Katara and the others watched cautiously as the tall spider woman walked their direction, her four arachnid legs twitching with each step. Now that it was just her in front of them, Katara really saw how tall she was, her height even surpassing Endeavor by a few inches. Strangest however was her multiple yellow eyes staring at each of them individually, adding to the creep factor on top of the legs protruding from her back.
Itkomi herself took note of the four beings in front of her, beyond frustrated seeing how all of them had not only evaded capture, but had actually defeated several of her members. She figured taking on the pros that came in would've made this simple for the others, but it seemed these kids were much more powerful than she and the others had anticipated. Her gaze then mostly focused onto Muteki, the raptor's broken body slumped on the ground to the side. Her knuckles cracked in frustration seeing her second in command defeat, something she honestly thought she would never see. She turned her focus back to the rabbit hero, at first somewhat worried seeing someone stronger than her here… but couldn't help but smile seeing just how injured she was now.
"I'm really glad to see you all collected in one spot. With how much trouble you caused us, I really wasn't looking forward to chasing you all down," Itkomi said as she stepped over some of the shattered stone on the ground. "But all this running ends now."
"What, you pissed your goons couldn't take us down?" Bakugo taunted, his eyebrow raising when all she did was snicker.
"I think that means your ransom can be even more, then." Itkomi chuckled as she tightened her grip on the gun. "With everything that's happened, I bet the government would pay so much for such promising heroes to be brought home alive."
Katara glared as she stood up beside the others, flicking her gauntlet open at her side. Now she saw how Touya convinced these hunters to come after her and the others, the same thing that so many criminals follow. "A ransom… So all of this here, all these people you've hurt… all of it was about money?"
"What else is there? I'm not some crazed villain looking to take over this city; I'm just a girl getting the biggest payday she can while she's still young. And you," Itkomi licked her lips as she eyed the waterbender, "Endeavor's student. I bet the number one hero would pay so much to keep his pupil out of danger, along with his top sidekick."
Katara gritted her teeth at the womans words, Glancing momentarily back to Burnin on the ground behind. She cursed at herself seeing all of this today had started in some way because of her. Meanwhile, seeing the weapon in her hands, Mirko raised her brow at the item, knowing it fell from Muteki when they were battling earlier. She sneered and hobbled a step forward, grinning as she popped her neck. "You think a little peashooter like that is going to stop me?" She taunted.
"I think a small breeze would stop you," Itkomi suggested, seeing the trembling muscles covered in blood. "Seems Muteki and the others did enough to almost put you in the ground. And I offer a choice; You can come with me and I assure you and these kids will be taken unharmed."
"Oh, and if we say no?" Mirko snickered, simply receiving a cold stare from the tall woman.
"I'll rip all three of these kids apart in front of you. Piece by piece until they can't even move... Just enough that they won't die before my payment."
The cold, monotone answer given by the arachnid sent a chill down not only the teens back, but Mirko as well. The threat had no sense of hesitation, no bit of doubt in any of it. They all could tell this was no hollow bluff, and she was going to act on it the moment she didn't get what she wanted. Kendo shivered at the glare coming from Itkomi, stepping back slightly. Baring her teeth, Mirko flexed her legs and stood up straight. "Come and try to make me come with you, bitch!" she shouted.
Narrowing her eyes, Itkomi's free hand opened up as her webbing activated. "I see. Let's-
Boosh!
If it wasn't for her insane reflexes, Itkomi would be against the wall right now, having ducked to the side as Mirko flew through the air at her head. Hissing out, she shot out two of her spider legs to stab the rabbit hero, only for Mirko to spin midair dodging them and whipping her leg at the villain. Despite blocking the kick with her arms, Itkomi winced as the force shoved her back several steps, thrusting her hand forward and whipping a sharp thread at Mirko, once again missing as the white haired woman sped out of the way before throwing an ax kick at the dodging spider shattering the ground and surrounding area.
'She still has this much strength…' Itkomi sneered internally as she flipped back and shot her webs out forcing Mirko to jump to the left before yanking back on the threads slashing through the ground, lifting her gun up towards the hero, something a certain teen wasn't going to take.
"Hey!" Bakugo shouted, blasting himself forward and lifted his hands up. "Take this!"
Mirko shot a glare back at the incoming teen. "Kid, get out of-
"Die!" The large explosion rushed at Itkomi, the hunter yanking herself up and over the blast before setting her eyes on the teen.
"Little brat…" Itkomi growled out, her fingers opening up with webs between them. She swiped her hand unleashing several strings at Bakugo, the teen redirecting himself past and around the incoming webbing and readied another blast, but gasped as Itkomi was already directly in front of him.
"Huh?!" He gasped out, bringing his hands up to block the sharp spider leg coming right at his chest.
"Bakugo!" Katara shouted as she shot out water towards him, panicking knowing she wouldn't reach him in time… only to gasp in shock as Mirko burst between the two and kicked the spider leg away.
"Keep your filthy legs away from these kids!" Mirko yelled out, spinning and knocking the first spider leg before blocking another coming at her, wincing as the sharp end struck against her injures.
Seeing her foe wincing, Itkomi aimed the gun as she landed and pulling the trigger. The loud crack rang through the cavern as the bullet rushed out, but just missed Mirko dropping down underneath, "Tsk…" she hissed, knowing she only had one more bullet left. And if she was going to use it on anyone, she was going to use it on the biggest threat. She only needed a few seconds after that to smile, knowing exactly what to do.
