Boy: I don't judge!

Guest: :)

FinchFlyingAce: Don't worry, her fate is quite fitting, and also in character for Ulric. Also, Silver Chariot is one of the coolest stands in the series, I've been trying to find a way to bring it back since Polnareff first came into the story! He will get more chapters focusing on him from here on out.

Bearticguy7: It reminds me of that one stand from the Rohan spinoff.

Jpx0999: Back and here to stay!

Euphoria: As soon as I saw the idea, I knew it was perfect for the Curator and the role she would play! It was a fantastic idea!

Kyeo307: Fun fact: I actually was planning to kill Patch off in the Necromancer arc, to add a bit more tragedy to it, but I realized that it would be too depressing, and the idea of an alternate version of a core character occasionally helping out was too much to resist.

The Curator groaned as she came to, glancing around the familiar sight of a hospital room. She felt horrible, her hand hurt like hell, and she could barely open her eyes. Momo had slammed her head into the table so hard, she was probably severely concussed.

Then, she saw a figure standing beside her bed.

"Finally awake, Sleeping Beauty?"

"Doc...tor?"

Ulric's doctor's mask made it impossible to read his expression, yet she felt a cold chill coming from the sightless gaze of the eye pieces, and his fists were clenched, one squeezing his cane as if he would die if he let go.

"How was your rest? Sleep well?" The garbled voice of the Doctor growled out. "You had quite the embarrassing defeat back there, although I have to say that it was well deserved."

The Curator furrowed her brows. "I...I had to. You liked her too much, she made you weak."

"'Always appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak.'" Ulric responded. "Do you know who said that? Sun Tzu, one of the greatest tactical minds in history. Kindness is not a weakness, and those who think it is are hopelessly deluded. He also said: 'To win a hundred battles is not the acme of skill. To subdue the enemy without fighting is the acme of skill.'"

"I-"

"-In other words, to settle a situation peacefully is the better, and more skillful alternative to simply killing someone. To take a life...that has to be a decision that means something, it shouldn't be your first thought."

"Doct-"

"Torture, now that is just too far. Torture done without necessity is reserved for only the cruelest of individuals, especially if it's with the intent to kill. Are you taking notes?"

"I can't move my writing hand...she broke my arm."

"Oh okay, let me help you."

Ulric whipped out the Amputator and cut the strap keeping the Curator's broken arm suspended, causing it to fall onto the bed. "AAAAAAAGGH!"

"There, that should do it. Now, write this down."

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!"

"Giving you a lecture." Ulric responded, pointing the Amputator at her throat. "Don't worry, as long as you don't move your arm too much, you should be able to write down what I'm saying, no problem."

"Why are you doing this for her?! I helped you! I gave you access to the Dam, you couldn't have done this without me!"

"There was a time when I truly valued that...but what you did was unforgivable. No one deserves to be starved, locked away from everything they hold dear. Not even your enemies...and especially not someone as kind as Yaoyorozu."

"She's a two-fac-"

"Yes, because she's the one who went behind my back."

"..."

"I find it ironic that I can trust my enemy more than I can trust you. Now, I have a whole textbook on ethics that I borrowed from the library, and I want you to read it, and write down everything you can."

Ulric paced around as the Curator sniffled, pushing through the pain to begin writing."Isn't this torture too? Aren't you a bit of a hypocrite?"

"No, this is a punishment. Torture is done with the intent to hurt, purely for malicious intent. What I'm doing now is giving you what you deserve." Ulric responded. "I do not intend to prolong your suffering, as soon as you're done taking notes, I will put your arm back in the sling."

"You know what? Maybe you and Yaoyorozu aren't so different after all."

"That's a compliment you fool."

"I'm not the fool here, choosing enemies over allies, you fucking traitor!"

Ulric put his head down, sighing. "I was the fool, you're right, wasting my time with you. I didn't want to have to do this, but now I see there is only one way to snap you out of your delusions...bring her in."

A couple nurses wheeled a pale, sickly looking woman into the room. The Curator's eyes widened upon seeing her. "Mom?"

