: Tomoko rips open her cheek and attacks Miruko with the scalpel, getting a few good knicks on her before getting knocked out. But I didn't have the guts to put Ragdoll through that so I toned it down. The poor girl's been through enough.
That's all for now, see you dames and dudes next time! Didja guys hear that there's going to be an upcoming Twisted Metal TV series along with a possible new game this year? I'm so excited! Hopefully, they'll re-release the older games as well as Rouge Trip: Vacation 2012 and the Vigilante 8 series somewhere down the line. The world needs more car combat games.
Huge shout out to TriassicDino who recently made an audiobook out of Unchained Predator! You can find it on YT if you type in the fanfic name. Enjoy!
Don't forget to review but please don't flame.