I hit the ocean mere moments after Lung, as I leapt in after him.
The water should have been freezing at this time of year, but to me it was merely lukewarm. Maybe a tad on the warm side actually.
Lung was just a superhot chunk of steel after all.
Sharp, serrated teeth locked around my ribs, breaking skin and trying to shred though my flesh. I cocked my arm back and lashed a spear hand strike, digging into the soft gelatinous eye of Lung. His roared as he bit down harder. Still the flesh under my skin refused to yield, like some sort of thick rubber, as the teeth could not pierce as deeply as they should have.
My elbows swung down, beginning to performing amateur dental work to Lung's teeth. Blood streamed from us in red rivulets, twisting through the salt water like crimson ribbons as Lung dragged me down further into the depths.
I grinned (or grinned harder. I hadn't noticed when the smile had appeared on my face.) as Lung fell for my ploy. I bashed wildly at Lung's face waiting for another opportunity to strike at Lung's other eye.
Regeneration's 2nd Trigger allowed me to survive without breathing. While Lung had a MASSIVE lung capacity (pun intended) in his transformed state, it would run out eventually.
I thrashed as to give the appearance that I was struggling and in need of oxygen. The one eye closest to me had been blinded, it's inability to see my face or the fact that there was very few bubbles leaving my mouth helped strengthen the illusion that I needed oxygen.
As Lung dove deeper, I broke more teeth, not fighting the clamping from the jaws of the dragon, selling the idea that I was indeed panicking. That while I fought I was slowly but surely running out of air.
Minutes passed as Lung and I just PUNCHED the crap out of each other under water. I made sure to weaken my blows more and more as time went on, taking more blows and blocking less effectively.
It hurt as Lung certainly didn't weaken his blows, but eventually he seemed to determine that I was near passing out and on my last legs as he seemed to slowly begin rising back up towards the surface of the water so that he could leave the moment I drowned.
Hopefully that meant that he was nearly out of air as well. Even though he had crazy lung capacity, Lung was still growing slowly but surely, but that just meant that his oxygen consumption just increased while not taking in more air.
So I shoved my hand into his eyes again and PUNCHED HARDER.
Lung screamed silently as his jaw cracked under my fist, jets of boiling hot air leaving his lungs.
As a dragon (or as a reptile, maybe) Lung's jaw had been locked shut like a vice until now. While my fist cracking the lizard's lower jaw freed me, it meant that now I had to hold onto Lung and keep him under.
My other hand dug into the flesh of his bloody gums, my legs thrusting as Vector Push forced us deeper underwater as Lung screamed out in indignation futilely.
Saltwater and blood flowed over my teeth (when had I begun smiling? I couldn't remember) as I punched Lung in his nose again. And again. And again. All the while taking furious scratches and blows, as claws scraped and tore skin, as fists pummeled seeking the crack and shatter bone.
I was tired. My body screamed that it was nearing my limit, Peak Condition be damned. The only thing keeping me holding on was Lung's power (diluted as it was) as it ironically screamed at me to kill it's host.
It felt like an eternity as Lung slowly began growing sluggish. His body was still hot as a furnace, sending the seawater into a boiling roil.
Lung's arms wrapped around me desperate to tear me off. I swung myself around as I avoided the clawed hands, twisting his neck and forcing Lung to twist and turn blindly underwater as I kicked into his other eye, blinding him fully.
Just drown already! I dragged Lung deeper into the ocean like a human shaped anchor.
Lung was too dense to leave the depths while I was pulling him back.
His wings flapped madly, causing the water to churn as he tried to inch upwards for air.
Drown.
I was having none of it.
Drown!
I kicked my legs with Vector Push and we sank like rocks, negating all of Lung's desperate effort.
Drown!
I waited an extra ten minutes at the bottom of the ocean floor to make sure that Lung had properly drowned.
POV: Armsmaster
It was glittering silver scales that broke water.
A large steel mass shone in the air as it broke free from the water's surface like a twisted parody of Free Willy.