The wheelchair-bound woman was in tears, and her worn and sick face was twisted into one of sadness. It was painstakingly clear that the woman probably only had days to live. "...where did I go wrong?"

"What?" The Curator asked quietly.

"The Doctor showed me the footage of the attack. I didn't want to believe it...to me, you had always been the good little girl I had raised...but I saw what you did to that Yaoyorozu girl. The Doctor also showed me a picture of the wound you gave the Asui girl too. Those were children..." The Curator's mother was sobbing. "I'm on my deathbed...and I find out my daughter is a monster."

"What? NO! MOM! She's trying to kill you! She's-"

"I already explained the situation to her." Ulric cut her off. "Everything, from Elysium to my relationship with Yaoyorozu. She agrees with me."

"Mom...Mom please...I did it for you..."

"That sickens me even more than I already am, knowing that someone was starved for me. I'm not going to Elysium."

"W-what?!"

"You heard me. I am going to die on this planet, like I was supposed to. I requested that the Doctor would simply let me pass away, and that he runs the Dam from now on. Although he did not agree with it, he chose to respect my wishes."

The Curator ripped herself away from the hospital bed, crawling over to her mother in tears. "Mom, Mom please...I only wanted to protect you...I...I..."

"You aren't my daughter...not anymore."

The former Curator froze upon hearing those words, and the nurses began wheeling the weeping woman back to her deathbed. The villainess on the floor extended a hand, reaching out for the woman who raised her, the dying woman who she drove away in her attempt to save her.

"MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!"

The Curator slammed a fist on the ground, wailing in despair, as Ulric's doctor's mask pierced her with an unforgiving stare. She deserved this, as this was a result of her own actions. All he did was bring her crimes to light, and her mother did the rest. With the only family she had left turned against her, the Curator would lose all reason or will to fight.

Just as he promised Kyoka in his letter, he had gotten justice for his dear pupil.

Shadow Moth twirled his cane in anticipation, today was the big day. The day in which society, Mustafu at least, would be free of quirks forever. Today was the day that Project Exodus would be online, and the Quirk Singularity would never come to pass.

Through the Doctor, he would finally become the real life Shadow Moth, akumatizing anyone who could be of use to him, and he would become the ruler of Elysium.

After all, he was the true brains behind the operation, only pretending to be defeated in order to lure the heroes into a false sense of security, and pulling the rug out from under them. Plus, he heard that Ulric was planning on staying on Earth, being the last human on the planet once his work was done.

So, someone had to manage Elysium when he was gone, right?

He passed by what appeared to be a little black button on the ground, and shrugged. The private militia he hired to help guard the Dam had black uniforms, so it was probably one of theirs.

As Shadow Moth turned the corner, Johnny Kujo emerged from the wormhole with a bemused expression. "He looked right at me...how stupid is this guy?"

"I didn't even have to be invisible." His aunt responded, stepping out from around a corner. "I was literally just standing there."

The two Joestars just looked at each other and chuckled, and Johnny pressed a button on an earpiece located in his left ear. "How are you doing?"

"There's guys with assault rifles all over the place. Shadow Moth may be a fucking idiot, but his money is no joke." Kyoka responded through the comms. "Considering I can't deflect bullets like you, I may take a while to catch up. I might have to take them out stealthily."

"That's until Gramps teaches you the Hamon Hair Attack." Johnny responded with a smirk.

"The what now?"

"You'll see."

"You just looove keeping me in suspense, don't you?"

"You mess with me all the time, I'm merely returning the favor."

"You two are cute and all, but we should really get back to the task at hand." Shizuka commented. "We're in the Dam now...we need to find this weird project and put a stop to it before he activates it."

"We also need to make sure that Tsu can get to the water without being caught by Paradise City." Johnny agreed. "By the way...how are you holding up Tsu? Does your back still hurt?"

"Recovery Girl did what she could, and Mr. Giovanna did the rest, but it doesn't exactly kill the pain."

"Gold Experience can only replace the matter inside the stab wound, not the wound itself. You still have to heal." Johnny responded, peering around a corner to spot a group of armed men. "A mercenary group...what are they called?"

