I don't own One Punch Man, nor do I own My Hero Academia. Each Franchise i owned by their respective owner..
ENJOY!
...
When the door opened, Izuku stepped outside of the limousine, feeling the anxiety inside him gradually overtaking him. The thought that he'd be standing beside these heroes, maybe he should've given it a bit more evaluation. But of course, he was never the type to think first.
Taking the first step, his heart could be heard twice, but when he took the following steps, his heart started to beat itself even more intense, his eyes dilated subconsciously.
Fidgeting, he offered his hand to the nearest hero, trembling as he forced it to reach his hand, which happened to be Atomic Samurai.
"Hi, Atomic Samurai, sir, it's an honour to-"
However, his introduction was cut short when Atomic Samurai slapped his hands away, "Hate to burst your bubble kiddo, but I only acknowledge the strong. I will only shake your hand when you've proven yourself to be more than just a static, less than useful sack of meat."
The other heroes looked ready to come into his defense, however, Kishimoto beat them to it, "I know your distaste for inexperienced heroes, but like it or not, Midoriya Izuku is an integral part to this operation."
"You expect me to greet him like an equal?" Atomic Samurai scoffed, "He is naught but a highschool teenager. He can barely handle a street-level villain, much less the Monster Association."
"Quit talkin' big. 'Fore you know it, the kid might outperform you in some way." Metal Bat chimed in, "Don't mind him, kid. 'M sure you'll do well."
"I appreciate it, Metal Bat-san.." Izuku bowed his head slightly, "Though, his reaction to my involvement in an operation as big as this one might've been justifiable, considering that I'm inexperienced in this field. I could be a liability, or worse..wear everyone down to the point of imminent failure."
"Eh, don't sweat it." Metal Bat gave Izuku a pat in the back, "I know you got dragged into this whole debacle over a forced visitation back at the UA." He leaned a little to whisper, "I'm gonna be your big brother until this whole shit finally settles down."
"A- ah!" Izuku uttered in bafflement. Eh? Big brother?
Metal Bat only gave him an earnest smile, before Sitch finally made his presence known.
"That's enough discussion for now." His voice came like a razor blade cutting through a string.
"Now, as you know, the Monster Association is holding Waganma hostage, right beneath the Monster Department Rehabilitation tower. Some of you will engage on the surface, while the others will proceed through the entrance to the base, located at the underground." Sitch began explaining, "Remember, teamwork is crucial in this operation. Segregation and needless rivalries might result in failure, which we can't afford to face at this time of being. The fate of the country hinges on our success."
"What about Tatsu-chan?" Zombieman asked, "I don't think she's on board with our plan."
"We shouldn't worry." Sitch replied, "Fubuki and her subordinates are already dispatched to scout for hidden enemies inside the Monster Association base. Tatsumaki won't be able to find her."
"How do you know for sure, though?"
"I've taught her a thing or two about covering her tracks. Even with Tatsumaki's abilities to sense a person's life signature, she wouldn't be able to find Fubuki." Sitch then ordered the three men who escorted Izuku to move to the front, " Now, one of you may proceed to open the portals."
Proceeding, the men formed a black mist that swirled around in the air, increasing it's size gradually.
A muscular man wearing a tight red bodysuit and a white cape bumped past him, whom he recognised as Ignition, the number one hero.
"I got this, Sitch. I'll keep those boys in line, make sure none of them misbehaves." He said.
"Your contribution is greatly appreciated, Ignition."
As they prepared to enter, the other side of the portal revealed something that made their jaws gaped.
The scenery around the city that they were about to enter looked like something that came out of a warzone, with the ruined buildings and dead civilians, swarmed with a couple of ambulances.
...
Bang strolled around the oval-shaped area, and at the center, he could see a hologram of what appeared to be an illustration of some sorts, depicting the process of how a person turns into a monster.
"An educational center of some sorts..." Bang said to himself as he observed the visitors around him. They really believed that these people were trying to do something for the greater good.