But it was a pair of very human feet that landed on the concrete with a wet slap. The cement then cracked under the weight of the drowned dragon on his back.
Too much weight. Too small of a surface area.
Like a scene from myth, the dragon was lifted up into the air like a massive trophy, bloody and limp, as a tall young man with eyes made from galaxies smiled, perfect ivory teeth shining, as he gave a triumphant cry.
"I! AM! HERE!"
My eyes narrowed in contempt. As if he hadn't already goaded this city's criminal elements enough.
"...For I am here..." Dragon, who had contacted me the moment Lung's fight with All Might had been broadcasting live, whispered to herself.
"Dragon?" I asked, "Are you ok?"
"Oh, I'm fine. I just found it odd. All Might was smiling from before the moment he left water." Dragon observed from my powersuit's HUD and videofeed. "I'm hoping that it's not a case of battle-lust. I don't think that it would be good for the city at all if that's the case. Lung's current size also approximates with his size when he first fought Leviathan in Japan. That is... concerning just as much as it is a positive trade for us."
"Kid's a loose cannon with too much firepower." I snorted as my helmet replayed the scene that BBNN caught of the Case 53 dropping down on Lung with an elbow drop that instantly took the villain out of commission. "Too much of a showoff too. That's a bad combination."
"He's still young." Dragon reminded, "And young men are naturally a little brash. Rather, that kind of boyish boldness is actually a bit charming, isn't it? At least it's obvious that he's trying to do good, even if he's going about it too hard."
She paused as All Might dropped the body of Lung. Steel scales scraped against the concrete docks as the heavy body of Lung thumped onto it, lifeless and limp.
"Still, why is Lung still so big? Did All Might outlast Lung's lung capacity underwater and drowned him? If so, it's remarkable. They were underwater for so long. I wonder if his regenerative power compensated for the lack of oxygen. Or if it was his healing ability." She mused, "Either way, having a hero with the ability to last extended periods of time without oxygen can be very effective. If it wasn't for the fact that his ability to heal is more important, he might have been a good counter against Leviathan one day."
I grunted as I turned to the flashing of cameras.
"Tsk. I thought we sent down orders for the troopers to set up a perimeter further away. I don't think the kid's even noticed that most of his costume was melted away from when Lung torched North 12th Street. I'm sure half the town knows what his face looks like at this point, but we should still minimize leaks of his face." I sighed before tuning into the PRT Console's frequency. "Armsmaster to command. Independent Cape Designation All Might has been verified as alive. In addendum, Lung is down. I repeat. Lung is down. Over."
"Command to Armsmaster." The response was quick. "We will verify then send out additional command. Please stand by."
"Damn kid's changing too much too quickly." I muttered after turning off my mic from the open line, "God knows how the gang's will react to this."
"Based on the standard behavioral patterns of Brockton Bay's criminal elements, there shouldn't be any rash actions for the rest of today, although small skirmishes will definitely occur. The E88 will likely attempt to fill the power vacuum after they make an attempt to free Krieg. However, his capture is a big slap to the face of the E88 and his release will be one of their higher priorities. The longer he is within our custody, the longer he becomes a liability after all. Observation states that Mush has next to no desire to lead the Merchants to action ever since their failure to break out Skidmark from PRT custody and the... disappearance... of Squealer. The ABB has been effectively dismantled, so their territories will likely become absorbed, but I believe the gangs will be on their heels." Dragon predicted, contemplation laced her voice, "All eyes will be on All Might and his actions for a while. We should ensure extra security detail around the Heberts. They currently are our securest ties to All Might. Perhaps we should delegate more work opportunities to the Dockworker's Union. Gaining Danny Hebert's cooperation may be key in getting young Joe to join the Protectorate."
I grit my teeth.
The whole town's been turning on its head since this kid showed up. If he had kept his head down for a few months I could have finished the tranquilizer that I had been developing to put Lung down for good. Sure as hell would have had a lot less damage to the city with that over what had happened today.
It was increasingly irksome as Lung was an issue that the PRT should have been seen dealing with rather than an independent factor.
