Sweet Cute Green Obsession

by guyNumber23

Love is a very complicated thing. It changes the way one sees the world around itself, and push us past our limits. But there is a thin line between burning love and crazy obsession, and Uraraka Ochako may have crossed it, and not only her. One by one, they all fall in the charms of a certain green-haired teen. Can he take on all that "love"? Rated M for the lots of lemons.

49. Hot-blooded Heroes: Part 2

I'm alive, I'll explain later.

Hot-blooded Heroes [part 2]

"YAHOO!" "Let's GO! Bloodletting!"

Dozens and dozens of thugs shouted as they ran in the night across the streets, vandalizing and breaking stuff.

"Do you know what the fuck that means?"

"Hell if I know! But I'm not asking questions as long as I can have more of this!" One of the small fish criminals said to the others, showing off what looked like an arm cannon with two transparent round tanks, full of a clear liquid with tiny bubbles. He then pointed it at a nearby car, and after a few seconds of charging, the arm cannon shot a high-pressure jet that tore off the car's door.

"Haha! My Carbonated Water isn't so pathetic now, right? Who's laughing now, HUH?!"

"Dude, just call it Soda Pop like everyone else…"

"Shut up! With that hi-tech stuff and this Trigger shit, I'm practically unstoppable. I wanna see anyone call me a small fry again. Come on, bring me a hero! I'm gonna peel off their skins!"

"Hoo, interesting. Yosh, challenge accepted!~"

Appearing out of the blue, a white-haired woman with tanned skin and ruby-red eyes stood behind them, hands resting on her wide hips, tapping the street floor with one foot. Her cheeky grin was certainly feared by a lot of villains since it was one of the last things they saw before being locked up in jail.

"M-M-Miruko?!" They shouted and immediately retreated upon seeing the rabbit hero.

"The one and only! So, you guys have a lot of power-ups now, huh? Good! Maybe I'll get a nice warm-up of you!" She said, already stretching her legs. The thug who was bragging held her at gunpoint, although his knees didn't hold the same confidence of his previous boasting.

"You b-b-bitch! I'll literally take off your skin!"

"You're free to try. In fact, I suggest you do so before I finish stretching." She replied calmly, currently sitting on the floor, touching her toes.

"Don't fuck with us! We're armed, and we have a shit ton of Trigger, and we're four!"

"Hmm, you might want to count again." She said, pointing behind him as she stretched her arms up.

To nobody's surprise but the deluded criminal, he was left completely alone. His so-called partners had fled the moment they saw Miruko's trademark grin, accompanied by that fierce glare that meant trouble to anyone on the wrong side of the law.

"Those fuckers…"

"So, about that threat," She finished her initial stretching. Time to warm up. "Let's see if the puppy has teeth~" Holding a fighting stance with one knee raised, she taunted the shaking "opponent".

"F-Fuck you!" The poor man shouted, firing the arm cannon at the rabbit hero, who effortlessly dodged by leaping in the air.

Miruko landed with her feet together behind him, as if she was at the Olympics, and before the guy could completely turn around, he was met with a heel to the face that sent him down, unconscious.

"Ah, I knew it, all bark and no bite." She joked, shaking her head. However, her face became serious as she looked at the piece of equipment the lowly criminal possessed, and at the injections full of the dangerous Quirk enhancing drug.

"How did all of you small fish get your hands on this stuff…?" She thought out loud, before looking ahead to where the others ran to. "Well, I'm sure they will fill me in all the details whether I care or not!"

And off Miruko went back to Sir Night Eye's agency, kicking the occasional criminals causing trouble on her way.

---

All across the city criminals broke out, causing general chaos. With that transmission going on, it was easy to tell who was behind this. However, the population quickly went into a panic state, so it was the heroes' first job to make sure everyone was safe and tranquilized. Easier said than done.

"Tsk, they acted out of nowhere…" She said, looking down at the streets as she flew to the meeting point.

Ryukyu, in her dragon form, dealt with some thugs on her way to group with her team, but the priority was to stop the ones leading this rioting. Thanks to Earphone Jack and Tentacole, they had a good idea of where the villains were hiding, so it would be easier to deal with them. From what she could tell, more heroes were engaging and dealing with the lesser threats, which facilitated their task by a great margin. Time was of the essence in this mission, because the longer they took to solve this, the more chaotic the situation could become. Not to mention how fragile the heroes' image was in the public eye recently, and with the kind of speech that the masked villain did, the Dragon Hero thought it was made on purpose to cause even more damage.

As she landed in front of the building, she met with Bubble Girl and Centipeder, who was apparently waiting for her arrival.

"Ryukyu-san! Glad to see you." The Bluenette greeted her.

"What is the current situation and plan of action?" Ryukyu said back, changing into her human form.

"Multiple attacks all over the city, as you probably saw from the sky. Heroes are deploying to deal with them, but the leaders of the group haven't been spotted yet." Centipeder said, then gave her a small commlink. "They caught us by surprise but the plan remains, for now, to raid the supposed location of the hideout and stop them. We'll be monitoring the teams while you go after them, so if the situation changes, we'll let you know."

"Got it. Did you contact Midoriya and Nejire already–"

"Ryukyu-san!"

As if summoned by her question, the two young heroes ran up to her, ready in their costumes and everything.

"Midoriya, Nejire, you two came fast." She said with a hint of surprise.

"All Might gave us a ride," The emerald teen explained. "Are we still following the original plan?"

"Yes. Fatgum and his team will meet us there. Now let's hurry." She said, changing back into dragon form and allowing the two teens to climb on her back, but before she could take off, another figure arrived.

"Oi! Did you plan to just leave me behind?" The Rabbit Hero landed on the street.

"Miruko, you're almost late."

"Oh, come on, I even made a detour to deal with some small fries. Plus," She cracked her knuckles in excitement with a huge grin across her face. "I wouldn't miss a party like this for nothing!"

---

At another location, Fatgum and his team were already on the move. Like the other heroes, they were dealing with some thugs causing trouble on the way, but their main focus was reaching the target destination.

"Sun Eater, just focus on incapacitating them. The same goes for you two." Said the round yellow man as he knocked the wind out of a criminal with a hammer head.

Luckily, the majority of the enemies were not that worrisome about their danger level, relying mostly on their numbers. The main problem was that this was such a disorganized mess that it was hard to predict what they would do and contain them effectively, and the extra gear and enhancing drugs only made them more problematic to deal with. Fatgum wouldn't be surprised if every hero and student under them were mobilized to deal with this. The enemy surely gathered a great number of people, which wasn't really a surprise.

A lot of people were less than "happy" with their current lives, and some would definitely take on any opportunity to change that. And there always are those that simply want to wreak havoc and see things around them burning. What really worried the hero was the idea that something like this happening would encourage more of the last type to act upon their desires. But more worrisome than that, as they cleared another street and pressed forward, an obstacle appeared in their way.

A tall obstacle that they were already familiar with.

"Ah, it's the Fatty hero and the two tough kiddos! And that octo boy too." The heroes instantly took battle stances as Blood Frenzy announced her arrival. "I knew going ahead would be better. YOSH! OUR REAL FIGHT IS STARTING NOW–!"

Blood Frenzy was ready to jump at them, but she was stopped by a young lady dressed in punk rock style right next to her.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?! I already came with you because they asked me to keep an eye on you, now follow the plan!"

"Did they? Too bad, I'm fighting those guys right now! Hahahaha!" Said the tall, tanned woman, leaping in the air and crashing where Fatgum was just a second before.

"You again!"

"Haha! You're pretty fast for someone so large, Fatty!" She said, immediately rushing after him, throwing punches while Fatgum remained on the defensive. "What's up with the running? I know you can tank my punches with that fluffy belly!"

"Maybe I don't feel like being your punching bag!" Fat said back, doing his best to lure her more. He gave a glance to Sun Eater, who nodded and started to move, taking another path around the street they were fighting.

Suddenly, a sharp object cut through the air and his arm, though it was just a shallow cut. Looking at the direction where it came from, the rocker girl held all sorts of sharp throwable objects, from daggers to shurikens.

She didn't look physically strong like her partner, and judging by the number of weapons she carried, her Quirk probably wasn't something made for attack, though it was an educated guess. However, being one of the main villains involved in the group behind this chaos, Sun eater decided to neutralize her first, then head to the hideout location. It wouldn't take him much longer, he estimated, and this would leave the way free for Red Riot and Real Steel to go ahead and meet with Ryukyu's team. Raising his hand, the raven-haired teen was ready to quickly ensnare the girl with his tentacles.

"... The menu for today is–"

"Not so fast, Tako Boy. OI! Muscle Brain! This one is distracting you!" She shouted to the muscular woman, also taking more distance between her and Sun Eater.

"What was that, Leech?!" Blood Frenzy turned her head around, still throwing punches at Fatgum.

"I said! This hero is distracting you so the others can pass through, you idiot!"

Blood Frenzy held a shocked face, looking back at Fatgum as if she was hurt or something.

"You conniving son of a bitch, you almost tricked me!" And just like that, she leaped again, this time crashing right in front of Red Riot and Real Steel, who had just taken care of some common criminals. "No one is quitting before we throw hands, understood?!"

Taken by surprise, the two young heroes only had time to harden themselves before they got hit by an arm swing that tossed them into the air and near where fatgum was. Meanwhile, Sun Eater was slowly forced to stop by the girl, apparently called Leech, as she tossed more knives at him. They were easy to block with a clamshell, but he was more worried about this girl figuring out their plan of action so quickly. With Fatgum here, they could deal with brute force alone, but the enemy knowing about their plan would be another advantage for them, on top of acting first. He should prioritize dealing with her first.

"Meathead, that Tako Boy is coming after me. Do your thing."

"Hah? But he doesn't look tough enough…"

"Just do it already! And use Health Pack too, stop wasting time, you idiot!" She berated the tall woman, who begrudgingly turned her attention to Sun Eater.

"Alright, pipsqueak, let's make it quick. I'm gonna crush you like a little shrimp." She said, rushing at him with a fist in the air. However, when she brought it down like a hammer, she met a hard shell full of spiky thorns that pierced her hand. "OUCH! WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" She recoiled from the pain, holding her bloody hand.

She still landed a solid hit, making Sun Eater recoil too, but since he saw that one coming, he managed to cushion the impact using tentacles, which also helped him keep his foot. He might not look as tough as the two hardening teens or Fatgum, but he was no pushover.

"The menu for today is… Seafood Buffet!"

Taking advantage of her being distracted, Sun Eater turned his right arm into tentacles, with barnacle shells at the tips, and swung it at Blood Frenzy like a whip, knocking her back. He landed a solid hit, with enough force to shatter a few of the shells in the process, which ended up cutting the woman a bit. At the same time, Fatgum, Red Riot, and Real Steel got by his side.

"Nice hit, senpai!" Exclaimed the red-haired teen.

"Yosh! Bring it on, you all!" Said the metallic one.

