"The hell is all this?"
Geus had to watch each of the men that circled him. The special appearances these men made told him how powerful each one of them were. And if they were all part of Chisaki's team then they knew about him. Even still they had no fear to get right up into Geus's personal space. The puffs of gas that came through the nose holes of the mask didn't freak them out. They knew everything about him.
"Until I can have you at full control you'll be under one of these men at all times." Chisaki explained. "Before you get any ideas, my weakest man of the Eight Expendables can take you down."
"I would like to see them try."
"You look at us and think you can beat us?" Since all of them wore a mask, Geus couldn't pinpoint who talked.
"Not all at once, and I know a few of you can take me out before I have a chance. But some of you, I'd straight up kill you for the chance." Geus became shocked at his response. Almost none of that was what he wanted to reveal to them. One of them carried a quirk similar to Shinso's, one that made him act without control.
"Nemoto, Sansei at this moment does not hold the mindset to best anyone. Train him to be able to kill." Chisaki spoke.
"Sansei? Nobody calls me that." The gas wrapped around his mask and flowed down from the open beak. The way his gas flowed felt smooth and didn't brittle up his throat. It was sickening and the most painful experience in his life but whatever Chisaki did made him stronger. Doubling his strength would be no problem.
"You disrespect my men and I disrespect your name."
"I only prod to ensure you get the most out of him Overhaul." The man that looked most like a plague doctor stepped up and placed a hand on Geus's shoulder. It was the perfect spot for him to send his gas through the mask and burn him alive. For whatever reason he couldn't, his body refused to do anything. "Think back. Tell me word for word when you realized you were driven to be an outcast."
Geus, age 8
The room Geus was locked in was as plain as the cell he would be locked into in less than ten years. Flat drywall painted in white and a tan carpet free of any stains. His bed was as cheap at the design of the room. Two black metal beams connected to create the frame of his twin size bed. And the white sheets wrinkle free and set like nobody has slept on the bed.
Only a single light right next to the door lit up the large closet sized room. The rectangle big enough for him, a bed and a wall height dresser. Originally this was an extension of the house for a stackable washer and dryer. But since his childhood was converted into his bedroom. Which made the four bedroom house into five, two occupied and three weren't.
A clear mindset restricted him to this as the earliest memory other than the one with Kendo. All the ones before these left his brain to be forgotten forever. This was what Geus considered to be his worst memory. One not filled with anger or pity talk. This was meant to strike him down to never get up again.
May 7th, another unmarked year of a silent birthday. No cake or candles, or any loving family member to sing a minute long tune. Geus's life at this time never heard the tune that brought a unique smile once a year. To him his birthday was a special day of failure.
If he placed his head against the unstained and unfinished door he could hear what his parents yelled about. Just outside his room was the dining room, a large center table that held ten but only held his parents today. The soft clanks of ice tapped against class and small knocks of wood hit the sound waves between their words.
"How many years does that bastard kid need?" His father growled. His finger tapped against the table in a fast enough rate to sound like a Beltone. "Eight years of promises with nothing."
His mother at the other end was already tipsy by the time of this conversation. She leaned the chair back from the table and used her small frame to keep balance on the back two legs. The way her chair rocked with every sway caused it to creak loud and quiet depending on the direction.
"Eight years of failure." She slurred her words as she spoke. A special bottle or alcohol opened one day a year on this day was present on her breath. A scent so strong Geus smelt it through the door. She hiccuped before she tried to speak again. "Maybe we can convince dad he doesn't have a quirk. The little shit doesn't show any signs of anything."
His father became angry, slamming the drink down on the table. It's contents spilling from the glass and drifting along the groves of the wood. "Don't be an idiot, Meika!" He grabbed the bottle on the table and poured more of the juice. "Your father was there for the heart attack. You know damn well he saw the hospital x-rays."
She flung forward on the seat and banged her head on the table. "You don't know that!" She screamed. "He was only there for the scene, not the hospital, baka!"
"And who was the doctor that treated him? Huh? You think your dad wouldn't get the documents if he thought it had to do with a quirk?" He swallowed the entire glass of liquor and slammed it back on the table. "Ahh. Besides, you'll never convince that man while our son has that deformed pinky."