"Armsmaster? This is Piggot. Do you read?"
I resisted the urge to sigh as I flicked the mic back on.
"Affirmative."
"Deadpool got away. Miss Militia and Velocity were unable to capture him, even with Vista's support. It seems his teleportation ability was purposefully undermined by the footage of his battle with Oni Lee. He also left with the remains of Lung's mask. Is there anything in your arsenal that can be used to track him down?"
"How? Deadpool is dangerous, but he's got all the seriousness of a clown. If we got the drop on him, then he shouldn't have been able to get away." I growled as I watched as some PRT Troopers approached All Might with a blanket, allowing him to properly cover up.
He didn't bother trying to hide his face at all. I guess he just presumed it was pointless at that point. Better for us. Gives us more to leverage with him by offering him and his current surrogate 'family' proper protection.
"That's what I want to know." Piggot snorted angrily. I could already imagine her red face, pen tapping on her desk furiously. "I had Miss Militia try to snipe him before we trapped him in containment foam. But it's like he saw the bullet coming and teleported away just as she pulled the trigger. Our Thinkers are speculating that his teleportation power must provide a minor Thinker level awareness of everything within his teleportation range so that he doesn't appear inside of a wall or person. It would explain how he got the drop on Velocity and trapped him in an alleyway when he was giving chase. Deadpool dropped enough caltrops to drown a cow in and Velocity literally couldn't walk out of there without hurting himself."
"Ugh. We're rid of Oni Lee, but then gain another teleporting psychopath. Another damn day in Brockton Bay." I heard Assault chime in from the headset. "Battery and I lost sight of him too. There's no way we can track him down now, I guess. At least we've got Krieg, Cricket, and Lung in custody now. How are things over there with big and ugly over there? I'm hearing that Lung's over thirty-five feet tall over there, but I'm not hearing any property damage. What's going on?"
"There's no property damage because Lung's dead." I replied. "All Might drowned him like a giant cat. Seem's Lung doesn't revert back to his human state if he died mid-transformation."
This was both a good and bad thing. On one hand, we just lost Endbringer fighting potential. On the other hand, All Might beat Lung in a pure strength contest AND proved that he could last for upwards a half hour without air.
If it wasn't for the fact that we could pressure him into joining the Protectorate using the fact that he caused a cape's death, this would have been only negatives.
"Wait, I was told that Lung is down, but that could mean a hell of a lot of things. Lung's DEAD?!"
I winced as Assault's near screech of incredulity almost deafened me.
"My sensors are showing that Lung isn't breathing. I assume his lungs are so waterlogged that he drowned while fighting All Might in the water. Probably why he forced Lung into the ocean in the first place. Something isn't right about that kid. He knows how his powers work too well for a Case 53." I reported matter of factually.
"What he IS is irrelevant. All Might's fight with Lung is already national news and we've been unsuccessful in preventing the BBNN news choppers from releasing real time footage of their fight. The world knows that All Might just came out on top and the footage all but confirms to anybody with a brain that Lung died in the confrontation. A forty foot dragon corpse isn't exactly discreet." Piggot stated, the annoyance clear in her voice. "I've just gotten a call from Chief Director Costa-Brown that we are to attempt to invite All Might into the Protectorate peacefully at all costs. If that cannot be possible, we must not allow him to become an antagonistic force in Brockton Bay. He's too valuable both as a healer and as a combatant to lose."
The frustration in her voice was almost palpable.
"Invite All Might to the PRT... no, to the Rig for a chat. Tell him I want to thank him personally for minimizing damage and have some questions about the fight. Also that we can help with protecting his civilian identity. Whatever it takes to get his attention without being threatening. Are we clear?"
"Yes, Director." My voice overlapped with a few others.
I sighed.
"It'll be ok, Collin." Dragon reassured me, her voice was both comfort and a kindness, "Young Joe might be a little too eager for our tastes, but he's a young man with a lot of kindness. The footage you shared with me about the Squealer court case proves as much. Everything will turn out alright."
