Here it is, the forty-sixth full chapter of Miraculous Quirks released early as I am still ahead in my draft and I really liked how this chapter turned out so I thought I'd surprise you with it. This is of course the second half of the attack on the training camp and thus the conclusion to that arc but that is all I will say about it here. That is all the administrative stuff I have for now though and as there are no questions or guest reviews to address here, though do keep the reviews coming as I enjoy hearing from y'all, I will leave this pre chapter note off here. That means that it is time to sit back, relax, and enjoy the 46th full chapter of Miraculous Quirks.
Disclaimer: I do not own either of these great works of fiction.
Chapter 46: Protecting Bakugo
Marinette wasn't sure where in the woods she was, the whole gas attack had turned her around a bit and disorientated her, but she did have a direction to go in at least. It wasn't hard given the roaring and destruction she was hearing, and she charged towards it without a second's thought.
As she ran she dismissed her Quirk as it was clear that she was free from the gas, so she didn't need her Lucky Charm at the moment. As such, she may as well save some stamina for another later and recharge. She managed this by eating a few protein cubes she was keeping in a pouch on her waist as her pants didn't have good pockets. No matter how much she had complained to Adrien to get his dad to make women's pants with decent pockets back in the day he hadn't listened and apparently 230 years hadn't changed fashion much in this regard.
Still, she got the cubes in her mouth and ate the bland, tasteless things that allowed her to recharge her Quirk as fast as possible. She preferred her home-made cookies but in combat these special things were best as they were tailored to her Quirk, so they worked best.
Marinette swallowed and finally came upon what she was looking for. It was a wide path of destruction that had been cut through the forest and at the far end she could just make out a roiling black mass moving away at a pretty good clip. That had to be Dark Shadow, and she charged after it, her speed easily able to catch up to it if she wanted.
However, she didn't as she hear a voice from in front of it. It took her a moment, but she identified it as Shoji, her tall classmate with Dupli-Arms that she'd not had much interaction with. He was a stoic type, but he'd been Tokoyami's partner, so it made sense that he'd be trying to help his friend.
"We need some light now!" Shoji's voice said from somewhere in front of her though it sounded low for some reason meaning that it had to be come from one of his arms. "He's out of control!"
Marinette was about to do just that and create something to generate enough light to quell Dark Shadow when she saw something else that made her pause. On the ground was a figure all in black that suddenly started to rise on what looked like steel blades come out of its mouth. That wasn't normal and meant that it had to be some sort of villain. Its presence stilled Marinette's hand as she didn't know what to do about it especially because it was in the middle of Dark Shadow's raging form.
"He's attacking blindly." A new voice said from in front of Dark Shadow that Marinette recognized as Todoroki's. "I'll use my fire."
"Not so fast." A second voice said that had to be Bakugo though it was surprisingly calm for him and not punctuated with an explosion. "This works for us."
"Flesh." A horse, male, voice croaked out into the dark that sent chills down Marinette's spine meaning that it had to be the villain's. "Slabs of meat, no good, can't allow it. I'm the one who gets to slice them open. Don't steal from me!"
All Marinette could do was watch as the figure stood up and then sent several jagged metal blades from its mouth at Dark Shadow. They hit the creature in the head and burst through it doing no damage at all it seemed.
"You don't matter insignificant bug!" A strange, angry, dark, voice roared, and it took Marinette a moment to realize that it was Dark Shadow speaking as she'd never heard that tone from the creature before.
There was a shattering sound as the blades were broken by the raw power of Dark Shadow at his strongest. At the same time the creature grabbed the villain with one hand and swept it away, crashing through several trees before tossing it into the woods to crash into a sturdy tree and fall limp to the ground out cold and out of the fight.
"It's not enough, it's not enough!" Dark Shadow roared.
That was it, that was the cue Marinette needed as she ran forward. She knew what as coming and timed her leap as Todoroki with fire in his left hand and Bakugo a controlled explosion in his left tore past Dark Shadow on either side exposing the creature to the blinding light. Neither noticed her as Marinette jumped over Dark Shadow, clearing it because of the light weakening him, and landing in a crouch in front of Tokoyami as he fell to his knees on the ground and breathing a sigh of relief at Dark Shadow's defeat.
"And once again I'm a terrible matchup for you bird boy." Bakugo said though without derision in his voice as Dark Shadow vanished into Tokoyami.
Izuku was just staring wide eyed at what had happened at the end that he hadn't expected as Dupain-Cheng rose calmly to her feet, a look on her face that he'd never seen before. It was like the one All Might had at the USJ, a look of cold anger and determination to defeat all the villains present. There was a hard glint to her eyes, one that you saw in pro heroes who'd been working for years and not in a student. Where she'd come from wasn't the matter, she was here to help and that was really good given her abilities and experience, both of which would come in handy in protecting Bakugo.
"Dupain-Cheng?" Todoroki asked just as surprised by her sudden arrival. "Where did you come from?"
"Further up the path." Marinette said as she turned to Tokoyami and held out her hand to her friend as he was the first priority right now. "You alright Tokoyami?"