Geus looked down at his pinks and curled it and wiggled it. It's true, a common sign of a child with a quirk is how the pinky's of his hands formed. His form with a missing joint but still flexible like anyone else. A strong indicator of a quirk. Another sign right around their fifth birthday that their quirk would manifest and happen to show itself. The only thing that happened around Geus's fifth birthday was a heart attack.
His father turned around in his chair and toward Geus's toward. "You hear me you little shit?" He tossed the empty bottle and smashed it against the door, shattering it upon impact. "You fucked us! Anything that happens to us is your god damn fault! Our deaths, our poverty, the outcasts of the family! All because of you!"
His mother only laughed the entire time. From either her husband's belittling or Geus's cries from behind his door, or both. Sober, drunk, or high either one of those triggered her ridicule towards her only child. "Better hope you never get your quirk!" She laughed. "Or I'll personally kick you out of this house." She slapped her husband's arm, her mouth gaped large with nothing coming out. "We can call the cops on him." She laughed. "Get him arrested for hurting us."
He pulled her in for a kiss, the sound of their lips and tongues slathering around each other ringing in Geus's ears. "Oh, we'll get your sister to defend us. Keep him locked up for good."
"Maybe then daddy will love us again."
"God I love you." Her body banged against Geus's door. What came next Geus forced out of his mind. The way his mother's mouth produced that noise, only his father had the ability to create them. Mixed with the pounds against his door as their weight pushed against the doorknob like they wanted to break in.
Current time
"Maybe back in the day, I didn't see anything wrong with life. The more I learned of our society and how it all mixed together the more I knew how much my family saw me." Geus glared down the plague doctor. A mask fully blocked out his face and a large brimmed black hat connected with the rest of his dress. He made people expose themselves to their deepest core while he hid in shadow black. "They never dared lay a finger on me. I knew they thought I'd kill them. I know I would too. Now you know how I felt, think you can connect?"
"You're an idiot and a brat." A bald man with a surgical mask for his hidden identity stepped forward. He stood on the opposite side of the doctor. His arm and hand blistered in crystals. "We were all discarded and left trash in the world of heroes. It's what binds us all as soldiers for Overhaul. I'll teach you all that I can and help show you that Overhaul saved you from your old discarded life."
"How don't you know I won't try to kill you when I have you alone? Putting lots of faith into me."
"Is that what you intend to do?" Nemoto questioned, activating his quirk onto Geus.
"Give me an opening and I'll escape, get that girl and reach my friends."
The crystalized man tightened his grip around Geus's shoulder. "I won't give you an opening to begin with."
"Rappa, teach Sansei what it means to be part of the Expendables. But don't kill him." Chisaki snapped his fingers and went to the door. "The rest of you follow me."
Rappa stood there as the rest left, his breath increasing and his upper body flexing with each inhale. Just as Geus feared, it was the humongous guy. His mask stretched over his face but cut open to allow the back of his long hair out. The white t-shirt constricted around his body and showed what should be hidden muscles. The brawler type goon wore thuggish gloves of leather bands wrapped around his wrists and fingers. Metal studs held the bands together and connected the finger tendons to his kuckles to his fingers.
"I like you." He laughed. "You don't use any weak weapons to win in a fight. Your gas becomes part of you. I'm going to hurt you badly."
This wasn't a threat to Geus. His body size and stance style of a fighter proved that. Geus could stack his armor up and still have no chance against him. 'Chisaki didn't intend for this to be a fight. He wanted to beat me down. Teach me a lesson or two.' Geus looked down at his hero costume. Without his mask the suit was practically useless. It wasn't designed to be a defense suit but to feed his quirk in ways he couldn't. And he didn't have the mask to be used with it.
Geus unzipped the jacket and tossed it on the ground and did the same with his pants. Dressed down in his compression black shirt and black pants he was as fast as he could be. Geus closed his eyes and forced open the beak of his mask. The gas flowed predominately out and covered his upper body in it. 'At least Chisaki allowed me to use this form.'. Able to cover his body in gas gave him one advantage, if Rappa touched him, he'd be burned. A large layer of hardened gas rested on his body at the same time a just as thick layer of gas over it.