"Well, the armband on the guy I just choked out says their organization is called COBRA." Kyoka chimed in. "I'm gonna steal a uniform so I can blend in, I'm tired of creeping around, it takes too much time."

"How will we tell you apart from the enemy? I don't want to shoot you on accident." Johnny asked.

"You'll know, I'll make it obvious to you and you alone. Alright, I'm gonna go and strip this guy...ugh, I already hate this."

"Yeah yeah, you don't like nudity, he probably has something on underneath." Shizuka said as Kyoka groaned over the comms.

"It's not...look it depends on the context. This is someone I don't know."

"So if it was Johnny-"

"Not answering that. *Cough* UGH! This guy went way too overboard with the AXE body spray...bleh!"

"We should move before we have to hear Kyoka puke." Johnny said, and went back into a wormhole. Shizuka nodded, and activated Acthtung Baby, creeping alongside her nephew's wormhole as they both advanced upon the COBRA mercenaries.

Momo stood at the base of the Mustafu Dam, her heart in turmoil. After discovering tremors coming from the Dam, it didn't take much for Momo to decipher that Ulric was putting his plan into action. Quickly, everyone got in their respective places, the stealth team had already infiltrated the Dam, and Tsuyu was being escorted to the water by Kyoka, who had just warned her that she "smelled like Arnold Schwarzenegger's bare asshole."

Whatever that meant.

However, that also meant that she would have to confront the man himself at some point. She had made considerable progress, to be sure, but she never would have expected to admire the man so much.

Now, despite all of that, all she could feel was dread. Not only had she went through a harrowing experience just under 48 hours ago...but now she had to put a stop to the man who had done so much for her, A man who wouldn't stop unless...

The ravenette sat down, hugging her knees to her chest as she contemplated the decision she may have to make. Pulling out her phone, she took a hard look at the worn and tired teenaged girl staring back at her. The bags from under her eyes from the torture she sustained from the Curator hadn't completely gone away, and while she certainly looked better...

Momo Yaoyorozu still looked like hell.

However, she couldn't give up. As much as it hurt her to admit, Ulric needed to be stopped before Mustafu succumbed to his flood and was transported to Elysium. As much as she respected and admired the man...she had to put a stop to him, even if that meant ending his life.

She knelt down and threw on her new crimson cape, which was actually an idea suggested to her by Gyro. Just like Ulric, she hid tools and gadgets underneath it, concealed from even the most watchful eyes. She created the gear long before the fight even started.

Better to prepare ahead than create on the fly, another lesson learned from her enemy.

Her skirt doubled as a utility belt, filled to the brim with snacks to replenish her lipids, and it was connected to a new top that inverted the colors of the original. Now, Momo was predominantly wearing white, with red lining.

She had actually considered a suit without the boob window, but Kyoka of all people had talked her out of it. In the purplette's own words: "You aren't doing it for attention, don't you dare take what that bitch said seriously! That's how Susan almost killed me! You remove that boob window, I'll hurt you."

As crude as Kyoka put it, she was right. She shouldn't have to sacrifice a tactical advantage just because some delusional villain shamed her for it.

Finally, adding the finishing touch to her new hero costume, Momo fastened a pair of goggles on her forehead, modeled after the eye pieces on Ulric's doctor's mask.

Gyro came walking up beside her. "Hero costume looks good, but...why the change?"

"...my old suit was worn by a girl who was unsure of what she fought for. Someone who was lost, someone who was a hero by nature, but never knew what drove her. My old suit was designed by a girl who longed for kinship and meaning, and it no longer reflects who I am today." Momo gestured towards her new outfit. "This outfit was inspired by friends, by mentors, and by goofy pizza-loving Italians. This suit...is worn by a girl who now has the things she once lacked, and more than ever...she is proud of them."

"That was really poetic." Gyro commented, smiling in approval. "I know I don't have to ask, but are you sure you want to do this? He...is kind of a friend to you after all."