"Yes, thank you Todoroki, Bakugo." Tokoyami said looking down in shame before he looked up in surprise to see Dupain-Cheng there as he hadn't noticed her before, but he took her offered hand and let her haul him to his feet just as Dark Shadow at once helped her to her feet before the medal ceremony. "I am sorry for letting my emotions get the better of me and putting you all in danger."
"I wasn't in any danger." Marinette said as she helped Tokoyami up before stepping back. "Remember, I'm about as bad a matchup for you as Bakugo and Todoroki are so I had nothing to fear with all 3 of us here. I just held back when I realized the boys were here and then there was that villain was about to get his comeuppance so no need for me to interfere."
"We could barely defend against him." Todoroki said looking to where the unconscious villain was slumped at the base of a tree. "But you defeated him in an instant."
"We could have had I been allowed to blow the bastard up." Bakugo growled as he glared at Todoroki who just ignored him having already explained why that was a bad idea in the woods.
"My friend, you did what we needed you to do." Shoji said stepping forward and looking at Tokoyami.
"Er can someone clear up what I've just walked into." Marinette said as she looked around and blanched at the site of an incredibly beat up Midoriya on Shoji's back along with an unconscious member of Class B on the ground that she thought was Kosei Tsuburaba. "And why does Midoriya look like he's been through hell and back."
"I guess I have been." Izuku said. "I went to help Kota and ran into the very villain who killed his parents. With his help I beat him, but my right arm is badly broken, and my left isn't much better. I got Kota safely to Mr. Aizawa and then ran back to Mandalay with the message from him about fighting back. The villain also let slip that they were after Kacchan, so I had to help. As I was trying to find him I ran into a raging Dark Shadow that Shoji saved me from and explained the situation with Tokoyami. I had Shoji make Dupli-Arms to distract Dark Shadow with sound and lead him to Kacchan and Todoroki as they can calm him down."
"Ah that does explain it." Marinette said not shocked by any of it really given Midoriya's habit for being in the thick of it with usually something more unexplainable as part of the whole situation, but she did notice that there was a bloody stump on the end of one of Shoji's Dupli-Arms. "Um, Shoji, are you ok?"
"Yes it's not as bad as it looks Dupain-Cheng." Shoji said from his normal mouth behind the face covering he always wore. "When that villain attacked Tokoyami and me I used a Dupli-Arm hand to push him to safety, but it got severed by his Quirk. My arms can regenerate so it's not lost forever or anything just not pleasant."
"Shoji, I apologize, you too Midoriya." Tokoyami said with a bow of thanks to the pair before him bringing their attention back to the classmate they'd just saved. "I'm still far too immature. Anger consumed me and I let my Quirk take over. The influence of the darkness combined with my fury spurred Dark Shadow into a frenzy until it got so strong I couldn't contain it and I ended up hurting Shoji."
"We'll deal with that later." Shoji said. "That's what you'd say if our roles were reversed."
"That clears that up but why is Dupain-Cheng here?" Todoroki said causing them all to turn to him as he again tried to figure out why the powerful girl was in their midst. "Not that I'm complaining, someone of her skills and power is greatly appreciated right now but I am curious as to how you got here. You were behind us on the course, right?"
"Yes and Adrien and I got hit by the gas villain attack on the other side of the forest." Marinette said and they all heard the anger in her voice as she spoke which was uncharacteristic from what they knew of the usually calm girl. "There's one there that can create a poisonous gas that renders people unconscious. Adrien smelt it ahead of time and protected me so that I could create a mask for myself with my Quirk but at the cost of losing him."
"Agreste." Todoroki said looking at Midoriya who understood having seen how selfless and self-sacrificing the French boy could be. "Not again."
"Yeah I don't know the details of Hosu but I know my boyfriend, his mentality, and his power so I know that he faced Stain in combat even if he can't say." Marinette said and they could hear pain in her voice at what had happened to her boyfriend. "He's like this, always protecting and acting as a shield for me because my power was always more important in the long run as I am creation to his destruction, but I can't do what I once could, and he needs to learn that."
"Um…" Todoroki said confused, as was all of them as Dupain-Cheng had said something odd.
"Never mind." Marinette said dismissively realizing that she'd probably said too much but thankfully the situation was bad enough to press on and they'd likely forget these little details in the aftermath. "Adrien's out cold and I got him to relative safety with Yui Kodai of Class B. She and Kendo avoided the gas, but it got Honenuki, and they ran into Tetsutetsu with an unconscious Shiozaki. They had masks from Momo who's still out there with Awase helping but many are out cold seeing as I haven't run unto anyone else. Kodai has Adrien, Shiozaki, and Honenuki with enough materials for her Quirk to defend them while Tetsutetsu and Kendo are heading into the gas to find that gas villain."
"I'm surprised you're not with them." Todoroki said. "You seemed to be ready for it."
"I'm not mentally in the right place to face the villain who almost took Adrien from me." Marinette said darkly and with such venom that most recoiled though Bakugo grinned a little, it looked like the French girl had some darkness in her that would serve her well and added to his desire to test himself against her. "So, I left it to those who didn't and came to help out where I was needed. I heard Dark Shadow and followed, as well as Mandalay's message about Bakugo, so came here. Figured that this is where I'm better needed as I can protect Bakugo fine without worrying about going to hard against a villain."
