Hello guys! Chapter 12 is out! The USJ really starts now, but it's only Part 1! And like I said, it's completely different from the anime/manga.
Original villains, but most importantly, chaos everywhere, I hope you enjoy reading that chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it!
But before, the reviews!
Colossus Bridger: Oh... Well... I didn't planned to actually use quotes for chapter titles... But you maybe gave me an idea! In addition, I like it!
Don't worry, it'll happen, the fact that I decided to go all out and give noticeable deaths, well... Will help. And if I will go butcher on our poor boys for the next chapter, just wait for the Nomu to arrive. Oh I'm sure noones ready for it hehehe.
Last paragraph now, indeed, hero work isn't a happy as it's shown on TV, don't worry, 1-A will remember this day... For so very long...
Chapter 12: Deep Waters and Roaring Nightmare (USJ Part 1)
/
The first reaction from the heroes did not come from No. 13 or Aizawa.
Dozens of pairs of boots hit the ground as the clones snapped back to reality and positioned themselves in front of the group, shouldering their blaster rifles and aiming them at the hunched figure.
The man didn't show a hint of hesitation or fear. On the contrary, he tilted his head to the side, and his red eye narrowed dangerously...
"Well, well... Ranged NPCs... But now that I notice... Where is All Might... I don't see him... The schedule we received indicated he would be present... Hmmm... No matter... Perhaps he will come when he hears the screams of his beloved students?"
Lieutenant Torda turned up the volume of his audio output and commanded, "Surrender, you are alone against 85, you have no chance of victory…"
The man looked the lieutenant straight in the eyes and burst into mocking laughter...
"Do you think I came alone to face a final boss and his horde of minions? You are gravely mistaken. Kurogiri?"
A black shape detached itself from the portal, as if a piece of the black-purplish rift had broken off... Demonic yellow eyes appeared in the middle of a smoky head framed by a metal collar, and the newcomer adjusted the tie of an elegant suit, reminiscent of what bartenders wear.
"Yes, young master?"
"Bring in our allies."
"At your command…" replied the one called Kurogiri, making a slight bow. The portal widened, swallowing the air with a low, rumbling growl...
But soon something else could be heard...
Footsteps. Dozens of pairs of footsteps. Excited, psychotic laughter, fists bumping, joints cracking as their owners warmed up. And a vociferous horde of about a hundred villains emerged, staring at the students, the clones, and the two heroes at the top of the steps with murderous intent.
Their gazes bounced off the opaque visors of the clone helmets as the latter had to change targets.
"Clones, fall back.", ordered Aizawa, and all eyes turned to him.
The tired man had placed the goggles of his costume on his face and wore an even graver expression than usual.
"I'll handle this. You, help your classmates evacuate."
At that moment, Lock switched completely to combat mode.
"Sir, I can only detach two to three squads to help with the evacuation, I can't leave you without cover against a hundred villains, maybe more."
"He's right, Sensei. Your quirk is specialized in fast, short fights, you're headed for certain death in a battle like this.", remarked Izuku.
The tired man didn't reacted and said, "No. 13, protect the children."
And with that, he launched himself, gracefully flipping forward and descending the steps at full speed.
He threw his scarf, grabbing a massive villain and pulling himself towards him mid-air, catching him with a kick to the face, knocking the man out in one blow. However, he found himself facing a line of villains who began to encircle him, cruel smiles on their lips.
One of them spoke up...
"Hehe hero, now die." Those with long-distance quirks armed them, aiming at Aizawa, while those more suited to melee activated their quirks, ready to strike...
However, their quirks seemed to dissipate...
"What?" one exclaimed, not understanding why the spikes that had formed on his fists retracted.
The next second, a gunshot rang out, and a yellow bolt hit the villain, who let out a strangled cry before collapsing unconscious to the ground. A cacophony of shots filled the air the second later, and several other villains fell in turn, hit by these bolts. Many panicked and looked for cover.
Aizawa took advantage of the chaos to tackle a passing villain and deliver a punch to the face, breaking his nose. He turned and erased the quirk of a man about to hit him, then blocked the blow and gave him an uppercut that snapped his jaw and sent him sprawling to the ground.
Meanwhile, No. 13 immediately began giving orders.
"Okay, stay calm and head for the door. I need one of you to go call for reinforcements. The alarm seems to have been fried by one of the villains."
The students nodded and started heading for the door, while Iida activated his quirk to sprint back to UA...
Lock, for his part, also gave his orders.
"Zeta, Tau, and Iota, help with the evacuation, the rest, hold the line."
"Vod?" Momo suddenly called.
The captain turned his head. The raven-haired girl was staring at him, and he had no trouble seeing the worry behind the visor of her ARF helmet.
"I can't come; I need to stay here to coordinate the company. I'll join you later."
No. 13 turned to him. "Oh no, young man, you are leaving with your comrades."