"Well, if you are so set on keeping these kids safe, show me what you're capable of!" Itkomi sneered and whipped her multiple legs at the pro, grinning at noticing the strain Mirko was having at this point from her exhaustion and injuries. Even so, she wasn't going to risk a fight with the high ranked hero, unleashing a net of webbing ensnaring Mirko's leg to the ground before driving her fist into the hero's face. Shocked by the power, Mirko staggered for a moment before yelling and kicking at the villain. Jumping out of range, Itkomi turned her gaze to the teens, grinning in enjoyment and launching herself at them.
"Watch out!" Katara shouted and shot her water whip at the villain, but watched in worry as Itkomi's webs shot out from her hands and slashed her attack into pieces. Both her and Kendo jumped to the left out of the way of a web slash as Bakugo leaped to the right.
"You creepy bitch!" Bakugo shouted as he flipped to his feet and aimed his hands forward. "Die!"
"Get back!" Mirko shouted as she watched Itkomi leap casually out of the way of the blast, yanking her leg against the webbing, breaking through the threading. "Damn it!"
Blasting out of the way of another web slash, Bakugo yelped as another strand of webbing grabbed his foot and slammed him into the ground. Itkomi snickered as she dipped her head backward, dodging a water shot rushing by her face before yanking on the web and swinging the bomb teen at the waterbender.
"Gah!" Katara gasped as she was slammed by Bakugo and fell to the ground.
"Katara!" Kendo turned and froze momentarily as Itkomi landed in front of her, the six eyes of the hunter staring down at her. Gritting her teeth, she expanded her hand and leaped at the tall woman, driving her fist right at the woman's face. Missing as Itkomi shifted to the side just enough, she gasped as the hunter grabbed her wrist and lifted her off the ground, her heart racing as the gun was aimed at her heart.
"No!" Katara screamed as she and Bakugo crawled back up, her eyes wide in horror as the woman began pulling the trigger.
"DAMN IT!" Mirko roared out as she burst off the ground, her legs ripping through the webbing as she shot off the ground just as the gun went off. In what was less than a second, she had flew across the clearing and collided into Kendo's body getting her out of the line of fire… but yelped as the bullet struck her leg as she passed by. As the pair rolled across the ground, Mirko set the teen down and glanced down to her thigh, her eyes widening in confusion to what she saw. "Huh?"
Her leg wasn't bleeding from a bullet hole… but instead had a small red cartridge with a needle on the end. Suddenly… a strange feeling fell over the rabbit hero, as if her strength had suddenly vanished from her body. "The hell…?" She mumbled, glaring at the cold laugh coming from the hunter. "You use poison or some shit?"
"Perhaps. Perhaps not," Itkomi snickered as she walked toward the rabbit hero. "I believe it's enough to work on you."
"Oh yeah? Let's see about that!" Mirko shouted as she kicked her leg out at the tall woman… but as she struck, however, she felt her blood run cold as foot bounced off Itkomi's side, her kick lacking any of the insane power she had normally with her quirk, something that everyone in the cavern noticed immediately, staring stunned and confused.
Especially Itkomi, her grin revealing her sharp teeth as she laughed out, shooting one of her spider legs out and spearing through Mirko's shoulder.
"Mirko!" they yelled out as she gasped out, screaming as she was lifted off the ground by the shoulder.
"It seems those bullets worked just as good as we were told," Itkomi said, her hand reaching out and squeezing the hero's throat. "So tell me, Mirko… How does it feel to have no quirk?"
All of their eyes opened up in shock to the words said by Itkomi. "What? Her quirk?!" Kendo said in disbelief.
Katara couldn't believe what she was hearing now; she was already shocked to find someone like Aizawa who could erase your power just by looking at you, and now this villain now had a weapon to do the same thing to someone?
"The hell did you do?!" Mirko gritted through the pain in her shoulder and her throat. "What… did you do to me?!"
"Just something special we picked off the market recently. And don't worry, these are temporary from what we were told, but that's good enough…" Ripping the leg from the hero, Itkomi drove her fist into Mirko's stomach, causing a gush of blood to burst out of the rabbit's mouth from the impact. "Thanks for moving in the way of that, because I knew you'd take a hit for a kid. Now you are just as weak as a civilian!"
The trio of teens stood frozen in shock as Mirko was launched across the cavern, slamming into the wall and gasping out before a thick stream of webbing shot out encasing the hero against the wall. Aching in pain, Mirko attempted to pull against the webs, only for her now depleted strength to do nothing to the sticky material. Seeing her biggest threat restrained, Itkomi sighed and tossed the empty gun to the side, turning to the kids now. "So little ones, unless you want to end up like your little hero over there, just give it up and follow me out of here."
"Damn you…" Bakugo growled out, his hands smoking in rage before sparking. "Damn you!"
"Bakugo, wait!" Kendo shouted, "We can't just rush into fighting her!"
"And do what, let this bitch get away with this shit?!" He yelled, "I'm going to blow her head off!"
"But she just beat Mirko! If we-
"He's right."
Katara's words surprised Kendo, the waterbender stepping forward and gathering the spilt water across the ground. She would be a liar if she said she wasn't afraid. She knew they were in a bad situation, especially with her water down to less than two full gauntlets, but she knew if they were captured here, who knew what awaited them later. "She's just going to chase us if we try to run, and we can't leave everyone else here."
While she wanted to open her mouth in protest, Kendo knew there wasn't an option to escape safely without a fight. She knew the only way they were getting out of here was with force, and after being near to being captured once already, she wasn't keen on letting that happen again. Nodding, she turned and stared down the villain beside the other two.
Something that only made Itkomi more annoyed.