On the other side, Leech facepalmed and shook her head as her "partner" groaned on the floor, holding her face.

"Why me…? Hey, hurry up and use Health Pack. Assuming you didn't squash her on your back, you Meathead."

Blood Frenzy sat up, still holding her face. She slowly looked at her bloody hand, and at the cuts on her arms. There were some shards of barnacle shells still stuck. A wide grin crossed her lips and her face was taken over by a maniacal expression.

"Hahahaha! Guess I made another mistake, the pipsqueak is not weak at all! Man, I hit the jackpot of strong opponents…" She finally got up and tapped her shoulder. "Hey, are you alive?"

The heroes were surprised as a second head popped out from her back. How did they not see her there before?

"Eh?! That little girl from before!" Red Riot said, remembering their last encounter with the tall woman, which meant things were about to get complicated.

"I hate to do this in our fight, but Tako Boy over there hurt one of my eyes, and I want to see you all well after I beat you up." She said, biting the tip of a thin tube that the girl on her back offered her. The same red liquid as before flowed and the tall muscular woman got a visible increase in muscular mass. Not only that, but the previously hurt eye was back to normal.

"Meathead, hold the three kids for a bit, okay? I'll get the pro." Leech said, knives in hand and advancing against Fatgum.

"Hey! Don't steal my fights!" Blood Frenzy jumped into the attack, going after the Hardening Duo first.

she crashed like a meteor, forcing the heroes to split. Fatgum had to avoid Leech's swift moves since his fat wouldn't be very good at preventing him from getting shanked. Meanwhile, the young heroes had to deal with the bulldozer that was Blood Frenzy, who looked even more psyched up than before.

"Come on, Brats! Give me a good fight! Just evading won't do for me!"

"Then how about this?! Red Gauntlet!" Red Riot ducked a punch and twisted his whole body, hitting her square in the jaw. The strike made her lose her balance a bit.

"Nice punch, kiddo, but you gotta put more energy on it. Like this!" She swung her body back and was about to return the same move, but her fist met with a wall called Real Steel.

"I got you, bro." He said, arms crossed in front of him forming a shield. "When I block, you attack, alright?"

"Got it!"

Blood Frenzy attacked again with another straight punch, this time blocked by Red Riot, giving an opening for Real Steel to land a hit on her ribcage. Another punch from the tall woman blocked, followed by a hit on her sides. Another block and a solid hit on the guts, made her take a step back. Even then, the two young heroes didn't like the fight they were in.

"Damn, it's like I'm hitting a wall." Said Red Riot, looking at the enemy with a little bit of shock.

"Yeah, a wall of muscles. And it doesn't look like she's stopping any time soon." Real Steel added.

"Hahahaha! You kids are very fun. I like you!" Said the woman. She then held her arms wide open and a huge grin crossed her face. "Come on, hit me! Gimme your best shot!"

Both teens looked at each other and then at her as if she had grown two extra heads.

"Come on, hit me! I don't have all night, you know?"

They still looked at her as if she was crazy. Rightfully so.

"Oh, I get it. I'm much taller than you guys, so you can't hit me right, isn't it? Okay, I'm getting on my knees, how's that now?! You can hit me right here in the jaw, see?!" She said, pointing at her face, still grinning like a madwoman.

Suddenly, a bunch of tentacles wrapped around her, pinning her arms back. Sun Eater snuck behind and immobilized her.

"Red Riot, Real Steel, knock her out." He told them as the tendrils coiled even more around her arms. However, the Hardening Duo hesitated a bit. "What are you waiting for, you two?"

"Umm, is this really alright…?" Real Steel said.

"What are you talking about? We're in the middle of a fight."

"Yeah but–" Red Riot looked at the woman and then at his fists, but she cut whatever he was about to say.

"Oi! Tako Boy, your turn will come later! We're in the middle of a fight here!" She said, struggling against the tentacles. She managed to rip some of them, but Sun Eater just used his other "hand" to wrap her even more, tightening the hold.

Regardless, she slowly got back on her feet and tried to kick him, which made the two young heroes jump into action again. It was particularly troubling for them to hit a woman as if she was a punching bag like she was asking for before, but the situation asked for drastic measures. So the two of them went for the attack, blitzing Blood Frenzy with alternate punches, and knocking her to the floor with a double team finisher.

On the other side, Fat was still having some trouble dealing with the knife-wielding punk girl. She was pretty nimble, compared to her much more muscular partner, though he used that word loosely. There was no teamwork to see between these three, which made him think about how did this group even manage to organize such a crowd. Then again, judging by the general chaos around them, it was less a question of organization, and more a controlled confusion. Point the way and let the thugs break stuff in the path.

"Ouch!" "I can't get distracted with that though. Focus on the battle at hand! We have to make it to the hideout location with Ryukyu's team."

Fatgum raised his fists in an offensive stance. He had to deal with this girl quickly, help the boys and proceed with the plan, but his opponent simply stopped, looking at him intensely as she held a knife up.

"Meathead! Playtime is over, they might know where the base is. Finish them!" She shouted, running back to her technical partner.

"What?! Oi, where do you think you're going–" Fat went after her but a kunai sank on the floor in front of him. It would have cut him if he didn't stop. "How did she even realize that?!"

Back to the young heroes, Sun Eater still had Blood Frenzy in a tight hold with his tentacles, which meant he didn't have a lot of room to evade when Leech jumped at him, knives in hand ready to slice his flesh.

"Watch out, senpai!" Red Riot shouted, jumping in the way and swatting the blades with a hardened arm.

"Tch, what a pain in the ass," Leech mumbled, trying to find a way to get around the red-haired youth, but there wasn't a simple way. And to make things worse, the other boy joined him, and the fat guy just arrived. "Great…"

Leech was surrounded, with her partner Blood Frenzy on the floor, tied by tentacles. Two of her opponents were pretty much impervious to her blades and she had no muscle at the time. Why did she have to go with the stupid one?

"Give up, girl. You and your team of villains won't escape! We have heroes all over the city to contain this riot." Fatgum said, signaling for Sun Eater, Red Riot, and Real Steel to approach. "We might be outnumbered, but we're mostly dealing with low-level thugs. Aside from these "generals", there won't be a lot of troubles, so long as we can keep the civilians safe–"

"Is that so? Well, Rust already predicted that was the case, but it's good to have some confirmation. ~sigh~ Wake up, you muscle-bound idiot!" Leech shouted, kicking the fallen woman in the face, much to everyone's surprise but hers.

"Oi! She's knocked out already!" Red Riot was so shocked he almost went there to check if she was ok. But even more surprising, the kick actually woke up the woman.

"Ow… that metal from your boots cut my lip… great!" She said, licking her lips.

Blood Frenzy went wide eyes, slowly rising to a sitting position, even though Sun Eater restrained her. Leech tried to carve her out of the tentacles but her knives were not that long to fully cut through. At the same time, the little girl that got squished between the tall woman's back and the tentacles struggled to break free, releasing one arm and bringing the red liquid straw closer to Blood Frenzy's mouth.

"Hurry up and break free, you idiot. We have to get back and– ack!" Leech had her arm twisted back and got disarmed by Fatgum, without much effort.

"As I said, you're not going anywhere but a cell!"

He was going to pull out a pair of handcuffs, but suddenly his vision got blocked. Blood Frenzy broke one arm free and simply held his head. The pressure on his skull quickly increased, and he was forced to release Leech as he struggled against the hold.

"Fatgum!" Red Riot and Real Steel moved to help him but Leech got in the way. Sun Eater still had his hands tied up, so he was vulnerable, and it would take the two of them to knock that amazon down again.

"Sorry guys," Blood Frenzy said, tearing away the tentacles around her with the order hand, apparently with much less effort. Her eyes gained a bloodshot color, her muscles bulged and her veins were more apparent. That sick, maniacal grin appeared again. "I'll have to end this fight here."

It took probably three seconds. She completely tore off the tentacles, spun around, still holding Fatgum in a vice grip, and flung the round man on the three young heroes. They hit a wall, and unfortunately, Fatgum wasn't between them to cushion the impact.

"About time you took it seriously, Meathead."

"Shut up! I was having a hell of a good time here!"

"Ugh, don't you think of anything else other than fighting?!"

"What else should I do then?!"

"How about following the plan? Can you do that or is it too much for your three brain cells?!"

The arguing was muffled to the heroes as their heads were spinning, especially Fatgum's. They didn't expect such a recovery, especially after knocking her out previously, but now it was like that never happened. In fact, she seemed much stronger than before. By the time they recomposed themselves, the heroes already lost sight of them, but they were apparently going back to their hideout. If they can track these three, they'll have the exact location.

Not wasting any more time, Fatgum and his team rushed in the direction they first met the villains, hoping to catch up to them.

---

Above in the sky, Ryukyu soared through the chaotic streets. Overall the situation wasn't terrible, but there were many spots of problems scattered around. The messy nature of that riot made things more troublesome to deal with in terms of getting help to the right places. Hopefully, they could take down the heads behind this quickly, as she could sense the stare of the green-haired teen down at the streets. He must be wanting to go down there and help the people in need, but right now he is needed somewhere else. She could easily relate to the feeling, as would any other hero.

"We're almost at the location, get ready," Ryukyu said, flying closer to the ground.

Something blinked at the corner of her vision and then came flying in her direction and she barely dodged, almost knocking her "passengers" off her back.

"Hey, Ryukyu! What's up with the turbulence?" Miruko asked, holding on to the fabric the best she could.

Glancing at a building next to them, Nejire quickly realized what was happening, as the wall had a long splash mark of a red, steaming liquid.

"Napalm!" Shouted the bluenette, looking down to try and locate the enemy.

Another shot was fired at them, missing Ryukyu by a very tiny margin. The culprit was atop a building, pointing the cannons at them. His psychotic gaze met with the heroes, but Deku in specific. Ryukyu quickly descended, as having the others on her back would hinder her flight. There were no major outbreaks in that street, and the civilians already left the area, so they didn't have to worry about other interference.

"So this is the dude who burned you, huh?" Miruko smirked, ready to jump after the sniper, but something caught her attention. A faint cloud surrounded them, forming a circle and increasing in speed. The dust from the floor got up and added to the cloud, building up into a thicker mass of dust and sand of a dark brown color.

"The time of your judgment is close, heroes." A voice sounded from somewhere in the sandstorm. From the likes of it, it was that masked guy from the video.

"Hah! Show your faces, cowards!" Miruko shouted, looking around for possible surprise attacks.

"In due time, Rabbit Hero, Miruko. For now, you all shall go through the trials of blood. Only the worthy have the right to–"

"Delaware Smash: Air Force!" "Wiring Wave!"

With a single glance at each other, Deku and Nejire combined their powers to break through the sand barrier. The breach was short but enough to let them escape easily. Ryukyu, now in her human form, looked out for the rooftops, where Napalm was previously.

"Looks like that one talks a lot. Great…"

"Now is not the time to complain, Miruko."