"Yes the villains are after Kacchan, but I don't know why." Izuku said. "So, we should get back to camp now as that is the safest place so long as Vlad King and Mr. Aizawa have regrouped there with the remedial students and those who hadn't started the test yet as they went back the moment the villains attacked the clearing while Mandalay and Tiger covered them. Pixie-Bob was injured at the start and is out of the fight, they targeted her first likely because she has the strongest offensive Quirk in the Pussycats."
"I understand." Tokoyami said seriously as Midoriya's words confirmed to Marinette that the villains had sent some of their forces against the pros in the clearing. "Our mission is to get Bakugo to safety by serving as his protectors."
"It's possible that the Pussycats are still fighting in the clearing." Izuku said. "Going that way would draw the attention of the villains, plus it's longer. We should cut straight across the forest as it is the fastest way back."
"We don't know how many villains are out there." Tokoyami pointed out.
"We can use Shoji's search ability to keep us informed." Izuku said thinking. "Plus, we have Todoroki's freezing power, and we all know how strong Dupain-Cheng's Lucky Charm is and she knows how to use whatever it gives her effectively. Also, if you're ok with it, we could always use Dark Shadow now that we can control him."
Izuku paused for a moment as he looked around the gathered group of students. Between them they had a lot of things covered and to top it all off all 4 of the Sports Festival semifinalists were present and unharmed. In terms of combat, they had the strongest fighters possible minus Agreste and Ida. Izuku couldn't have asked for a better team.
"Honestly with a group like this we could probably even go up against All Might." Izuku said.
"I'd be fine by myself." Bakugo roared.
"We'll surround you as we walk." Todoroki said ignoring Bakugo as he made sure the Class B boy was on safely on his back.
"I don't need any of your protection damn it." Bakugo yelled.
"Let's go." Tokoyami said as they said off.
"Don't ignore me." Bakugo shouted.
"Just make sure you keep up." Todoroki said calmly.
"Shut it Icy-Hot." Bakugo said.
"Dupain-Cheng, can you take point?" Izuku asked as they headed off with Tokoyami in the rear then Bakugo, Todoroki and finally Shoji carrying Izuku and Marinette up front. "You're probably the most durable here."
"Yeah I can, I don't have Adrien's senses, but I can be up front as I am the fastest if need be and with Shoji directing me from behind we will be good." Marinette said as she took the point position. "And call me Marinette or if you can't do that Ladybug, my surname is a little too unwieldy for quick communications right now."
"Right Ladybug." Izuku said as it was easier than her first name which thanks to his culture he was completely incapable of saying yet as he didn't know her well enough to use it. "Then keep an eye out, Shoji, keep your appendages open and direct us."
"On it." Shoji said.
Marinette couldn't help but be impressed by Midoriya's leadership and tactical thinking. He had gathered and rallied them well despite his injuries and knew what he was doing, she couldn't have done better in the situation. He was going to make a great hero and symbol one day; she was sure of it. They would get everyone back safely, that was what mattered right now.
For a few minutes they walked back in peace as they cut through the forest. Shoji wasn't picking up anything with his Quirk and they seemed to be in the clear. Course it would never be that simple and after about 5 minutes the big mutant Quirk user picked something up ahead of them that wasn't normal.
"Up ahead, there are three people." Shoji said pointing towards where it was. "And I am pretty sure that one is a villain."
"Ladybug." Izuku said.
"I'm on it." Marinette said racing forward.
She burst out of the undergrowth and onto a strange scene on the path. On the ground was a blonde girl in a school uniform that wasn't theirs with Ochaco on top of her, pinning her to the ground by sitting on her back with a hand on the base of her neck and another on her wrist. There was a cut on Ochaco's arm and a bloody knife near the girl's outstretched hand showing that she'd been disarmed by the brunette and marked her as a villain. Well, that and the syringe that she'd stuck in Ochaco's thigh and was slowly sucking blood from her as the girl had a look of near orgasmic pleasure on her face despite the situation.
At the same time, Tsu, Ochaco's partner in the exercise, was of all things pinned to a tree by her hair. Judging by the looks of it the blonde villain had thrown another syringe at Tsu, and it had hit the knot in her long green hair and pinned her to the tree by it. Tsu must have been in mid leap because she was completely off the ground and in quite a predicament as she couldn't use her Quirk well from that position. To add to it all Tsu had a tickle of blood running down her chin from her mouth.
"Marinette, help her!" Tsu yelled as Marinette processed the scene.
Before Marinette could move however the blonde used the distraction to throw Ochaco off her and get to her feet, the syringe popping out of Ochaco's leg and returning to something the blonde was wearing, same with the one holding Tsu to the tree. As she did this Shoji, Midoriya and Todoroki appeared behind Marinette. That was the cue for the blonde to take her leave and she leapt into the woods.
"There are too many people here now and I don't feel like getting killed tonight, toodles." She said glancing back at them and seeing Izuku there all bloody and beat up and instantly getting aroused, going bright red and smiling before she ran off.