Lock was about to respond, but suddenly a portal opened in front of the entrance, completely blocking it. The demonic eyes of the smoke man fixed them with a malevolent gleam.
"Hello, and I apologize in advance for blocking your only exit. Allow us to introduce ourselves; we are the League of Villains, and we came here, in UA High School, symbol of the future generations of young heroes, to put an end to the career of the Symbol of Peace, All Might."
The soldiers assigned to assist with the evacuation raised their weapons and fired at the entity. However, their shots passed through it without causing any damage.
No. 13 stepped forward and pointed her finger, activating her quirk, 'Black Hole,' which worked this time. The smoke began to be sucked in, but the villain's only reaction was laughter.
"Your quirk is powerful, No. 13, but you lack combat experience.", remarked the villain, opening a portal between himself and the heroine and another one behind her, turning her quirk against her.
The woman collapsed after hastily deactivating her quirk, her suit and back shredded like paper. The mediclone Midnight stepped back from the front line to rush to the injured woman.
The clones continued to futilely bombard the entity, which mocked their vain efforts. However... suddenly...
"KRIFF!" Smoke swore, hastily pointing his weapon to the side as a shot fired, narrowly missing Bakugo, who launched himself at the villain with his explosions.
"BAKUGO!" a voice shouted as Kirishima rushed after him. Jak swore like a sailor when the boy crossed his Z-6's line of sight and barely had time to stop the roaring barrels before the boy could be hit by friendly fire.
Bakugo launched an explosion in the middle of the cloud, dispersing the smoke enough to reveal the physical body. The entity seemed to tremble.
"GAH! Well done, but it takes more to defeat me."
The man created a portal that Bakugo plunged into on his second pass, followed by Kirishima, who couldn't stop in time.
"NO!" Mina cried, reaching out as if to catch the two. The portal closed behind them. However, their attack hadn't been in vain.
"All units, aim for the middle of the cloud!" Lock shouted. Gunfire cracked through the air, and training bolts flew toward their target. While most missed, two hit, and some students joined the attack. Kaminari sent an electric charge that struck the physical body directly, causing it to writhe under the shock. Aoyama fired several times with his laser, making the smoke man stagger when a laser hit his shoulder, and finally, Momo created a bow with a single arrow that she shot at the man. The arrow fell short but exploded upon hitting the ground, throwing shrapnels of cement in the direction of the smoke man. The smoke recoiled, now only two meters high and three meters wide.
"Nice shot, vod!" Lock indicated. Iida, who was ready, seized the opportunity. He passed by the villain, who tried to stop him but was hit by a well-aimed training discharge in the neck, distracting him and allowing Iida to escape. The blue-haired boy burst through the doors, flinging them open before disappearing from view.
"NO!" the villain screamed, watching the boy leave. He then turned his head towards the students, growing larger as his eyes glowed with anger, "You... will pay the consequences of your actions!"
And with that, several portals opened. The firing line supporting Aizawa was decimated as troopers were swallowed by the portals with cries of surprise. Some students were also absorbed, including Momo. Lock nearly got caught too, but someone pushed him out of the way and was taken instead... He didn't see who it was, but the portal closed right after. In fact, all the portals closed. And the smoke man had disappeared.
Cries began to fill the radio.
"THIS IS SERGEANT HYRO OF SQUAD IOTA! WE ARE ENGAGED BY MULTIPLE HOSTILES IN THE FIRE ZONE!"
"THIS IS DOZER! MULTIPLE HOSTILES ATTACKING US! KRIFF! TAKE COVER! TAKE COVER!"
"MEDIC! WE NEED A MEDIC!"
"OPEN FIRE! TAKE THEM DOWN!"
"ON THE FLANK! WATCH OUT!"
"SITHSPIT! AMBUSH! AMBUSH!"
"JOKER! TAKE THE LEFT FLANK! RIOT AND VIRR! THE RIGHT FLANK! DON'T LET THEM SURROUND US!"
"MEDIC!"
Cries and orders flew left and right, plunging Lock into complete ineffectiveness, too much information to process, and he had no idea how his men were positioned.
To make matters worse, shots cracked through the air, this time not from blasters.
"-ACK!"
The captain turned just in time to see Xanks collapse backward, blood spurting from his chest where a wooden shard as big as the captain's forearm had lodged itself.
Firdiss followed quickly, the trooper hit by a shot to the head. He collapsed to the side without a sound, a pool of blood beginning to appear under his helmet. Two icons on his HUD turned from blue to very dark grey, almost black, as their vital signs flatlined.
The five students who hadn't been swallowed by the portals stared at the bodies in horror. Lock could read each of their expressions with frightening precision…
Uraraka Ochako looked pale, horrified, at the two inert bodies.
Ashido Mina seemed to be in the middle of an existential crisis, judging by the traumatized and frightened look she gave the two bodies.
Shoji Mezo stared at the bodies for a while before looking away.