Then, a hologram appeared in front of the illustration, depicting a female wearing a white suit. With a polite smile, shrouding an abundance of devious intents, she spoke, "Welcome to the Monster Rehabilitation Department!"
Bang's expression contorted unpleasantly, knowing in heart that these people were faking their smiles, and hiding beneath their facade, are grinning monsters out to bring about the annihilation of humanity.
"The cause of our correctional facility is a simple one to explain. We are here to serve monsters and humans alike. Our priority may remains atop the welfare of the rehabilited monsters, however, we don't want to leave the human side to feel neglected. If some of you have a persisting issue that could correspond to the concept of 'monsterisation', you can consult us anytime. Our vision, after all, is to heal and cleanse the world of the monster disease. We exhibit an unbiased judgement in regards to each ends, so worry not about prejudices and discriminative acts."
Bang turned away from the crowds, disinterested in the hologram's babbling.
He only needed to infiltrate the base.
But suddenly, the speaker hanging at the corner of the ceiling emitted out a distress alarm,
"Warning, an unknown tectonic shift has been detected! Visitors are to remain calm and to stay inside until further notice!"
Bang raised his eyebrows, bewilderment danced in his dilated pupils. When he tilted his head to the solid ground, he could feel the vibration scurrying across the floor. He bent his knees, reaching the necessary level to close the distance between himself and the floor, as he tapped the floor with his index finger, and he knew immediately what was going on...
This was no ordinary earthquake.
"Yagi..." Bang uttered under his breath, "What on earth are you doing down there?"
...
"What happened here?" Sitch asked the local law enforcement.
"An earthquake happened." He replied, "One second, everything seemed fine and then everything goes into a downward spiral."
"The Monster Rehabilitation Department said it was an unindentified tectonic shift, but the credulity of that claim remains to be questioned." The other officer added.
"Ah, so you question their integrity as well." Sitch rubbed his chin, speculating about the possible cause of this.
"A- as well?" Then, the realisation dawned on the officer, "Hold on a sec, are you from the Hero Commission?"
"I'm surprised you didn't realise."
"E- eh?! So you're here because of the whole earthquake thing? What is it now, a villain with an earth-bending quirk-"
"No, it is...far more nuanced than that." Sitch then walked forward, "Tell your men to fall back and evacuate the city. We will handle this."
"Yes, sir!" The officers saluted, before rushing away to proceed with the evacuation process.
Sitch spoke to his communicator, "All heroes, proceed with utmost discretion. The lower ranking heroes are to engage on the surface and to keep a watch on monsters that might ambush the heroes on the underground. I repeat again so it might get through your thick skulls: Teamwork is absolutely necessary in this mission. Refrain from letting your pride get the best of you. Good luck, we're counting on you."
...
Izuku's feet touched the ground with a loud thump, followed by the pompadour-haired man landing behind him.
"We have no means for directions." Izuku remarked, "If we proceed, we might get lost."
"I dunno, kid, just move." Metal Bat ordered.
"Rushing in blindly without prior knowledge about the area we're scouting is nothing short of a suicidal move," Izuku explained, "We could be ambushed, and we're as good as dead to be any of use to this operation if that ever happens."
"You think I'd let a fodder monster do us in over a surprise attack? Just keep moving. Everything will go fine, just the way it is." Metal Bat said, "So reluctant about the chance of us winning, ya sure you don't wanna back out? I can cover for you-"
"I'm sure, Metal Bat-san."
"You're a kid." Bad spoke, objecting to the kid's short-sighted decision, "See, even now you're panicking inside. Don't you think I can't see through the tough exterior you're keeping up right now? It's not like I'm a psychic, but even a blind man can see it from a mile."
"I'm not-!"
"Did your 'Sensei' put you up to this?" Metal Bat asked, wary, "You know, give you some outrageous inhumane tasks, expecting to see a successful outcome, I've known plenty of those types in the past."
"Sensei has nothing to do with this."