"Get her." Ochaco said getting to her feet but clearly struggling and in pain as Tsu reached her and held her for support.
"It's too dangerous, we don't know what kind of Quirk she has." Tsu pointed out.
"Tsu right and you're hurt Ochaco." Marinette said approaching them as the guys came out onto the path. "Sometimes it's best to let them escape if there is something more important and they pose no immediate danger to people around them."
"It's not bad but ok." Ochaco said slowly standing. "I can still walk."
"Who was that girl?" Shoji asked as he, Midoriya and Todoroki reached the girls.
"One of the villains." Tsu said. "She came out of nowhere to attack us with that knife, cut us both before Ochaco pinned her."
"Oh my god, Deku you look terrible!" Ochaco said worry coming to her and ignoring what the crazy villain chick had been saying to her about her having a crush.
"We can't stand here and talk." Shoji said.
"I'm just glad you didn't get injured too bad." Izuku said with a small smile at Uraraka, completely oblivious to his own wounds. "Now come on, join our group. We're protecting Kacchan and making our way back to camp. We could use your help."
"Ribbit." Tsu said looking at them confused. "If you're protecting Bakugo then shouldn't he be standing here with you guys."
"What are you talking about?" Izuku asked as the worry rose in his throat. "He's right over here behind us…"
Shoji, Izuku, Todoroki and Marinette all turned to see the completely empty path behind them. Both Bakugo and Tokoyami were no longer there much to their shock. Instantly they were in crisis mode despite thinking they had been doing well. They should have had their bases covered but…
"Nice trick eh?" A new voice said from above them and off to the side. "I took the lad you're talking about with my magic."
Standing on a tree branch above them was a man in a long, buttoned up, light brown coat that came down to just past his kneed, white boots with black tips, red gloves, an orange shirt with what looked like a bolo tie of all things at his throat and a white cane with a gold top in his left hand. The really odd thing though was that he was wearing a white mask that with black markings that completely covered his face and a wide brim black top hat with a red band and a yellowish feather in it.
Judging by his mannerisms, style, and the way he talked he was clearly a bit of a showman though as Marinette knew what real magic was she knew that the magic part was just part of the man's act. This was made clear by the fact that he was tossing a small blue marble in his right hand that had to be what he had used to capture Bakugo.
"A talent like his would-be squander should he be cast as a hero; we'll provide him with a grander stage where he can truly shine." The villain said.
"Give him back." Izuku yelled.
"Give him back, what an odd thing to say." The villain replied with a hint of condescension to his tone. "Bakugo doesn't belong to anyone, he's his own person. Don't be so arrogant."
"We'll stop you." Izuku yelled.
"Right now." Todoroki added as he slammed his right foot forward and created a wall of ice at the villain.
"Why the aggression?" The villain asked as he easily leapt away, talking as he did before he landed atop another tree. "We merely wish to show him that there are other options besides the fanatical world of heroism that he's drowning in. It's important to choose a path that aligns with your core values after all, that is what we all did hence why we joined the League."
"It's not just Bakugo." Shoji said looking around. "Tokoyami's gone as well."
"He snatched two of our strongest classmates without a sound, what power is this?" Todoroki asked as they all turned back to the villain. "If you're monologuing because you think you've beaten us you're mistaken. We'll defeat you."
"A bad habit, I was once an entertainer you see." The villain said as he showed off the marble in his right hand before fiddling his finger to reveal a second one there as well. "Taking Tokoyami was a bit of improv on my part. Moonfish, our dear blade tooth. He may not look it but he's a dastardly death row devil who's last appeal was denied. When I saw the avian take him down so easily and violently I decided that he should join our little troupe as well."
"You bastard, you can't take them." Izuku yelled.
"Midoriya, calm down." Marinette said knowing that anger wouldn't help them right now, it was why she'd not gone after the gas villain in the first place after all. "Focus on him, don't let that anger consume you."
"Here take this guy for me." Todoroki said dumping the unconscious Tsuburaba on Ochaco.
"Um ok." Ochaco said holding her classmate from Class B.
With that Todoroki ran forward and launched a massive ice attack at the villain that left a good portion of his right side covered in frost. It was like the ones he'd used in the Sports Festival so it should be effective.
"Apologies." The villain called out from above the ice. "But sleight of hand and escapology are my specialties, not combat. I'm not foolish enough to fight hero candidates from U.A."
As he was talking went past the ice and disappeared from view for a split second, moving his right hand down as he did which Marinette noticed though it was his words that struck something in her and she didn't like them. When they saw him again it was in his coat pocket before he removed it clearly empty now and raising it to the side of his head where he no doubt had a communicator in his ear.
"Vanguard Action Squad, I've acquired our target." The villain said clearly talking to his cohorts in the forest. "Our little show has officially come to a close. Meet at the retrieval point in the next 5 minutes for the final bow."
"They're going to take them, our friends." Todoroki said.
"They can't." Izuku roared.
"You're right, we're going to stop them." Todoroki said as they charged after the felling and surprisingly agile villain who was jumping from tree top to tree top not knowing what else was going on around the forest.