It didn't stop the gigantic man, for as big and heavy as a man he was it didn't slow him down one bit. The speed his legs charged at caught Geus off guard and wide open for a clean hit. The speed in which his fists thrust into Geus's chest was a blur. Each punch went faster than the last and felt like one.
The armor Geus created vanished under the sheer speed and power Rappa created. It wasn't until the last series of hits Geus felt the total impact. One after the other the impact pushed into his gut and flung him into the back wall. In under five seconds, Geus was down and gasped for air. Like a dying man in hospice waiting out his last seconds of life.
"Overhaul seems to believe that you are worthy of his status of strength." Rappa clenched Geus's hair and lifted him into the air. "He's wrong." Rappa pulled back his fist way past the back end of his body. "Your life will be the consequence of his blindness!"
Geus opened up all the chambers in his lungs and instantly regained his breath. A move he taught to himself but held one disadvantage that holds it back from most fights. The second wind left his paralyzed for three seconds while he built up his oxygen again. Rappa's sense of strength and overpowerment of the battle left open those three seconds.
All at once his eyes filled up with the purple pigment and the gas rushed out of his body. He quickly realized in this fight that being on defense meant death and offense was the only choice. His arms filled layer over layer of mixtures of hardened and soft gas. In a fraction of a second Geus lifted his arm right where Rappa thrust forward.
Still Rappa's punch shredded right through Geus's armor and pounded into his arm. But this gave Geus an opening for his own counter punch. His left arm jabbed into the side of Rappa's mask. Small explosions on his elbow sent his arm faster than Rappa could react. As he connected, Geus puller back the top layers of his arm and unleashed a jet blast into the mask.
Even with the hindrance, Rappa was able to launch three of his own strikes into Geus. The pain eventually reached him and forced him to throw Geus back into the wall.
"A coward fighting with weapons. A weak, pathetic person." Rappa stammered around the room while he clenched down on the hidden scar.
Geus clawed his way at the wall and pulled himself up. "You think I give a" the feeling to puke rose, his head batted down and his mouth wide. A slug pile of purple goo left his mask and plopped onto the ground. "At least I can puke now." Geus sighed. "I don't give a shit about your respect or honor." He straightened his back and fixed up his armored arms. "Chisaki aims to break me and I'll never let that happen! Even if I give up on being a hero I'll never give up on my friends!"
"Fancy goal, but I'm going to beat you down till you can't breathe!"
"Tsk. Good luck with that." Geus lowered down to one knee and discretely dug his fingers into the ground. Since it was solid concrete he wouldn't get farther than the wood paneling floorboards.
They charged after each other again. Of course Rappa's fists were tucked hard against his sides while his whole upper body pressed forward. Geus's arms held back and fingertips pointed slightly up to the ceiling.
There was no chance Geus had a chance to fight head on. The only way was to play tricky. This time Geus understood and fully registered Rappa's fists. That sudden movement of his arms was all he need for. Geus stop the feed of his fingertips and stopped in his tracks, only his body huffing forward from the momentum.
All of Rappa's punch fell flat and hit only the space in front of Geus. There could be slowing down between steps, he jumped back to his original spot. Rappa's rage only grew and out of frustration punched the ground. Puffs of purple spewed from the cracks of wood and into his fists.
"Shit." Geus whispered.
"Your quirk is not strong enough to burn my flesh on its own. A tiny gun for a tiny man." Rappa grabbed the floorboards and ripped them up. The exposed ground revealed Geus's plan.
A layer of gas hardened with soft spots scattered around. The time to hide closed on Geus. He had no choice but to go onto phase two of his plan. All the soft spots he was able to create produced spikes large enough to tower above Rappa. Rappa saw it coming and smashed any that would've punctured him.
"Fight me like a man!"
Geus detached the hidden connections and swerved around Rappa. He stood there and followed Geus's speed without moving his body. Geus cleared Rappa's vision and planted his feet verticle with his back. The beak opened up more and launched a giant spike out of it.
Rappa's body spun faster than Geus launched his attack. Even at a few feet between them his fist smashed straight into the spike. Geus didn't see the shockwave Rappa sent back through the spike. Each inch of the gas was shattered and rumbled down into Geus's mask.