"This is why I always hated kids…" She hissed out, stretching webbing between her hands. "they never learn to read situations!"
Katara and the others leaped out of the way as the line of webs shot their way, with Bakugo blasting forward and yelling as he unleashed an attack from her left. Itkomi leaped out of the way of his explosion and charged at the teen, only to stop her run as a water whip snapped in front of her. Glaring, she turned and shot a stream at Katara, watching as the girl shielded herself with her water before punching several ice spikes her way. Blocking them with two of her spider legs, she launched herself in the air with the other two above the incoming explosion to the side before coming down at the boy. "I think taking a leg won't be that bad after all then!"
Bakugo growled as he blasted himself out of the way just in time as she slammed down, spinning in the air and shooting off a pair of blasts at the villain but missed once more. Katara joined in the attack as she whipped her arms around and shot her water at the spider, only to grow frustrated as she failed to hit her. Itkomi ducked and weaved around the water whip, almost like she could tell wherever the attack was going to be each time it came in.
'It's like she's sensing it before it even comes…' Katara said internally as she split the stream into three, launching all them at different times as Itkomi shot out her own webbing striking the water before spraying several more strands at the waterbender. Despite her whipping her water rapidly and blocking the webs coming in, Katara was growing frustrated as she could only do so much with her limited water.
"Die!" Bakugo shouted as he brought both hands in front, focusing his blast into a large, concentrated column at the villain, but glared as she quickly yanked a boulder in front of her body shielding herself before chucking it at him. He quickly blew up the incoming boulder, but was shocked as webbing shot through the debris and encased his head, yanking him through the smoke and right at her spider legs aimed at his limbs.
"Bakugo!" Kendo screamed as she grabbed a large rock and launched it at the villain, giving the distraction as Itkomi's legs turned and pierced the boulder shattering it. Just as she did, the water whipped by and slashed Bakugo free, the teen growling as he blasted himself away and began ripping at the webs on his face.
"Disgusting!" He spat out, straining against the strong fibers sticking to him. "Bleh!"
Looking back, Kendo now saw her chance as Itkomi seemed distracted by Katara's attack, the spider woman dodging several passes of water and flipping over another. Sprinting at the villain , she expanded her hand outward. Leaping, she yelled as she threw her punch, but gasped as Itkomi's open palm collided with her fist, the loud impact reverberating the area. She felt her neck shiver as the tall woman turned her direction, her cold eyes glaring at her. "Raw power to your fists. You were the one who defeated Rogue…" she hissed out.
"Kendo, get back!" Katara shouted and shot her whip at the villain, only for Itkomi to dodge without even looking and spray a stream of webbing onto the waterbenders hand, launching her back and pinning her arm to the cavern wall. "Shit!" she shouted, straining her arm against the thick material. "Come on!"
Gritting her teeth, Kendo launched another combination of punches, the woman's spider legs tanking the powerful attacks, but still shook from the force. "Your strength is decent, but you have no weight behind it!" Itkomi yelled as she flicked her legs out, throwing Kendo back and to the ground before shooting webbing and locking her legs to the floor. The teen panicked as she was stuck from moving, looking up as another of the villain's legs came down to pierce her thigh.
"Get away from them, bitch!" Mirko shouted in frustration, unable to move from her spot.
"AP Shot!"
Itkomi's eyes widened as the beam shot out from Bakugo's palm, leaping back as the beam cut through the stone where she was standing. 'Little shit… that may have actually cut through me right there…' she hissed inside, eyeing the kids once more.
Sighing in relief, Katara guided a thin strip of water with her free hand and spun it rapidly, cutting through the webs to free her other hand, ripping it out and running towards the others.
Kendo sweated as she sat up, glancing over to Bakugo's smoking hand to her right as he glared down at her. "Get up, big fists! You better not be quitting now!" He yelled, leaning down and charging his palm slightly as the heat melted through the webs, snapping them and releasing Kendo's leg.
"You alright?" Katara asked as she approached, helping Kendo off the ground.
"Yeah…" Kendo huffed out. "Thanks. Both of you."
"I don't need your thanks, I need you both to stay out of my way as I blow her to bits!" Bakugo growled and punched his palms. "She's pissing me off!"
"Yeah and running in alone is working out good," Katara sneered at him. "We need to work together against her!"
"Then follow my lead, hair loops!" he shouted back. "Unless you have more water in that outfit of yours, then you better not hold me back!"
Katara frowned in frustration at his words, knowing he was right. If she didn't get a new source of water, she wasn't going to be able to do much against this woman. She could tell just from the intensity and the speed of this woman, she was so much stronger than Kavik was. And she knew if she could do anything to stop her, it was going to require much more than what she had now.
While the teens caught their breath for a second, Itkomi stared at them, her brain analyzing them instantly. 'These little brats are strong… certainly stronger than those heroes I faced earlier. Especially…' Her gaze focused on both Katara and Bakugo, the explosive teens power and speed certainly above even average hero ranks. Katara however was different; the girls technique and style was impressive, but it didn't seem too crazy to think Kavik nearly lost to her. She knew there had to be something more to it that made her so dangerous.
Something she figured as to why All for One had wanted her in Kamino. Something that made her smirk.
"You… Katara, wasn't it?" Itkomi asked as she walked towards the cautious teens. "You've been quite the character, haven't you?"
Katara tilted her head at the statement. "What do you mean?"
"You mean to tell me you don't know? All this today started because someone had a special interest in you." Itkomi snickered, seeing the uncomfortable shift on the waterbenders face. "Oh… It seems you do know."
