*Trigger Warning: some graphic violence and imagery*
Chapter 27
At this speed the rain began pelting Izuku like bullets, each one finding its mark and drenching him further. The high-speed chase ran across multiple blocks, the armored van somehow managing to maneuver through the traffic lights without stopping, plowing through without fear of hitting cars or pedestrians like the driver was possessed. Police cars were in hot pursuit, exchanging fire with the armored van in an attempt at slowing the hijacked vehicle by taking out the driver, but the windows were bulletproof and blowing out the tires was something only done in movies; the shot was extremely difficult to make so the car would either continue onward for miles or it could cause the vehicle to crash and potentially endanger everyone inside and around it.
Both arms out, Izuku used Blackwhip to push back or grab any individuals and vehicles that had been in the impeding path of the armored truck which continued to mow down through Akira Street. Aiming his efforts towards the truck, it managed to only get a foot away before the dark lariat was shredded to ribbons in the hailing gunfire. Izuku clenched his jaw as the dark energy generating from his right arm dissipated like hot water had been poured on it. That sounded like an assault rifle, judging from the quick succession of fire. This was bad. This was a public road. There were too many civilians to keep out of the way and by the way things were going, chances were that he wasn't going to be able to ensnare the truck without a fight. He needed back-up.
Izuku reached behind him to pull out his communicator, only to find himself grappling at nothing but air behind him. All thoughts of where his bag and equipment had been all pointed to the girl he had left it behind with. Such a rookie mistake! Izuku reprimanded himself before realizing the implications of leaving the bag behind caught up with him. Not only had he left important hero-grade support items in the hands of a civilian, if she was curious enough to sneak a peak, his whole identity would be discovered- he forced those thoughts away. He didn't need to worry about that right now! What was important now was to focus on stopping these bad guys at all costs.
Bullets began firing at him from the back of the truck, forcing him to change trajectory with one of his Delaware Smashes but not so far that he would direct the enemy fire towards the civilians. He still had his phone and a handful of medical supplies on his belt, but he didn't have time to alert everyone on his team and he didn't have his emergency location beacon that would display his and his other coworkers coordinates since that was on his Air-Force gloves, so he wouldn't know if they were even still nearby. Going with his gut and blind hope, Izuku reached for his phone and punched the speed dial number that tapped into Kaminari's headset (he had been in full costume when he had left the gym, so hopefully they were still on now).
Ring.
Ring.
Ri-
Finally, the dial tone halted on the other line.
"Midoriya, hey, I've been trying to call you! Someone stole an armored truck from the Munirinsuto Bank!"
"I know! I'm already in pursuit!" Izuku shouted into the phone, unable to believe his luck that Kaminari was not only nearby but in pursuit of the same truck. "Where are you!? I'm following it in the past the Tsutaya Bookstore on Akira Street and have my location turned on on my phone."
"Let's see... I'm about two blocks back from there. Where's your communicator?"
Izuku grimaced. "Not on me. Is anyone else with you?"
"Just Kyoka. Her team is right behind us."
"Good! Tell her to send her fastest members and to use the rest to keep the civilians out of the way in the meantime," Izuku ordered, "The suspects are armed with assault rifles. Chances are they probably are using the cache of weaponry provided inside the vehicle, so proceed with caution."
"You get that, babe?" Izuku heard a brief mumble of static over the low rumble of an engine.
"Yeah, I got it." Jirou responded, her voice coming through like a radio announcer as she shouted directions towards her sidekicks. "And don't call me 'babe.'" Then the call clicked off and it was just radio silence.
The van began to pick up speed. What Izuku wouldn't give for Iida to be here right now, but he was all the way up in Hosu. He needed to think. Armored trucks were built to be almost airtight, the glass was bullet-proof, and both the side doors and the back door had gun ports specifically made to combat those who had tried hijacking the vehicle in between money transfers on route. He needed to get that door open.
Arms otherwise occupied by keeping people back, Izuku opened his mouth and a dark tendril shot out, snagging the fender of the van. The tires squealed from the strain of Blackwhip's hold like he was trying to lasso a wild beast. Then the gunfire concentrated on him and his energy ropes snapped, the split concentration causing them to break like a withered vine. Izuku hissed in pain, feeling the sensation like he had bitten off his tongue.
Blackwhip is only as powerful as your feelings. Anger can be an useful tool for power, but you have to control your emotions to use it properly... He heard the fifth user's words and recalled the way the van had mowed down a parked Mitsubishi like a tank would on the battlefield, like it was nothing but scrap. The image of the crushed car was replaced with the image of Alyssa almost being struck by the oncoming vehicle and a swell of righteous fury and anger followed, bubbling in his gut until it broke free.
