Welcome back to "Through the Rough", everyone! With the Meta Liberation Army Arc in full swing, I'm really excited to be getting out these upcoming chapters. Work on them has slowed due to the scheduled ones, though. But my hope is that by the time this chapter comes out, I'll have a good handle on things, both with my working schedule and then my writing.
Anyways, we left off the last chapter with the League in turmoil over what to do next as they were contacted by the Meta Liberation Army and Poseidon Nero. With targets on their backs, they're left with little options. So what will they do now?
Let's find out!
WARNING: There are mature themes implied in this chapter. Please advise when reading. Thank you.
THROUGH THE ROUGH
"He wants us within Deika within the hour?!" Compress exclaimed in question once the call from Re-Destro had ended.
"Oh-ho, dear!" Daichi giggled out nervously.
"What are we supposed to do?" Spinner inquired.
"Either we get ourselves caught by heroes or go to where they wanna kill us..." Himiko pointed out, "Sounds like a lose-lose situation for all of us..." she mentioned grimly.
"It's obvious what we gotta do!" Twice shouted, getting the attentions of his comrades, "We go and save Giran!" he insisted, "He's the guy who gave me a place to call home!" he pointed out in remembrance.
"The Meta Liberation Army is one thing, but Poseidon Nero?" Compress chimed in, "That's basically asking us to go on a suicide mission!" he proclaimed emphatically.
"No argument there…" Maria concurred with a sigh, "We're really in deep shit now…" she muttered on. Shura was still panicking on the inside, trembling as his colleagues bickered over what they'd do next. He looked over to Tomura, who seemed to be in deep thought. The League was cornered. There was the threat of the Meta Liberation Army, Nero, the heroes, and of course, Gigantomachia. But even with all that pressure, he still seemed confident in some capacity.
"That guy might've just been lying about everything, so Giran could already be dead..." Himiko noted, crossing her fingers into an x.
"And you want us to charge into over a hundred thousand potential forces without so much as a plan?" Compress inquired of the Double Quirk user, "Honestly, you get far too attached to people..." he muttered out.
"Hey, take it easy!" Fie insisted as a retort, "Twice is just worried about dat that!" he noted.
"Exactly!" the Double Quirk user exclaimed, "I get attached to people because I'm a lon-!" Before Twice could finish his shout, Tomura came over and pulled his mask off. "Ah, AH!" he screamed, grabbing at his head.
"Twice!" Fie yelped out, going over to put his hands onto his shoulders to try and calm him down. Shura looked on in confusion, seeing him fall onto his knees and squirm with fear.
"I have an idea," the Decay Quirk user said, reaching his fingers up to the communicator in his right ear, "Doctor, were you listening?" he questioned through the line.
"Oh, you kids are always on those damn radios, aren't you?" Daruma responded with a chuckle, "Who would've thought that the Meta Liberation Army was still alive after all this time!" he added in exclamation, "You've really gone and made underworld stir these past few months, haven't you?" he guessed.
"What's he calling the doc for…?" Maria wondered aloud.
"Wait, of course!" Compress yelped in realization, "We can use those new Nomu you've been testing and—!"
"I'm afraid not," the doctor interjected, much to the Compress Quirk user's chagrin, "My other children aren't ready for the testing phase," he told the group, "And since Dabi failed to retrieve my precious 'Hood', there's not much I can do there," he mentioned.
"Drat..." Compress muttered out.
"It's fine," Tomura said to everyone's surprise, "I wasn't banking on using the Nomu anyway," he admitted.
"Then... why call the doctor?" Himiko inquired, while Twice continued to squirm.
"How many hours until the fatass wakes up?" Tomura asked, changing the subject. The others blinked in surprise.
"From now..." Compress began, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time, "it'll be two hours and thirty-five minutes... given that nothing interrupts him," he told the league's leader.
"What are you planning?" Shura questioned, narrowing his eyes onto the mess of a villain.
"Doctor, where's Dabi right now?" he asked into the communicator, ignoring the Satan Gravity Quirk user.
"At this moment, he's on the border of the Mie and Shiga Prefectures," Daruma answered from the line.
"Perfect..." Tomura uttered with a grin, "Okay, warp us all to Aichi, Doc," he requested, much to everyone's surprise.
"We're seriously rushing in?!" Spinner questioned aloud, "What if those guys do have over a hundred thousand soldiers like he said?!" he inquired on in concern, all while Twice continued squirming, trying to get his mask back on.
"If there's one thing I've learned from fighting that damn giant over the last month, it's not invincible..." he pointed out, "It's just got stupidly high HP," he noted, "And no matter where I go, he always finds me..." he mentioned. The others widened their eyes.
"So... that's your game..." Maria realized, "He'll chase after you..." she started to infer.
"...and those thousands of soldiers or whatever will tire that fatass out for us to finally beat him," Tomura finished, placing his left fist into the palm of his right hand.
"Oh-ho!" Daruma laughed through his communicator, causing him to reflexively flinch, "And what'll you do if it turns out to be nothing more than a bluff?!" he inquired curiously.
"Then the bastards die just like they deserve to..." the League's leader muttered in reply.
"So... we're really doing this..." Spinner realized.
"Don't make me repeat myself," Tomura insisted, going over and helping Twice put his mask back on.
"Ah... I'm still whole..." he sighed out in relief.
"I'm gonna destroy everything..." the Decay Quirk user declared, grinning all the while. Maria looked at him and sighed, thinking he was crazy.
"We're all going to die..." she mumbled out.
"I hope so..." the masked Twice concurred in a serious tone, "No we won't!" he then assured, taking on a more carefree manner. The Slime Quirk user blinked twice before pinching the bridge of her nose and groaning.
"Oh, for fuck's sake..." she muttered. And just like that, the league had a new objective: save Giran by facing the Meta Liberation Army… and Nero.