"I know. Hey, I'm going after the idiot up there."

"Wait, he's too dangerous at range–"

"Aw, don't worry about it!" Miruko said, crouching and jumping in the air like a rocket. "That clown won't see me coming!"

"But I will!"

A buzzing sound cut through the air and Miruko felt something hit her midriff, although it was quite weak, more like a forceful push. Regardless, it messed with her jump and she was back to the ground. Another one of the Captains revealed himself, an ugly mosquito-looking guy.

"Repent, false heroes!"

"Holy shit! Someone hit that one with the ugly stick! Or rather, gave a serious beating." She said, cringing at the sight.

"What?!"

"Miruko! Can't you be serious for five minutes?!"

"I can, but come on! Look at that, or maybe don't. Geez, what an eyesore."

"Hey! I can hear you!"

"Yeah, but I wish I didn't have to see you! Man, did you actually bump on me just now?" Miruko cringed again at the thought of having physical contact with that villain. Of course, she wasn't being serious, but messing with the opponent was effective most of the time, and this guy was just too easy to not mess with.

As she expected, it was very effective.

"Bzzzzz! DEATH TO ALL ANIMAL HEROES!"

What Miruko didn't expect was for the mosquito man to jab himself with a rather large injection of what was clearly Trigger. The mutations in place were vastly enhanced, and the change was violent. His skin tore to shreds as an inner layer of some thick, dark material came out. The bug eyes got a red vibrant color, the antennae grew to full size, and the previously small and fragile wings grew to almost his height, which also went up with the muscle mass. The hands now had sharp claws and the vestigial arms were fully grown. The pointy nose got longer, sharper, and had some barbs on the side. Lastly, the man now sported razor-sharp teeth, constantly covered in drool.

"I take back what I said. Now you got a serious beating with the ugly stick." Miruko said, taking a fight stance.

"FUCK ALL OF YOU HEROES!"

The Mosquito Man dashed forward at blinding speeds, almost catching Miruko off guard. She narrowly avoided the spear attack, and she had just a short time to react as she turned around, avoiding another attack. Mosquito attacked from multiple sides, increasing the rate and quickly forcing Miruko into a defensive stance.

"Miruko-san!" Deku took a step to help her but Ryukyu held him back.

"Wait, Deku. She can handle that, let's keep going forward."

Deku hesitated a little, but he ended up nodding and moving to the objective with Nejire and Ryukyu.

"GET BACK HERE YOU DRAGON FUCK!"

Mosquito suddenly went after Ryukyu, and he would have hit her square in the chest if Nejire didn't react quickly, using a wave to deflect his trajectory.

"I think I remember Tsu-chan talking about that guy. But was he that strong?!"

"It must be the enhancing drugs. The effects are much scarier than I thought on mutant-type Quirks…"

"Scary…? Bzz… Bzzahahaha! You haven't seen scary yet, pretty face! I'm gonna carve that smile out with my teeth!" Mosquito's wings buzzed again and he went on the offensive again.

Even though they knew how this guy fought, from Tsuyu's last encounter with him, it was still difficult to keep up with the attacks. They came from all directions, the buzzing sound was pretty disorienting, and to make things worse, the sand vortex was blocking their sight again. Lastly, a jet of boiling blood hit the asphalt near them.

"Stay out of this, Napalm! Those two are mine!"

"Great, the last thing I need is possessive ugly asses after me." For that comment, Miruko almost got stabbed in the abdomen, dodging by bending backward.

"Goddamn it, Miruko, can you please take this seriously?!" Ryukyu shouted at her, taking her dragon form to shield the two young heroes.

"I am taking this seriously! Watch this!"

Her ruby red eyes were scanning the surroundings, waiting for a cue. Her ears twitched, detecting the source of the sound. It was quite troublesome with all that white noise and from the sand, but she managed to filter it out. She closed her eyes and with a quick sidestep, she dodged yet another attack, this time locking an updraft kick to the villain's stomach, which sent it flying away and past the sandstorm.

"See? I'm totally focused here." She said, smirking at the Dragon Hero, who simply shook her head.

"We still have to deal with the sniper up on the rooftop."

"Don't worry, we got you covered." A voice sounded inside their heads.

"Mandalay!" The two teens exclaimed, and surely the cat-themed hero came into the view, crossing the sandstorm with the help of a stone golem, courtesy of her partner, Pixiebob.

"You wouldn't mind if we joined you, right?" She said as the stone golem covered them right on time to block the boiling jets.

"We're not in a pinch yet. Maybe you should deal with the small fries rioting?" The Dragon hero suggested.

"We already cleared the area. Tora is helping the police right now, and we came because of the sudden sandstorm." Pixiebob answered.

"In that case, we're heading to a possible location of their base. If we can deal with the heads behind the riot, it will subside faster."

As she told them the plan, the sand vortex vanished, and they saw three figures on top of a "cloud" of sand. Napalm, who carried a shriveling Mosquito, halfway between the enhanced and normal form, and a man with his head fully wrapped in red tattered bandages. Rust.

"Heroes. The trials you must face are yet to be revealed. Pay the price of blood, and prove your worth." And just like that, the cloud of sand flew away, carrying the villains with it.

"Oi, where do you think you're going?!" Miruko quickly jumped after them, but she had to twist in midair to avoid being scalded by Napalm. "Tch, I hate those types. The guy thinks he's a prophet or something."

"These are the worst types of villains. The ones with ideals…" Mandalay said, feeling the situation could get much worse if they didn't take care of it now.

"Do we chase them, Ryukyu?" Nejire asked the Dragon hero.

"The direction they went is the same we were heading to. Chances are they are returning to the hideout. Let's follow the plan."

"Alright, but we're going ahead!" Miruko announced.

"Wait, we?" And before the blondie could question further, the tanned woman grabbed Deku by his hand and jumped off at high speeds. "Miruko!"

"See you there, and try not to lose all the fun!" She shouted with a grin on her face, leaving behind a shocked Ryukyu, the two surprised Pussy Cats, and an amused Nejire-chan.

"M-M-Miruko-san, we should go with the rest of the team!" Deku shouted, trying to adjust himself as they crossed the air. With a little help from her, he managed to land on a wall, Full Cowl activated, and began to follow the Rabbit hero, now pursuing the three villains.

"One of them is down already, and they're retreating to their hidey-hole. We don't have time to waste, the faster we kick these clowns out of the game, the sooner this mess ends, just like Ryukyu said. Besides, the one with the bandages is probably the leader, so we better deal with him first."

Deku didn't show it externally, but he was quite surprised with the reasoning behind her actions. After a while, he got the impression that Miruko only acted on her intuition and was pretty impulsive, but turns out she could access the situation as well as any other pro hero, and adapt accordingly.

In no time they caught up with the villains. The sand cloud wasn't particularly fast, to be honest, and they had the advantage of high mobility. This time Miruko didn't announce her charge and simply dashed after them, followed by Deku. She made an arc in the air and descended like a meteor, ready to strike them down in one kick, but a sand barrier suddenly got in her way, absorbing the impact. Not only that, it reformed around her foot, locking her in place, and she could see Napalm aiming at her.

"Shit!"

"Delaware Smash: Air Force!"

The compressed gust of wind dispersed the sand prison right on time for Miruko to avoid the scarlet stream. Landing on the floor, she dashed after them again. Every time she got close to landing a hit, a sand wall would get in the way, only to be blasted away by Deku, but they were getting closer. Miruko jumped again and this time Deku intercepted the sand block, breaking it before it could stop her advance. The Rabbit hero got in range to deal a powerful kick.

"Luna Arc!"

It misses. The sand cloud they were traveling split in half at the last second, leaving her open to attacks. Before the villains had a chance to do so, Deku used his Black Whip to pull her back to safety.

"Tch, that sand quirk is a pain in the ass to deal with."

"I can disperse part of the sand away, but we still have to deal with Napalm. Their Quirks are good at range, and I don't have a lot of options for that. If we could stop that guy from controlling the sand somehow…" Deku thought out loud, then began a mini mumbling spree. Something caught his attention. "Water!"

"What?" She raised an eyebrow.

"It's just a guess, but if we can make the sand wet–"

"That dude won't be able to control it! Gotcha!" Miruko finished his line of thought and immediately searched for a source of water. "Fire hydrant, on the left. Gimme a boost!"

Using Black Whip like a slingshot, Deku spun Miruko around and launched her forward. She got ahead of the villains, using the extra momentum to kick and bend the fire hydrant enough to crack one side open. It wasn't the most precise shot but it sprayed a lot of water around, which hit the villains and forced them to the floor.

"Hah! Playtime is over, just give up and you won't get hurt. Much." She said, ready to kick anyone at the slightest sign of aggression.

"We've got you surrounded!" Deku just landed, closing the other route they could take to escape. Being in the middle of the street, Rust looked at the sides, trying to find a breach, but at that stage, the odds were against him.

The man calmly analyzed the two heroes, then let out a laugh.

"All I'm surrounded by is falsehood. And soulless heroes."

Rust quickly injected himself with a dose of Trigger, and suddenly the wet sand raised from the floor. The brownish color in it looked more like a dark red, probably due to the water in it. Two whips of wet sand spun around, aiming to hit the two heroes. Deku tried to undo it via Delaware Smash Air Force, but it was much more resistant now, and certainly, it hurt to be hit by a moving mass of wet sand. Miruko also reacted by attacking it, resulting in her foot being stuck and receiving a full swing to her abdomen. The wet sand also wrapped around and pinned them down to the floor.

"It is not your time to be judged yet, 'heroes'. Be patient and wait for your cue, like the good actors you are." Said the man, as a column of sand raised him and his partners, moving away like a wave. After a while, the constraints holding the heroes down lost their integrity, just in time for the others to join them.

"Argh! Damnit, I can't believe we lost them like that!" Miruko shouted, stomping her foot on the floor.

"How about next time you listen to me and act like we're on the same team?" Said the Dragon hero.

"How about you try to keep up with me, huh?!"

"Now is not the time for competitions, Miruko! Your reckless acting will get someone killed!"

"Yeah, those idiots who just escaped."

"And how about Deku?" This made her flinch. The blondie sent a death glare toward Miruko before coming to check on the green-haired teen. "Are you okay, Midoriya?" She asked him, checking out his body for any potential internal damage.

"I'm fine. Luckily, I've been through worse than that." He said with a confident face as Ryukyu helped him to get up.

"It's good to see your sense of humor is intact, but this is not something to brag about. You and Nejire are still students, and you are still my responsibility. When we arrive at the enemy's hideout, I don't want any of you to throw yourselves into unnecessary danger. Is that clear?" Her usual caring tone had an additional layer of authority to it, like a mother speaking to her children. The young heroes understood the situation perfectly, so they could only nod and agree with Ryukyu's terms.

"Alright, let's hurry up. We don't have any more time to lose." And with that, they resumed the chase.