"Unless he somehow changes his mind after centuries of remaining in this mindset...I'm afraid I have no choice. I know...it has to be me. It wouldn't feel right if it were anyone but me..."

Gyro slipped his hand into hers. "You know...we may have not had enough time recently to say this, since we've both been so busy and all...but I love you. I'm sorry...I never found the time to tell you just how proud I am-"

"Gyro...I felt it. There was no need for words." Momo assured the Italian. It was quiet, peaceful...just two people with affection towards each other enjoying the moment, before the inevitable battle.

"...when I first bumped into you, on I-Island, to be honest I just thought you were hot. I mean...well-"

"My eyes are up here."

"Right, sorry. The point I'm trying to make is that it was superficial reasons at first...but...then I just saw something in you, something that made it go from interest to full blown attraction...and that is your dedication, despite not really knowing why. That's something you and I have in common, we're both dedicated to what we do."

Momo nodded, and kissed Gyro on the cheek. "The cowboy and the rich girl...we really are an unlikely pair, aren't we?"

"I guess so...sounds like the plot of a western if I'm being honest."

"A Spaghetti Western?" Momo replied, and the couple began chuckling to themselves. Truthfully, Gyro was worried that the ravenette's forced isolation would have done something irreparable to her, but since she was already cracking jokes, he was sure she would make a full recovery.

You could starve her, beat her down, and shatter her confidence...but Momo Yaoyorozu always got back up.

"Is there something on the wall over there?" One of the COBRA mercenaries asked, he had a nametag that read: Daryl.

"No, I have no idea what you're talking about." The other one said in a female voice trying desperately to sound male. "Are you high?"

"Yes...it almost looks like the outline of...a girl, and you know what? You kinda sound like one, are you alright Billy?"

"Hey, I'm the manliest man to ever...man! I wear AXE body spray, I lift weights!"

"Billy" began flexing her arms, making overexaggerated manly poses in an attempt to show off her masculinity. "Mmmm, yeah! Gunshow! Testosterone! UGH!"

"...well, you're definitely Billy. That's what I get for smoking weed right before a job." The other COBRA agent said, turning around to continue his patrol. Kyoka sighed in relief, and gave the camouflaged Tsuyu a glance.

The frog girl made sure the coast was clear before speaking. "That was not your best work, Kyoka."

"I'd like to see you try and pull that off." The purplette responded, cringing beneath the COBRA unit's face mask. "We're lucky the guy wasn't sober...it's best to avoid talking to people from now on."

"Do you have a plan in case that doesn't work?"

"Yep, since you are mostly invisible to the naked eye, you can take out security cameras in case things get messy, then we disarm them, and kick their shit in."

"EVERYONE, SALUTE! THE BOSS IS COMING!"

Kyoka made a noise and copied the salute the other soldiers were doing, while Tsuyu made herself scarce. Heavy footsteps echoed throughout the halls as a giant cobra man entered the same hallway.

Wait...that's the assassin Bakugo fought the other day! Oh shit...he's looking at me...

Glycon approached Kyoka, his reptilian eyes examining her. His face was half-burned, a result of his fight with Katsuki, but from the way he carried himself it was clear he wore the burn with pride. He remained silent, just staring at her, inches away from her face.

"You're sssaluting with your right hand, sssoldier."

"S-sorry boss!" Kyoka said, deepening her voice once more.

Glycon nodded, and was about to continue walking, before he stopped. "There'sss another heat ssignature in thisss room. Ssstay alert. We have company."

Not good! Snakes sense body heat, shit!

Glycon began walking towards Tsuyu, a snarl on his reptilian face. His tail began twisting towards the exact spot where she was hiding.

"Sir! I uh...I believe that may be weed."

The snake man blinked, his sideways eyelids flitting open and closed, much to Kyoka's disgust. "Weed? Are you sssure? Why would it be weed?" The snake turned to the wall, but Tsuyu was now on the ceiling. "The Doctor sssaid the frog could camouflage hersself. Ssssnakesss eat frogsss, I'm her natural predator, ssso I can tell with thessse thingss."