OPENING
Insert "Memories" by ONE OK ROCK
Opens with an image of Tenko Shimura crying in his family's backyard with Mon in his grasp as he scratches at his eyes. A shadow looms over him, being that of his older self as Tomura Shigaraki, who narrows his eyes under the hand over his face. Meanwhile, we also see an image of Poseidon Shura looming over his younger self, as he's crying in a corner.
We cut to the opening logo, which is crushed and disintegrated before turning into "My Villain Academia". We see images of Fie, Maria Slime, Daichi, Mr. Compress, Dabi, Himiko Toga, Twice, and finally, Spinner. He sighs as he sees his colleagues loitering around, seemingly doing nothing of importance. Maria looks back at him sadly, dropping her lollipop.
All of a sudden, the ground shakes before shattering around them, with Gigantomachia revealing himself to challenge them. We also get a shot of Doctor Garaki, who grins under his moustache. The scene switches over to the likes of the Meta Liberation Army and those of Nero's forces, including the likes of Deadend Crow. Amidst them, Giran is being held captive in a tower, grimacing with frustration.
The League of Villains arrives in Deika City, being pitted immediately into battle against the Meta Liberation Army. Explosions from Curious blow back Himiko and Maria, as both have sudden flashes of their pasts, with the former trying to live her life in spite of her habits, while the latter looks in a mirror crying before Drakken Joe places a hand onto her shoulder reassuringly. We see green slime coat Maria before turning black and unleashing tendrils violently onto her foes.
Next, we see Twice getting himself trampled by puppets of his own visage. Fie tries to help him, but he's suddenly bombarded by a barrage of cards fired by Lyra. We see a flash of him as a kid having watched a particular hero constantly on TV, smiling brightly. His body flares up in flames, creating a torrential inferno.
Tomura and Shura charge through more members of the Meta Liberation Army, with Spinner, Daichi, Compress and Dabi holding off anyone from following them. We see Fabiano leap in covered in crystals, striking Tomura to send him flying back. Meanwhile, Shura gets blown away by Callum, who uses his Carburetor to tear a hole through the Satan Gravity Quirk user.
The Meta Liberation Army seems so imposing, especially with Re-Destro, Nero and Deadend Crow on their side. However, we witness Tomura and Shura charge through to them, yelling all the while. There are flashes of their pasts, with Tomura meeting All For One as he extends a hand to him, while Shura is introduced to Ijuna as his personal servant. She watches the battles rage on from the tower looking over the city, closing her right hand into a fist as she grimaces.
As the battle rages on, we see Crow and Gigantomachia collide with each other, Tomura losing his jacket and shirt as he disintegrates much of the ground, and Shura having energy lines expand around his body in midair as he faces down his adoptive father, who rolls his trio of dice in his right hand. We end the opening with the young forms of Tomura and Shura looking away from each other, both born into families that resented them. They turn to each other, now aged up to the current time, flashing sadistic grins.
END OPENING
"You okay, Shuri?" Himiko asked of Shura after the group had gotten warped to the border of the city at the base of the hill they were upon.
"Shura," he corrected in annoyance with his hands stuffed into his pockets, "And I don't want you guys stuffing in on my business," he added to his colleagues firmly.
"Unfortunately, that's not up to any of us…" Maria grumbled in response as she licked her blue lollipop, tossing it aside after a moment.
"Why the hell did I get dragged into this bullshit?" Dabi muttered in question, having rejoined the group.
"You asshole!" Twice yelled as he shot off his measuring tape to his colleague, which he leaned back to dodge, "Giran introduced you to the league too, didn't he?!" he inquired rhetorically, "Be grateful, dammit!" he shouted.
"Like I care..." the pyrokinetic grumbled out.
"Hey, you're on the hit list, too," Maria noted, getting his attention, "No doubt they'll come and kill you if we die," she inferred with a smirk, causing him to scoff.
"So now what?" Compress asked curiously, "Do we… charge in?" he assumed, "There's still two hours before Machia's supposed to wake up…" he pointed out. Tomura sat down on a rock.
"Tell us about your old man," he advised of Shura suddenly, causing him to blink in surprise, "Like it or not, I think we're gonna have to face him," he said. Grimacing a little, the Satan Gravity Quirk user sighed.
"He's a total freak," he responded, seating himself upon a nearby log, "For one, he's got ties to almost every big business in Japan," he told his colleagues, "That's how he got to where he is today," he confirmed, "As for his raw power…" he continued, clenching his fists tightly, "he's a dual-type," he said.
"Dual-type?" Daichi repeated in confusion.
"Like Holy perchance?" Compress presumed.
"Exactly," Shura replied, "His first Quirk is called Hydro, allowing him to control and manipulate water," he explained, "He's capable of drawing in water from large bodies like lakes, but can't take it from living things," he mentioned further.
"And what about his other Quirk?" Maria inquired on, crossing her arms. The Satan Gravity Quirk user tensed up and started trembling again. At that moment, Himiko took notice of a cloud of dust coming towards them.
"Someone's coming!" she called out, enticing everyone to take on ready stances for battle.
"Stop, please!" the incoming individual insisted as he slid to a stop, "I'm here to simply escort you!" he assured. It turned out to be none other than Slidin' Go.
"It's a hero..." Spinner realized, "Though I don't know who he is..." he admitted sheepishly.
'So the Meta Liberation Army's got heroes, too?' Maria questioned curiously through her thoughts, narrowing her eyes. Moments later, she and the others were being led down into the city by the hero, who slid ahead of them.
"This whole place is empty..." Compress quietly noted. Tomura looked around, spotting another caped hero acting as a lookout from afar.
"No, that's not it..." he mumbled out, getting the attentions of his comrades.