The rush didn't last very long. They had the villains in sight again, and they just entered a building, followed by another group of them, the tall muscular lady, the punk girl, and the little one being carried like a handbag. Right after came Team Shield, who joined them and prepared to raid the hideout.

"Ryukyu! Did you guys run into too much trouble?" Asked Fatgum.

"Just the usual, let's go."

"Hai!"

Nejire-chan and Deku both launched an attack to tear down the steel garage door.

"Delaware Smash: Air Force!" "Wiring Wave!"

Right after, Red Riot and Real Steel jumped forward, acting as shields for any surprise attacks. They waited at the start of the large, dark corridor, but nothing happened.

"Did they run away?" Tetsutetsu wondered.

"This could be just a secret passage or something like that. Hey, guys, I think we should surround the place- !"

Out of the dark came a large mass that engulfed the hardening duo. Despite their efforts, they couldn't break free from it.

"Shit! Is that- Sand?!"

"Kirishima! Tetsutetsu!" Deku was ready to jump after them but Fatgum moved ahead first.

"I'll help them, you guys go ahead! Sun Eater, with Me!" As he spoke, Fatgum took a hold of the boys while Sun Eater tried to dig them out of it, but the mass pulled them into the dark, taking the pro hero and the hero in training along.

This turn of events prompted Team Dragon to jump into action, rushing through the dark hallway, but as soon as they entered, something in the shadows clicked. The faint noise was only detected by Miruko's keen hearing, unfortunately, too late for her to do much.

"Everyone get down!"

In a split second, hundreds of sharp objects flew from the sides, catching them in a crossfire. Razor-sharp edges sprung from the floor, causing everyone to get cuts all over their bodies. It wasn't enough to cause dangerous bleeding, and thanks to Miruko's warning, vital areas were protected.

"Traps? Really?!" Said the tanned woman, feeling the shallow cuts on her exposed arms and legs.

"They had a lot of time to prepare, it seems. Ryukyu, maybe we should wait for backup?" Mandalay turned to the blondie, but someone else wasn't feeling like playing the waiting game.

"You guys guard the door or whatever, I'm going ahead!" Said the Rabbit Hero, this time not dragging Deku as she went off.

"Wait, Miruko!" She knew there wasn't really any way she could stop that woman. More importantly, Ryukyu knew the situation didn't give them time to spend waiting in place. Against her better judgment and her instincts, she decided to follow Miruko's pace this time. "~sigh~ Let's go, we can't afford to be separated like that."

They went ahead down the dark corridor, paying attention to the sides, the floor, and the ceiling, trying to locate and avoid any more traps. Unknown to them, a figure came out of a hidden passage, right by the entrance. The mysterious figure kneeled on the floor, her fingers sliding along the sharp edges embedded on the floor, carefully picking up the needles scattered on the floor. Her lips widened into a smile as she chuckled quietly, bringing her fingertips to her mouth.

"How wonderful… So many dolls for me to play with~"

---

The place looked like a labyrinth. For a building of limited size, it had dozens of rooms and hallways left and right. It was clear that they modified the place, which raised a question about how much time they had to prepare for this? But that wasn't the more pressing matter at the time, the heroes had yet to find any signs of the two fiery teens and Fatgum, and something else bothered Ryukyu.

"We're progressing without restrictions… This is clearly a trap, but just how far do they plan to let us go before acting?" Of course, she didn't voice her concerns, but if you looked closely, you could see the worry on her face.

"This is too easy, isn't it?" The redhead running by her side quietly said, catching the blondie's attention. Ryukyu raised an eyebrow in surprise. She knew about Mandalay's telepathy, but she thought it was one-way only. "Hahaha, it's okay, after some time you don't need telepathy to know what's going on inside someone's head." She followed in a somewhat reassuring way.

"We're playing into their game. If things get too out of control, I…" Her eyes turned to the young heroes running ahead of her. No more words were needed.

"I can't say "don't worry" in a situation like this, but they'll be fine. They're capable heroes already, and besides, that's why we're here, right?"

Hearing this from Mandalay gave Ryukyu a sense of relief. Something about her motherly vibes inspired tranquility in her heart, along with a similar feeling. She always liked kids, and protecting them was always the first place within her mind space. Shaking away the doubts, the Dragon hero focused on the task at hand again, right on time to hit a dead end.

"Tch, how big is this place again?" Miruko complained, her ears twitching as she looked around, looking for… something, or anything that would allow them to continue.

"They sure put a lot of effort into it…" Pixiebob commented.

"Can't we just break the walls?"

"We would risk compromising the structure, and we still don't know where to go. It would be a waste of energy." Ryukyu said. The hallway was kinda big but still too constricting for her to transform. If they had to fight in that space, this would become a serious problem.

"I guess that means we'll go back and split. There were some stairs back there. I'm going down, who's with me?" Said the Rabbit Hero, already turning on her heels and moving.

"Pixiebob and I will check the lower levels. Your team can check the ones above, Ryukyu. I'll keep a telepathic link with everyone, alright?" Mandalay followed, along with the rest of the team, but suddenly a sense of dizziness struck her. The cat hero held her head as her vision became a little blurry and she lost her sense of balance. Looking around, she saw she wasn't the only one.

"Ow, my head… what the hell is- Shit!" Miruko, already wobbling on her feet, was the first to notice they were surrounded. A bunch of masked people came from hidden passages on the wall. They awkwardly walked towards them, dragging their feet and with robotic motions. It was like a horror movie scene.

"An ambush, huh? Too bad for you idiots because it will take more than half a dozen pushovers to take down- huh?!" Miruko stopped mid-rant because she couldn't move her leg. Worse even, she felt it took a step forward against her will. "Oi oi oi, what the hell?!"

"Miruko-san!" Deku, who was next to her, tried to jump into action, but he also found himself unable to control his limbs. Just like the rabbit hero, his arms and legs began to move on their own, jerking as if there were strings attached to his wrists and ankles, pulling him in the direction of the thugs surrounding them. As much as he tried to fight it, he couldn't stop himself. None of them did.

"This must be someone's Quirk! If we take them down, then–" The green teen didn't conclude his thoughts as he noticed something in the criminals ambushing them. They looked like completely normal people. Usually, these criminals look pretty shady and you get a suspicion just by looking at them, but these guys were not looking the part. Some of them had construction work uniforms, and one even sported an All Might T-shirt. And once they finally got a hold of the heroes, slowly pushing them towards the passages in the walls, Deku heard a broken call for help.

"H… e… help… us…" The look in the man's eyes was one of utter terror and despair.

"They are being controlled too. Whoever is behind this must have a powerful Quirk. We have to discover how it works, who is in control, and target them first." He looked around as much as his body would allow, and the others seemed to realize that as well. Then, a voice spoke inside his head.

"Everyone, I established the telepathic link. They're going to separate us it seems. I think everyone understood the situation, so we have to locate and neutralize the person controlling us before anything else. Good luck to you all." Said Mandalay before they were effectively separated. The doors in the walls closed behind them before everything went dark.

---

The four of them were dragged through a long hallway full of turns left and right at high speed. The mass of sand engulfing them was densely packed and impeding the hardening duo from escaping. A light shone at the end of the dark corridor and they were practically ejected as the sand finally dispersed. They fell for a few seconds before meeting the floor, and thanks to Fatgum's quick reaction, their fall was cushioned.

"Are you guys alright?" Asked the pro hero, checking the three teens currently sunk into his body.

"Yeah, we're fine but damn it, we fell for it like idiots!" Real Steel said, punching the air in frustration.

"Think about later, when the mission is over. Now we need to-"

Fatgum was by a blinding light as dozens of floodlights were turned on. As their eyes adjusted, Team Shield noticed exactly where they were. A circular large room with tall walls and apparently no exit, except for two doorways way up high, connected by a crosswalk. Then their attention turned to a now familiar, loud laugh, followed by the sound of something heavy hitting the metal floor. Blood Frenzy just jumped down to greet them once again, accompanied by the little girl in a large hoodie, holding on to her shoulder.

"Hahahaha! I knew you guys would make it. Awesome! There's no one else here to bother us. Now," She rolled her elbows and bit her lower lip until it began to bleed, then licked the scarlet liquid. "Let's go all out!"

"I'm really getting annoyed with this lady…" Red Riot muttered to himself, and Real Steel nodded in agreement.

The young heroes readied for the inevitable fight, as they probably wouldn't find another way out. Skins hardened, limbs morphed into tentacles, and fists raised, they prepared for Blood Frenzy's attack.

She dashed forward, once again surprisingly fast for a person of her size. Her aim was Fatgum, who tanked her straight punch without problems. Her arm sank to her elbow in the super-soft body of the BMI hero, to the point she couldn't pull it out.

"Here, let me help you!" Fatgum shouted with a smirk on his face as he hit her square in the jaw with a punch, sending her back a few steps.

She shook her head, rubbing a thumb over her lips, which now had one more cut. Licking her thumb, Blood Frenzy lunged forward again, sinking her fist into Fatgum's body, but this time following with a punch from the other side, aiming for his head. He took a step back, making her miss and locking her other arm under his, still grinning. Just as he imagined, she was so naturally strong she never bothered to learn any fighting techniques, the perfect kind of opponent to someone like him. Seeing she was locked in place, Blood Frenzy pulled her head back and headbutted Fatgum, with little effect. Her crazed grin only widened as she found resistance in pushing him in that little contest.

"Hehehe, you're stronger than you look, Fatty!"

"Sorry, it'll take more than raw strength to beat me."

"Hah! We'll see about that!"

Firming her feet on the floor, Blood Frenzy managed to lift Fatgum off the floor, slightly taking him by surprise. She spun him around one, two, three, four times before feeling he loosened the grip on her sunk arm, and then she threw him at the young heroes like a bowling ball striking the pins. Sun Eater managed to catch him with his tentacles, making a long skid until they stopped.

"How strong is that woman…?" Said the raven-haired teen.

"A lot, but I can take on her without much issues– Oi, you two, watch out!"

Right after tossing him, the villainess went on the offensive again, but her path got blocked by the hardening duo. As Fatgum shouted, Red Riot and Real Steel did a double punch to counter the one Blood Frenzy threw at them. She was taller and more muscular, so even then they were knocked back, but so was she.

"I forget because you guys are kinda small near me, but you are very tough too, aren't you? Come on! Show me what you got!"

She taunted, leaping in the air and landing between them, her fists leaving a dent on the metal floor. They split right on time and she went after Red Riot, throwing a flurry of punches at him. The red-haired teen was forced on the defensive, tanking the hits as best as he could with his arms in guard, but the pressure she was putting on him was no joke. Then, Real Steel jumped behind her, getting high enough to land a solid hit on both sides of her skull, which sent her tumbling sideways.

"Are you alright, Kiri Bro?"

"Yeah, but I thought she would break my arms for a moment. She's crazy strong…"

"Then all we have to do is not let her attack." Real Steel said with a confident grin, to which Red Riot responded likewise.

"We're on the attack now, then. Let's go!"