Hagakure Toru... he couldn't tell and preferred not to use his thermals to find out.
Sato Rikido turned almost green.
Ock was struck by a projectile in the shoulder and fell with a pained cry. Immediately, Junior reacted, the medic clone leaving his position to help his wounded brother. He dragged the sergeant of Beta Squad to the rear and began working on his injuries.
The clones that were supposed to help with the evacuation approached the five students and blocked their view... But it was far too late... They had seen things they would never forget... Ever...
"TO YOUR RIGHT! TO YOUR RIGHT! WARDEN WATCH OUT!"
"THERE'S TOO MANY OF THEM!"
The radio continued to blare in the captain's ear... He suddenly raised his arm and deactivated it. Projectiles whistled around his brothers as they took cover behind whatever they could find or lay flat on the ground. On their side, the villain's ranks had thinned under the combined efforts of the clones and Aizawa. Now only a few scattered villains returned fire. Lock's helmet was grazed by a shot, but the captain raised his weapon and fired three bursts at the shooter.
The villain twitched and fell, disappearing behind the barricade of unconscious bodies he had created. For now, the central sector was under control...
/
Izuku felt himself falling when the portal opened beneath him... Then his fall abruptly ended as his body plunged underwater. Immediately, his helmet pressurized, giving him a 20-minute air supply. However, his weight combined with his armor quickly dragged him to the bottom. He tried to paddle his arms and legs, but he didn't rise an inch. Panic began to overtake him, and he frantically thrashed his limbs to try and surface... Nothing worked...
He looked around in desperation, searching for something to grab onto to stop sinking. And that's when he saw a shape approaching him... A shape moving lazily, like an abyssal predator, coming closer to him...
A brief flash of light illuminated the shape, and in that short moment, Izuku saw what he was dealing with... A man with a shark head, his two small yellow eyes fixed on him with a predatory and hungry gaze, was approaching. His suit was black and streaked with white, like water reflections, camouflaging him. Two fin-shaped protrusions stood on his back and head. His arms resembled fins, and his feet were webbed, with black claws gleaming in the dim light...
Izuku panicked. He was alone in an unfamiliar element, with a villain perfectly at home in it. Something brushed against his hip, and he turned his head to see another villain pass by, looking at him with a pleased look at his panic...
The greenette then focused back on the shark villain getting closer. The man opened his mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth... came even closer...
Izuku extended an arm to try and push him away, but the shark dodged and bit him under the armpit. The man's teeth closed on the armor, causing a muffled clanking sound. The villain growled and began shaking his head and the boy in all directions, hoping to pierce the armor, which held strong.
The man realized this and let go, sending the greenette spinning in the water. The shark man circled him for a few seconds before attacking again. This time, it was his arm that was bitten, with the clear intent to tear it off. The boy's armor held again fortunately, and Izuku did the craziest thing he had ever done... He raised his hand and poked his fingers into the villain's eye. The man let go, and a torrent of bubbles escaped his mouth in a silent scream.
Suddenly, a small figure struck his throat like a torpedo. The man choked on water and had to surface urgently if he didn't want to drown. Izuku felt something slippery wrap around his waist and pull him upward.
Three seconds later, he and his rescuer burst out of the water, landing on a yacht. Izuku tore off his helmet and took two gulps of fresh air, not the emergency reserve air.
"ribbit Are you okay, Midoriya? ribbit" The greenette turned and saw Tsuyu looking at him with concern, Mineta looking half-drowned, and two clones. "Y-Yeah... I'm fine... Thanks for getting me out of there, Asui..."
"Call me Tsu. ribbit," said the frog girl, "You're lucky I got you out of there..."
Izuku nodded… A pair of footsteps made him turn his head as another clone approached. This one was limping and blood was flowing from a large wound on his elbow… He was holding a Z-6 with his uninjured arm.
"They're getting bolder… We almost lost Bullet when they tried to drag him into the water.", the clone informed.
"We're screwed…" murmured Mineta, spitting out some water.
"No, we'll find a solution.", replied Midoriya…
Gunshots could be heard at the rear followed by a cry of rage. The clone immediately raised an arm to his helmet and asked.
"Situation report, what's happening at the rear?"
The greenette didn't hear the response, but the sergeant clenched his fist.
"They nearly managed to board the ship. They have a guy who can project boiling water. Spike, Shield, move your butts and help them out." The two clones immediately moved, helmets on, to help those at the rear.
The exchange of fire could still be heard. Midoriya saw tears streaming down Mineta's face.
"We're going to die, we're all going to die… When we hit the water, they'll jump on us and tear our poor little bodies to pieces…"
The gunfire finally ceased, and Izuku had an idea.
"I have an idea. But I need to know what we have at hand. Tsu, Mineta, what can you do with your quirks?"
"I can create sticky balls with my hair, the healthier I am, the longer they stick. Right now, I'd say they last about fifteen minutes. I start bleeding when I reach my limit.", said the little pervert.