"You see, today's special!" the hero guiding them exclaimed as he made a hand sign with his thumb against his forehead while his pointer finger stuck up.
"Exactly," another voice chimed in, enticing the hero to slide aside and bow to two approaching figures. One was a man with reasonably long, black hair that he wore swept back, a single strand left hanging down over his face, thin eyebrows, and a small mustache. He had an angular nose and small, feminine eyes with dark blue irises. He had yellow glasses with purple-tinted lenses. He wore a plain business suit, consisting of a white dress shirt, a black tie and a black blazer.
The other was a woman with long, pale lilac hair, worn parted to her right side, full lips and pale blue skin. Her eyes were unusual, in that her sclera was completely black whereas her eye irises were green, and her pupils were completely black. And they were framed by notably long eyelashes, wrinkles, and small eyebrows. She wore a navy blue, shoulderless dress with long sleeves and an X-shaped belt with a circular buckle around her waist. She also donned an unbuttoned, salmon-colored jacket with black fur around the collar and hem. She sported light-colored laced high boots.
"This is Deika City, where ninety percent of the population here is made up of liberation soldiers," the suited man told the group of villains, "We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for journeying so far to visit us today!" he remarked with gratitude, "Now that you're here as the guests of honor, we can finally begin!" he declared, snapping his fingers, "It's time for the Liberation Army's Revival Party!" he announced as several people suddenly came out from the buildings around the area and attacked the league members.
"That's Hanabata from the Hearts and Mind Party!" Compress noted while evading the barrages of attacks sent their way.
"So they really do have over a hundred thousand?!" Spinner inquired aloud while drawing his sword from its sheath.
"Where the hell's Giran?!" Twice yelled in question.
"Oh, if you're looking for the broker..." Koku began, gesturing towards the tower in the near distance, "he's up there," he informed them, "Though I doubt you'll be reaching him anytime soon..." he remarked.
"You sonuva-!" The Double Quirk user's remark was cut off as he was hit by some debris, knocking him back.
"So... there's the end goal..." Tomura muttered in realization.
"SHIGARAKI!" two men yelled as they lunged out at the Decay Quirk user. However, he easily disintegrated them with a quick touch. Another liberation soldier was about to pounce on him, only to gravitationally pulled into the grasp of Shura, who slammed him fiercely against the ground. Watching on in surprise, Koku smirked.
"So you're the famous son of Nero…" he realized.
"Adopted, but yeah," the Satan Gravity Quirk user responded, "He in that damn tower, too?" he presumed. The politician merely chuckled. "Hey, answer me!" Shura insisted, only to suddenly find himself enshrouded in mist as he looked around.
"Shuri!" Himiko cried out. Within the mist, the Satan Gravity Quirk user gritted his teeth.
"Figures that bastard would have you guys here to help fight us…" he muttered as a figure emerged from the mist to face him, "But just you?" he inquired further, narrowing his eyes, "You must think you're hot shit now, huh?" he guessed, seeing that it was Callum he was facing.
"Enough banter, Shura," he insisted with crossed arms as his green energy markings expanded, while the mist around them swelled, "Oceans will be dealing with you and your friends," he declared.
"Shura!" Maria yelled from outside the cloud of mist, "Dammit, we need him if we're gonna survive all this crap!" she pointed out with a grimace.
"No worries, Slimy!" Himiko replied as she skipped ahead, "Getting through these guys should be a piece of-! WAH!" she yelped as the ground suddenly exploded beneath her feet, causing her to tumble over upon the street, "Ugh..." she groaned out.
"Himiko!" Maria cried out. She was about go to her aid, only to suddenly find herself caught up in a blast that sent her flying through the window of a nearby store.
"Himiko Toga, the culprit of those serial blood loss murders, right?" the voice of the blue-skinned woman from earlier inquired, being amongst about a dozen soldiers. She shaped her fingers into a picture frame onto the Transform Quirk user. "'Why did a high school girl descend into such madness? She tells all in this SHOCKING interview!'," she proclaimed, "Mind giving me a few words for this story?" she requested. Himiko got back up.
"Yeah... no," she responded bluntly. Meanwhile, Maria grimaced as green slime dripped from her body. She was slow to sit up, taking notice of the substance upon her arms and legs.
"Oh, no, no, no…" she repeated to herself in panic, tensing up. She concentrated, making the slime recede into her skin. "Huh…" she exhaled with relief. But then she realized something. She couldn't hear any commotion outside. "What the hell…?" she uttered, stepping forward, only to bump into a mirror. At that moment, she noticed something else. All of the signs in the area were reversed, as if they were mirrored.
"Starting to figure it out?" a female voice guessed in an echo, causing the Slime Quirk user to whip around in search of its origin, "I'm so happy the Meta Liberation Army was able to install as many mirrors as possible in town," she mentioned.
"What the hell is this?" Maria inquired. All of a sudden, a fist shot out from a mirror at her right, striking her squarely in the face and making her stumble back. She regained her balance, rubbing her hurting nose with a grimace before noticing a figure emerging from the mirror. It was Milani.
"Prince Shura sure found some interesting new friends…" she noted aloud, "Including a former lackey of Drakken Joe's…" she added, making the Slime Quirk user growl, "Maria Slime…" she continued, "Or should I say, Maria… Herrera?" she inquired, causing her foe to widen her eyes.
X
"Where'd Slimy go?" Himiko asked amidst the unfolding chaos around her. Chitose Kizuki, going by her alias of Curious, was ready to force her interview onto her whether she wanted it or not. Clearly, the Transform Quirk user was an intriguing case to her. And she was only further intrigued when the girl filled with bloodlust attempted to kill her right on the spot.
"Don't disturb Lady Curious in the middle of an interview," one of her lackeys advised after she and the others stopped her, sending her flying back and crashing into a nearby store.