"What is she talking about?" Kendo asked in confusion, looking over at Katara.
Bakugo glanced over at Katara for a moment, believing that this whole thing may have been orchestrated by the league after All for one failed to take her "quirk". Katara however clenched her fists at her side hearing that, a wave of guilt falling over her as she knew that this being about her was actually true. After encountering Touya, she saw how everything here was planned out by him as something he tried finishing after Kamino. And now, so many people were in danger because of her. But with what she learned, she hoped she could use it to her advantage.
"You should stop this now," Katara said out loud, "All of this was a set up by Dabi to use you guys to his advantage. He doesn't even care about what happens to any of you!"
Itkomi raised her brow at the teen's comments, clicking her tongue in annoyance. "You think I hadn't figured that out by now? I don't give a fuck about that burned shit, and I'd gladly kill him the moment I see him once more. At this point, I'm acting on my own accord, and this is all between me and you all here."
"Oh yeah? With who?" Mirko snickered from her spot, licking at the blood dripping down her cheek. "I already beat the shit out of your friends you sent after me, and your right hand man is down. So who are you gonna call next? The little fox bitch?"
Itkomi turned her gaze over to Muteki's form, a frown growing across her face seeing him defeated. She never wanted to admit it… but he may have actually been stronger than she was. His ego is what caused him to lose, wanting to try to fight without using the quirk bullets they had purchased. She only gritted her teeth and clenched her fists… and then did something none of them expected.
Shooting out a strand of webs, she latched them onto Muteki's body and yanked him off the ground, launching him across the cavern and smashing into the far wall.
"The hell?!" Bakugo yelled in surprise.
"The fuck are you doing?!" Mirko shouted, watching as his limp form fell and became mixed into the pile of rubble.
"Someone who failed something so important doesn't deserve a cut of the profits," Itkomi hissed out, looking down to the dried blood on her glove. "Rogue was foolish enough to lose to the weakest here. Someone that pathetic lost his right to breathe."
The others' eyes widened at that statement, immediately understanding what she meant by that. "You killed your own teammate?" Katara questioned her.
"Oh, does that hurt your feelings?" Itkomi taunted them, "Are you pure hearted heroes too noble to kill someone? That's the difference between people like me and you…" she hissed as she arched her knuckles, focusing on the glands in her palms. "Crossing that line is what gives you strength!"
The mass of webs exploding out from Itkomi spread out like a fan above the three teens, the threads much thicker than the ones before. Leaping out of the way, they all watched in shock as the webs slashed through the ground, cutting deep into the stone like it was butter. "Jesus!" Kendo yelped as she rolled just fast enough to evade the steel like webs.
"Don't let those hit you!" Katara yelled as she slashed her water at one of the thick strands, her eyes widening as her water whip itself got cut in half. "They're so much stronger than before!"
"You kids are too damn soft. The fact I don't need to hold back with an attack gives me the advantage!" Itkomi shouted and thrust her arms outward, whipping the thick strands in multiple directions after the teens. "Or you are just too weak, that it doesn't make a difference!"
"Damn it!" Bakugo shouted as he blasted through the air, dodging and weaving through the dancing whips of string as one grazed his cheek, slicing it. Growling, he tried getting closer to the hunter, charging his AP shot once more and firing it at the thick thread rushing at him and cutting through it. "So heat works against this, huh?" He grinned and rocketed himself at the villain, charging his palms and shooting off a blast that rocked the entire cave. Through the smoke however, he was unable to avoid the spider leg shooting forth and piercing his shoulder.
"Kid!" Mirko screamed in rage.
"Bakugo!" Katara shouted as he screamed out, launching a barrage of ice spikes at the villain, but forcing them to stop as she moved Bakugo in the line of fire. "Let him go!"
"With Pleasure!" Itkomi sneered as she slammed her fist into his chest, launching him through the cavern and slamming into the wall beside the lights on the wall and shattering the stone.
"Bakugo!" Kendo shouted in worry as he coughed out blood from his impact, glaring and grabbing one of the large rocks nearby with her expanded hands. "You bitch!"
Despite the large rock coming, Itkomi flipped over it before catching it with her webbing and launching it back down even faster. Kendo gasped as she couldn't move fast enough, but yelped as a stream of water grabbed her waist and pulled her out of the way. "Thanks…" Kendo said as she sat up.
"Don't thank me yet!" Katara yelled as she shot her water out at another thick strand rushing at them, spinning the water around her like a blade and shooting it up. The attacks clashed, but to the hunters surprise, the webbing gave out to the water, ducking as the spinning disk slashed through some of her hair strands.
"Tsk… so annoying!" Itkomi growled and leaped at the two teens, dodging the spinning water as it came at her from behind and shooting her weaker but faster webs to the sides and grabbing at the many boulders and whipped them at the waterbender.
"Get back!" Katara yelled as she shielded both her and Kendo from the incoming boulders, gasping as the hard impact shattered the ice, throwing them both back on the ground. As Kendo tried crawling back up, she gasped as a strand of webs encased her body and yanked her away. "Kendo!"
"Ah!" Kendo yelled as she was pulled at the hunter, pulled into a mass of webbing as the hunter's arachnid legs spun the webs around her body, wrapping her body like a mummy before throwing her body to the side.
"Kendo, no!" Katara screamed, seeing the panicked look in Kendo's eyes as she thrashed on the ground, her mouth gagged by the thick webbing. "Let her go!" She yelled, pulling the water around her body and leaping at the hunter.