Metal Bat's brow furrowed, "I mean, the director didn't give us the details regarding the man tutoring you, not even his name, but I can tell that he put you up through multiple rigorous practices. I mean, you're quirkless for Christ's-" Then, the realisation dawned on him.
Wait a goddamn minute...
No, no, no, I must be tripping. No way. No fucking way.
"...you know, about your Sensei...any chance that he is a guy wearing a yellow jumpsuit, acts like a neutral simpleton for the most part, and has a naturally recurring keen for scooping for sales?" Metal Bat asked, his scanning eyes squinting.
"Um...yes?"
"WHAT?!" That yelp startled Izuku, "Y- you're telling me the dude is back in town?"
"With all due respect, where have you been? Sensei has been in town for ten months, give or take." He replied, "You were even there when the nationwide meetings of pro-heroes were arranged. I was sitting with my Sensei in the middle of the seat row."
"I didn't see you. Never did. I was too preoccupied with things." Metal Bat explained, "But seriously, and he never came to me, or told me anything! Did he even gave it a thought?!"
"You were acquaintanced with him?"
"Acquaintanced? Brat, both of us went waaaay back, back when we were highschool students. Me and him hang out a lot with King! You know him, right? Strongman King?" Metal Bat asked.
"I only know of Genos." Izuku stated, "The rest, I...It was an oversight on my part. I only cared about how he managed to grow so drastically into the powerful person he is today."
"Yeah, Genos...shame what happened to him." Metal Bat exhaled melancholically, hanging his bat over his shoulder, "He's...holding up fine, right?"
"For the most part, yeah. But there were times where he would tell me stories from his past and he looked like he's holding back his bottled emotions." Izuku shook his head, "As if he was trying to keep up a facade of some sorts."
"Man, I gotta meet him when all of this is over." Metal Bat then turned his head over to Izuku, "Say, you got his phone number? I can call him right now. Set up a date and place to hang out, like the good ol' days."
"I didn't memorise his number."
"Naww!" Metal Bat lamented, his face scrunching in frustration, "How could you not remember your own goddamn mentor's number!"
"I didn't think it was necessary to do so."
"Wh- you know what, I'm not gonna drag this. I'll just get it after we're done." Metal Bat then pulled something out of his pockets, "Speaking of, you asked about directions, right? It slipped my mind. The guys back at the Commission gave us some kind of navigator device," He handed it over to Izuku.
"Ah..." Izuku looked as the indicator at the navigating device beeped, blinking out and in, "And this here at the edge of the screen is our...destination, correct?"
"Presumably." Metal Bat replied, "No one knows the exact coordinates, but Child Emperor used his smarts to deduce the possible pathways to the main base."
"As expected." Izuku bemused, as he kept his watch on the device while simultaneously walking around the narrow tunnel.
But then, Metal Bat felt a wind brushing against his skin from behind him. Wary, he tentatively turned his head, looking over his back, only find nothing was even standing there.
His head turned to the front, lo and behold, a creature with massive tentacles marched forward, it's flexible tentacles rushed forward to strike Izuku.
Metal Bat quickly swung his bat upwards to deflect the initial attack, "Oi, pick someone on your own size, asshole!"
"Metal Bat-san, I can-"
"Nuh-uh, I ain't watching a kid die today, not while I can help it!" Metal Bat pointed his bat at the monster, "You! This is between you 'n me. Try to get this kid involved and I'll make the poundin' ten times worse than before!"
But his bravado was soon demolished when multiple spider monsters crawled from the ceiling, it's abnormal size strung the fear inside Metal Bat's chest...
"Not a good time to be an arachnophobic..." Metal Bat uttered under his breath.
"And this is where I come into the picture, right?" Izuku asked, his lips curling into a sly smile.
He stalled, his mouth refusing to utter a single sound. Turning his head over, he replied with a conflicting expression, "You deal with those spiders, I deal with mister charming octopus over here. If you die, I'm draggin' ya out of the depths of the underworld myself, got it?!"
"Got it!" Then, they both went their separate ways to fight each of the monsters individually.