"Oh, you attacked without hesitation!" Chitose exclaimed in shock, "I have to know, what made you turn out this way?!" she wondered aloud with excitement in her voice. Himiko landed in the store, quickly getting onto her feet. But then, the ground beneath her started to glow. "Oh, I'd watch my step in there if I were you..." her opponent advised. The floor blasted apart in an instant. "You see, I've set up a lot of mines in there..." the reporter noted, "and our soldiers are relentless," she mentioned, "So unless you want to die, I'd recommend you comply with the interview..." she insisted with narrowed eyes. Her soldiers poured into the store, only for Himiko to suddenly get up and fling out her syringes at them, piercing into their bodies. She then threw on her mask.
'Even if it's not cute, this mask lets me ingest the blood I take in instantly!' she pointed out to herself, while the blood flowed through the tubes to her mask, 'I'll turn into one of these goons and go find Slimy before—!' Just as she swallowed the blood that came to her mask, her body became bombarded with explosions.
"GWAH…!" she gasped out. Noticing from afar, Curious chuckled.
"Aside from much of the area being a minefield, our soldiers are willing to be noble sacrifices in order to stop you lot," she noted aloud, while the Transform Quirk user staggered to her feet with blood dripping down her face, "If you'll let me conduct this interview, I may let you live longer…" she offered, "Perhaps you'd like to hear another story!" she suggested with a clap of her hands, "About your friend, Maria…" she mentioned, causing Himiko to perk up in surprise.
"Slimy…?" she uttered. Meanwhile, the Slime Quirk user clenched her fists tightly. Red slime started to appear along her arms. Milani giggled.
"How…?" her enemy asked in a low growl.
"Re-Destro and Nero did their research is all," the Mirror Trick Quirk user responded, "Originally from South America, you were brought to Japan to work under Drakken Joe, which in turn led to you going undercover at UA and then helping in the kidnapping of Katsuki Bakugo and Rebecca Bluegarden," she explained thoroughly, "Am I wrong?" she inquired of Maria, who scoffed.
"Where the hell are we?" she questioned on, looking around at the reversed signage.
"My Mirror World," Milani answered, "What do you think?" she asked curiously, "Pretty much like looking in a mirror, huh?" she presumed.
"I get it…" Maria uttered in realization, remembering how she got flung through the window earlier, "So you trapped me here?" she assumed, turning to her foe.
"Well, at least until Lady Curious' interview is over," she replied with a dismissive wave of her hand, "I wouldn't want anyone to get in the way of that," she pointed out.
"Interview? With Toga?" the Slime Quirk user inquired further, earning a nod from Milani.
"She'd interview you, but she already knows your story," she noted, "Maria Herrera, once a promising young student reduced to a sl—" The Slime Quirk user's left leg shot out at her, enticing her to duck as it shattered one of the mirrors in the store upon impact.
"Shut your mouth, you bitch…" she growled out, red slime still dripping from her body.
"You're angry…" Milani noted with a chuckle, "That's the tell of your Quirk," she pointed out before evading another stretched kick from her foe, "Your 'slime' changes color based on your emotions," she mentioned as she flipped back, disappearing into one of the mirrors. Maria thrusted her left foot out and shattered it instantaneously upon impact. She scoffed in frustration. "Red slime is for anger, purple for fear, blue for sadness, yellow for joy, and green for disgust," the Mirror Trick Quirk user's voice echoed from the mirrors, with her image appearing in one every few moments, "Most of the time, your slime's usually green and sticky, right?" she presumed before another mirror was shattered.
"What the hell are you trying to pull here?!" Maria asked angrily. The drops of red slime steamed with heat as they dripped onto the ground.
"Your Quirk made you different, more so than anyone in your family," Milani pointed out, "It's why they abandoned you after that incident in Brazil, right?" she presumed. A flash of memories went through the Slime Quirk user's head, including one where she found herself surrounded by a group of older men who had pinned her to the ground, ripping off her clothes. Purple slime started appearing upon her face.
"Shut up… SHUT UP!" she roared out, shattering every mirror she could find in search of her foe. However, she was nowhere in sight. "Huh… huh…" she breathed heavily with rage, her fists trembling. All of a sudden, an arm emerged from one of the mirror shards lying upon the floor.
"Thanks for the ammo…" Milani remarked, causing her to perk up in surprise before winding up struck at her side by her enemy's fist.
"The hell…?!" she gasped out, suddenly finding herself bombarded by the Mirror Trick Quirk user's fists and feet as they shot out from the shards scattered along the ground. At one point, a pair of arms emerged from the shards, grabbing the Slime Quirk user's ankles to hold her in place. More fists and feet were coming towards her.
"Mirror World Finisher!" Milani exclaimed. After being bombarded, Maria stumbled back into another mirror that was still standing, trying to catch her breath. Without warning, a pair of arms wrapped around her neck. She glanced back to see her smirking foe within the mirror. Another pair of hands grabbed her ankles again, while one more took hold of her arms.
"Damn it…!" the Slime Quirk user cursed, trying to break free of her enemy's hold as she choked her. She chuckled.
"You know, I like you," she admitted, "You did what you could to fight back against the status quo, and made yourself the perfect young woman that was every boy's dream," she pointed out, "But that also turned you into the tramp that got herself into what she ended up in today," she mentioned mockingly.
"Agh…!" Maria gasped out in agony, trying desperately to break free. Green slime was dripping from her back. Red slime emerged from her arms, while blue ran down her legs. And purple was bubbling around her face.
"Four in one, huh?" Milani remarked curiously, "Wonder what happens when all five show up for you…" she noted on as her foe grimaced. Bad memories flooded her head. All she could think about was getting grabbed everywhere, losing all of her clothes before being violated. And then… everything went black.