"Daryl was smoking weed sir, it might be residual heat from the blunt he was smoking. I had a whole conversation with him about it, in this room."

Glycon looked at the camouflaged Tsuyu, and at the disguised Kyoka, and hummed in confirmation. "He will be getting a ssstern talking to then, thanksss for bringing thiss to my attention. He could've causssed the project to be put on hold, and we wouldn't get paid."

Did Kyoka feel bad for throwing Daryl under the bus? A little, but the man was part of Glycon's assassin guild, so he must've killed a few people. Besides, the beast that had held his own against three of their strongest allies was about to discover her semi-injured friend, so it was honestly not a problem in the long run.

That is...until Daryl's lifeless body was flung into the hallway, and Glycon poked his head back in.

"Guesss what? You got a promotion Billy. Daryl'sss spot isss open!"

Kyoka heard Tsuyu's heart quicken in a panic. Obviously, her classmate hadn't seen someone slaughtered so casually before, death was foreign to her...

Which, now that the purplette thought about it, was actually quite sad, considering that Kyoka could no longer relate. However, in order to maintain cover, she gave the assassin a thumbs up.

If caught, that snake would murder them in a heartbeat. Utmost stealth is the key.

Kyoka waited until Glycon was out of sight, and walked over to Tsuyu, putting a hand on the panicking greenette. It was a gentle touch, one that gave assurance. "Tsu...listen...we need to stay focused on the mission. Johnny and Shizuka are taking these guys out as we speak, clearing the path for us. I know it's scary, scary as hell...but we need to be strong for them, for everyone. I'll be there for you...I promise."

"Thank you Kyoka. R-ribbit. I'll be strong, I'm a hero after all." Tsuyu responded putting her hand over her friend's and giving it a squeeze. "You can count on me."

"You're so brave Tsu...thank you."

"I don't like the fact that these scoundrels are here, Shadow Moth." The Doctor said, tapping his cane on the ground. "I just saw that disgusting snake creature commit a murder on the security cameras. One of his own men too."

"They're mercenaries, it's how they roll." Shadow Moth responded, using one of those rotating office chairs to spin around. "All they care about is my money."

"In the wrong hands, Exodus could be a weapon of mass destruction." The Doctor responded. "Don't you know that the snake is commonly associated with treachery? Adam and Eve fell for the snake's charms...and were banned from the Garden of Eden as a result."

"Well, you've made your own Eden, haven't you? Would he not be allowed in, as the ultimate karma of sorts?"

"Elysium is like Eden, in a sense. Back to our assassin, do you have any idea where he gets his name from?" Ulric asked, and when Shadow Moth shook his head, the Doctor sighed. "Glycon is an alternative spelling of Glykon, an ancient Greek snake god. Glykon had a whole cult following him, all due to the machinations of a charlatan."

"Okay, so Glycon got his name from a Greek god that inspired cults, he might just like to read Percy Jackson." Shadow Moth said, still spinning around like a child.

"He was a false god! Treachery and deceit! His self-proclaimed prophet, Alexander of Abonoteichos, made him up to get attention. Glykon himself was a hand puppet! It was all a ruse, a ruse that even convinced a Roman emperor! This man based his codename off of a lie!"

"Or...hear me out...he has a snake quirk."

"I don't want him near the project!" Ulric snapped. "Snakes are simply animals, of course, and if it simply was the quirk I wouldn't have a problem, but names exist for a reason."

"Whatever, he's helping us. Besides, I heard he promoted the guy who reported the one that got murdered. Apparently the guy was smoking weed, so Glycon's snake senses thought he detected another heat signature in the room...honestly, could've caused a a delay on the project if there was really an intruder."

Ulric stopped pacing. "Tell me, did Glycon have anything to say about this soldier, the one that reported the victim?"

"Only that he seemed a bit youthful, almost girlish."

"...where is this soldier now?" Ulric said, turning around.

"Heading towards the water treatment sector, according to the cameras. Although a few of the cameras have been shutting down as of late...technical difficulties."

"Techni-...you know what? Good job Shadow Moth, you're amazing at this." Ulric said, his voice dripping ever so slightly with sarcasm.