"Damn it, this guy is quick." Todoroki said as they all ran, Ochaco dragging the Tsuburaba behind her having made him weightless to both protect him and make it easier to carry him.
"If only Ida was here." Ochaco said. "He's fast enough."
"Ladybug." Izuku yelled at Marinette who was out front and pulling away being the fasted as a plan came to him. "I have a plan for us, can you use your Quirk to boost your speed!"
"Yeah I can and will." Marinette said as she began to think of what she needed. "Todoroki, give me some ice steps, I need to be airborne for this to be effective."
Todoroki didn't question the order; he'd learned that when it came to combat Dupain-Cheng knew her stuff better than probably anyone in the class save for Agreste so he should trust her instincts. As such he just moved his right arm up and created a jagged wall of ice that shot past Marinette.
"Thanks." Marinette said as she leapt up and to the side to get onto the ice, never breaking stride as she ran atop it to leap high off the end yelling as she did. "Lucky Charm!"
As soon as she was in the air the pink sparkles of her Quirk activated and she knew she had what she needed. After the slight mistake in that rescue training race Marinette was more than ready for what she was calling flight mode. Rather than just a jet pack, this time her Quirk gave her a full flight suit that covered her body while matching what was underneath it and complete with wings and a helmet that activated as she began to fall to the ground causing her to rocket off after the villain that had her classmates.
"These kids aren't as big a deal as I expected." The villain said glancing back to see one of the girls rocketing at him in some sort of flight suit. "Except that one, where'd she get that?"
Marinette didn't hear the villain as she kept up her flight after the surprisingly masked man as fast as she could. She knew that the others would have a plan, she trusted Midoriya's instincts and brain for that, so she just had to keep up her pursuit.
She was right in that regard as a few seconds later a blur flashed past her and she saw it as Shoji, arms wide, holding Todoroki and a now crudely bandaged Midoriya in his hands as they flew through the air above her. Midoriya, Shoji and Todoroki hit the villain that had taken Bakugo and Tokoyami in the back before Marinette could reach him.
Marinette knew what had happened though not where the first aid had come from. Ochaco had made them weightless with her Quirk and then they'd been thrown, almost certainly by Tsu's tongue as that was the only thing that could manage that, so they could travel faster and judging by how they were now falling she'd released it. All Marinette could do was fly after them to the clearing they were in and join the fray.
It was as she reached it that she saw it. She couldn't make out the villain, he was dressed in a ragged dark blue trench coat and seemed to be disfigured, but she saw his power when he blasted an intense gout of blue flame right at the trio who'd landed on top of the villain that had taken their classmates. The flames were so intense that Marinette could feel them from the air, they were blue after all so much hotter than normal flames that Todoroki or his father could produce, and she knew in an instant that he'd been the one to cause the forest fire.
It also caused the trio of Class A students to leap away with both Shoji and Midoriya getting burns on their arms from it as the fire hit them, but it was just a glancing blow. As they rolled away Marinette neared and saw the blonde girl from before charging at Midoriya with a knife and a syringe charging and a crazed look of lust and pleasure on her face.
There was another villain, one in a full black suit with silver trim and a mixed black and silver mask that seemed to say contradicting things, that Marinette ignored as she was neared Midoriya and went to aid him. Todoroki had in response to the blue fire created an ice wall and was dealing with the final villain on his own for the moment.
However, there was a problem, Marinette she wasn't armed for combat. What she needed was a weapon that could be used to counter the crazy girl and take her out without killing her, she didn't need her flight suit anymore. It was as she was thinking this that she finally felt it, felt what she'd been trying to do with her Quirk since the start of the camp but had just ended up staring at her created item in concentration with no results. All it took was a dire situation to clear her mind and allow her to do imagine the change into existence.
"Hello Izuku, my name is Toga." The girl said gleefully giving her name at last as she knocked Izuku back and leapt on top of him, knife raised. "I was think that you would be so much cuter if you just bled a little."
"Get off him!" Marinette yelled as her flight suit finished changing as the pink sparkles focused on the part over her right hand where she felt the weapon form. "Face me instead!"
Marinette had been in the air heading down as she joined the battle and kicked the girl in the face as she looked up at Marinette sending her flying backwards to roll away and this getting her away from Midoriya. Marinette laned in front of Midoriya with her back to him so he couldn't see the look of cold fury on her face as she finally faced off against one of the villains that had attacked them.
"Go and rescue Bakugo and Tokoyami." Marinette said as she flicked her wrist and the extendable metal baton in a print matching her clothes shot out to the side showing that she was now armed. "This chick is mine."
"Ladybug, you're Quirk?" Izuku asked amazed at what he saw as he backed up, Shoji showing up looking just as surprised at the sudden change as he helped drag Midoriya away. "How?"
"I've been training it this week." Marinette said walking forward as the villain girl slowly got up. "Extending the time that I can keep Lucky Charm active and in theory I should be able to change my item within the time limit if my need changes but until now I've not managed it for whatever reason. Now I can do it and I'll make sure this villain is brought to justice."