FLASHBACK
My Quirk is a mutant-type. It might not look like it now, but it was a lot different when I was younger.
"Mama! Papa!" a five-year-old Maria screamed out before her parents came barreling into the room as the door slammed open. They widened their eyes to see the blue puddle at their daughter's feet while she teared up. "I swear, I didn't wet the bed!" she proclaimed, wailing afterwards.
When my Quirk manifested for the first time, I could only produce blue and purple slime. Over time, I saw myself secrete green, red, and yellow, too. I was happy to have a Quirk at all, even if I didn't totally get a handle on it at first. But my parents… they didn't like it.
"It has to be an emitter-type, right?" Maria's mother presumed one night at the dinner table to her husband, not knowing that their daughter was eavesdropping on their conversation.
"I talked with my friend about it…" her farther noted with a grimace, "It's definitely a mutant-type based on how her body's changed," he confirmed, "If people were to find out, she'd be putting a target onto our family's backs…" he pointed out.
"How horrible…" his wife said sadly, "To think that we'd be cursed by a mutant-type in our family…" she remarked. Silently, Maria cried as both her tears and blue slime dripped onto the floor.
It's not that my parents hated me. But with how mutant-types were so discriminated against in other countries, I was liable to get myself into trouble if people were to find out. My Quirk was falsely labeled as an emitter-type, and the plan was for me to go to school until my parents could afford to send me to college.
But… weird things happened. For one, my Quirk was stunting my growth. I didn't notice until I was around ten, when I noticed that every kid around me was bigger. The school nurse was worried that my home life was a factor, so I knew I had to make myself look right. Another quality of my Quirk was the ability to shape my body and maintain it.
At first, it took a lot of effort, especially when it came time for me to go through puberty. Until I could hold it all together, I'd have to stay in my slime form at home. And I knew my parents would look at me weird whenever they saw me like that.
It was hard knowing that they had prejudices. I just wanted to do my best for them. By fourteen, I found a form that suited me the most and I could maintain for a while without drawing too much suspicion. At least… that's what I thought.
"Wow, Maria! Your boobs are huge!" one schoolgirl exclaimed as she and her friends approached the Slime Quirk user, who blinked in surprise and blushed.
"You think so…?" she questioned, looking down at her chest, "I guess I went through a big growth spurt…" she noted.
"Yeah, the same thing happened to you in grade school!" another girl pointed out.
"Is it because of your Quirk?" someone else inquired on.
"N-No!" Maria stammered out, "I mean… it's probably just 'cause I tend to not eat a lot, ya know?" she inferred.
"Yeah, that's true…" the initial schoolgirl responded with a nod, "Oh hey, did you here that Mister Davi's in town for model scouting?" she questioned of her friends.
"Model scouting?" the Slime Quirk user repeated in confusion.
"Mm-hmm," her friend replied, nodding again, "He's looking for teenage models for swimsuit and fashion magazines," she told her, "I even heard whoever gets the chance to model for him makes more money than a grownup!" she mentioned excitedly. Maria's eyes shimmered a little.
My parents never made that much money in their jobs, so I thought this would help. Plus, no one would find out I was a mutant-type if I was just modeling. To my mom's shock, I landed the gig day one. Mister Davi thought I was probably the idealized girl that every other one would wanna be.
I wore all sorts of clothes, from sundresses to bikinis. And I was having fun. But with every new shoot, my mom got increasingly more worried. Eventually, she didn't come with me anymore, saying that I'd be fine on my own.
"That's it! Good!" a bearded and suited, tan-skinned man complimented as camera flashes went off, with Maria posing in front of a beach-like backdrop in a two-piece, striped bikini, holding her arms behind her head while giving a longing expression. Normally, her mother would be standing right behind Davi, watching on with the faintest of smiles. But this was the first day she hadn't come.
"Okay, that's it for today," one of the cameramen confirmed.
"Perfect!" Davi exclaimed as he stood up, "We got some great shots from you today, Maria!" he pointed out, causing the Slime Quirk user to smile brightly. A hint of yellow slime secreted from her cheek, enticing her to quickly cover it with her left hand.
"Th-Thank you, sir!" she said gratefully. He chuckled.
"Go ahead and keep the swimsuit for summer," he offered, "I get the feeling you'll need it," he affirmed with a grin.
"Okay!" Maria replied, going over to gather her things from a nearby duffel bag. She didn't realize that Davi was staring at her all the while, smirking as she bent over. "By the way…" she began, causing him to perk up and compose himself, "I haven't seen any new magazines with my pictures in them…" she pointed out worriedly.
"Publications in this country are getting held up, that's why," one of the cameramen told her.
"Soon as that's settled, your friends'll be seeing you all over the place!" Davi assured confidently. Maria beamed. She left the building with her school clothes over her newly acquired swimsuit, looking at her latest check that she was ready to cash in. In two weeks, she had made twenty thousand real just for getting pictures taken. It wasn't much, but if it could help her family, she'd be more than okay with it. She turned a corner… and bumped into someone.
"Ah, oh, sorry!" she immediately apologized, only to blink in surprise to see that it was Davi there, "Mister Davi?" she said, noticing the smirk on his face, "What are you—?" Without warning, he grabbed her by her right arm and yanked her over, pulling her along with him. "H-Hey!" she stammered out, "Where are you taking me?!" she questioned worriedly, purple slime starting to secrete from her left arm, "Did I do something wrong?!" she inquired.
"No…" her employer assured, "It's just that now's the perfect time…" he affirmed with a wicked grin, much to her confusion and fright. She found herself brought into a backroom, getting thrown down onto a mat as she yelped. She then heard rustling, enticing her to look over and see Davi taking his suit jacket and shirt off, tossing them aside. "Take off your clothes," he commanded of the Slime Quirk user, who blinked again.