"I have all the abilities of a frog. ribbit"
Okay… Izuku noted the information before turning to the clone.
"I… Uh…"
"Nylimm, Corporal Nylimm.", said the clone.
"Right, Nylimm, what equipment do you have, and how many of you are there?"
"There are five of us on the boat. Myself, Bullet, Shield, Spike, and Bug. I have a Z-6 rotary cannon, and the rest have carbines or rifles. We have a couple of thermal detonators and one or two droid poppers.", the corporal replied. Izuku fell silent, eyes fixed on the ground…
"I have a plan, but it's quite risky." And Izuku explained it to them. As soon as he finished, the boat shook from a powerful impact on the hull. The next moment, the water rose, and two villains landed on the deck.
-WHIRRRRR!-
The eyes of the two widened, their excited expressions turning to pure terror.
-RATATATATATATATA!-
One of the two twitched as a dozen shots hit him. He then toppled overboard. The second one preferred to jump, but two shots hit the back of his head before he disappeared. The corporal raised the barrel of his Z-6.
"Might as well try our luck.", said Nylimm.
"It's do or die anyway," said Izuku.
"I'm in. It's worth a shot," said Tsuyu. Izuku nodded to the frog girl before turning to Mineta.
"I… I don't want to die…", said the little pervert with tears in his eyes.
Nylimm put his weapon down and took two steps forward, grabbing the little guy by the collar of his costume and lifting him so that his eyes were level with the visor. "
Get a grip, you kriffing coward! If you don't move now, you're sure to die. If you try to execute Midoriya-san's plan, you have a chance to survive. Come on, soldier! Move your butt and do your part. I… Kriff… I can't believe I'm saying this… Remember why you're here!"
That seemed to trigger something in the little pervert, his gaze hardened, and his tears stopped flowing.
"I must be a hero that women adore… For that, I must be strong… Yes! I will fight!"
A slight change in the corporal's body language indicated to Izuku that the clone was cursing himself out in his head.
/
Momo's hand struck the carotid artery of a villain while her scythe-shaped claws left a gash in the shoulder plate of the ravenette's ARF armor. The villain stepped back with a groan of pain, clutching his throat.
A black boot then struck him in the groin, and the man fell to his knees.
"Eat my boot, bastard!", exclaimed Jiro, and she smashed her boot into the man's face, causing him to collapse like a rock.
"Nice one, Jiro!" exclaimed Momo, manifesting a bo-staff and sweeping it into a villain's abdomen who collapsed, clutching it with his hands. Another villain, who was about to attack the raven-haired girl from behind, was hit by a shots that destabilized him.
Jiro only had to stick her foot out for him to trip and eat dirt.
"Your brother's clones are quite effective.", noted the blue-haired girl, stomping her boot on the villain's head on the ground, knocking him out. A figure glowing with yellow energy zipped past Jiro and tackled another villain, who screamed as electricity coursed through his body.
"Plus, they're really cool!", exclaimed Denki as two clones came running behind him, crouching and opening fire on a group of five villains who scattered, losing two of their own as yellow blasts struck them. Momo created a circular object and tossed it into the path of the fleeing villains, who, in their panic, didn't see it. A powerful explosion of light followed, accompanied by an extremely unpleasant whistling…
Jiro gritted her teeth, pressing her hands over her ears. The three villains had their hands over their faces and ears, completely disoriented. The clones' shots easily neutralized them. Silence fell over the mountainous area, only disturbed by the distant sounds of battle…
"We did pretty well, I think!" exclaimed Denki with a smile, "Who would've thought these villains were so weak?"
"We had to save you at least twice, I remind you.", exclaimed one of the two clones who had arrived with the blond.
"Enough, Dion, stop teasing him. By the way, that goes for you too, Atlas."
"What?", responded the two clones, laughing…
The sound of sliding on the rocks to the right caught Momo's attention, and she turned just in time to see Honks, Fix, Slunt, Xyomm, and Tarrenn coming down from their elevated shooting position.
"Thanks for the support, guys." said the raven-haired girl.
"No problem, vod. Besides, who throws people with weapons into an area with no cover?", remarked Xyomm.
"I think they didn't know our quirks. Otherwise, they wouldn't have sent me here either, nor Jiro, because we can do quite the damage."
There was a forced laugh, and everyone turned to Jiro, who offered them a pained smile, a hand on her left ear.
"Well… Say… Do we have an undiscovered genius among us?", the blue-haired girl articulated, causing a few small laughs that eased the tension a bit. Kaminari pouted and crossed his arms, looking away. However, he suddenly noticed something in the distance.