They charged forward while she was still dizzy. Red Riot went first, using his signature move Red Gauntlet on her stomach, which blew the wind out of her. Real Steel followed with a straight to the chin, using his partner as a step to get on the same level. They kept on alternating like this, a wide kick to her sides, then a chop on her neck, followed by another gut punch and a sweep at her knees, forcing her to lean forward. Red Riot connected one knee to her chin face and Real Steel followed with a sucker punch. And to finish, they did another double team punch, hitting her square in the face. There was a sickening faint noise of cracking as the tall woman slowly tumbled on her back, squishing the poor girl still holding on to her under her muscular, heavy body.

The hardening duo was breathing heavily, and they still had their guard up. Somehow they knew this wasn't nearly enough to put that crazed woman down, and they had yet to see what the other girl could do. They stared at the woman on the floor, at her blood-covered face, and even though she was still breathing, they wondered if they went too far. And in the blink of an eye, she was up, screaming and lunging at them. How strong was her abdomen to pull this feat? If it wasn't for Sun Eater's quick reflexes, they would have been crushed by those powerful arms. The large dents on the floor indicated she was somehow stronger than before.

"HAHAHAHAHA! YES! I haven't bled like this for so long! I knew it! With you guys… I'LL HAVE LOTS OF FUN WITH YOU GUYS!" She laughed maniacally. Then, Blood Frenzy grabbed the girl on her shoulder, holding her by the hoodie.

"Health Pack! My face looks like a bloody mess! Isn't that awesome?! But it also hurts like a bitch, and my nose is broken so I can't breathe! Do your thing, you spineless blood bank!"

Health Pack seemed to mutter something before shuffling a bit with her oversized long sleeves, revealing the pale skin of her forearm, which had a white bracelet tightly wrapped around her wrist. She gave Blood Frenzy the end of the tube that came from it, which she held with her teeth, and then the little girl pressed a button on the bracelet. The heroes watched in shock as the red liquid left the girl's body, only to be drunk by the tall, muscular, crazy woman. Her body twitched as her veins bulged up more, and her eyes glowed bloodshot red and focused on them, like a wild animal staring at its prey. If she looked crazy before, now she looks absolutely insane.

"Haah! That hits the spot! I love my blood, but drinking others' blood gives me the greatest high! Especially yours, you sack of potatoes. It could be the drugs in it though… hehehehe… hahahaha! Round two, boys! Blood Frenzy is coming for you!"

And without further ado, she leaped forward. Now, there was a good distance between her and Team Shield, but Fatgum barely had time to register her move and get in front of his young apprentices. Even then, the momentum she was carrying was so much that he couldn't absorb all the impact. Blood Frenzy didn't stop her charge, running and pushing Fatgum back, swinging her free arm like a bat and trying to hit his head, all the while laughing nonstop. When he finally found his footing again, Fat shifted his weight and spun around, tossing her over his shoulder. It would have been a perfect move if it wasn't for her planting her feet on the floor. With her arm still stuck, she stopped at a perfectly straight bridge position, directing her crazy eyes up at the pro hero. And from that position, she once again raised him from the floor, but this time there was no way Fat could let go. She actually got a hold of him with her stuck hand. It felt like a claw tearing through his flesh. What happened next was… horrifying.

Blood Frenzy brought Fatgum down and slammed him to the floor. She raised him again and repeated, and repeated once more, increasing the strength and speed. Her laughter got louder and more hysterical as she continued to bludgeon the floor with the pro hero's face and body. The scene froze the young heroes for a moment, but after the second hit, they ran to help. Sun Eater wrapped his tentacles around her arms and torso but it only slowed her down a bit. Red Riot and Real Steel also attempted to stop her right arm that was holding Fatgum but to no avail. No matter how much effort they put into it, she wasn't stopping, and she was beginning to carve a dent with the shape of Fat's face on the floor, along with an increasing bloodstain.

"You two, let go of her!" Sun Eater called, and once the hardening duo let go, he made his move. "Chimera Kraken: Urchin Mode!"

From the octopus tentacles constricting her arm and torso, dozens of spines sprung, piercing her flesh deep. If the pain and the sting of the poison didn't stop her, maybe the physical objects trespassing her muscles would.

"AAAAH, FUCK!" She stopped alright. Then, her head turned around. "I didn't… forget about… you guys… wait for… your turn!"

With her free arm, she grabbed the tentacles, ignoring how the spines perforated them, and spun Sun Eater around like a whip, slamming him on the floor. Good thing he had added turtle to the Seafood Buffet, otherwise he would have more than a fractured rib right now. The shell was good as a defense, but not so much on cushioning the impact, so he lost his wind for a while.

"Senpai!" The hardening duo shouted, immediately jumping to hit her in the face, but she stepped back, way faster than before, and swatted them with a backhand.

"You'll have to try something else. That trick I already know!" She shouted, walking towards the fallen teens when she felt something tugging her right arm. "Oh, Fatty! You're still conscious!"

His face was numb from the repeated impact and he couldn't keep one eye open. Also, his nose was bleeding and he was sure he got a major concussion, judging by the blurry vision and multiple enemies. Nothing he wasn't prepared for.

"I thought you said… you wanted to have fun…." Firming his feet on the floor, Fat managed to spin her around, her hand still clawing his flesh, and hit her head on the floor with enough force to make her let go. Checking on the region she was gripping, the fabric was torn and the skin underneath had a deep purple hue, along with thin red lines. Nothing major then. "Let's play, then! You and me!" He taunted her as she got up.

"And let the boys miss all the fun? I think NOT!" She dashed towards Sun Eater, still recovering from the impact, but she got tackled by Fatgum and pinned down to the floor face first in an arm lock.

"Come on, Fatty… you gotta… learn… HOW TO SHARE!" He was sure he dislodged her arm, but regardless she made him kiss the floor in the process. Her strength-enhancing was on another level, or it could be the drugs in the blood of that little girl…

The fight was getting so intense he almost forgot she was there. Health Pack… to call her like that, this villainess didn't see her partner as more than an accessory, a tool for her to use. This made his blood boil.

"You should learn to finish one thing before starting another." He said, getting up, fists raised on guard. "And you have to finish me first if you want to get to them," Fatgum said, carefully stepping sideways and getting in the way between the teens and Blood Frenzy.

"Hah… hahaha! HAHAHAHAHAHA! FATTY! You are so cool!" She said, cracking her knuckles, and perhaps in a glimpse of sobriety, her face lost the twisted glee, leaving only a creepy, psychotic expression. "And I'll love to force my fist through your skull."

"Come!"

"YES!"

He knew her type well, really confident in their raw strength. Villains like that are hard to fight, not only because they are strong, but because they can take a lot of punishment too. Sometimes it is a battle of attrition to see who gets tired first. They punch hard to the last drop of energy in them. And Fatgum could always count on that.

He readied himself for the impact. His body already absorbed a lot of kinetic energy, but this blow would ensure he can take her out of the game on his next move. He didn't need to fake a punch, she wouldn't even try to read his moves. All he had to do was…

"TAKE THAT!"

He felt a part of the impact on his body, as the waves traveled throughout the fat tissue. She hit way harder than he expected, or perhaps it was because he was starting to feel tired. Regardless, it was more than enough now. He fancied he could pull off something close to All Might like that. Holding her arm in place, he readied himself.

"Thanks, but you can keep it!"

Cocking back his fist, Fatgum released all the accumulated kinetic energy into that single punch, burning all his stored fat in the process. Blood Frenzy tried to block with one arm but it was just too powerful of a blow, sending her flying across the room and deep into the metal walls with a loud crash. Feeling the exhaustion creeping upon his body, he looked at the little girl on his other hand, being held by her hoodie. If he didn't grab her the moment he dealt that punch, she would be gone by now. As for the crazy lady, he was almost sure she would survive that. He was still catching his breath, looking around and assessing the situation.

They got separated from Ryukyu's team, got dropped in here by that sand guy, and had to fight this insanely strong woman. And judging by the message he got from Mandalay, they had their problems to sort out. They had to recover quickly and get back on track. The only problem was that he burned out all his defenses, so he could only count on his remaining physical strength, and the boys for defense. Not ideal, but it would have to do. He then looked up at the crosswalk above them. Blood Frenzy must have been waiting for them here. These floodlights, and the shape of this space… it was like a stage. Then again, considering the reasons this group stated.

"Did we underestimate the gravity of the situation…? Oi, hey. You, don't worry, I won't hurt you– Wait, where are you going?!" His thoughts were broken when he felt something shaking by his side.

The little girl, who was dangling up to now, shuffled about and got off her black hoodie. Now on the floor, she ran as fast as her legs allowed her. A glance and Fatgum could see signs of malnourishment, along with a device hooked to her other arm. The yellow liquid in the vial attached to it could only be one thing. But that got pushed aside as his eyes moved up a bit. Much to his surprise, the tall woman was pushing herself out of the dent molded after her body in the wall. The hero quickly connected the dots.

"That's bad! Sun Eater, don't let the girl reach her!" He shouted, already sprinting after Health Pack. Sun Eater got back on his feet right after Fat gave his finishing blow, and he checked on the hardening duo, a little bit dizzy, but mostly intact. Once he heard the command, he turned around and saw the girl desperately making her way towards that scary wall of muscles and Fatgum in his skinny form. His eyes widened with the urgency of the situation.

The exhaustion didn't allow Fatgum to go very fast, but Sun Eater was in a better condition, and he was slightly faster as is, and he certainly was faster than that girl. The raven-haired teen also noticed her health wasn't the best, which made him question why she was going toward the one who probably harmed her the most. The answer was a somewhat sizable blood pack in her hand. That was far more blood than you normally take from a kid her size and age, then again, who knows what they did to her. Sun Eater was almost catching up to Health Pack. He extended his hand and it stretched into the tentacles, reaching the girl in seconds. Capture successful. Unfortunately, the girl was more resourceful than he thought.

"Frenzy-chan!" Her weak, high-pitched voice was heard loud and clear for the first time, as she tossed the blood pack in the air. It landed right in front of the crazy woman, currently on her knees.

"Finally… You're being useful…" She said, picking up the pack and biting the corner. She sucked all the contents, not leaving a single drop left, then lowered her head. She held her arm, popped it back in place, then got back on her feet. Her eyes were once again glowing red, and her psychotic grin was back. Looking at Health Pack being held in place by Sun Eater, she began to laugh.

"Kid, I'll say this only one time. Get away from the heroes, because otherwise… YOU WILL BE CRUSHED ALONG WITH THEM!" She shouted, charging at them. Sun Eater and Fatgum braced for the impact while shielding poor Health Pack, but suddenly a buzzing noise cut the air, followed by Fatgum simply vanishing.

"Tch… Oi! Mosquito! They are mine! Get lost, you ugly ass bastard!"