"Do you… want some more shots?" she guessed, trembling a little.
"Oh, we want shots alright…" another voice chimed in, making her turn to see the pair of cameramen she had been working with approaching her, "But not the kind you're thinking of," he remarked with a chuckle. Maria gasped upon realizing that both of them were completely naked. She gasped, turning away as her face went red.
"Wh-Wh-What's going on?!" she stammered in question with tears pricking her shut eyes.
"Your mom made things tough, but it was worth the wait," Davi noted, having removed the last of his clothes as he tossed his briefs aside, "Those pictures really got us a lot of money," he mentioned on.
"Huh?" Maria uttered, completely perplexed, "But… I thought you said they weren't published yet…" she recalled.
"Duh, they were sold online!" one of the cameramen pointed out as he approached, "To any guy who wanted to see that smokin' body of yours!" he added with a chuckle.
"Wh…What…?" the Slime Quirk user stammered out.
"Of course, that'll be nothing compared to the real thing…" Davi noted as he approached. Maria widened her eyes in fright. She needed to get away. But suddenly, one of the cameramen grabbed her by the back of her shirt, yanking her back onto the mat. The other one went ahead and ripped off her skirt, followed by tearing open her shirt to reveal her bikini.
"STOP! LET ME GO!" Maria screamed pleadingly. Purple and blue slime were secreting from her body, along with green and some yellow slime from earlier. The trio of men chuckled.
"Tear that bikini off," Davi instructed, "It's time for us to help ourselves to this fine bitch," he remarked. With that, the top and bottom of the Slime Quirk user's new bikini was torn away. Fear was pretty much the only thing in her mind.
"St-Stop it… please…!" she pleaded out one last time. One of the cameramen forced her legs opened as Davi knelt down, inching himself closer.
"Go ahead and give me a smile, Maria…" he insisted of the Slime Quirk user, who felt a sudden jolt to her body as she clenched her teeth, "You're gonna love this…" he promised. She was horrified. The man she had trusted… was attempting to do something so vile to her. Red slime secreted from her face. And before anyone could do anything else, a black slime shot into Davi's mouth.
I don't know what happened next. When I came to, I saw that Davi and his goons were dead, choking on what I thought was sludge. I was covered in it myself, too. As happy as I were that they were dead, I realized that they just completely ruined my life…
"Damn… what the hell happened?" a voice inquired, causing her to slowly open her eyes. Surveying the scene around her were the likes of Seth and Diego. And amongst them was none other than Drakken.
"Guess Davi finally got what was coming to him after all this time…" the Muscle Augmentation Quirk user noted as he narrowed his eyes onto the deceased bodies around him.
"What's with all this black muck?" Seth wondered aloud as he dug his hand into the black slime, "It's pretty sticky…" he mentioned. Maria trembled as she attempted to start crawling away, only to let out a wince of pain. Drakken turned his attention toward her.
"You're the girl Davi's been using, huh?" he presumed, approaching her from behind, "Sorry," he apologized, "I knew this kind of business was scummy, and I let it happen…" he muttered out in frustration. The Slime Quirk user didn't say anything, still shaking with fear. "How old are you?" he inquired on.
"…F-Fourteen…" she stuttered out after a moment. Drakken gasped, widening his eyes. He then growled as he clenched his fists.
"Seth! Diego!" he called out, causing his cohorts to immediately stand to attention, "I want anything involving Davi to get wiped clean completely!" he ordered of them, "I don't want a single image of this girl going around the world!" he added vehemently, much to Maria's shock.
"Might be hard to do, boss…" the Quickshot Quirk user admitted, "I can at least wipe every last image clean from the net, but…" he continued.
"I don't care!" Drakken shouted, "Kill anyone you find who downloaded those pictures!" he insisted further, "This isn't just about upholding our rep!" he pointed out, looking back at the Slime Quirk user, whose eyes were teary and trembling, "It's about doing what's right for the future," he stated.
From that day on, I became Mister Joe's friend. He took me back with him to Japan, while my family stayed in Brazil, under the impression that Maria Herrera died. And she did, at least to me.
I became Maria Slime, Drakken's bewitching henchman, ready to serve his every need. But after he was captured by the heroes… I almost had no one.
"Huh… huh…!" Maria breathed out in panic as she ran into an alleyway, narrowly evading a spotlight coming down upon her. Escaping the scene at Camino was nearly impossible. Had it not been for All Might and All For One's clash drawing most of the heroes' attention, she would've never managed to escape.
She still vividly remembered how the masked villain didn't allow her to escape with the rest of the League of Villains. He seemingly refused to let her get away. She was on her own… again. Purple slime secreted from her arms, making her gasp upon noticing.
"Dammit…!" she cursed out, hurrying away from the scene. Tears were threatening to pour out from her eyes. She knew that as strong as Drakken was, there was no way he'd be able to win his battle without help, and he had practically none now. At that moment, she bumped into something, falling onto the ground.
"Maria Slime!" a voice boomed, causing her to perk up and gasp to see a burly-looking hero in front of her, preparing a cannon-like support item upon his right arm, "Your terror ends here!" he declared. However, before he could do anything, he was suddenly met with a slash to his back from behind, causing blood to gush out as he gasped, falling forward onto the ground. Maria's eyes shook. She looked out and blinked in surprise to find none other than Himiko there, breathing somewhat heavily.
"Hey, Mary…" she greeted, giving off a tired smile, "Glad I found you…" she remarked with a giggle.
If it wasn't for her… I would've just let it end right there. The League became my family… my home. Even though I was detested, I stuck around… because I wanted change…
END FLASHBACK
"She was… what?" Himiko asked in shock, almost dropping the knife in her right hand.