"That was amazing." The girl said happily as she got up, a large bruise on her face, a bust lip, and a bloody nose but otherwise fine though Marinette had to repress a shudder at the insanity she saw in the girl's eyes. "You're going to be fun to play with. I'm making so many new friends tonight. First Ochaco and Tsu, then Izuku and now you."
"I'm not your friend." Marinette said as she stopped to give some space between them. "I'm here to take you in."
"You're no fun Marinette." The girl said surprising Marinette enough to show it at hearing her own name and causing the girl to grin and laugh manically at that. "Yes I know who you are Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Tomura showed us all the pictures and information on you lot from the Sports Festival. This makes us friends now. I'm Himiko Toga, let's play."
"Let's." Marinette said as she saw Toga flick her wrists to produce a pair of knives that she had to have hidden up her sleeves. "I'll show you not to mess with me."
"Oh, I really like you now." Toga said as Marinette swept her left leg back to take a fencing stance with her right arm raised pointing the end of the baton at Toga, her left above her head as she emulated what Adrien had taught her. "I'm going to make you bleed, you're going to be so much more adorable when you do."
With that Toga threw the knives one after the other at Marinette. They were well thrown, point first and would do some serious harm but Marinette calmly swiped the baton at them as she tracked them with her eyes to deflect them away with an audible clang of metal on metal much to Toga's, and Izuku and Shoji's who were also watching, surprise.
"Is that the best you got bitch." Marinette said her lip curling into a grim smile. "Because that's nothing to what I can do now that I have my charm."
"Tomura said that you were good but not like this." Toga snapped as she pulled out more knives from sheathes on her legs and tossed them in quick succession at Marinette. "Just bleed already."
Marinette didn't say anything as she calmly deflected the surprising number of knives the girl had with quick, precise, moves of the baton, knocking them out of the air and sending them flying all around. Admittedly she should be more careful, but she didn't care at the moment as the knives flew everywhere from her moves.
"What the hell?" Todoroki said as a knife shot between him and the strange two talking villain he was facing before it slammed into some of his and seeing Dupain-Cheng's actions. "Damn that's something new from her."
"Hey, watch it, I'm fighting here not trying to get hurt." The two-talking villain, a severely psychologically damaged man who went by the villain name Twice, said. "Send more I want to get stabbed!"
"Damn broad." The fire villain who went by the name Dabi said. "She could be a problem which is why Shigaraki has her on the kill list."
"Ah!" The masked, trench coat wearing, showman villain who'd taken their classmates and was known as Mr. Compress said as he reformed from his own Quirk which he'd used to protect himself from Dabi's flames just as a knife hit the ground between his legs and sunk into the earth up to its handle. "That almost castrated me."
"Shut it Compress and get here." Dabi ordered. "We need to go now that we have them."
"But what of the others? Mr. Compress said as he staggered to his feet and made his way to Dabi.
"Spinner and Magne should be collected from where they were, that was the plan with those two." Dabi said. "If the others aren't here by now then we have to leave them, their fault for losing to these brats."
Marinette heard none of this as she blocked the knives until the last one which had been thrown a lot higher than the one before it. She had simply batted down that one before turned to face Toga squarely as she leaned her head to the side to avoid the knife aimed at her chin so as to dodge it. She wasn't fully clear of it as the blade scored a line along the right side of her jaw and past her cutting several strands of hair from her right pigtail that fell to the ground as the knife flew past and imbedded in a tree.
"Not bad but you seem to be out of blades now." Marinette said calmly as the blood welled up from her cut and flowed down the side of her neck to stain her white shirt, but she ignored it as it wasn't a fatal though the thing had been really sharp to cut her given her durability, as she looked at the now knifeless Toga. "Ready to surrender. You should be able to see that you are utterly outmatched against me."
"No now you're so pretty that I have to suck that straight from the wound." Toga said in a near orgasmic voice that disturbed Marinette, but she pushed past it. "I'm falling for you; I need that blood!"
"You are one strange, seriously disturbed, chick." Marinette said as she deduced that there was something psychologically wrong with this girl, but she couldn't dwell on it as she suddenly lunged at Marinette producing yet another blade in her right hand. "And you have at least one more blade, great, but at least you're now going to be beaten."
The girl had lost her senses it seemed and was charging Marinette with a knife in her right hand and a syringe in her left that was attached to whatever device she had on her back. It looked like the girl had some blood-based Quirk, or fetish given her actions, and was after Marinette's just like she'd been doing to Ochaco when they stumbled on her. Well, she wouldn't get that, and Marinette would easily use her skills to take her out.
Toga quickly closed the distance and lunged at Marinette with the knife in her right hand as she tried to bring the syringe in her left to bear. Marinette stepped to the side of the knife so that it passed her side as she swung her baton at the girl's left forearm. The metal baton cracked against Toga's arm, and she yelled in pain from it dropping the syringe that Marinette swung at to shatter before it hit the ground.