Pulling at webbing between her spider legs, Itkomi formed a net with her ability and threw it at Katara, planning as Katara slashed through it before yanking on the side strings. Katara gasped as she tried shielding some of her body from the webbing, seeing her water only able to block so much. Quickly grabbing at the bamboo on her back, she threw them forward and took control of the pieces, shooting them forward at Itkomi's face to catch her off guard…. Only for a swipe of webs shredded the bamboo into splinters as her ankles were entangled as she collapsed to the ground.
"You spider freak!" Bakugo roared out from the wall, his palms exploding the rocks around himself as he catapulted back at the hunter. "I'm going to blow you apart!"
Flipping back out of the way as he blew up the ground, Itkomi latched onto the ceiling and swung herself away as Bakugo gave chase, his explosions increasing in power with each blast. "Interesting, most quirks get weaker as you use them," she acknowledged, breaking off several sharp stalactites from the cavern and launching them at Bakugo, glaring as he blasted them away and sent off another large explosion at her cracking the ceiling.
"You've seen nothing yet!" Bakugo shouted and spun around the webs she shot at him, redirecting his body and shooting a condensed explosion at the hunter. "I'll kick your ass like that other bug girl"
Cutting herself free, Katara ran over to her entangled friend and summoned water into her hand. "Hang on!" She said as she began slicing through the webs, helping pull at the strands over her body before cutting her mouth free. "You alright?"
Coughing, Kendo broke out of the entanglement and nodded, only for her eyes to widen as she looked past Katara. "Look out!" she shouted and pulled Katara out of the way of a slashing web, both of them turning to see Bakugo chasing after Itkomi. "We have to do something!"
Katara gritted her teeth, knowing she had to somehow do something more. Her bamboo she had was useless, and her water was practically gone as she-
A sudden sensation caught her attention, sensing the flow of something in the walls themselves. She turned to where Bakugo broke out from the wall, seeing the crumbling rocks and what looked like several pipes hidden among the rubble. Pipes filled with water.
'There we go…' Katara smiled internally as she pulled at the pipes, straining for a moment before the pipe burst outward, unleashing a torrent of water gushing out towards the cavern floor.
"About time you did something, hair loops!" Bakugo shouted as he blasted himself out of the way of another web, focusing his attack once more. "Auto Cannon!"
The barrage of attacks burst out at the swinging Itkomi, growling as she shot her webs and ripping down rocks as shields against the incoming bursts. Her eyes also took note of the water flooding out from the wall, hissing in annoyance at these kids. "And now this shit happens?"
Summoning several massive streams from the new source, Katara immediately launched them up at the hunter, forcing Itkomi to drop down from the ceiling before swinging out and flipping between the water. "It's time to get out of here!" Katara shouted and split the whips outward, creating a cage of water encircling the woman before tightening it and closing in on the hunter.
"Now you're mine!" Bakugo sneered as he aimed his hands at the trapped hunter, his palms smoking and glowing bright.
Instead of panicking, though, Itkomi crossed her arms in front of her body, breathing hard as her veins contracted. "You think you kids don't understand who I am, do you?"
The others in the cave gasped out as the water burst out from the mass of webs exploding outward, Katara and the others jumping back to avoid the razor sharp strings shooting out from the blast. "Shit!" Katara snapped out as she shielded herself with multiple water streams, hissing as one of the webs still got through and slashed her shoulder.
"What the hell was that?!" Bakugo yelled out as he blasted back to the ground, huffing several times as he and the others looked in shock to the hunter hanging from the ceiling. The tall woman's gloves had been ripped off from her hands, revealing the long and sharp fingers in the mix of thick columns of webbing going out in so many directions, her long spider legs hooked onto different strands holding her in place.
"Kids like you are the reason I hated school growing up… everyone was too stubborn for their own good!" She shouted and thrust her hands forward, yanking the webbing forward in a fan-like pattern engulfing over half the cavern.
"Son of a bitch!" Bakugo yelled as he blasted off the ground again as it slashed by his feet, spinning as he blew up the many webs rushing at him.
"Watch out!" Katara yelled as she summoned a large wall of water blocking both herself and Kendo and freezing it, her eyes widening at the barrage of strings slashing and chipping at her barrier. Before she could even summon more water to launch around, Itkomi had whipped webs around with her legs encircling them both.
"Shit!" Kendo gasped as the webbing collided into both her and Katara, the thin threads slamming them into the ice and pinning both of them. They both nearly screamed as they felt the sharp string cutting into their bodies all over, the waterbender quickly shifting the ice into water as they both fell back into it and saving them. Pulling both of them under the whizzing threads, Katara bended the water thrusting her hands up, creating a spinning current as she burst out the top. Creating a current and getting Kendo out to the side out of the way, the seeming water tornado carried her above the ground as Katara launched multiple barrages of ice spikes at the hunter.
Bakugo blasted in the air dodging the many webs being shot out from Itkomi, wincing as he
fought through the several threads slicing at his face and shoulders and brought his hands up again. "You're pissing me off! Auto Cannon!"