"It's my pleasure, Doctor!"

Ulric glanced at the security cameras, towards the one currently pointing at "Billy."

That is definitely a member of the One For All group, I'm sure of it. Obviously the man's death was an accident if that was the case. The cameras shutting off when Glycon conveniently suspects an intruder?

Why do I still keep that shadow-brained idiot around?

Tusk crushed another security camera in it's fist, and Johnny smirked, looking back at the hallway filled with beaten and bloody mercenaries. "All in a day's work."

"You know Johnny? I don't think we've ever really gotten to work together before." Shizuka commented, taking off her sunglasses. "It's weird, considering we grew up together. I'm still used to Tusk Act 1."

"Well, you've been away for most of the party." Johnny replied.

"If the Steel Ball Run was a party, I'm not too excited for Jolyne's wedding reception." Shizuka quipped, and Johnny snorted.

Then, a guard suddenly turned the corner, and both of the Joestar's used their respective stands to conceal themselves. The guard stopped in his tracks, snorting. Without another word, the guard began strolling directly towards Johnny's wormhole.

Shizuka was about to intervene, but the guard pointed a finger right at her, stunning her into silence.

Johnny emerged from the wormhole with a grin. "Hello there..." Johnny took a look down at the nametag. "Billy."

The guard pulled down his face mask and kissed Johnny on the lips, and although Shizuka had caught on at this point, it was still a pretty bizarre sight to see. The guard separated their lips and grinned.

"Kept you waiting, huh?"

"You don't know the half of it."

Kyoka threw off the COBRA uniform, revealing her normal hero costume, and smiled. "Told you you would know it was me."

"Okay, I know how you heard me...but how the hell did you know where Johnny was?" Shizuka asked.

"His wormholes make a very faint buzzing sound, undetectable to the average ears." Kyoka replied, wiping off her purple jacket. "I can hear them at any time, it's how Johnny and I find each other on missions like this."

"Huh, cool."

"I'm...really confused..." Tsuyu cut in, emerging from her camouflage.

"What about...oh! Right, relationship is secret." Kyoka said with a slight blush, rubbing the back of her head. "It's getting harder to remember that nowadays."

"A whole thing we'd rather explain later." Johnny said. "Right now, we need to get into the water treatment room and get you out into the water to see what the hell this Exodus actually is. We only have a few hours, judging by what those mercenaries were saying."

"Ribbit." Tsuyu said with a nod, and examined the door. "A keypad...anyone find some sort of clue on what the password is?"

"No need." Johnny said, and Tusk dug it's fingers into the metal door, ripping it out. "All of the mercs in this area have been taken out, cameras too. We can just bust right in."

"Alright, let's go then." Kyoka said, heading inside.

Shizuka coughed as soon as Kyoka passed by her, and turned to Johnny, mouthing: "Your girlfriend smells like Hulk Hogan's jock strap."

Johnny simply nodded in confirmation.

The stealth team entered the water treatment room, watching as giant gears churned the water flowing in from the lake on the other side of the Dam. Tsuyu glanced around the room, taking in the scenery. "Do you think the Doctor knows we're here? We might've been able to fool Glycon and Shadow Moth, but..."

"He likely does. You may very well have to race Paradise City through the water. Don't be afraid if you get caught...you won't be in Elysium forever." Johnny replied. "All we need right now is to find out what it is, because then we can formulate a plan to stop it."

"How do we get you in the water? That's the question we should be asking right now." Shizuka responded, pointing towards the gears. "You'd be crushed if you tried to get through those, and putting a hole in the wall would be suicide for the rest of us. There has to be an opening, somewhere."

"I could use a Golden Rotation bullet to reverse the spin on one of the gears, you can hide between the notches and you should be fine." Johnny said, spinning a nail around his pointer finger, lining up the shot. "After that it's up to you."

"Right." Tsuyu agreed, getting ready.

Johnny fired, and the gear began to rotate in the other direction, but the room began to shake, and suddenly the gears were ripped out of the wall, slabs of metal slamming shut over the openings in order to seal the room off from the lake beyond the wall.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" Kyoka screamed as she tried to find her footing.