The spiders rushed forward in an attempt to corner Izuku, but the latter swept his legs in a circular manner, causing the spiders to lose the balance in their footing.
Twisting his hip, he launched a violent thrust of the tip of his foot to the spider's temple, catapulting it into the concrete wall, depriving it of it's consciousness.
The other two, insidious monsters amplified their speed even more, accelerating the speed rate of their attacks.
Izuku was able to keep up with their inhumane speed, subsequently catching one of their crawling legs, before slamming it into the other.
Before he can incapacitate them even further, a shot of silk thread spread itself around in the air, and when it did, Izuku found himself wrapped in a tight, spider web, covering him from the head to the toe, immobilising him
Oh crap...
"KID!" Came the voice of Metal Bat rushing towards them, holding a severed head of the octopus monster with both his arms, purple fluid dripping from the torn spine on the rear of it's neck.
"M- Metal Bat?! What are you doing with that severed-"
He stopped himself when Metal Bat ducked from the incoming attack, rushing to the creature's behind, proceeding to wrap the tentacles around the creature's neck, pulling it back violently, "Sorry not sorry, might seem like a cowardice course of action, but you gotta go."
The creature succumbed to the lack of oxygen, slumping forward when Metal Bat released his hold on it.
"Now," Metal Bat approached Izuku, "Should I lit you on fire to get rid of that stinky thread all over you?"
Dumb fuckin' question.
"No, no, I can manage just fine, I just... needed time." With one swift movement, Izuku was able to break out of the silk substance shrouding him, "I would've been fine, Metal Bat."
"Didn't want to take any chances." Metal Bat simply replied,.
"You killed it. The octopus monster." Izuku pointed out.
"Yeah? So what?"
"Isn't that...against the protocol? Monsters are human as well, so they still retain their rights-"
"Midoriya, the world doesn't give a fuck if you have a right or no. Turn yourself into a pest, they'll send you hell. 'Sides, the Commission permitted it beforehand, so no worries." Metal Bat explained.
"Did they..really stoop that low?" Izuku said, almost whispering.
"The Commission has been that low since like forever."
"And you're willing to follow them through?" Izuku said with a slight edge on his rising voice.
"You sound like you're expectin' everything to end like a measly fairytale," Metal Bat then continued with a huff, "in a war like this, conscience and ethiquette doesn't matter. If anythin', 's a drawback. That monster couldn't have been saved anyway."
"It could've!"
"And how the hell do you know that?! The one behind this whole idea of 'rehabilitating monsters' herself is the main culprit orchestrating all the strings. She doesn't have a 'cure'. All she does is fabricate a lie and make it seem like she did cure those monsters, but in actuality she was actually detaining them for experimentations purposes." Metal Bat objected, "There's a time where you don't have to kill, and where you absolutely need to. This is one of those times, and as an aspiring pro-hero, you must learn to accept that, lest you get fucked by your own morals."
Izuku's gaze lingered on the ground, looking at the corpses that tainted the grounds below him, "There must be something that we can do for them.."
"We're figurin' that out, but for now, this is a war." Metal Bat insisted, "Don't wanna let your soft heart get in the way of our mission. Keep that up, you're riskin' everythin'."
Scooting himself up, Izuku nodded with little reluctance, "I...understand."
"Good. Now you're startin' to understand what us pro-heroes have to face everyday." Metal Bat patted him in the back, "Now, back on the trail, will ya?"
Izuku nodded, although, he seemed to be still conflicted about the whole ordeal.
Then, he remembered something that Aizawa tried to teach him and his classmates,
"The law may coerce us into adapting the no-killing rule, but there comes the time where sparing a life means putting an innocent's life at stake. Heroes don't only do things that are pleasant, but ugly things as well, occasionally, at least."
He resonated with the memory, clenching his fist. He'd try to not let his morals hamper the progression of this operation.
"Hey, if it's any consolation to ya," Metal Bat tilted his head towards Izuku, "Yagi used to face the same dilemma as you do right now. Fact is, when the public was made aware of the information regarding monsters using to be human, at the time, he seemed..pretty downcast. Hell, he even fainted out of the sheer shock alone!"