Despite taking attacks from both sides, Itkomi continued to spin and dodge the hundreds of projectiles being shot at her. Her long spider legs pulled at the dozens of strings hanging from the ceiling, redirecting her body as she swung and evaded the ice and blasts coming from the two teens. Even as Katara thrust her hands up and added a massive stream of water in the attack, Itkomi dropped down underneath the whipping stream as she slammed onto the ground, yanking at the multitude of strings between her fingers and spider legs. In an instant, dozens of rocks broke off from the cavern space as she whipped them around like massive flails. "Kids like you have no idea what true experience looks like!" she shouted
"Gah!" Katara yelped as she slashed at the boulders whizzing around the area, struggling to shield herself as she cut several free or cutting the incoming rocks in half. Even as she redirected the water column carrying herself, she was hardly able to keep up to the speed of the rocks being flung at her, and also the webs themselves slashing by. Even as she cut some free, Itkomi's webs shot out and reattached to the loose rocks and brought them back into the fray. Suddenly, Itkomi's legs redirected a pair of boulders from behind, crashing through the water below and breaking the stream carrying her. As she fell to the ground, she tried bending a stream of water up to catch her descent, but another rock swung by right at her, forcing her to shield herself with her water. While avoiding a direct hit, the force launched her across the cave and bounced on the stone floor.
"Hair loops!" Bakugo shouted as he saw Katara fall, blasting at the pair of rocks coming at him from two directions before attempting to rush at the hunter again. Grabbing at his remaining gauntlet, he pulled the pin and unleashed the built up power, but just as it was about to come out, Itkomi redirected one of her boulders from the side and smashed it into his arm, redirecting the explosion away and shattering the gauntlet, along with his hand inside.
"AHHHH!" Bakugo yelled out as he clutched his broken hand, gritting his teeth as he fell back towards the ground and slammed onto the stone, only to be pinned to the ground by another spray of webbing.
"Bakugo!" Mirko shouted in frustration, unable to move from her spot in complete helplessness. "Fuck you, you bitch!"
As Katara coughed out and stood back up, she gasped as a boulder was rushing right at her head, bringing her hands up to summon her water back. Suddenly, Kendo leaped in front of her, punching through the stone and shattering it to pieces. "Get up! We have to-
Kendo's words were cut off as the tall woman landed on the ground behind her, the teen flipping around and throwing a punch at the hunter. Once again it was stopped by Itkomi's hand, only this time she was forced back as she dodged several stabs from the spider legs. "Kendo!" Katara yelled as she shot force multiple water whips gripping all four spider legs, but could do nothing as they ripped free from her streams. "She's too strong!"
"No, you're just too weak!" Itkomi shouted as she shot out multiple webs at Katara, forcing her back as she blocked it with her water while turning her focus back to the teen beneath her. "Kids like you were the reason school was such a pain in the ass for me!"
Barely dodging the leg thrusting at her face, Kendo winced as it sliced her cheek before throwing a punch to counter the hunter's own. As they collided fists, she gasped as her own arm reverberated from the hit, Itkomi's hit slightly stronger than hers. 'It's nothing like that crocodile guy… she's so much stronger!' She yelled internally as she leaped back, only for Itkomi to rush forward and pin her to the ground.
"All you can do is punch, so without these hands," Itkomi hissed as she slammed kendo's right hand down, aiming her spider leg at the open palm. "You're just a worthless kid!"
Kendo's scream rang out in the cavern as the leg skewered through her hand into the stone below.
"KENDO!" Katara screamed as she watched the bloody leg rip out from her friend's hand, her rage growing as Kendo clutched at her bleeding hand in agony. "Get off of her!" she yelled and rushed forward, pulling up several massive streams around her body and launching them at the hunter.
"Such a pain!" Itkomi growled as she sprung backward, slashing at the streams with her own webbing shielding herself. "You should've just come with me and avoided your suffering!"
Katara bared her teeth and whipped forth a barrage of ice spikes along with her water streams, looking down in shock to the solid hole over an inch wide through the center of Kendo's trembling hand, blood pouring out of the injury. "Shit… Here, let me help you!" Before she could though, she looked back up just in time as Itkomi launched herself at the waterbender, shielding herself in time just before she was stabbed as well. "You're a monster!" Katara shouted and thrust her hands forward, whipping her water out and slashing at the tall woman.
"I've been called a monster my entire life, so tell me something new!" Itkomi spat out, her multiple sharp legs thrusting forward as she slashed at the ice spikes coming at her before attempting to ensnare Katara in her webs. "Ever since I was a kid, everyone saw me as something different, and that never changed once I got older through school!"
Slashing downward, Itkomi's webs cut through the pair of water whips blocking Katara, shooting one of her legs at the opening between the water at her chest. Reacting on instinct, Katara crossed her arms, her steel gauntlets cracking against the metal and throwing her back and slamming onto the ground. Gasping, she quickly flipped out of the way as the hunter stabbed where she was, shooting her webs and catching Katara's chest and yanking her back towards herself. Katara glared and wiped up, her water slashing her free before covering her body in water and launching a pair of streams at the spider. As she did, she couldn't help but think about what she said.
"Is that why you are doing this?" she yelled, whipping the water back and forth forcing Itkomi back, her mind thinking of what Tokoyami told her of his past. "Were you treated badly by everyone, that you gave up on your dreams of being a hero? You became this because you were treated differently?!"
Itkomi's face faltered for a moment at the teen's question, pulling herself out of range and landing on the ground. It had been so long since she thought about her time as a kid, everything she experienced in life and what led her to what she had become. As if on cue, her mind replayed the many stares she received ever since she was a child, looking down at her long hands and the large glands on her wrists where her webbing came from. For a few moments she even thought back to her days in high school, and when it all changed for her.
"Treated badly… I can't even remember a time when people didn't look at me strange. My face alone terrified most kids, and when even adults saw the legs on my back, they kept their distance and pulled their kids closer." She quickly said, "Even in high school with everyone's quirks, I still received stares and comments because of my appearance and my size. I had trouble controlling my strength when I was young… and others became scared and didn't want to play with me."