I hoped she was right. Nano-thorn technology used against a monstrous dragon was one thing, but using it against a human form would be distasteful.
And if I ever had to take All Might down, I would need that kind of firepower.
I smiled confidently. Because the illusion that I was in control and knew WHAT THE FUCK I was doing was pretty much the only option I had at the moment. Confidence (or the illusion of) was everything. Especially in a situation like mine.
Of course my mask burned off from Lung's fire. I didn't have Quality Assurance (I HAD enough spare shards BEFORE the fight with Lung, but I held onto them because I was concerned I'd need them for something else) and it was too late to regret what had already happened.
Still I should have remembered that, you know, LUNG TURNS INTO A FUCKING DRAGON AND BREATHES FIRE. And while I was fireproof, my suit wasn't.
God I'm stupid.
And now all of America probably knows your face. I'm at base with Rider and she's worried off her ass about your face getting exposed. Also blindfolded Rune and brought her here for her own safety. It's pretty easy to find our apartment after all, and we don't want to be found with a known missing villain in our living room.
Yeah, thanks for that. That and, you know, sending four ninja-pools to keep an eye on Danny and Taylor. If any villain decided to work fast we'd be in some trouble. Especially if somebody like Coil decided that I needed a leash.
Just make sure that things don't get fucked any more than it already is. I'm gonna help Rider get her Stratos prototype combat ready so we'll have the extra firepower. I'd ask for you to 2nd Trigger Cosmetic Shapeshift so that I could have a civ appearance and make it easier to transport stuff from the Auto-Forge, but we're gonna need the Entropy Fragments for something else now. Especially with ABB headless.
I acknowledged Wade's input as I waved more (with a smile) at the crowd of flashing cameras in the distance, what was I even doing anymore? Lung's shard was the first to ever have a power that could actually influence my personal behavior and overrode my common sense and fight or flight response. It made me fight like a crazed berserker worthy of a Nasuverse Servant. And because of it I just declared war against the E88 without having properly planned it out beforehand and just dismantled the ABB by killing Lung.
Dismantled a gang that ruled pretty much half of the criminal elements of this whole fucking city. By cutting off the head and leaving a vacuum for the other fucking criminal elements to fill. Inside AND out.
Fuck.
This is a world full of superpowered criminal gangs and I was still one guy that couldn't (publicly) be in more than one place at once. Fuck. And I didn't have enough powers that I could just BE my own Cape Soccer team. FUCK!
I can't grow fast enough for how much fucking mayhem I'm causing!
I had to move fast. I needed to something.
But what?
"All Might." Armsmaster, fully clad in blue power-armor, approached me with a nod. "Do you mind if you answer a few questions for us? There's something we want to know about the... confrontation today. And to discuss how to assist you now that your civilian identity has no doubt become very public knowledge."
I chuckled weakly as I scratched my head.
"Yeah, uh. I honestly appreciate that, but I think no matter what we do it's pretty much too late. And I have no intention of leaving Brockton Bay even if that means I get a little more privacy." I stretched and cracked my neck, "Agh. I'm sore all over. There's still something that I have to do. Do you mind if I swing by later?"
Armsmaster grit his teeth, a sound that I could only hear due to Peak Condition enhancing all of my senses to incredible amounts, and I'm sure that whatever order he was picking up from his headset, he didn't like.
"That should be doable. Tomorrow's a Saturday and not a school day. Would that be fine?" Armsmaster asked, outstretching his hand for what to all the world must have been a friendly handshake.
Ah. Cameras on us. PR thing.
I smiled widely as I grasped his hand and shook it up and down happily without hesitation as cameras flashed.
Right now, I had to make myself untouchable. Or as untouchable as possible. I had to give them their positive PR. To protect what I wanted to, I needed them on my side, rather than against me.
They'd probably twist this into some story about a coordinated assault that allowed me to come in like a superpowered Hulk Hogan and remove Lung from endangering the city and they could eat and choke on that lie-cake for all I gave a shit for. I certainly wouldn't refute anything unless they made me look bad. Hell, PRT tried to claim credit for the villains taking down Bakuda-fest in canon (I think?) so I'm certain that they'd try something similar here.