"I assume that was Jonathan Kujo that did that." A familiar British accent said from a speaker in the wall. "He's the only Spin user capable of traversing the facility undetected. I must commend you for sneaking Asui in under my radar, however I'm sorry to say that you were playing directly into my hands by using the Spin. You see...only by changing the rotation of one gear, and not the other, could Exodus be activated."

"SHIT!" Johnny yelled. "Those gears weren't part of the Dam, they were Exodus's ON SWITCH! I'M SO FUCKING STUPID!"

"JOHNNY!" Kyoka cut her boyfriend off, grabbing him by his scarf and pulling him in close. "Now is not the time to beat yourself up over this, we need to get Tsu out there now!"

"Do not feel bad, there was no way you could've known. I have also avoided alerting the mercenaries to your presence, as they would not hesitate to try to kill you. Perhaps you could still get Asui out there, I don't know. What I do know is that it would be a mistake to underestimate the Joestar intuition."

Johnny growled in frustration, and turned to the others. Then, he got a lightbulb. Without a second thought, he sent Tusk over to punch straight through one of the steel doors, and the room began flooding with water. "Tsu! Go!"

"But-"

"GO!"

Tsuyu dived into the torrent just as Tusk came back to it's user, spinning around in a circle to create a gust of wind that prevented the water from getting to the others, essentially forming a whirlpool around the heroes.

"Good thinking Johnny!" Shizuka yelled amidst the roar of the whirlpool. "Now, how the hell are we going to get out of here?!"

Kyoka took a deep breath, activating her Hamon, and jumped straight into the whirlpool. She began sliding along the edge of it, gaining momentum every time she completed a circuit. "Good thing you guys gave me that water lesson! If...I can just...get...enough...speed..."

"Careful Kyoka, you're still new at this!" Johnny responded, sweating. One side effect of spinning his stand was that it made him a bit dizzy.

Kyoka responded by rocketing up through the waves and heading towards the ceiling about ten feet up. Grabbing onto a pipe, she kicked in a vent in the wall, and gestured for the others to follow. "Come on!"

Shizuka and Johnny both used their respective stands to jump towards the vent, just as the whirlpool ceased, the room slowly filling up with water once more.

"Sooo...why aren't the adults handling this? You're just entrusting a city-wide crisis to a bunch of teenagers." A recently freed Mt. Lady asked Jotaro. They were both aboard Funny Valentine's ship, and the headquarters of the LCA. "I was in there for weeks, I wanna take this guy out."

"He has you pegged, you'd be an easy target." Jotaro responded, bluntly.

"I'm more concerned with the literal children you're sending after him. People so young shouldn't have to go in that stupid Elysium place." Mt. Lady shuddered. "It was both wonderful and awful...I felt so sad..."

"Those aren't just kids, they're one of the best teams I have ever seen. Besides, with the connection the Doctor formed with Yaoyorozu...denying her the opportunity to provide closure to all of this would only work towards her detriment." The elder Kujo said, his cold glare focused on the pro hero. "If you knew half the things these kids have been through, you'd be vouching for them to get full licenses. Don't speak about them as though they are a liability."

"Your son is in the Dam right now! You're okay with that?!"

"My son could take on All For One and win, he could take on DIO and win. I value his safety, but I also understand that Johnny has surpassed me in some regards. Obviously, he has two more years of growth ahead of him, but still...I know he can handle it."

"Surpassed you?"

"He beat me in combat, when I was seriously trying to win. I stopped time and everything...and he found a way to move. He is only stronger when his friends are involved. All of them are going to surpass us one day...they'll leave my generation in the dust...and yours. That's why I'm taking the backseat."

"...you really have faith in them, don't you? You think they are going to win against that madman."

"Thinking and knowing are two different things. I have full confidence in every single one of them. Besides, the reason you got caught is because your quirk makes you easier to hit, even with Paradise City's imprecision. Pro hero or not, they stand a better chance than you do."