Webs of energy reached out to ensnare its prey but rather than grab the van and lift it off the ground like he had originally planned, it instead shot forward and speared itself right through the hull, ripping off the backdoor and the back fender of the van the instant the line went taught. Inside were four individuals all dressed in black security uniforms and assault vests, but judging from the high profile assault rifles, headphones, and Quirks used at their disposal, Izuku assumed that they were not civilians. Not giving them a chance to react, Izuku growled and hurled another volley of Blackwhip with his other arm, pinning everyone inside. Had he been a villain, he would have used Blackwhip to spear everyone through the chest or yank them outside of the vehicle and throw them onto the pavement. The sudden violent urge to do so startled him, causing him to miss one of the men that had enough wriggle room to free his arm. He lifted up a small black box that was about the size of a desktop computer before it knocked him back with a concussive wave of sound that was equivalent to standing next to a jet engine doing mach five. Izuku felt his teeth rattle as the speakers wailed with the force of one of Present Mic's attacks, causing him to reflexively clasp his hands over his ears and relinquish his hold on everyone, falling backwards out of the vehicle and nearly going straight through the windshield of a Nissan behind him. Float activated the instant he saw he was inches from the fast moving pavement and activated One for All, putting all of the percentage he could muster with Full Cowling into his arms as he pushed into a back handspring and righted himself back onto his feet.
What was that? The output of his power was much stronger than he had intended. Just the thought of Alyssa being hit by the van had flipped a switch inside him, images of her body on the ground broken and bloody like- Izuku squeezed his eyes shut. No. Calm down. It hadn't happened like that. She was fine. Alyssa was still waiting for him at the train station. He needed to be more careful! Using so many Quirks at once was taxing enough, even if he was more adept at multitasking and managing his power output. He couldn't be losing his head right now.
The sound of a black Suzuki motorcycle puttered behind him as he followed the van across the bridge, the riders flat against the bike and covered head-to-toe in black wearing helmets that obscured their identities. The speed of the bike on the wet pavement made their taillights look like long streams of red ribbons were flowing out behind them. He recognized the tell-tale leather jackets of Chargebolt and Earphone Jack with the former driving the bike. She was about two cars away before she lifted the speakers on her wrists with her elongated earlobes and aimed.
"Counter-Balance!" Earphone Jack shouted, sound waves from her knee high speaker-boots blasting their own sound-wave to neutralize the enemy's attack. Chargebolt, who had been sitting behind her, lowered his arm and fired discs into the side of the vehicle. One of the shorter figures inside who wore a studded leather jacket exposed his arms, showing an array of dark needles sticking out of his forearms. Spines shot out from one of the assailant's arms, diverting the shots of two of the electric hero's discs. The third one managed to land near the speaker.
"Tesla Coil, one million volts!" Kaminari shouted, sending a bolt of electricity that worked alongside Earphone Jack's attack. The combined noise of her amps and the high pitched frequency of his bolts of electricity through his stun-gun discs cancelled out the noise of the loudspeakers as well as destroyed the speaker itself.
"Coda, you're up!" Earphone Jack shouted over the comms and a young woman wearing a black and white unitard stepped out into the fray. Wisps of her auburn hair waved wildly as she leapt through the air from one of the side streets as a device of some kind was wrapped around her mouth like a bridle bit, ribbons unfurling from her arms as she blew into the device and pushed herself through the air like an acrobat. Upon closer inspection, Izuku realized that the ribbons were actually measures of music.
Apparitions in the forms of music notes began hitting the spikes that were fired towards them as if they were physical objects, cancelling them out. The spike-covered man, Izuku noticed, had to be no more than seventeen, though it was hard to tell with his frustrated scowl. His arms..! Izuku thought. They're running out of quills! He must not be able to replenish them as quickly as he can make them. His Quirk must be similar to Hawks' when it comes to creating quills. Maybe he can only grow a limited amount of them before they grow back!
Izuku leapt forward to test this theory, drawing the fire away from the motorcycle and heroine until he was sure Spike's arms were bare before going in for the finisher- then he heard it. A high pitched whine that began building in his ears like the THX sound effect from a movie screen. Then an explosion. Shrapnel of the blown-out tire and dirt flung back at them as the car wailed at the strain, fishtailing and veering towards the side of the road with parked cars and pylons. It felt like Izuku was watching everything move in slow motion- the truck careening over, the jump in the air from the tires and rotation into a barrel roll. No, the world wasn't moving slower- he was moving faster! Energy reserves he had built up from Burst activated almost on reflex as Izuku sprinted forward, suddenly appearing directly in-front of the vehicle that he had been chasing for miles now, with arms outstretched like he was planning to catch it with his bare hands. Blackwhip extended from his fingertips as he reached out to catch the oncoming truck in a large network of interconnected webs and strands, his heels digging into the asphalt as he cradled the vehicle in his arms as it slammed into him. The smell of burning rubber hit his nostrils as he forced the vehicle to a stop. Finally, it did. With some strain on his part, Izuku grit his teeth and gently set the security van on its side, finally feeling the ebbs of Burst's entropy energy wipeout hit him. But his work wasn't done yet.