Katara breathed in as she kept her guard up, the words she was hearing making her wonder what was going through the tall woman's head. But what happened next made everyone in the cave turn their heads in both confusion and fear; the cold laugh coming from Itkomi as she looked up, her eyes filled with both pleasure and insanity that Katara's heart skipped a beat.
"I came to realize it was such an amazing feeling when that happened!" Itkomi laughed as she launched herself at Katara once more, slashing her webs and cutting through the ice shield made by the panicked waterbender. As Katara reformed another ice shield, she gasped as Itkomi's powerful fist broke through and launched the waterbender across the cavern. "The fear people had of me was so exhilarating, knowing they became scared just by looking at me. So many kids did what I wanted just because they were too scared to say no, and even if they did, they were too weak to do anything about it! I was so much better that I knew they had no chance against me if we fought!"
Gasping, Katara crawled back up and pulled another massive stream up from the flowing water from the wall and launched it at the hunter. Itkomi's hands came together before thrusting outward, shooting out her webbing above and yanking herself out of the way and spinning between several other streams. "Nothing changed once I got to hero school, because everyone was too weak to do anything against me! Even the teachers were hesitant to confront me because they knew what I was capable of, and that's when I realized I was doing everything wrong!"
Katara panicked as she dodged a stream of webbing shot at her head, summoning a stream of water around her and creating her octopus defense. As Itkomi landed in front of her, her multitude of water whips shot out at the hunter, only for the rapid strikes from the spider legs and Itkomi's webs to counter each of her attacks.
"I saw the pathetic lives you hero wannabes were going by; following each of these damn rules and these regulations like sheep, unable to do what you want and where you wanted! I knew I was made for something different, where I could be who I was and bask in the pleasure of what brought me enjoyment!"
Yelling out, Katara shot out a pair of water streams and latched onto both of Itkomi's arms and froze them. "So you became a criminal? Someone who hurts others… or kills just for money?!"
"I took over the hunters because I saw the profits I could make doing this myself, to be my own master and to not take orders from anyone!" Itkomi shot back as her spider legs whipped down shattering the ice over her arms, her pleasure from tormenting this girl overtaking her usual business mentality. "And yes, I think I just love the feeling of someone's blood running free."
Katara jumped out of the way as Itkomi's sharp fingers swung at her face, but winced as the woman's nails sliced across the side of her neck cutting her… along with the necklace free from her body.
Her eyes widened as she saw her mother's necklace bounced on the ground, her focus distracted just enough that she failed to see the spider leg swing out and strike her across the chest, slashing through and cutting her shoulder as she was thrown backwards. As she tried to crawl back up, coughing out from the intense pain in her chest until her eyes caught the necklace beside herself, reaching towards it to secure it… only to scream out in pain as the sharp leg stabbed through her hand.
"AAAHHHH!"
Hearing the scream echo in the cave made the others look up in despair, Kendo's eyes widening as she saw the same thing happen to Katara that she experienced. "K-Katara!" She shouted, crawling back up and running towards her.
Itkomi pulled out her leg from the waterbender's, smirking as she watched the teen grip it in utter agony like the other one. "You're skills are impressive, but like your friend, I don't think you'll be using that hand as well now." What did catch her eye though was the pendant on the ground beside her, noticing it is what Katara was reaching for. "What's this? A trinket you let yourself get distracted by?" she asked as she picked up the necklace, eyeing the unique design on the jewel.
"G-Give it back!" Katara shouted as she clutched her bleeding hand, her eyes teared up in pain and rage. "That's mine!"
Itkomi simply stared down at Katara before bringing her foot down onto the waterbenders hands, causing her to scream out in agony once more. "And what makes you think you can ask me for anything?"
"K-Katara!" Kendo shouted, expanding her other hand as she leaped at the hunter. "Get off!"
Itkomi simply hissed as she shot out two of her legs at the attacking teen, one smacking her arm out of the way while the other pierced right through Kendo's leg above the knee making her cry out in pain and collapse.
"Damn it… Damn it!" Mirko roared out, almost to tears in rage as she could do nothing.
As both girls wailed in pain, Itkomi sighed out seeing her targets were neutralized now. To her surprise, she actually was impressed with how well these kids fought, but in the end like she predicted, their struggle was for nothing, only delaying what was to come. She looked over to the trapped rabbit hero, laughing internally as she saw the raw anger emitting from the woman. Now with a top five hero in custody, the ransom total would be even greater than she could've imagined.
The next moment however, her senses felt the heat rising to her right, turning and seeing the bright glow from the ash blonde teen.
"Get off…" The low growl coming from Bakugo's throat rumbled out, the webs holding him down snapping from the intense heat as he shot a stare of death at the hunter. "GET THE FUCK OFF OF THEM!"
BOOOM!
The cavern was rocked by the blast as Bakugo burst out from his prison, half of his outfit blown off as he careened at the tall woman. "I'LL KILL YOU!"
"The hell?!" Itkomi yelled as she leaped away, barely evading the large blast aimed at her head. As she shot her webs and yanked herself across the cavern out of the way, she glanced in surprise to see the disfigured arm of Bakugo still blasting away as he chased her down, shooting off explosions despite the blood coming out from the large gashes. 'He's still fighting through with his quirk using a broken arm? The hell kind of kid is this?!' She shouted in annoyance, attempting to swing out before one of his blasts severed her line making her stumble. "Grr!"
As she glanced at her trembling hand, Katara gasped momentarily at the hole in the center of her palm. Breathing hard, both she and Kendo forced themselves up as they saw who saved them. "B-Bakugo!" they shouted as he chased.