"Hey? Is that normal?", asked the electric boy, pointing at a growing protrusion…
And it was getting closer… The ground started to shake… First gently, then stronger and stronger… Until everyone began to lose their balance… Suddenly, Momo felt the ground beneath her rise with a rumble as mining drills began emerging from the ground…
The raven-haired girl was suddenly pushed out of the way by someone, falling to the ground as the ground opened up with a roar of fury, sending large chunks of dirt and rock flying in all directions.
There was a scream of agony behind her, followed by horrible cracking sounds and the noise of flesh being perforated. Among the debris falling around her, a white-armored body landed next to the raven-haired girl, bouncing and spraying a spurt of blood that splashed onto her, with bits of flesh mixed in… The body rolled two more meters before stopping…
Time seemed to stop as the raven-haired girl stared at the body, half-torn at the abdomen, helmeted face first on the ground, a pool of blood spreading under the body…
Time resumed when two pairs of arms grabbed her under the armpits and pulled her out of the way.
A bloodied drill crashed down where Momo had been just seconds earlier. Dust and rock fragments swirled in the air, masking the villain. As Momo regained her senses, Xyomm and Honks stood in front of her, pointing their weapons at the dust cloud and the threat lurking inside.
A new low rumble was heard, followed by the sound of rocks being torn from the ground. Then, a monstrous silhouette emerged from the cloud. The first thing that struck Momo was the drills on its arms, furiously spinning, their surfaces glistening with blood and rock fragments.
On the villain's face, where the nose should have been, another drill, topped with empty eye sockets, seemed to scan the surroundings with a chilling intensity, spinning at a regular rhythm, creating an infernal noise, his shoulders jerking irregularly.
It took Momo a moment to realize that it was actually…
Laughter.
The nearly 2-meter-tall villain advanced with sinister slowness, each step making the ground vibrate as if the earth itself feared to anger him.
Her two vods opened fire, the training bolts striking the spinning drills without damage, but one of them hit the villain's torso.
Instead of a scream, the drills on his arms roared, and the man lunged forward. Her two vods rolled to the side, and Momo had to do the same. Once again, the drill dug a hole where her torso had been just moments before. This time, the raven-haired girl stood up, creating a shield and a bo-staff. Her helmet analyzed the visible area, marking allies in blue and the furious villain in red to help her seeing in the chaos of flying debris and smoke. This allowed her to see Slunt pulling a Jiro, who was covering her ears, out of the combat zone, and Fix kneeling near the injured clone.
The villain attacked, forcing her to focus on the drill man. The raven-haired girl sidestepped and steadied her stance, shield raised.
The villain couldn't correct his trajectory, and the drill scraped against the shield with a horrendous noise and a shower of sparks.
Momo struck him with her bo-staff as he passed, but the villain absorbed the impact on his back without flinching. With terrifying speed for a man his size, he turned, and the drill on his left arm struck the shield head-on.
Sparks flew, and Momo was pushed back two meters despite her legs being anchored to the ground. The villain stared at her with his empty eye sockets, ready to attack again, but a torrent of shots struck him from the side, forcing him to redirect his attack towards his vods, who scattered out of the monster's path.
Momo was about to bring out the big guns, but out of the corner of her eye, she spotted someone… Denki Kaminari was there, paralyzed by fear. He had fortunately been spared the monster's rage but couldn't help but watch in horror as it relentlessly chased the clones who kept shooting at him to no avail. The raven-haired girl hesitated but approached her comrade while keeping an eye on the monster.
"Kaminari-san! Hey! Snap out of it!"
Momo said. This seemed to break the blond out of his trance.
"We need you, Kaminari, pull yourself together!"
A horrible scraping sound was heard, and Momo turned her head. The villain had stuck one of his drills in a wall and was trying to pull it out while attempting to hit the clones who took advantage by showering him with fire. The drill in place of his face roared, betraying his pain, but he wouldn't fall.
"Kaminari, we need your electricity, everything you've got.", the raven-haired girl said, placing a hand on his shoulder. The boy looked at her with wide eyes and a panicked expression on his face.
"But you'll get hurt too! If I do that, I can't control my electricity, I'm afraid you'll get hit too!"
"Then we'll move.", replied the raven-haired girl, turning her head. The villain was still stuck, and her vods continued shooting at him. She turned on her radio, and her ears were immediately filled with dozens of voices in complete chaos. She had to shout to be heard amid the noise.
"XYOMM! ORDER THE REST TO BACK OFF! KAMINARI IS GOING IN!"
From afar, she saw the lieutenant turn, searching for her, and giving her a confirming sign as soon as he spotted her. Momo deactivated her radio as her vods retreated while continuing to shoot.
"Go ahead, Kaminari, give it your all."
The electric blond took a breath and ran. As he reached six meters, he jumped into the air and shouted, "INDISCRIMINATE SHOCK 1.3 MILLION VOLTS!"
In a blinding light, everything within a ten-meter radius was electrified, the roar of the villain's drills blending with the sound of crackling electricity… When it all calmed down, the villain had freed his drill but was trembling like a leaf, his nerves overloaded by the electricity… Momo cautiously approached and saw her vods returning too, weapons raised and pointed at the villain. Denki stood in the middle, shaking.