She then spun around to get behind her opponent before bringing the baton down to crack it across Toga's back between her shoulder blades. The force caused the girl to yelp in pain and drove her into the ground. Marinette went for the finishing blow, but Toga showed more skill than Marinette had been expecting by rolling forward and spinning to get to her feet in a crouch facing Marinette, a maniacal grin on her face despite the pain she had to be in.
"I got you again, you really are unbelievably adorable when you bleed Marinette." Toga said and for the first time Marinette felt a sting in her left side.
She glanced down and grimaced at what she saw. She'd not fully avoided Toga's lung and the blade had scored a line along her side starting at the side of her left breast. Marinette hadn't bothered to put her special bra on after bathing, she didn't have her Miraculous so she didn't see the need and with her really modest bust she could go without a bra and just put a pair of flesh colored nipple pasties on to avoid any embarrassment if it got too cold. She was also not wearing her blazer as she didn't need it in this weather so all she had was her usual white top and jeans.
Now there was a gash in her top exposing the side of her breast and her side though one couldn't see either as she was bleeding freely from the cut that Toga had inflicted there. The blood stained her entire left side red and made her shirt stick to her but again it wasn't bad enough to be more than an irritation to Marinette and with the adrenaline in her she was fine. Plus, Midoriya was still standing with his injuries so she could push through a few small cuts.
"Still not enough to take me down." Marinette said brandishing her baton and grinning at Togo. "So, if you want my blood like some psychotic vampire then come at me."
"With extreme pleasure." Toga said with a grin as she charged.
This time when she lunged Marinette had a plan. As Toga tried to stab her Marinette dropped her baton, slid to the side and grabbed Toga's wrist in her right hand and held there in a vice-like grip.
"Got you now and you can't break this." Marinette said with a grin as Toga yelped in pain from the grip and dropped the knife she was holding. "But I can."
Then with a savage twist Marinette twisted her right wrist as hard as she could while still holding Toga's. She'd never broken someone else's bones before, well she may have cracked Todoroki's ribs and she'd certainly cut him a few time with those skates, but she'd never broken a bone deliberately. Now she did because her strength was great enough to and Toga had no resistance. All the other girls could do was scream in pain as Marinette broke her forearm with a spiral fracture.
"Nighty night." Marinette said as she stepped forward and elbowed Toga hard in the jaw as she let go of her wrist to finish her combination counter attack.
There was a satisfying crack of the girl's jaw broke and she was sent flying back to hit the ground and roll away before coming to a stop on her side and laying there in a still heap. There was no doubt about it, the girl was out cold and thus out of the fight. However, there were still other villains.
"Ladybug!" Shoji yelled but he needed get her attention as Marinette felt the flames and leapt up as high as she could and back to avoid the blue fire that shot under her though it was barely, and she was sure she got a minor burn on the back of her ankles from the sheer heat that it gave off.
Regardless, Marinette ignored the pain as she landed and rolled back to be with Midoriya, Shoji and Todoroki who'd ended up back with them as they faced the villains. The fire one was grinning at her, and Marinette saw that his face was a patchwork of piercings, staples, and scar tissue on his neck, lower jaw, eyelids, and arms from his writs to where they disappeared into his sleeves. It looked horrible and the man had a slightly deranged look in his eyes of someone not quite there, but he was still highly dangerous.
"Not bad, you took out the crazy girl." Dabi said calmly. "But we have what we came for so let's take our leave. Our ride is here."
"Yes, time to return." A disembodied voice said that Marinette recognized as that of Kurogiri, the warp villain from the USJ Incident. "Though Toga may take time to heal but she's too important to us to leave."
With that several gates of dark purple mist appeared. One was below Toga, and she vanished through it while another was next to the fully suited and masked villain who dove head first through it with a few parting, contradictory, words. The third appeared behind Dabi and Mr. Compress.
"Don't worry guys." Shoji said as he got to his feet from where he'd dragged Midoriya at the start of the fight before watching Dupain-Cheng handle the crazy girl with a level of skill he hadn't seen before. "They've lost. That mask guy gave away his best trick. I'm not sure what your Quirk is but it has something to do with these marbles that I am presuming are Tokoyami and Bakugo."
With that Shoji revealed that he was carrying two blue marbles in his burned left hand. Mr. Compress had put his hand in his pocket and noticed they weren't there which had caused the delay.
"You rescued them." Izuku said his eyes wide.
"Well color me impressed." Mr. Compress said turning to Shoji. "Just as I'd expect from somebody with so many hands. How splendid."
"Right let's get out of here." Todoroki said but Marinette noticed that the masked villain's body language didn't seem to be fazed.
"It's a trick." Marinette said her eyes narrowing as the other three began to make their way to the forest. "He was a showman when he caught them and he mentioned that he uses sleight of hand, there's no way he'd let them be taken so easily."
"Well now that is impressive." Mr. Compress said as he looked at Marinette and the other 3 stopped to turn back just as a Nomu that was on the edge of the clearing vanished into a purple warp gate unknowingly taking a tracker with it as it was fused to its back. "You've got more experience than I gave you credit for little lady; you've actually faced real villains in the field I feel. Shame, I would have liked to see you lot gloat only to crush your hopes at the last minute."
"We're not going without the kid." Dabi said.