"Rah!" Bakugo roared out as he corkscrewed through the air after her, dodging a barrage of strings before unleashing another large blast with his good arm. "I said I was going to kick your ass, bitch!"
"You are too stubborn for your own good!" Itkomi shouted as she flipped backwards away from his attack, wincing at the scorch marks on her legs before focusing on her glands in her arms. "Perhaps you just don't need those arms anymore!"
The fan-like wave of webbing shot out from the hunter, the size enshrouding Bakugo as he forced his hands outward. "Screw you!" he yelled and released, the pair of blasts ripping through the webs, only to stare in shock as another pair of thick webs were coming down straight for his shoulders.
"Bakugo!" Kendo and Katara shouted in fear, only to gasp as a green fireball shot across the cavern burning through both. "Wha-
"Huh?!" Itkomi hissed, seeing the flames burn through even her larger webs fairly quickly. Immediately, several of her eyes turned and glared at the being responsible. "Are you fucking kidding me?!"
"Well ain't this a bitch?" Burnin huffed out from the side, grinning as she shakingly kept her footing. "I take a small nap and wake up to this shit?"
"Burnin!" Katara yelled in shock and relief, clutching her hand as she stood up. "Y-you're up!"
Panting, Burnin shook her head as she tried clearing the dizziness she still felt, her body struggling to move as fast as she wanted. What she did see however was the damage done to the area, along with the blood covered teens and the hero across the way from her. Her gaze then found its way back to the hunter, glaring as she took a few steps down the path. "Seems like you kids could use a hand here. I'll help burn this bitch with you guys."
Landing back on the ground, Bakugo took several deep breaths as he moved towards the other two teens, gritting his teeth as he saw the deep injuries on their bodies. "You still able to fight with those hands?" He growled out, hissing as his own arm twitched from the pain.
Kendo stared at her trembling hand, somewhat terrified by the hole she could see through to the ground below before clenching her fist. The sharp pain almost made her drop down, but she fought through it and nodded. "I'll keep going as long as I have to." she got out.
Not even answering, Katara stared at her shaking hand, glaring before she pulled water with her other hand up to her palm and the others major injuries. "We don't need to suffer through it…" she muttered, breathing in to calm her heart. She remembered what her healing could do when she focused on the power inside of herself, and now she needed it more than ever. "Just give me a second and-
She paused for a moment as she turned, the sharp stinging in her neck from the slash bothering her. When she did, however, her mind immediately went to the missing item around her neck, her eyes widening as she glanced around looking for it. "Where… where is it?"
"Huh?" Kendo asked in surprise. "What?"
Katara's eyes darted back and forth, looking for one of the last precious things she had from her old home, and the last thing itself she had of her mother to remember her. Then, her gaze drifted up to the tall hunter standing across from them, noticing the single item in the woman's hand. "Give… give it back…"
"Hmm?" Iktomi lifted her brow in surprise, raising her hand to see the necklace she forgot she was holding. "This? What about this?"
"Give it back!" Katara snapped out, her sudden tone surprising the others. "That's mine!"
Itkomi furrowed her brow at the sudden change in the girls face. It was a mix of anger, but also a hint of fear, as if she was losing something so precious to her. She looked down and shifted the necklace in her hand, her thumb rubbing across the blue stone dangling from the center. It wasn't even a gem in fact, but just some sort of blue rock that was etched into for the design. It certainly wasn't some expensive jewelry. "And what's so special about this cheap little thing, huh?"
Katara clenched her injured hand, her anger overpowering the pain she felt. "That was my mothers… Give it to me!"
While the others somewhat understood the sentimental value of a parents gift, Bakugo understood why she was so distraught. It wasn't because of her mothers demise, he still didn't know about that, but the fact she had practically nothing of her old home to remember by. For Itkomi, however, she simply stared at the stone in her palm.
"Ah, I see… It "was" your mothers. This is something to remember her by, isn't it?" She asked, closing her fingers over the blue trinket. "That's something that money cannot buy."
…
…
Crunch…
The loud crack rang out in the cave as Itkomi squeezed her hand, shattering the necklace pendant to pieces.
Katara's heart felt like it stopped beating in shock, her mouth falling open in despair as the woman's hand clenched around her precious trinket. She couldn't even yell out in agony as Itkomi's hand opened up, tilting and letting the broken necklace fall from her hand and bounce onto the ground.
"And I guess this is now a memory as well…" Itkomi taunted, letting the necklace strap drop from her palm.
"You bitch!" Bakugo yelled out, his palms sparking out in anger.
While the others were enraged at the hunters cold action, Katara sat silent at what just happened. She dropped to her knees as the strap drifted to the ground, her eyes unable to leave the broken pieces of her necklace on the ground. She didn't gasp or scream, the shock too much as her mother's face passed through her mind. She silently sat still as a pair of tears fell from her eyes, unable to move as the final precious gift from her mother was broken in front of her.
Deep inside her mind, Katara felt something snap.
...
Notes: Uh oh... the final battle has taken a bad turn! Itkomi shows no mercy!
Be prepared for the climax next chapter, and to see how our heroes get out of this!
also, update on the fan manga. I really want to thank those who have donated so far, but will be honest and say a full length manga will be far too expensive. but don't worry, I have found a great artist and can begin doing specific chapters or scenes from the story! please PM for scenes you would like to see. every additional go fund me will be so awesome, and can't wait to see what happens!
please leave your comments/ reviews of this battle and what shall happen next. Cannot wait to see all your thoughts. Till next time!