"Another villain and he took Fatgum away. They're picking us one by one. But even if he was here, he used all his defense to take down that monster of a woman, and she's back up like it was nothing. This girl… she is probably responsible for this, which means if we want to win this fight…"

Getting up, Sun Eater held the little girl in his arms, making sure to keep her restrained with a few tentacles.

"Red Riot! Real Steel! We can't let her get to this girl again. You'll have to tire her out!" "Yes… she sustained a lot of hits, and she doesn't have shock absorption like Fat. All that damage must be piling up and will come down on her when her blood frenzy ends. And that will happen if we keep those two apart. Kirishima, Tetsutetsu, I'm sorry but… I'm counting on you two."

"Understood!" Both young heroes shouted as they once more took the front. Standing in front of that woman covered in blood and full of holes was quite intimidating, but they wouldn't let that stop them.

"Ready to show her some Real Steel, bro?"

"Always, bro! It will be a Red Riot!"

"Bring it on!"

Blood Frenzy laughed again.

"Hahahaha! That's the spirit!"

---

The two feline heroes were "escorted" through a dark hallway, partially being shoved around and partially having their limbs being tugged by invisible strings. The sensation was really pretty terrifying, especially because they were completely aware the whole time, safe for a light-headed feeling and blurry vision. It was like being a spectator within your own head or watching a very immersive movie in the first person. If they felt this kind of uneasiness, imagine how these people pushing them must be feeling.

"Don't worry too much, okay? We're pro heroes and we'll help you out." Mandalay relayed a telepathic message to the hostages guiding them in hopes of giving them some peace of mind. However, she wasn't exactly sure how they would achieve that. Not only that, but she also felt very concerned about the current situation of the others, mainly the young ones. If only her telepathy allowed for two-way communication. She has always resented that part about her Quirk, but now was not the time to dwell on this.

They slowly approached a source of light, an exit from this dark corridor. Then, they found themselves in a large room with a metal floor and floodlights in the ceiling kept the place illuminated, so much so that it hurt a bit to look up. Ahead of the two women stood an elevated platform with stairs. Sitting on an ornate chair, was another one of the villains behind the ongoing chaos outside. The gothic girl, with white pale skin, raven hair with red streaks tied into twin tails, a black dress with red and white frills, and knee-high leather boots. And atop her head, a small silver crown rested.

The girl turned her head as the two pro heroes entered the room. Her feet dangled free from the side of the throne as she took a bit of an apple. Tossing the fruit aside, she jumped on her feet, making her way down the stairs, and waited while the heroes slowly made the rest of the way to be face to face with her. Once there, they felt their legs shaking, and their knees hit the floor.

"Well well well, look what the cat dragged in, two brand new dolls for me to play with ~ Oh, I'm sorry, I guess not completely brand new, right? Your team has been around for a good while. I know, I still have the entire collection of the Pussy Cats plush dolls~" Said the villain, cupping Pixiebob's cheeks in her hand and forcing the hero to look up at her face. Meanwhile, the blondie seemed to contort her face.

"Oh, my bad, do you want to say something? Go on~"

As if a gag was removed from her mouth, Pixiebob felt she could move on her own again. The sudden feeling of getting back in control was just as jarring as losing it.

"What the… Hey, you! I'll let you know that I'm still 18 at- !"

"Now now, if you're going to say something so outrageously false, then I'm relegating your speech privileges again. How about you? Do you have something in mind?" The villain then turned to Mandalay. Just like her friend, Mandalay felt the weird sensation of having control over her body. At least her mouth.

"I suppose you're the one controlling us?" She said, staring calmly but defiant at the young lady.

"Why yes, it is I. What gave me away? The doll make-up? The puppeteer motifs on my dress? My stunning personality?~"

"The ostensive throne behind you."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Usually, it is a sign of lack of confidence, and of desperation to be in control." She said, once again calmly, but putting on a faint smirk. This, as expected, upset the gothic girl.

"A smartass, huh? I thought you would use your telepathy on me or something." She said, cupping Mandalay's face with a bit of violence.

"It doesn't work like that, and I don't need it to read someone like you."

They stared at each other for a few intense seconds before Mandalay felt a sharp pain in her right arm. She would have winced if she could move her arms. She tried to turn her head around, and from the corner of her eyes she could see something jabbed in her arm, and a red liquid slowly flowing out.

"Oh, this? Don't worry, it's just insurance." Said the villain, pulling a syringe connected to a small cylindrical reservoir, one of many in a doll backpack she pulled from behind her. She placed that one in the bag and pulled out another, which she used to jab Pixiebob, taking some of her blood too. "I got a little bit from your friends too from when you barged in uninvited. It's not much, but it will do for now. But where are my manners? I didn't even present myself!~"

The villainess then took one step back.

"Pro heroes, I am the Fifth captain of Hemorrhage, the puppet master, Doll. The pleasure is all yours~" And as she said that, Doll lifted the ends of her dress, bowing in an old-fashioned greeting. What's more, Mandalay and Pixiebob felt their bodies twitching and bowing too, except they went all the way down, touching their foreheads on the floor.

As the young miss giggled to herself, another figure entered the room. She seemed startled and looked around, and when her eyes landed on the goth girl and her new "dolls", she rushed to them, looking pretty upset.

"Doll, you-! You absolute dork! What the hell are you doing?!"

It was the punk rock girl. She also followed the color scheme, clad entirely in black. Battered jeans with rips on the knees, combat boots with metal tips, a plain shirt with a short jacket on top, both with the sleeves torn off. Her short, dark-green spiky hair had a single bang dyed in red falling over her face, and she wore leather gloves without the fingertips. Around her wait were two belts full of knives of varied sizes. There were more blades attached to her legs, some strapped on her back, and by the looks of it, she had many more hidden blades at her disposal.

"Oh, Leech. You are right on time for my-"

"Shut up! Don't you know who that pro is?!" The girl now addressed as Leech pointed to the red-haired hero, still prostrate on the floor.

"Yeah, she's one of the Pussy Cats, Mandalay."

"And do you know what her Quirk is?" Leech continued, increasingly more frustrated.

"One-way telepathy."

"And what do you think she has been doing all that time while you run your big mouth, huh?!" She inquired, hands twitching to grab someone's neck. Meanwhile, Doll slowly realized what was going on.

"Ah! She tricked me!" She said, prompting Leech to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"I'm surrounded by idiots…"

"Why you little rag… Hey! Don't call me an idiot! It's your fault for not noticing earlier!"

"My fault?! You were the one giving them everything about us!"

"It wasn't everything, I barely said anything of importance, okay?!"

"Their entire team already knows you are the one hindering their movements. They know our faces, remember?"

"So what? I bet that muscle for brains already squashed the fat hero and the team of dorks. And I sent the two other kids to rust, so there's literally nothing to worry about- mfffm!"

"Shut up, shut up, shut up, you!- You clueless goth lolita! You're giving out the plan!" Leech shouted, covering her mouth. Once she was sure Doll got the message about not spilling any more beans, she looked down at Mandalay.

"You… you are good at reading people out, right?" She got down on one knee and raised Mandalay so they could look in the eye. "Come on, what am I thinking?"

The pro hero stared at her with a serious face. Her calm expression of before was long gone since she confirmed Nejire-chan and Deku were on their own and most likely walking to a death trap. This Doll girl was the one restraining their moves, so it was a major priority to take her down. As for that other girl, Leech, she didn't seem like a big threat, despite the knives. Someone of her age, with that physical build, would hardly give them…

"What? Trouble? Yeah, maybe, I'm not exactly the fighter type. So, should I slit your throat open right now?" She said, bringing a blade to Mandalay's neck. The Cat Hero was more surprised with how the girl guessed her thoughts, almost as if…

"I could read your mind? Huh, you didn't think you were the only one good at reading people, did you?" Leech said, pressing the sharp edge more and more against the redhead's fair skin.

"Hey, Leech, that's not part of the plan! Rust will get super mad at us if we screw this up." Doll said, pulling Leech's arm back along with the knife.

"As if you didn't screw things up. What are we going to do if they all come after you? I can't protect your sorry butt, you know?"

"Like hell that would happen! Plus I have enough blood on backup in case shit hits the fan. Rust said my role was the most important, so don't mess up my act!"

"This is not a puppet theater at school, you knucklehead! Rust will really kill us if you flop this." She said, hitting the other girl on top of her head with a fist.

"Ow! That hurts, and don't mess with my hair, or my crown! And don't call me a knucklehead! I'm not like Frenzy!"

"But I bet you two share the same ten brain cells-! Move!" Leech suddenly pushed Doll back, who tripped and fell on her behind. As for the punk girl, she found herself in a headlock from Mandalay, while Pixie Bob barely missed her target. "Tch, they found out you can get distracted! Doll!"

The blond hero lunged at the goth girl and grabbed her, but before she could get a solid grip, Pixie Bob felt her body freeze again, with one arm already around the villainess. Both pro heroes slowly let go of them and the two young ladies took some distance.

"Ah! My body! I can move again!". "Hurry up and run away!"

Some of the civilians nearby shouted as they also regained control of their bodies, but it was painfully short-lived.

"Tsk tsk, did I say you could leave, my dolls?" Doll said, and just like that, they froze in place again. "If there's something I hate… is a broken toy that doesn't work properly."

"What are we going to do? The situation couldn't be worse. Pixie Bob can't use her powers here with all that metal covering, and controlling Quirk is really troublesome. And that other girl… said she could read people like me, but she reacted way too fast for someone who was distracted. They started arguing and I slowly regained control of my body, so I told Pixie Bob to handle the goth girl. And she also knew I realized their weakness, her body control requires focus… This is not simple expression reading."

As Mandalay tried to think this through, her eyes fell on Leech, who looked back at her. She did come in scolding Doll for letting info slip, so Leech herself would be more careful with what she spoke in front of the heroes, especially Mandalay. She was hiding something, or perhaps something she said was meant to mislead them. Whatever it was, if the girl felt it was important enough to hide, perhaps Mandalay could use this to her favor…

"Are you done reading me, or is this a vice of yours…?" That broke the pro hero out of her thoughts. There was definitely something wrong going on with that punk girl. "Whatever. Doll, get on with your show already." She ushered the goth girl, walking to the sidelines.

Meanwhile, Doll returned to the top of the stairs and sat on her throne, clearing her throat before she spoke.

"Well then. In this glorious night we, the Hemorrhage, shall begin the expurgation of all that rot within our society. And to demonstrate that, we put to the test those who are most responsible for such corruption, the so-called Pro Heroes." Doll waved her hand and suddenly Mandalay and Pixie Bob regained control over their bodies. At the same time, a couple of steel doors opened on the walls, and from them, a crowd of people began to pour into the room. The two women looked in shock as they saw what looked like a small army, most likely made of civilians, all of them marching in lockstep towards them.

"Wait, Mandalay, don't tell me…"

"It seems like it. If that girl can control anyone, then these people probably were captured and enslaved."

"But that many?!"

"We don't know the extent of her power, nor if it has some limitations. When we were under control, it felt like my arms and legs were being tugged around. Our movements were pretty janky and robotic."