"KAMINARI!" Dion's voice called out. The blond reacted and turned very slowly…
"Yay…", the boy had a completely dumbfounded expression, giving two thumbs up… A scan from her helmet indicated to Momo that the boy's brain activity had been overloaded by the electricity. Once close to the two, Neex asked.
"Uh… What do we do with him? How long will this last?"
"Until his brain recovers.", guessed Honks.
A roar filled the air, and everyone turned towards the villain. The man threw his head back with what could be a scream of rage if the shrill noise from his face drill was any indication. The clones opened fire, but the villain raised his drill arms, and the bolts were blocked. The villain then jumped into the air and plunged into the ground, creating tremors that made everyone lose their balance. Then, silence returned…
"Where is he?", asked Honks, looking around. Everyone tensed up, searching for any signs of the villain…The ground exploded just behind them, and the massive shadow of the man obscured the daylight, the villain's eyes were now glowing with a malicious red light, burning with rage. He slammed down with the force of a hammer on an anvil, reducing an unconscious villain that was right there to a red pulp, cracking the ground and causing another tremor that made everyone lose their balance.
The drill man straightened up and attacked, unleashing his fury on the clones who struggled to dodge.
Xyomm fired, and the blast hit the back of his head.
The villain spun around, and the roaring drill struck him in the face, sending the lieutenant flying several meters before crashing heavily to the ground.
"XYOMM!", screamed Momo.
This time... something snapped inside her.
One of her vods was already severely injured, perhaps dead, after pushing her out of the path of the drills, saving her from a horrible death.
And now...
This villain dared to hurt her vods again?
Enough was enough.
The villain turned and leaped at her.
Momo simply sidestepped in a dreadful silence, and the drill once again pierced the ground. A large handle appeared on her belly, and Momo pulled on it, revealing a heavy mace at the end. The villain freed his arm and attacked again. Momo swung the mace, and the head met the drill head-on.
The drill exploded with shards of steel flying everywhere.
The CrCoNi head withstood the impact without a scratch. The villain's face drill emitted a high-pitched roar.
The villain swung his other arm... And Momo dodged before striking with her mace. The man removed it just in time and the mace struck the ground with thunderous force.
The drill man attacked again, eyes blazing with deep rage.
Momo blocked with the handle, before throwing her armored boot into his tibia, the man backed up, and Momo swinged her mace, aiming for the face. The man deflected it with his shattered drill, but Momo used the momentum to spin on herself and attack again… And again… And again… The drill man held the three strikes in his ribs as they shattered like glass. And Momo spun around one last time, forcing the man to block with his only valid arm…
The second drill shattered.
A spiked brass knuckle manifested around Momo's already armored fist, and a punch to the villain's left knee shattered the bone. Blood spurted out, and the flesh tore as the broken bones protruded, scattering splinters in all directions. The villain fell to one knee, and Momo brought the mace down on his face, shattering the facial drill like the others. A punch to the chin knocked the man backward, and Momo jumped onto his chest, grabbing his collar to slam the brass knuckles into his face with force. Blood splattered on Momo's helmet and armor collar, then the raven-haired girl broke the dreadful silence in which she had pulverized the villain.
"Don't. Touch. My. VODS!"
And she delivered a final punch. The front part of the skull shattered, and the vertebrae dislocated with a dark crack of bones.
The raven-haired girl let go of the villain, who collapsed limply to the ground, face bloody, the red glow in his eyes following her very movements without him being able to move an inch to retaliate a,d attack back...
She was about to end the villain's misery with a mace strike, but a hand firmly grabbed her wrist. She tried to pull away.
"Let me go vod!", the raven-haired girl shouted, tears of rage streaming down her cheeks.
"Stop. This won't do you any good.", a voice replied, the filter of a helmet making the voice hiss. Momo suddenly froze, the tears stopping on her face... The raven-haired girl turned her head...
Xyomm stood there, half of his helmet shattered, revealing a face ravaged by the drill's passage, the eye closed but blood flowing from under the eyelid.
"V-Vod..."
Momo stammered before collapsing into his arms, her shoulders shaking with sobs, tears streaming from under her helmet...
"I'm... okay..." Xyomm sighed into her audio system...
"I was so scared!" the raven-haired girl said before realizing something, "Who was injured in my place?" The lieutenant replied immediately.
"Tarrenn."
In a flash, Momo was gone. Running madly through the terrain devastated by the drill villain.
"VOD!", Xyomm shouted, before turning to the rest, "Come on, we're moving! Neex, Dion, carry Kaminari."
...
Momo ran until she was out of breath, at a moment she twisted her ankle and fell to the ground, but got back up, ignoring the pain, and resumed her mad sprint. Soon, she arrived at the place where she remembered her vod had fallen. Slunt and Fix were present, as well as Jiro who had blood-soaked pads on her ears.