The only reason I'd get credit at all was because there's probably too much live footage of me kicking Lung's ass.
I gave another wave and smile to the crowd before leaping off and away.
Flying through the sky with nothing but a large rescue blanket covering my lower body... there was something so wrong with this situation.
I sighed as I pulled my personal phone out of Pocket Dimension.
It immediately blared and vibrated as a half a dozen voicemails and text messages appeared as the cell phone re-entered a dimension where cell phone reception actually existed.
I sent a quick few messages stating that everything was ok to Rookwood before I sucked it up and made the call that instinctively dreaded.
"OH MY GOD JOE WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
I winced as Taylor's voice blasted my eardrums.
"I'm half deaf in one ear now, that's something wrong with me."
"Don't you give me lip, buster!"
"Yes ma'am."
"Wait how's the phone... nevermind that's not important. What's important is that YOU'RE OUT OF YOUR GODDAMN MIND!!! THAT WAS LUNG!!! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!!!"
"Taylor, I-"
"YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO GO! PRT would have been there in a few minutes! WHY DID YOU GO?! YOU COULD HAVE DIED!!!"
Ah. Hysterical teenage girls. I haven't dealt with these since my old exes and my baby sister.
"Taylor, deep breaths, just-"
"SCREW YOUR DEEP BREATHS!!!"
I winced as Taylor's scream of impotent rage rang clearly from my phone. It was then followed by a muffled 'flump' as if the phone was thrown at some pillow or couch as I made another leap as I made my way back to my apartment so that I could put on some clothes without flagging any more potential alarms.
I waited patiently, phone to ear, as I jumped some more.
"..lo. Hello? Joe, it's me Danny."
"Hey Danny. Guessing Taylor's too mad for words right now?"
"Something like that." Danny gave a weak laugh, "We, uh, saw you on the news. Taylor almost had a heart attack watching the fight and... She... didn't take it well. And I may kind of need your help."
"What do you mean you need my... did somebody attack you?! Shit! I'm on my way! Where are-"
"No! No, nobody attacked anybody! We're fine. I...please. Just... help me. I don't know what to do. You're the only cape I know."
"What do you..." I landed on top of the nearest building, ignoring the fact that I was still barefoot and the rooftop was dirty as hell. "What does me being a cape have to do with anything right now?"
Danny sighed from the phone.
"You washing up on the docks was... actually something I think we needed. Things haven't been well for us for a while. As crazy as it sounds, things have been a little closer to normal with you around..." Danny poured his heart out to me and I just felt a bit of awkward (and might have, admittedly, zoned out a little bit as I got lost in thought). I had just been happy to be hanging out with the Heberts and didn't really understand the whole picture. All I knew is that the mother in the family had passed in an accident from fanon and as close as I had gotten to the Heberts in the past week, my insecure subconscious kept screaming that I was a stranger to these good people. "...so when we saw Lung set the whole street on fire and you didn't jump out immediately or, you know,TELL USyou can survive being a human torch, we made the only assumption anybody COULD have made in that situation."
"...Oh no."
I had gotten close to a girl who was being severely bullied for a year, by her former best friend, no less. My own depression had taught me just how much one person giving a damn about you could make you feel like you were actually fucking alive again. I went out of my way to hang out with her and be her friend as I put a stop-gap to her bullying problems. I helped her dad, protected his workplace, and was helping pay her family's bills. I was, quite literally, her personal hero. A good looking, fit guy that was close to her age and actually cared a lot about her (who I was treating like a little sister, but was genuinely beginning to be a bit concerned she was developing a crush on me) just went out on national television and got TORCHED by a LITERAL DRAGON. And then drowned with one about two minutes later...
Fuck.
"Yeah. I don't know if it was the stress of that, or something else but... Taylor suddenly gained powers. I don't know what I'm supposed to do... I need your help." Danny pleaded.
I caused Taylor Hebert to Trigger.
Fuck.
END.