"Well, everyone over there looks much more in sync." She said, pointing to the crowd now gathered in a circle around them. "~sigh~ This is not going to end well for us…"

"Behold! The people these false idols are supposed to protect now are ready to strike them down! Do you fight back? Or do you let these innocent civilians be the blade that will cut out the rot? What shall you do… heroes?"

The Pussy Cats had no other choice but to ready themselves for a fight.

---

Meanwhile, in another of those large metal rooms, Ryukyu and Miruko listened to the information Mandalay passed on to them. However, they had their problems to address. The control over their bodies was back, but they were locked in that suspicious place. Judging by what they heard, everyone was sent to one of those, except this room, in particular, was almost pitch black. Instead of floodlights, it had very dim neon tubes up in the ceiling and a few on the floor. But the most suspicious thing was the huge screens hanging from the walls on opposite sides. It was quite ominous as if something was watching over them.

Something broke the eerie silence, the sound of metal and cogs turning, hydraulics and springs contracting and expanding. From the top of the wall they were facing, above one of the locked steel doors, some kind of pod emerged, being carried by a robotic arm. The metallic dome shielding it opened and with it, the screens flickered on.

"Great, what now?" Miruko thought out loud, getting into her fighting stance.

The screens only had static at first, but then it switched to the face of a very old, sick-looking man. His frail and sparse white hair was pulled behind, and his face was covered in wrinkles and dark patches. His eyeballs were darkened and sunk, and the old geezer could barely keep his eyes open. A respirator mask covered his mouth and nose, and behind him, all kinds of life support machinery could be seen. Adding to that, long, labored breathing began to sound in the room, probably from hidden speakers.

On the screens, the man seemed to look down, directly at them. After a couple of wheezes, his harsh, cracked voice finally came out.

"... Heroes… What are… your names?"

"... Is this for real?" Miruko said. "Did they really send a senile old fart to take care of us?" She sounded pretty indignant.

"Now is not the time to ask for a "good fight", Miruko." Ryukyu chided her. "Look at this place and how they tricked us. Whoever these people are, they had a lot of time to prepare, so we can't lower our guards."

"Pfft, as if we needed to. Are we looking at the same person? This shadow of a man can barely stay awake. Oi! Old man! Point us to the exit, you wrinkled wax ball!"

More wheezing and labored breaths followed her taunt, but then, the old man leaned forward a little, assisted by the special chair that cradled his withered body. There wasn't a logical way to explain the feeling they got as the man stared down at them. They couldn't actually see his features up there, but the eyes on the screens seemed to be directed at them, looking into their very beings. Even with the spark of life long gone from this man's expression, it was as if he overflowed with hatred as if his eyes would shoot lasers any time now.

"~wheeze~ Such arrogance… from the youth… you heroes… ~cof cof~ really didn't learn… a single thing." His tone was stern. Despite the coughing and wheezing, this man inspired a certain feeling of respect. Or perhaps fear.

"Names are… important, heroes. ~wheeze~ Not for fame, but for… the meaning they carry. So… I ask you again, young- ~cof~ foolish heroes. What are… your names?"

"Did he… did he just lecture us?" Miruko seemed to not believe what her ears just heard. "Hey! Cut the crap and- mfff?!"

"My name is Ryukyu, and the loudmouth here is Miruko." Said the blondie, muffling the rabbit hero before she said something to piss off the person who probably holds the key for them to leave this place and find the kids.

"I see… you seem ~wheeze~ wiser than your friend…"

"That's a low bar, believe me. So, I'll try my luck and guess you're here to test us in some way? Your friend with the red cloth covering his face said something about that."

It took a while until the response came. First, a burst of broken laughter, often interrupted by coughs and gasps for air. Then the words of the sick men.

"A test… you say? No, I don't believe… young Rust had that in mind… No, this… ~wheeze~ is a purgatory." This didn't sound good at all to the dragon hero.

"So we're not supposed to escape this alive."

"You're ~cof cof cof~ surprisingly smart for a… young-looking hero… Yes, this place… shall be your grave… and I will be… your executioner." There was no doubt in his words, and she had to believe he meant it, despite his looks saying otherwise.

However, Miruko had something else in mind. Removing the hand that firmly sealed her mouth, she shouted at the man handing above them.

"I wanna see you try, old fart! Don't think for a second you're not getting an ass-kicking because your bones are turning into dust!" She said, swatting Ryukyu's arms away and flexing her legs to warm up.

"Miruko, wait! We don't know what that villain is capable of!"

"He's capable of boring me to death! We could wait for him to bite the dust, but I'm not gonna just sit still. Who knows where Deku and Nejire ended?!" She snapped back at Ryukyu, surprising the blondie on the last bit. So she was worried about them too…

"Even so, that's all the more reason to be cautious."

"You can be cautious, Ryukyu. I'm doing things my way now!"

And with that, Miruko jumped into action, quite literally. She landed on a wall, aiming for the platform suspending the old villain, and jumped off, swinging her leg in a wide arc. The steel dome came back up and she had to change her attack at the last second so she wouldn't break her foot. Instead, it turned into a stomp, which left a dent in the shield.

"Tch! Where is all that bravado you had just now, huh?! Fight me, you coward!"

Miruko kicked back from the dome, landing on the floor and immediately bouncing on and off the wall. Her feet landed again on the steel dome, shaking the arm that suspended the entire thing. She did it a few more times, leaving bigger dents each time.

"Get out of there, old man! I thought you were going to be my executioner! What? Don't wanna come out and play with this little rabbit?!" She said, relentlessly landing hits on the structure, making it rock from side to side.

Meanwhile, Ryukyu watched with great apprehension. She didn't doubt Miruko's strength, which was the most concerning part. For them to prepare for so long and then send this man who had both feet on his grave, there had to be a reason behind it. Her eyes moved from the fast-moving rabbit hero to the screens displaying his face. Despite the provocations and the shaking, the man didn't seem moved at all. All that she could see on his face was that ice-cold hatred in his eyes.

"The youth… has no patience… ~cof cof~ You are all cut from… the same bad cloth. Arrogant… ~wheeze~ ignorant, foolish… ~wheeze~ blind and spineless… I don't need to come… out. You'll be dead without me lifting a finger." Said the old man, prompting Miruko to stop her attacks for a brief moment. She held onto the steel dome and began to kick it with the ball of her feet, slowly caving in a dent.

"I. DON'T. HAVE. TIME. TO. STUPID. GAMES! Bring your sorry ass out here, you sack of bones!"

The old man then began to laugh, mixed with coughs as usual.

"Time? You have no… notion of time, brat. I have… ~wheeze~ seen time pass. I have ~cof~ seen people come and go. I was ~cof cof~ I was there when the first Peculiarities… ~wheeze~ appeared."

This immediately got the attention of Ryukyu.

"Wait, how? How old is that man?"

" I saw the- ~cof!~ the terror of villainy. Thieves, killers, people drunk in their own… power. I saw the rise of All for One… ~wheeze~ and the rise of heroes too. But not you… your ilk is not worthy of… the title of "hero". You lack… ~wheeze~ focus. You lack drive. You lack ~cof!~ determination to do what is needed! Those prisons are useless! Until everyone sees there are… ~wheeze~ serious consequences to their bad actions… there will always be villains!"

"What the hell are you going on about, now?! Have you skipped your meds? You're the bad guy here, 'veteran'." Miruko stopped kicking and dropped to the floor. That dome was way stronger than she thought, or perhaps it was that other goth girl hindering her strength. Regardless, she would keep going until it broke, she had lots of energy to spare.

"No… your generation is not… worthy of the title. You soil its meaning with… false images, fake motivations… your society is a husk, rotten on the inside."

"Tch, he's speaking a lot now…"

"You didn't see but he just chewed a bunch of meds like they were fruit gummies, and who knows what else he's hooked up to up there…" Ryukyu explained.

"They sent a dead man to stop us, huh? Do you still think they planned that far ahead?"

"Listen, fake heroes. Names carry meaning. They instill emotions, shape minds, and can be immortalized or forgotten. All for One. Destro. All Might. Stain. Their names carry meaning, they instill fear, respect, or admiration. Your names… ~wheeze~ they will only inspire shame and disgust, do you understand? ~cof cof cof~"

"And what meaning does yours carry?" Ryukyu asked back. These types of idealistic villains were truly the worst type to deal with.

The man kept breathing with difficulty. Maybe the speech was too much for his non-existent health.

"~wheeze~ Even a plague can have a purpose. In order to heal this society, we must first break it… ~cof cof~ Pestilence. This is the last name you will hear… heroes."

As Pestilence looked down at them through the screens, in the back, the machines began to move and make noise. A sickly dark red liquid began to flow in tubes behind him, coming in and out of the machines, being stirred and mixed. And then, from below the platform, a dark red mist started to descend into the room.

"Oi oi oi, are you kidding-"

"My Peculiarity is my curse. Bad Blood left me in this decrepit state, but it also allowed me to watch the march of Time. All for One sowed terror, All Might brought hope. You, fake heroes, brought the corruption, and we shall cleanse it by cutting off the dead tissue."

"Not in a million years! Your retirement is now, old fart!"

Miruko sprung into action again, jumping at the still closed dome and hitting it with powerful kicks. She was making progress, but it was slow. But after a few strikes, she felt her throat burn, which forced her to slow down.

"What the hell? This is… ~cof cof~"

"Miruko! Get down from there, now!" Ryukyu shouted, transforming into her dragon form and flying to catch the rabbit hero, then flying to the farthest side of the room.

"Shit! What is going on now?!"

"It's his blood. It must be toxic, and the machines are turning it into a mist." Ryukyu deducted.

"Then how is it not killing that sack of bones?"

"Didn't you hear him? His current health is caused by the Quirk, but it also keeps him alive."

"Great, and how do we beat him?"

"We can't breathe in that mist, no matter what. There are only two locked doors here, so he must be planning to fill the entire room. We'll have to think of something before that happens, and keep away from the source as much as we can."

"You know this plan doesn't do anything, right?" Said the rabbit hero, trying to clear her throat, but to no avail.

"Use your brain instead of your mouth. We can't be stopped here…"

---

Deku and Nejire-chan stumbled in the dark for a while until they came to a large round metal room. The door they came through closed shut behind them, and they felt the control over their bodies fade.

"Nejire-chan, are you alright?"

"Yes, just a little dizzy." The bluenette answered as her vision stopped being blurry. "Where are we, though?"

They looked around for a while in the empty space, and saw nothing but another steel door, probably locked too.

"They picked us one by one and separated the group… These villains prepared well to deal with us. But how did they know who would be involved? Did someone leak the operation or-"

"Deku, look!" Nejire stopped his mumbling to point out at the door sliding open, and from it came a now familiar figure.

"You!" His emerald green eyes locked on the man with a red scarf and arm cannons.

"Yo, brat." Napalm answered shortly. After him, being carried by a cloud of sand, came the supposed leader behind all of this, Rust.