Though his limbs felt like lead, Izuku moved towards the back of the car where the wheels were spinning hot and aimless above. "Is everyone alright?!" He was answered by a guttural chorus of groans uttered by men too exhausted to fight.
"What happened...?" The driver mumbled as if he were drunk as the sirens of police cars finally caught up and surrounded the armored vehicle. Though his arms were numb, Izuku used Blackwhip one last time in order to restrain the individuals inside and tenderly lift them out of the wreckage. The kid with the spines in his arms flinched back from him, eyes full of fear as if ready to bolt. In that moment, he didn't look anything like a criminal. He just looked like a scared kid.
"Don't..! Don't touch me!" he said through clenched teeth, clutching his right arm. It was bent at a funny angle and had points of discoloration already forming, which indicated that it was badly broken in several places.
"It's alright. I'm here to get you out," Izuku said with a reassuring smile, sympathizing with the boy with the broken arm. The few spines the kid had left stood at attention but never left his arm, though he could feel them prickle at him underneath Blackwhip's hold. Izuku winced but continued to carefully lift him out of the overturned security van.
"You're not... afraid," the kid mumbled, numb and awestruck, sounding more like a statement than a question. "Why?"
Izuku was thrown for a moment and thought about it. It was true, he was angry and had been afraid for the people who could have gotten involved. He had even felt a flicker of an impulse to hurt them. But when he saw the van fly through the air, his body had just moved on its own. In that moment, he was more afraid for the lives inside the vehicle than the ones outside of it. It was true that they were criminals and that they had endangered many people, but that didn't mean they deserved to die because of it.
Izuku never got to answer him though. The heroine in white was beside him now, here to assist him in restraining the other criminals. Upon closer inspection, he noticed her costume was shaped with the outlines of a tailcoat with an array of black lines crossing over, along with an insignia of a black circle with a thin cross cutting through it in the center of her chest. She blew a series of notes that sounded like it came from an ocarina mixed with a kazoo through her device and bound the assailants with more measures of music that wrapped tightly around them like rope. Officers near the wreck began barking orders before cuffing the suspects once they were all outside of the vehicle. The kid with the spikes, though he had much fewer than before, was put into an iron maiden restraint and escorted away into the ambulance that had been called. Tears began filling the corners of his eyes, though it could have been from the pain. He gave Izuku a hardened look before turning his gaze towards his feet as he was led away.
Izuku then found his eyes drifting towards the armored van door- or rather, the hole where it had been, along with the tires. The damage to the truck was far more extensive than it should have been. He had been angry, sure, he had even lost control for a second, turning his capture Quirk into a deadly weapon, but unless a new Quirk had manifested without his knowledge, he didn't cause this. The noise... The noise had been so familiar, almost like a stun grenade. It was almost like what he had encountered when he had fought Psyren. It could have just been a coincidence though, right? This was a bank robbery. For what reason would a villain like that help the heroes catch other villains? Unless they didn't want any witnesses...
"Well that was intense," commented Kaminari who had pulled over the motorcycle and began helping with the arrests. "You alright, Deku?"
"What? Oh, yeah. I'm okay."
"How about you, Kyoka? You okay? That kid with the spines almost got you there." Jirou, who had always been the pinnacle punk-rock tomboy, wore black thigh-high stockings that had speakers embedded in the sides and heels. Her leggings, which were strategically torn, had more tears added to her stockings as well as a few holes in her waist-length leather jacket. She pulled it protectively over her pink and white leotard.
"I'm fine," she said tersely. Her partially shaved pixie cut was mussed up from the motorcycle helmet, pushing her asymmetrical bangs away to show the sine wave shaved into the side of her scalp. Her fierce dark eyes met Kaminari's gaze the instant she felt they were ogling her. "Don't look at me that way, you pervert!" On reflex, Izuku politely averted his eyes while Kaminari simply laughed.
"Oh come on, babe. It's nothing I haven't seen already," he teased, causing Jirou to turn as red as the red triangles under her eyes. Somehow the makeup managed to endure even with the rain pouring from above. Izuku focused his attention on the boots. He had seen Coda wearing them as well, the speakers on her thigh-high boots used in a similar way that Psyren had used them.
"Where did you get those boots?" he asked the hearing hero.
"I got the design from Technologic. They're this up-and-coming costume designer for sound support items," Jirou explained. "I think Denki shares the same designer."
"Yeah. They design a sick jacket. Speaking of sick," Kaminari flexed with a cocky smirk, "whaddaya think of my new move?"
"It could still use some work, Jamming Yay," Jirou replied neutrally, appearing unimpressed.