"Cruel, isn't it?" Curious guessed, "A girl with hopes and dreams to make herself beautiful was turned into a disgusting wench," she pointed out, "We actually happen to have some of those vile pictures she posed for," she mentioned with a smirk, "If killing her friends isn't enough to make her come support our cause, then perhaps blackmail will do, too," she presumed with a chuckle. Himiko didn't know what to think in that moment. She didn't know Maria personally. But being told all of this at once, in such a crude manner no less… Her face twisted into an angered snarl.
"You better shut up…" she growled out, causing her foe to blink in surprise, "Mary's my friend… and if you're going to make fun of her past like that…" she continued as her grip on her knife tightened, "then I'll cut you all down…" she threatened, no longer smiling. Curious cracked a grin.
"Seems I'm getting to you…" she noted aloud. Suddenly, a nearby window shattered. Everyone looked over to see Milani being thrown out from the hardware store, crashing hard into a wall on the opposite side of a street. She had lost consciousness, falling to the ground in a defeated heap.
"Lady Curious, look!" one of the liberators pointed out, causing his superior to turn and gasp. Leaping out from the shattered window was a slender, feminine figure coated in black slime, with tendrils emerging from her back and eyes that were pale white. They narrowed onto those of the Meta Liberation Army. Meanwhile, Himiko's eyes were shaking.
"Mary…?" she uttered out.
X
TWO MINUTES EARLIER
"Guess I should wrap this up before you try anything…" Milani decided, tightening her grip on her foe as she gasped for air. She was about to die. But for some reason, she started smiling. The Mirror Trick Quirk user took notice. "What's so funny?" she asked curiously.
"No… it's just…" Maria began to say with yellow slime starting to secrete from her face, "You reminding me of my past…" she continued, "made me happy to think of those bastards I killed!" she affirmed. All of the slime emerging from her body suddenly turned black, spreading around. Milani gasped.
"What the hell?!" she exclaimed, pulling her arms away. All of a sudden though, the black slime shot out tendrils that wrapped around her limbs, yanking her back as she yelped. "Is this what happens when you secrete all colors of your slime?!" she presumed. Then she heard an ominous chuckling.
"Fear… disgust… sadness… anger… and joy…" Maria chuckled. The slime had spread all the way to her face, giving her somewhat of a mask that had big white eyes and a mouth that looked like it had jagged teeth. "Can anyone experience all of those at once?" she inquired aloud as the Mirror Trick Quirk user's eyes were shaking in shock, "The last time this happened, I killed three jackasses without even knowing…" she pointed out, "So what do you think'll happen…" she continued, "if I know what I'm doing?" she asked of her foe in a threatening manner.
Before Milani could say anything, she was yanked out of the mirror, thrown over her foe's shoulders before getting slammed against the floor, which was already riddled with glass shards. She screamed in pain, only to be silenced as the Slime Quirk user grabbed her by her face. She then went ahead and slammed her against every mirror in the vicinity of the store, making her back bleed profusely.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Maria cackled with delight, "I might be mad, but this feels great!" she proclaimed excitedly, "Now unless you wanna die, you'll get me back to the real world!" she threatened, shattering another mirror with the Mirror Trick Quirk user's body. Tears were welling in her eyes. She was completely afraid of her empowered foe. The next mirror she attempted to shatter with Milani's body was the one they finally managed to fall into, returning to the real world as the signage read normally around them. "Heh," the Slime Quirk user chuckled, dropping her enemy onto the floor as she gasped for air, panting rapidly. Tears dripped from her eyes.
"I…I'm sorry…" she apologized, "Please… let me go…" she pleaded through her sobs. Maria narrowed her masked eyes onto her.
"…Nah," she said. In an instant, she formed a mass of slime around her right arm, taking hold of Milani as she yelped. She then swung her around before sending her flying through the window in an instant. She smirked afterward. "That's what you get for calling me all that crap," she affirmed.
"So that's you, isn't it, Maria Slime?!" Curious inquired excitedly in the present, getting the empowered Slime Quirk user's attention, "My, what a monstrous form you've taken!" she pointed out, "It reminds me of those old children's comic books they used to sell from overseas…" she mentioned cheekily. Maria narrowed her eyes onto her.
"You stay away from Mary!" Himiko yelled as she charged in with her knives at the ready. However, a blast went off at her feet, sending her flying back. Curious huffed.
"Don't let Slime interfere with my interview," she insisted of her cohorts.
"Yes, Lady Curious," one of them responded before they charged out at the Slime Quirk user, who chuckled. Tendrils of her black slime emerged from her back as she had them shoot out and grab some of the soldiers by their faces, hoisting them up from the ground. She then started swinging them around wildly like ragdolls, slamming them against their colleagues, even well after they had lost consciousness.
"AHAHAHAHAHAHA!" she cackled maniacally, "Come on, give me more!" she insisted of her foes, "I'll trash every last one of you!" she proclaimed. What she had yet to realize was that Himiko had seemingly been cornered by Curious. She was being asked about why she was driven to kill so many people and why she wasn't living normally. Each blast weakened her over and over, reducing her to a bloodied state that she hadn't experienced herself before. She had managed to avoid most battles without so much as a scratch. That was her normal life, running from everything.
And she knew it was Maria's, too. Their lives were all about needing to escape from their problems, trying to live normally as they believed. The Meta Liberation Army executive blinked in surprise when she saw the Transform Quirk user stand up with a wicked smile on her face. It was like that of a doll.
"I like you liberation guys... since you wanna make a beautiful world so people can live nice, normal lives..." she admitted to the group, "But I'm living my normal..." she declared, "And so is Mary…" she added firmly. Afterwards, she hacked up more blood as she keeled over. Curious chuckled, licking her lips.