"Greetings, hero prototypes. My name is Rust, and this is what you would call my partner in crime, Napalm. You are still students, right? Do you have hero names already?" He talked casually as if hell wasn't breaking loose outside because of him. The two young heroes, on the other hand, were definitely on the edge, especially Deku. He has seen firsthand how dangerous Napalm was, and that other guys looked just as problematic. However, they shouldn't be hasty.

"Nejire-chan" "Deku" They answered.

"I see. Nejire-chan and Deku, then. Please, watch this with attention." As Rust spoke, a couple of monitors emerged from the floor, showing rooms similar to the one they were. Suddenly, it became clear what he wanted to show. They could see their friends, each one fighting their own battles, which meant they would have to do the same here. But before that, Deku had to confirm something.

"What is the meaning of all this? The criminals outside are already being taken care of, and then the other pros will come to this place. What did you even plan to do?"

Rust wagged a finger at him.

"All in due time, my young hero. First, you must listen to the lesson, then you may ask questions." Placing his hands together, Rust floated up in the sand cloud. "And just to make sure you'll pay utmost attention, I'll let you know that every room you see on the screens is filled with explosives. One wrong move and everything aside from this place will be burned and buried, understood?"

There was little they could do about it now, so they had to comply.

"Splendid. So, about the question you raised earlier, I would tell you anyway. This is the push forward of something great, something that wasn't started by us. You see, we're just carrying the vision of the Hero Killer, Stain."

The mention of that name made Deku shake a little internally. His encounter with the hero killer was one of the times he got pretty close to death, of which the number was growing faster than he expected.

"This society is… sick. Rotten to the core. The so-called pro heroes are nothing but hacks, paid actors that represent false hope and ideologies. With All Might's retirement, we have been left with all the remaining scourge, of which little can be saved. Yes, even the heroes in training are part of that scum, as they're given the title of hero by those who bring about the filth."

Rust kept on running his mouth, and with each offense to the heroes and his friends, Deku felt angrier and angrier, but so far he contained himself, despite his hands being balled into fists. The entire time, Napalm glared at the two teens.

"There are, however, a few exceptions. Some true heroes deserve the title and are the standard Stain has envisioned for this society. Yes, promising heroes such as you, Deku." This broke the tension within the green teen.

"Eh, do you know Deku?" Nejire asked surprised, almost by reflex of her curiosity.

"Why yes, we have been searching for him ever since Stain was captured and locked at that prison. The boy who was recognized by Stain himself… I thought it was merely a rumor, but after looking around and verifying for myself, I can see it. It was then that I had my vision: a world free of those fakes, where the true heroes can actually save people and give them true hope. A world without lies, without corporations sinking their claws into the title of hero. A world where being a hero is not merely a profession, but a vocation. And I believe you can be the pioneer, Deku." He said, turning around and facing Deku directly.

"You will be the cornerstone of a new era. An era that is past All Might but still carries his ideals. An era where every hero saves the weak and innocent with a smile on their faces."

The young heroes stared at him as if he had grown a second and a third head.

"And you plan to do that by killing the heroes?!" Deku asked, rage filling his chest.

"Of course! This is a necessary step, like removing the dead, infected tissue from a wound. To purify this society, we must first bring it down to its knees. You can't show people the light of hope if they never met despair before, how would they know the difference? Before injecting the clean blood, we must bleed out all the old blood full of impurities. It's a hurtful process, but it is for the best, it is necessary for our survival. and given the extent of this world of fake heroes, no little amount of blood will do. It will require a total Hemorrhage to purge all this filth. Do you understand now, Deku? Do you realize why our mission is so important?"

There were lives at risk here, so he had to endure everything in silence as he was asked, but Deku was reaching boiling point. That man, he was completely insane. What has been said about villains with ideals was true, he now could see why it was such a problem. This guy wouldn't stop until his vision became true right in front of his eyes, which was why they needed to stop them here.

---

The pro hero landed on the metal floor with a thud. Usually, the drop wouldn't hurt him, but he didn't have his body fat cushioning right now. As he got up, Fatgum looked around. Another room just like the other he was in previously. Then, he looked up and spotted a doorway up high in the wall, probably how he got here and the way back to the boys.

"I have to hurry up, things will get ugly with that woman…" He said, looking for a way to reach the crosswalk above him, but the sound of buzzing caught his attention.

Across the room, a large winged creature landed, contorting and squirming at weird angles. There was a sick, wet noise as the creature seemed to tear itself apart, shedding its dark gray shell. And out of that, covered in a green slurry, came a miniature version of the former: Mosquito.

"~sigh~ So you are the one who brought me here… Hey, I don't have time to fight you!" He said, tying his now oversized jacket around his waist.

"I'm not going to fight you, hero... THIS WILL BE A FUCKING ONSLAUGHT!"

Mosquito jabbed his arm with an injection of the enhancing drug, and his body mutated into that larger form again, with a disproportionately large upper body.

"Yuck, you're one ugly fella, huh." Fatgum readied his fists.

"BZZZZZ! SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP AND DIE ALREADY!" Shouted the crazed villain as his wings flapped at high speeds, propelling him forward like a bullet. His actual speed, however, was probably lesser than what he had in mind.

It wasn't that hard for Fatgum to avoid his attacks. They were very simple and basic, just straight dashed aiming at his chest or head, trying to punch him or pierce him with that pointy nose.

"You are ugly, but you are not very smart either, are you?"

Mosquito landed on the wall, breathing heavily, then dropped to the floor as his body began to contort and shed again.

"Hey, stop doing that. That drug is clearly causing you severe harm!"

"What do you even know?! This…" He said, getting up with another injection in hand. "I'll use to fuck up all of you pretty heroes!"

Mosquito morphed again and resumed the same attacks. Despite being faster, he was much more erratic and with a worse aim.

"Oi, listen to me! That drug will end up killing you if you use it like that!" Fatgum kept on avoiding Mosquito's attack, which only infuriated the villain even more.

"The only thing dying here is YOU!" He shouted, pulling another syringe and jabbing his arm. Mosquito curled on the floor, holding his sides as his body got larger, but not much. He was breathing heavily and his footing was shaky.

"I told you, you're abusing your own body. These enhancing drugs are horrible, and you shouldn't use them under any circumstance. There's a reason why they were banned, you know?" Even in his weakened state, it was hard for Fat to take that poor, ugly guy seriously.

"Ack!... I hate this about you heroes… always lecturing others… always looking cool… It's not my fault I was born like this… it's not my fault Mom didn't want me… bzzzzzz… I REALLY HATE COOL-LOOKING HEROES LIKE YOU!"

Mosquito dashed forward, aiming at Fatgum once again. His attack narrowly missed.

"I'm gonna kill you! Then I'm going after that bunny girl and the dragon one too! AND I'LL RIP OFF THEIR HEARTS AND BITE THEIR LIVERS! "

"That's… oddly specific." Fatgum readied himself again, feet firm on the ground and fists raised. He didn't have time to waste with that guy. "Come on, you hideous thing, let's get this over with."

"When I'm done with you, there will be NOTHING LEFT BUT A- OOF!"

Mosquito dashed forward the same way as always, but instead of dodging, Fat just stepped to the side and connected his knee to the villain's guts. As he imagined, all that size doesn't translate into actual strength. He doubted this guy would fly if he weighed any more than in his original form. The pro hero followed with two consecutive hooks and a sucker punch, bending the villain's pointy nose and knocking him to the floor.

The insectoid man rolled in pain. If that was from the hits or his body reacting to the side effects of the drug, he couldn't tell. Regardless, after throwing up and shedding his outer shell again, Mosquito passed out on the floor, covered in a nasty sludge.

"~sigh~ I said before, you were abusing it… Now, how do I get up there…?" Fat said to himself as he began to search for a way out.

---

The two young heroes had to stand still as they watched the pro heroes and their friends fight through the monitors. Across the room, the villains looked over them in silence. Well, mostly in silence, as Napalm tapped his foot on the metal floor impatiently. Meanwhile, Rust followed with his speech.

"Witness, Deku, how the heroes this society praises so much fail in every aspect. They are not strong enough, they lack the resolve to get rid of evil for good, and they hurt those around them. They are nothing but liars, a beacon of false hope! But with you… with the one chosen by Stain, I think… No, I'm sure. Join our cause, and we'll make this world a better place. We'll uproot the source of corruption and cut off every single bit that has been tarnished… Pro hero by pro hero… So, what is your answer?"

He finished, offering a hand to the green-haired teen, and waited for his response.

Deku had his eyes fixed on the screen, following their movements, analyzing the situations, and thinking of different solutions to each problem. And at the same time, he processed this rather long speech that was forced onto them. Not only was this man insane, but he also wanted him to join his club of weird cultists. He worshiped Stain, of all people. The only other person he knew that felt this strongly for the hero killer was a certain blondie, who also had all the screws loose in her head. Assuming everyone in this gang was just as crazy as him, two is a coincidence, eight is a pattern.

Oh, right, he made him an offer. Honestly, he was so overtaken by the situation and his mind was so all over the place it was hard to focus on a single thing for more than five seconds. The plan flew out of the window the moment they stepped into the building because they underestimated just how serious these villains were. No, even before that. Perhaps they shouldn't have brought heroes in training to this mission, maybe they should have assembled a better team of pro heroes to handle this. But these questions could wait.

Right now there was one specific feeling building up and boiling inside his chest. That villain spent the last who knows how many minutes dumping trash on the reputation of all pros, standing on a bizarre moral high ground. And to top it all, he asked him to join their cause? Oh, Deku had an answer for him alright. This might be irresponsible of him to act like this, but some things Deku simply couldn't let pass unchecked.

"My answer…?" Sparks began to fly from his body. His eyes locked with the villain. "Never. And you all can go to hell!" He shouted, raising his fists.

"Oh, angry Izuku" Nejire looked surprised for a second before taking her fighting stance too.

"Tsk tsk tsk, so your mind has been polluted with false ideals already, what a shame… Napalm." Rust shook his head, then waved his hand at his partner. While the masked man retreated on his sand cloud, the other villain walked toward them, with a syringe in hand.

"About time! I was almost dying of boredom. Well then, brats," He said, pointing an arm cannon at them. "Since you want so badly to be heroes, I'll go ahead and make sure you die like one!"

A scarlet jet shot in their direction, more specifically aimed at Nejire-chan, but before it could hit her, a bolt of green lightning removed her from the way.

"Nejire-chan! You handle Rust, I'll take care of the other one, okay?"

"Got it! Be careful, Deku." The bluenette nodded, and as soon as Deku put her on the floor, she ran after the masked man while the green teen faced Napalm.

"Hahaha! You think you can take me on alone, kid?!" The villain taunted him.

"I won't lose to someone like you."

"Heh, then show me a good time, kid…"

End of part 2

Short version, I'm back. Thanks for reading, and for the long, long wait. You all have a lot of patience.