The final shockwave exploded in his mouth and flew Geus's limp body into the ground. He bounced off the randomly placed holes until he went back into the wall. His body felt defeated, all the fingers on his left hand were broken, his ribs also. That was the injuries he felt, he knew the rest of his stomach and arms must be bruised purple and bled inside. And his gas could only hold up so much of his body.
"You can either fight me with your own honor and die."
"What's the other?" Geus coughed. Blood coming up through his mask and a few inches away from his body. 'At least my mouth functions normally.'
"I only follow Overhaul so I can kill him myself and I will make sure nobody else does. This skirmish proves you won't be able to kill him, leave."
More of Geus's gas flowed around hia arm and assisted him up to his feet. A long pole from right arm planted into the ground and held his entire body up. "I'm not leaving without that girl. And Chisaki won't just let me take her."
"Then die!"
"I'll kill you both to get my way!"
The entire spike Geus used as a crutch widened and blistered till it exploded. His hardened body ejected from the ground and into the same direction as Rappa. Geus built everything he had into his arm. 'Nothing else will do! This is it!" His own eyes burned from the gas's heat he produced. This was enough to melt down any metal and weaken rock structures. Enough to break through Rappa's rock hard body.
His pinky swelled up and exploded, shattering whatever bone was still fine. Rappa's punches couldn't land, only able to brush the air to push back Geus's hair. His gas extended from his hand and wrapped around Rappa's neck. Rappa felt nothing and broke it off.
Geus landed onto the other wall and exploded off another finger. He's doing exactly what he heard Midoriya did to Todoroki. Enough pressed even this small in size could at least get him into Rappa's forward lunge. The second attempt in was initiated.
It was painfully obvious that he'd never get in with Rappa's speed to avoid it. Geus didn't try to avoid Rappa's punches this time. His face punched with such velocity it forced it back from the rest of his body. The mask stood no chance and shattered with only the outside magnet still on his mouth.
This was the one opportunity. A face full of hardened gas to resist a part of the impact and an arm ready. Rappa wouldn't be able to stop his arm this time. While both pounded away Geus's chest, Geus whipped around his gas enhanced arm.
"Iron Maiden Head!"
Rappa's entire head was wrapped around inside thickened layers of Geus quirk. On the inside Geus unleashed whatever his mouth produced. Spikes broke against Rappa's skull while his gas burned away everything. The pain didn't stop or slow down Rappa in the slightest. Fists still smashed and broke Geus's body. It didn't even look like his ultimate move had no effect on him.
Rappa reached out and grabbed Geus's leg. His arm tensed up and whipped Geus around into the air. One leg press forward and slammed Geus into the ground. He moved around in the small circle and slammed his lifeless body around. Geus felt nothing at this point, not even sure if his quirk was wrapped around Rappa's head.
Geus's eyes creased open enough to see the destruction of the room. It made sense after that on why he couldn't feel anything of his body. Craters in the ground from his body surrounded his. Rappa himself was on his knees and one arm on the ground held up the rest of it.
His face was unrecognizable, chunks of the mask attached to the stretched out and peeled skin. His hair bent over his face and sunk deep in his eye sockets. The entirety of his lower jaw hung from his neck as only his tongue held it up. It was a soft relief to see his chest heave every other minute.
Geus's chest sunk into the hole he was in and rested his head against a risen piece of wood. "I kept my word Bailey." Geus coughed, more of that sludge up-ed from his mouth and landed on his neck. It was hot and burned while it slithered down both sides of his flesh. But none of it left a mark on his body thanks to Chisaki.
"I knew he'd be able to earn your respect, Rappa." Geus heard Chisaki's voice but ran out of strength to move it. The sound of flesh cut through a wood chipper sprung around his ears. The broken boards creaked closer to Geus. He knew it was Chisaki that walked to him. A gloved hand felt his neck and pulled it up and forward. "I expected you to be smarter with your actions. Your pride and hotheadedness blinded your actions.
His head curled to the back of his body. He saw Chisaki look down on him. Chisaki's hand was in the air and to the side of his body, already knowing what was to come. Geus's grin shook open. " fuck you."