"Your normal, hm?" she repeated, sauntering over to her downed foe, "My, that's quite the headline..." she pointed out, glancing back to see Maria doing away with more of her cohorts easily, though her black smile was slowly starting to peel away from her body. She then went on to sympathize with the Transform Quirk user, seeing as how her life had been led astray by her true nature, thus isolating her from the rest of society. Because she was oppressed, she became a villain. Because she never received the counseling she needed, her desires of blood never ceased. She had hidden herself. And it pissed her off to hear the Meta Liberation Army executive pitying her and her friend.
"SHUT UP ALREADY!" she screamed, drawing a knife to try and stab her foe in the face. However, she quickly drew her own weapon, being a bracelet that transformed into a thick, brick-shaped gauntlet with four wedged protrusions at the front over her right hand. She slammed it against her opponent's face, blasting her with another explosion.
"Curious Flattener!" she exclaimed, blowing her back. Noticing from afar, Maria gasped as half of her face became unveiled from her mask of slime.
"HIMIKO!" she screamed, watching her colleague fall into the arms of Curious, who held her bloodied body gently.
"Your stories... will become the most widely-discussed in this century," she vowed, "So please tell me..." she requested, "have I gotten anything wrong?" she inquired.
"NO!" Himiko shouted, quickly bumbling to her feet as she tried to get away.
"Oh, didn't you come here of your own accord?!" Curious called out in question, "You won't be able to escape, you unfortunate girl!" she noted aloud. The Transform Quirk user grimaced, quickly pulling out a stock of blood from her pouches to quickly ingest. She didn't think of herself as unfortunate at all. She got to meet people she grew to like. She got to be alongside ones she considered friends. As the smoke around her cleared, she had transformed herself into Ochaco.
'I'm not unfortunate at all!' she exclaimed inwardly. But it seemed as if she was about to die regardless as Curious closed in, readying her support item. Maria was practically kept to fighting the other soldiers, but managed to fling them aside as she charged towards her foe. Unfortunately, she was too late as Himiko was enveloped in a blast from the Meta Liberation Army executive. And then, something incredible happened.
Curious was floating up into the air. Himiko, who had managed to touch her support item, came to a sudden realization. And speedily, she touched all of the other soldiers around her, making them all float up into the air. Maria watched in disbelief. She was witnessing an evolution in action.
'I... can use Ochaco's Quirk?' the Transform Quirk user wondered inwardly, staring at her padded fingertips. And she knew how it worked.
"I want to become..." she began as her voice and Ochaco's overlapped, pressing her fingertips together, "like the people I love!" she declared.
"What a wonderful headline..." Curious admitted before suddenly descending into a freefall, "This'll be the greatest article ev-!" She didn't get to finish her remark as she struck the pavement, with blood splattering everywhere as she and her cohorts were dead. Maria was left stunned. She watched as the remainder of Himiko's transformation peeled away from her bloodied body. Afterwards, she turned and started walking over to the Slime Quirk user.
"Hey… Mary…" she said weakly. Maria's eyes shook as her colleague approached, with the remainder of her slime unraveling as it lied at her feet. "Can I… give you a hug?" she requested to her surprise. For a moment, the Slime Quirk user didn't know why she would even ask that. But when it hit her, her eyes started watering with tears. Gently, Himiko embraced her with warmth.
"Thanks… Himi…" she said gratefully, hugging her back. Both of them had endured troublesome pasts. But at the same time, they were now liberated.
ENDING
Insert "Calling" by Metro Boomin X NAV X A Boogie wit da Hoodie X Swae Lee
Opens with the dawning sun, causing Shura to wake up as rays of sunlight reach his eyes. He looks over to his left to find Ijuna sitting next to him, smiling lovingly at him. He smiles back, putting his hand atop hers. Elsewhere, we see Spinner sitting atop a building, looking out at the horizon. Maria comes over and sits down next to him. She glances at him for a moment before leaning against his shoulder, much to his surprise as he looks at her. We also see Himiko skipping along a sidewalk as Twice walks after her, holding her handkerchief in his pocket.
We continue with Tomura seemingly wandering through an empty house, having flashes of the past as a kid, running through the house and spending time with his family… except for his father. We see him pick up a picture in a study, narrowing his eyes to see Nana Shimura upon it. He disintegrates it as the house around him also crumbles into dust.
Shura stands at the doorway of his bedroom, remembering every day he'd return with bruises and cuts from his training from Nero, not once being properly taken care of. He blinks and finds himself being tended to upon his bed by Ijuna, who wraps bandages around his arms. A small smile crosses Shura's face. He blinks again… and finds that Ijuna is gone. He lowers his head as Nero looms just behind him.
We get a shot of Fie seated inside a warehouse with a rifle by his side, looking at a picture of himself as a kid with his big brother, Hito. He grimaces before burning the image up. Then we cut to Mr. Compress, who removes his mask and balaclava to reveal his face as he looks in the mirror. He sees a reflection of Harima Oji before it changes back to himself, causing him to clench his lone fist tightly.
From another building, Maria watches a civil rights protest for heteromorphs go on as she winces, with bits of green slime dripping off from her body. A hand comes onto her left shoulder, causing her to look over and almost mistake Spinner for Drakken, who nods to her. We see Dabi wandering about city alleys with cobalt flames in his wake, as smoke emits from his skin like burning meat. Even so, he grins.
The song winds down with the League gathering together, looking out over Deika City. Removing the hand upon his face, Tomura grins determinedly. The others do the same, ready to face whatever they have to in order to fulfill their desires…
END ENDING
Wow, this one was a doozy to write. Between writing Maria's backstory to the whole battle that commenced, I really got into this chapter. And I do hope some of you weren't turned away by the gruesome scenes. If you were, I do apologize. I wanted to display just how certain League members turned out in this world, especially the Edens Zero characters.
We'll get tamer backstories over time, so I implore you all to keep reading as we head further into the story. Thanks for reading thus far. See you next time.