"Don't worry, the French chick has it right, it is a trick." Mr. Compress said as he lifted a hand up to remove his mask. "Let me tell you a basic tenant of magic. If I'm flashing something shiny in my hand then it's because there's something else that I don't want you to see."
"Todoroki." Marinette almost growled as the villain opened his mouth to reveal a pair of marbles on his tongue. "You obscured him from our vision with your ice earlier, didn't you?"
"Bravo, you know it well but then again you did use a similar trick against him in the Sports Festival when he wasn't looking, a little inspiration I got for when I had to encounter Todoroki myself." Mr. Compress said as he snapped his fingers, and the marbles became blocks of ice to Shoji's surprise. "I switched things out the moment you lost sight of me for a second."
"Damn it." Izuku yelled as he started running at the villain as he began to back into the portal, the other 3 joining him and Marinette cursing her wounds as they were actually slowing her down. "His Quirk allows him to compress and hold things."
"A simple bit of misdirection but you must forgive me, I do enjoy a twist ending." Mr. Compress said putting his mask back on as he bowed forward. "Now, one last bow before the curtain falls…"
However, as Mr. Compress lent his head forward a beam of sparkling blue light shot out from the undergrowth and hit him in the mask, shattering it and knocking his hat off. As it happened the villain let out a gasp and spat out the marbles while Izuku correctly identified the blast as coming from Aoyama who was hiding in a nearby bush.
Suddenly though the balls were in the air, and they all lunged at them. As they were Midoriya's injuries finally caught up to him and he yelled as he fell away and to the side causing Marinette to leap away and out of range where her own burned ankles gave out when she landed causing her to crash to the ground.
Thankfully both Shoji and Todoroki were still going forward and lunging for the marbles. Shoji grabbed the one on the left but before Todoroki could grab the other one it was snatched out of the air by Dabi who'd turned to grab it the moment they were spat out and held it between his thumb and forefinger as he grinned at Todoroki.
"Well, isn't that a tragedy." Dabi said as Todoroki fell past him and the warp gate from the lunge and crashed to the ground. "Poor little Shoto Todoroki. Confirm it, release them."
"That laser ruined my finale." Mr. Compress grumbled as he backed through the gate and snapped his fingers to release the marbles.
The one in Shoji's hand burst open to reveal Tokoyami now in midair with a stunned look on his avian face before he fell to the ground. The other however was Bakugo who Dabi grabbed by the back of the neck as he pulled him through the warp gate.
"Checkmate." Dabi said as he vanished.
"Kacchan." Izuku yelled as he used the last of his strength to charge forward to try and rescue him.
"Stay back, Deku." Bakugo got out before he vanished through the portal and Midoriya fell flat on his face.
Marinette grimaced in pain as she rose to her knees as she looked around, as did Todoroki, Shoji, and Tokoyami from where they were their eyes wide and mouths agape at what had just happened. This was beyond what any of them could really comprehend now that it was finally over, and they'd lost one of their classmates who'd just been taken by the villains. The woods burned around them as they watched wondering what had happened to the others.
As for the others, Aizawa had found Kodai and between the two of them they were getting Adrien, Honenuki, and Shiozaki back. Kendo was dragging an unconscious Tetsutetsu and the gas villain they'd defeated heading back with her now larger hands while Awase ran with an unconscious Momo on his back having put the tracker on the Nomu when it surprisingly stopped right before it would have killed them. Other students were unconscious from the gas, some with and some without Momo's gas masks on them, or safely back at the facility. Worst of all, Tiger and Mandalay had found Ragdoll's headgear and a lot of blood in the area but not their teammate.
Still, none of this compared to Midoriya who let out a primal yell of pain and sorrow from where he was collapsed on the ground, his body pretty much at its limit and his injuries about to take him out. Ochaco and Tsu reached the clearing to see him there surrounded by Marinette, Shoji, Tokoyami, Todoroki, and Aoyama who'd join them once the villains had fled as they all tried to help him but there was no help to be given. They were aiming to be heroes but on that day they knew that they had failed.
Well, that is the conclusion to the Forest Training arc, and we got to see Marinette really unleash herself in her fight with Toga, probably up there with her one with Todoroki for my favorite fights so far even if Marinette was in complete control against Toga the entire time. Just another example of her skills for the class to look up to going forward when they hear of it. Also, we have seen the first improvement Marinette has made with Lucky Charm. We've already seen that Adrien can summon Cataclysm in both or either hand and now Marinette can change Lucky Charm during the time limit if her need for an item changes thus allowing it to change to fit a new goal. U.A. will continue to train them and their Quirks will continue to grow over time though some things will remain out of reach unless certain conditions are met. That is all I really have for this battle centric chapter so I will leave it off here for y'all, up next it is the aftermath of this attack. If you like it or have any questions please let me know in reviews or PMs, I will try to answer them as best I could and post any questions asked between uploads at the start of the next chapter and do follow and favorite this, so you are alerted to future uploads. Do keep the reviews coming as I like hearing from y'all as you enjoy my work, it motivates me to keep producing the best work I can for y'all to enjoy. Until next time.
Stringdog