"VOD!"
Momo screamed. The two mediclones looked up as she literally slid on the rocky and devastated ground towards them... Discovering the horrific injury her vod had.
His right side had been completely torn apart by the drill. His armor was in pieces, and shards of it were embedded all over the deep and wide wound... Momo fell to her knees beside Tarrenn, her hands trembling as she placed her fingers on the tattered armor of her vod. Blood flowed abundantly, staining the ground around him red. Tarrenn's face could be seen through the shattered visor, he was pale, his features drawn with pain, but his eyes were still open, gazing at the sky with a strange serenity. Slunt and Fix stepped aside slightly to let Momo approach, a respectful silence falling around them.
"Tarrenn...", Momo whispered, her voice broken with emotion. The clone turned his head with difficulty to meet her gaze, a faint smile appearing on his lips.
"Hey… Vod.", he said weakly.
Tears began to flow freely down Momo's cheeks. "Don't speak, save your strength. We'll get you out of here, okay?"
Tarrenn shook his head gently, his breathing labored.
"No... Vod... I know this is... the end for me."
His trembling hand searched for Momo's, and she took it gently, squeezing her fingers around his. "I didn't want to leave... I didn't want to leave anyone... but I completed my... mission... to the end... as a soldier... as a brother..."
His voice was maybe weak, but each word was spoken with unwavering pride.
"I... lived for three years... with you... a family that loved me... I learned to love... I learned to appreciate life... I learned... to have fun... with something other... than a weapon in hand... Do you remember that time... I fell? When I broke my arm...? When you were... there to help me... to encourage me to keep going... To resist the pain?"
Momo nodded with a smile...
"Yes... I remember..."
"You were... an amazing vod... Always... there to help... to love... to support... to back us up... Always... You were patient with us... I loved knowing you... But... now... my story... is coming to an end..."
The ravenette sobbed, unable to hold back the tears now streaming down her face.
"Don't say that, Tarrenn... You don't have to go... Not now..."
"I would have liked... to be by your side longer.", Tarrenn continued, his voice growing weaker.
"But I'm leaving... happy. I'm leaving... knowing I made... a difference."
He gave Momo one last look, his eyes slowly closing, the pain seeming to fade.
"Thank you... for everything... vod... We'll meet again... someday... among the stars..."
And with those final words, Tarrenn took his last breath, his body relaxing into an eternal peace. Momo remained there, kneeling, still holding her vod's hand, unable to move or speak. A deep, burning rage began to rise within her, mixing with a profound and unfathomable sadness. She had lost Tarrenn, a vod, a friend, a comrade.
Her heart seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces, each beat resonating like a hammer blow in her chest. She felt empty, devastated, yet a part of her burned with a fury she had never known. How could someone so precious be taken from her? How could she go on when a part of her world had just collapsed? Memories of Tarrenn flooded her mind—his laughter, his encouragement, his unwavering dedication. Every moment spent with him now seemed tinged with unbearable pain.
She wanted to scream, to shout her rage and sorrow, but no sound came from her mouth. Fix placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, but Momo did not react.
She was too engulfed in her grief, her mind wrestling with the cruel reality of loss and the comforting memories of what she had had. The world around her seemed to crumble, yet she knew she had to get up, to keep fighting, not just for herself but for all her vods.
The pain was unbearable, but she had to find the strength to overcome it. She clenched her fists, her nails piercing the gloves of her suit and digging into her palms until she felt the physical pain mingling with that in her heart. Rage and sadness mixed into a storm that would never find peace, but deep within that turmoil, a resolution began to form. She swore she would fight to the death...
She swore to protect those she loved. Tarrenn's death would not be in vain. She would carry his memory with her, every day, every battle, and she would ensure his sacrifice was honored. Behind her, Xyomm and the others arrived...
The lieutenant slowly approached, contemplating the scene before him. He stood next to Momo... before murmuring...
"Nu kyr'adyc, shi taab'echaaj'la..."
Momo slowly rose, her legs trembling under the weight of pain and rage. Tarrenn's memory would remain etched in her mind, a constant reminder of what she fought for. She wiped away her tears, her gaze hardening as she turned to the rest of her vods, her brothers.
"We must continue.", she said, her voice firm despite the pain gnawing at her.
"For Tarrenn, for all of us."
"And we will be with you. Until the end. Until the end.", responded the wounded lieutenant as Fix stood up and approached him for his wound…
/
The water seemed to glide over his blue-tinted skin as if it did not touch him...
In a way, that was what was happening...
Deigo Shiba, better known as Nereus, had a quirk that allowed him to glide through the water as if on a smooth surface, making it easy for him to move very quickly. His strength lay in that, his victims could not escape him...
He was too fast...
And these young heroes would be no exception...