"Sensei...fainted?" Izuku asked curiously.
"Yeah. He did. Girl I used to know told me." Metal Bat sighed, "I don't know if he's still trying to hold himself from killing monsters, but I gotta let him know someday, that shit will risk something, no matter how large or miniscule it is, to happen."
"Hmm.." Izuku pondered, wondering about the identity of the aforementioned girl...
Wait..
Something clicked into his mind.
"This girl..." Izuku's head turned to Metal Bat, "Any chance that she's..the Tornado of Terror herself?"
...
Tatsumaki couldn't hold her piling emotions anymore, flooding her psyche like a violent burst of tsunami. Her mind was grilled by the flames of indignation that tightened itself, holding her bound to the impulses within.
She suppressed the urge to turn the city into a fucking wrecked wasteland, find out wherever it is that her sister might be hiding. Not that she cared that the city has been wrecked in the first place by an ominous 'tectonic shift'.
She, for some inexplicable reason, couldn't track her life signature. Floating in the sky, akin to a forlorn wanderer, she halted herself and tried to focus her quirk into tracking her sister's life signature.
Her quirk seldom failed to fulfill her purpose before. Maybe she just didn't focus enough. A little bit more, she could-
She couldn't feel anything. She half expected that it would turn out differently, but she knew she was none the wiser. Her sister was definitely using some sort of trick that she couldn't figure out yet what it is.
The results were gratuitous, like nurturing a fruitless bloom of a tree.
"This shouldn't be happening.." Her fists trembled, "THIS SHOULDN'T BE HAPPENING AT ALL! I shouldn't...I shouldn't let Fubuki get close to that witch..No..Please, please!" Tatsumaki's nails dugged into her own skin, causing a leakage of a warm, thick crimson fluid to gush out of it.
She dashed midair towards the ground. With relentless fury, she prepared to dig herself into the sewage system below, and before she knew it, she was already pushing herself through the ground, drilling past it like a vicious bull.
Wherever she's hiding...
I'll find her.
I'll make sure of it!
I'll keep her safe, even if it costs the stability of this worthless city!
Her feet touched something solid beneath her, then...
"Ah, isn't this the occassion?" A mysterious voice called after her.
Tatsumaki's eyes darted to the source of vouce that spoke in front of her...
"You arrived earlier than I expected, Tornado of Terror." The one-eyed monster inhibiting a gluttonous feature sat on the throne, and even with him being lipless, Tatsumaki could sense the malevolent smirk behind his nonexistent lips.
"You..." Tatsumaki's insidious gaze seemed to pierce through the monster's front for a split second, before he eventually regained his composure, "By that tone you're exhibiting, I assume that you know where my sister is?" She asked with a seemingly friendly tone, added with a bit of poison seeping with it.
"Oh, go ahead, barge into my base, and immediately accuse me of abducting your worthless sister."
"So you know her." Tatsumaki stepped forward, her aura encapsulating her, "Being an underling groveling at the feet of a maiden shrew must've given you a few privileges, including access to certain informations, does it?"
"I do know her, and her little superiority complex. It's honestly pathetic. But regarding whether we detained her or not, we have no hold over her in here. At least not yet." Gyoro Gyoro said, "But alas, your presence has indirectly informed me that your sister is indeed present somewhere in here. I have sent my suubordinates to retrieve her via my psychic powers."
"Not going to happen," Tatsumaki levitated in the air, "I'm gonna tear you to shreds, and by extent, your entire association."
"By all means, resist. It's much fun seeing you try so hard only to kick the bucket inevitably." Gyoro Gyoro spoke serenely.
The air swirled in a circle trajectory around the two espers, levitating several objects in the air before they eventually gets destroyed in the process.
"Drop dead." Gyoro Gyoro spoke, as multiple sharpened rubbles came from Tatsumaki's rear side, ready to strike her when she's unaware.
TO BE CONTINUED!