"Aww babe, you wound me. I created it thinking of you."
"You're an idiot- and don't call me babe."
"But I'm your idiot."
"You're still an idiot," she said before muttering something under her breath involving admiration. Whatever she had said did not go unnoticed as Kaminari was now trying to smother Kyoka in a hug.
"Aww babe, you do care!" His face was met by the palm of her hand.
"Don't make this weird, Denki!"
"But you said-" he said before the headphone jacks of Jirou's earlobes jammed themselves and sent a sharp blast of sound into his head, causing him to twitch convulsively.
"I know what I said and now I'm starting to regret it!" she argued hotly before storming off. Underneath the surface, Izuku knew that the couple adored each other- Jirou wouldn't have put up with Kaminari for as long as she had if she didn't care about him. They had started the journey together as classmates, friends, heroes and partners, and now it had blossomed into romance, even though both were heroes that led very busy lives. It must be nice to have someone like that supporting you, Izuku thought before he felt his pocket buzz. He peered down at his phone, a text notification shimmering on his lock-screen.
I'm here. Where are you?
You finish kicking ass and taking names?
He let out a breathy chuckle. Alyssa was fine, just waiting for him to meet back up with her. "Hey Chargebolt, I need to go take care of something. Can you and Jirou- I mean Earphone Jack take care of things while I'm gone?"
Kaminari gave him a thumbs up. "Sure thing. You got it, boss." Izuku was about to turn to leave when he heard it. The tell-tale whirring noise, only it was closer now, growing louder. Where was it coming from-? Izuku locked his stare towards the officers escorting the criminals into the prisoner transport vehicle before feeling a burst of panic.
"Get away from them!" Izuku shouted a second too late. Three of the suspects, along with the cops around them that been in the line of fire, exploded, leaving behind mangled bodies and the assailants without heads. Blood, viscera, and brain matter splattered all over the pavement, staining many of the surrounding officers and heroes crimson. Coda shrieked in horror, her white bodysuit now dyed with the blood of the victims, while Jirou just stared in shock at the remains that drenched her torn stockings. Then everything erupted into chaos.
"KENJI!" the spine covered kid shouted before crying out in pain at the impact of something striking the back of his helmet, causing him to slump forward into the officers' arms. Izuku, noticing that a spike on his helmet was facing the wrong direction, quickly put it together that it wasn't there before. He could hear it whirring now. Despite the strain and the intricate size, Izuku latched onto whatever had struck the back of the helmet and threw it up into the sky before it burst into small, harmless bits of debris.
"GET HIM OUT OF HERE!" Izuku shouted towards the cops that were now funneling around them in a barrier, ushering them quickly inside the more heavily protected vehicle. If he wasn't sure before, he was now. Psyren had been involved with the armored truck during the last stretch of the chase. Now they had come back to finish the job. Izuku peered into the crowd but still couldn't detect anything out of the ordinary. There were too many people, all of which were now fleeing the scene, and none of them were dressed in Psyren's piscine bodysuit.
The hero was confident that the police would get away with the kid in custody- the urchin was knocked out but not bleeding -and it would take almost a nuclear missile to crack the hull of that transport. But it didn't erase the stain of blood on his hands- literally in this case -as ebbs of red trailed off him and the bodies into nearby storm drain.
Izuku clenched his fists. Psyren had gotten away. Again.
Author's Note: References today are light-cycles from Tron Legacy, Akira, Jambo! Safari, Yinu from No Straight Roads, Ember McClain from Danny Phantom, Porcupine and Quill from Marvel Comics, and Munirinsuto (Muunilinst- a pun on the Banking Clan) from Star Wars. Also the opening scene of Izuku forgetting his gear definitely reminds me of Deadpool in how the titular protagonist could be a game-breaking badass but always forgets his ammo, so he has to be smart with what he has (sheer coincidence).
Name: Togeshi Nikumaroro
Villain Name: Urchin
Quirk: Spine
He can produce spines all across his body, creating spines up to twelve inches in length. They grow back over time. He cannot control them once they've left his body.
Fun Fact: The reason he is so mean and abrasive is simply because he didn't get enough hugs in his life (lol). His name means "thorn" or "thicket" (and can mean 'biting words' or 'spine').
Name: Mai Benibara
Hero Name: Coda
Quirk: Music Augmentation
She can create music as physical objects, whether it be a bar of music to use as a ribbon or an eighth note to swing around like a battle axe. The bigger the sound, the larger the note. She has to have good breath control to be able to use it effectively. The effects fade after about ten minutes.
Fun Fact: Her name means "dancer, linen, robe" and her last name is the Japanese name for "rose" and is a reference to Yinu from No Straight Roads, who has a rose nature theme in her hair. Her superpower is based on Ember McClain's ghost guitar.