One of the villains in the area, known as Torpedo, had finally finished charging his quirk. Nereus saw his projectile coming from the bottom of the fake lake, a superheated ball of water speeding toward him... Nereus lazily moved out of its path, but still gave his teammate a dirty look, who could have injured or even killed him if he had not noticed the 'torpedo' coming.
A muffled explosion resounded through the water, and a shockwave rippled through it, not affecting Nereus at all as he surfed it before looking at the yacht's hull.
A gaping hole, with burnt edges, had opened, and water was quickly flooding inside. The villain swam closer to the surface and began circling the ship like a predator, careful not to collide with the twenty other villains patiently waiting...
Suddenly, two small cylinders fell into the water...
Nereus seemed to be the only one to notice them and approached curiously, the two spheres with a red light flashing, slowly at first, then more rapidly, Nereus's eyes widened and he tried to shield himself, realizing he couldn't get away in time.
And the grenades exploded, sending electric arcs everywhere as the electricity spread, those who could scream underwater did, the others swallowed water, choking on it.
The only one unaffected... was him.
The advantage was that he was like in a sort of bubble; everything happening around him stayed around him. He wasn't maybe wet, but he wasn't damp either. Nereus couldn't help but mock the others who were left paralyzed and stunned. However, it wasn't as funny when a massive air detonation lifted the water. He was sucked in, just like the rest, and suddenly found himself in the air.
"TASTE MY BALLS!" someone shouted, and suddenly Nereus felt something sticky latch onto his arm before he plunged back down. Some villains weren't so lucky and found themselves stuck together by purple balls, one of which was attached to his suit, allowing him to inspect it.
He was disgusted.
It was a ball of hair, but he suspected that if he touched it, his fingers would stick, after all, that's what had happened to the others. A splash came from above, and he counted eight people, seven boys, and one girl. Six of the boys wore armor and thus had lifebuoys, and the seventh boy floundered like a duck and seemed to have trouble swimming... Only the girl seemed capable of swimming properly.
Hmm...
Who should he attack first... What a question? The girl, of course! That way, he could have some fun for himself without anyone disturbing him before going after his other victims...
Drawing a viciously curved blade, like a hook, he quickly surfaced, a wicked smile on his lips.
/
"Come on, let's go. If a villain attacks you, I'll defend you.", indicated Tsuyu, swimming slowly to keep the same pace as everyone else.
"If the plan went well, we shouldn't have that problem.", stated Izuku, "The popper droids should have electrocuted everyone, the detonators should have stunned those who were more resistant, and Mineta's balls should cause them trouble."
Suddenly, the frog girl felt something stick to her side, and she was about to lash out at Mineta to put him in his place... However, out of the corner of her eye, Tsuyu noticed that the little pervert was clinging to an already occupied lifebuoy they had found on the boat.
But then who…?
A sharp tug pulled her down, and she disappeared beneath the waves before she could scream, making it a strangled gurgle. She heard one of the clones shout her name before the depths swallowed her.
She looked down and was horrified to see a villain had latched onto her with one of Mineta's balls and was dragging her down. The frog girl tried to swim in the opposite direction, but she couldn't slow the villain or even go up a bit.
Thus, the frog girl had to resort to the only option left, attacking. She kicked, but the villain saw it coming and grabbed her leg with his free hand.
"Missed, beauty. You're too slow! And now, how about I have some fun?", the villain asked, to which Tsuyu's eyes widened. The villain raised an arm, revealing the hooked knife he held in his hand...
"Don't worry, it won't be quick..."
And just as he raised his weapon, a yellow bolt brushed his hand, surprising the man, who pulled it back. They both looked up, and the villain had to move his head as another bolt brushed past it.
"They're annoying!", growled the villain, moving broadly to dodge another bolt. Tsuyu took full advantage of the distraction and kicked him in the chin, stunning the man.
She then pushed with all her strength, and Mineta's ball came off, but it took her entire sleeve with it. Her kick also pushed the villain into two bolts, and he screamed in pain.
The frog girl surfaced without looking back and grabbed onto the first thing within reach... which turned out to be the outstretched arm of a clone, who pulled her close to his lifebuoy. Tsuyu clung to it like her life depended of it and coughed up the water she had swallowed due to the surprise...
"Are you okay?", the clone asked with a concerned tone. The frog girl frantically nodded... She had thought she was going to die, but clinging to the clone's lifebuoy, she felt a certain sense of security, accentuated by the fact that the clones were scanning the dark waters for any lurking threats...
"Everything seems clear.", indicated Izuku, which Nylimm confirmed two seconds later... Tsuyu let out a sigh of relief... They were out of danger... For now, at least...
Yeah... Two original villains I created for the story originally as 'red-shirts', but who became 'mauve-shirts' unintentionally... And caused quite the ruckus in Driller's case!
Infos about Drillerstorm and Nereus will be posted on the Discord server when it comes out.