"Well, what about Endeavor? You know, the current number one hero? His son is involved too, and the whole city is at stake, why wouldn't he be on this? Why-"

"Do you really think the Doctor wouldn't have a plan for him?"

"He has a plan for them!" Mt. Lady snapped. "Bakugo and Todoroki don't even have provisional licenses. Look...these kids might be extremely capable, I wouldn't know. The only experience I had with them is watching them in the Sports Festival, and the incident in the Kamino Ward...but there should be adults handling this."

"That's why I'm supervising."

"And what's the deal with the President of the United States suddenly showing up and pulling me out of there?! How did he do that, why is he even here?! Didn't he disappear?! I mean, so much of this is against protocol that-"

"YAKAMASHI!" Jotaro barked, and Mt. Lady closed her mouth.

The elder Kujo sighed. "Yare yare daze...listen, I know you've been through an ordeal, and I know that we're stretching the line when it comes to legality, but sometimes you have to bend the law in order to do the right thing. They are our best fit for this situation, and I need you to accept that."

Mt. Lady looked at the team preparing through the LCA's cameras, and noticed something for the very first time since her rescue. Everyone down by the Dam was working together, no solo acts, no attention seeking. All of them, even Bakugo was cooperating.

Maybe there was some logic to Jotaro's faith in them after all.

They aren't doing this for popularity or for money...and they all work as a unit. I guess they really will surpass our generation. I still don't agree with having them handle this, but...we'll see how this goes.

Onto my next question...

Why did I find Dr. Kujo yelling at me sexy?

"Alright, Tsu got a picture of it." Kyoka said, pulling up her phone. The remaining three were sitting in the vent, just above the barren boiler room. "Looks like she got out of there too, good."

"Exodus is already operational, and rising to the surface as we speak. The Doctor has no reason to prevent her from finding out about it now." Johnny replied. "Still, every second counts, what is it?"

The purplette was staring at the phone as if she was looking at somebody dissed Deep Dope. "You've got to be fucking with me..."

"What is it?" Shizuka asked, leaning over to look at Kyoka's phone, her sunglasses falling off as soon as she saw what was on it. "Oh shit...that thing must be the size of a building...it looks like Cthulu rising up from the depths."

"Wait, what the fuck? What is it?" Johnny asked, and when he saw it, his face turned grim. "That is a problem...that is a serious problem."

Kyoka dialed up the rest of the group to report what Tsuyu had found. "Alright...we kind of succeeded...but..."

"It's active, I know. We felt the tremors. Do you know what it is?" Momo asked. "Is it something we can easily stop, or are we in for a tough fight?"

"The second one." Shizuka said with a grimace. "That thing is not going to be easy to destroy, that's for sure. Look, the Doctor is in the cockpit." The adopted Joestar pointed at a spot in the picture. "Which means we might have to deal with Paradise City on top of this thing...he's piloting it himself."

The picture was of what they could only describe as a giant mech with two legs, using propellers to bring itself to the surface. It was roughly the size of UA's main school building, with a giant cannon in the front. It had no arms, only a large round disc and what appeared to be a large minigun.

It was essentially a building-sized tank with legs...

"I can't believe Kaminari was right..." Kyoka said, facepalming.

"What was I right about?" The blond chimed in, confused.

"Remember our conversation we had when we were looking for a place for the B team to set up shop? Er..."

"Yeah...wait, don't tell me-"

"Exodus is a goddamn steampunk Metal Gear. That cannon in the front, it must shoot out water from the Dam. That's how he's going to flood specific areas of the city."

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! YES, I WAS RIGHT! I TOLD YOU!"

Everyone was silent, waiting for Kaminari's brain to catch up with his boasting.

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...OH NO! I WAS RIGHT!"

The end of the Paradise City arc is at hand! With Ulric's big project revealed to be Not-Metal Gear: Exodus, will the heroes be able to stop his annexation of Mustafu into Elysium?

More importantly, what will become of the Mentor/Student relationship between Momo and our antagonist? Will Momo have to put an end to her mentor?

Also, remember the Curator's actions forced Ulric to start the project early...