AN: Hello, and welcome back. I know, it's been a long wait, and I could come up with a million excuses, but the honest truth is... I bought GOW: Ragnorak not too long ago and I couldn't put it down, lol! So, yeah I procrastinated a lot, but I finally got around to some writing!

Now, before we get into this chapter, I wanna thank everyone who gave me their two cents on the cross-over characters question, and I've decided to go for it... kind of... Lol, I'll probably only be including one who I think fits very well into this universe, so it won't be too jarring, maybe another if I happen to see something that flows well down the line.

For those who voted against it, I think I may have misinterpreted my intentions with these characters. I don't mean for them to be major key components that I'm gonna delve deep into their backgrounds. They're only gonna be used to elevate the stakes of the story... If anything, they're just a step above cameos. I had a number of characters in mind, but I think shrinking that list down is the right way to go, and if you guys trust me, I promise you might not even notice if you don't already know the character. That being said, please enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own One Punch Man or any of the characters associated with the title. All rights belong to their respective owners.

Saitama took a deep breath and huffed out an exhausted sigh as he drew closer to the high-tech tower in the distance. Again, as he did in their first mission together, he had the sleeping teen on his back, ignoring the dribble of blood running down his shoulder.

He considered picking up the pace but didn't want to wake his passenger, and he didn't really have anything to do with his evening. The wind was gently sweeping all around them, and the warmth of the sun just was nice on his skin. At least the walk was pleasant enough to kill a little time. If only he could get out of his own head for a bit.

No matter how hard he tried, his mind always seemed to wrap around the fact that he really had no idea what he was supposed to do. Fighting monsters every day for this past week was just a flat-out reminder of why he had quit in the first place. There was no challenge to it, no true conflict. It was like flying out somewhere just to take a sip of water... and getting paid for it...

These creatures weren't world destroyers or anything. Most of them were just big mindless brutes tossing cars and trucks around. It was true for nearly every beast he's fought this week, yet he still built up a shred of hope every time he went out on a mission.

Maybe it was the excitement of fighting the Hero Hunter a week ago. Not that it was any more difficult than usual, but at least it was kind of fun. That was the first time in a while that he was actually able to land a hit and keep fighting. Even though he was pulling his punches, it was still fun to cut loose a little and test out some cool moves he'd been thinking about.

That little fight did more than just thrust him into the spotlight of a top hero. It also kind of convinced him that the monsters or... villains, rather, were getting a little stronger. Unfortunately, it seemed to be a one-time thing...

That made him wonder if that was really the peak of his story. Since then, it's just been chapter after chapter of bland boring everyday life. Was there really more to come, or was it over...? If so, '... what do I do, now...?'

"I lost..."

"Hm...?" Saitama glanced over to see the teen was awake, staring off at the ground in front of them with a wistful gleam in his eyes. "Oh... morning..."

"Ergh," Metal Bat groaned and ignored the playful quip as he grabbed at his temples. "My head..."

"Oh uh... yeah, heh," Saitama chuckled. "Sorry bout that. I kinda hit you in the head with your bat. I... didn't mean to throw it that hard... You're cool, though, right...?"

"Where is it?"

"Huh...?"

"My bat," he clarified as he squeezed his eyes shut to stave off the pain of his headache. He wriggled in his grip for a moment until Saitama got the hint and gently lowered him to his feet.

"Oh, uh... It's right here." The club was tied onto the end of his cape. He loosened his knot and handed it back to its rightful owner. "... sorry, again..."

The younger hero dusted himself off and wiped the blood from his brow before he took it. Still, there was an unreadable look on his face. It was somewhere between frustrated and disappointed, or likely a mix of both.

Saitama quietly watched him staring at his weapon for a moment as he thought of what to say. "... uh-.."

(PING!)

Before he could speak, Metal Bat suddenly smacked himself in the forehead with his bat. "DAMN IT...!"

"w-Whoa," Saitama reeled. "You uh... probably shouldn't do that..."

The teen shook his head as his gaze bore into the ground between them. "One hit... One goddamn hit... and I wasn't even close..." He dropped his bat and slumped back onto his butt with a defeated groan. "... can't fuckin' believe it..."

The wind kicked up a rustle following his sullen proclamation and Saitama plainly stared at him for a moment. When the whoosh finally died out and the silence became too overbearing, he plodded over and picked up his bat...

In some ways, the kid kind of reminded him of himself when he was younger. Though Saitama wasn't too familiar with losing these days, that wasn't always the case. He could still remember the few battles he lost during his earlier training period and how disappointed he felt. The closest he got to that feeling now was losing to King in every game imaginable. It wasn't really the same, but he kind of understood the sting of the frustration.

Metal Bat watched him knock the dirt off of his bat in wonder. He found it hard to keep staring at him for some reason. It was almost embarrassing in some odd way... After all that talk about bashing his head in, that was all he had to offer? '... I'm a joke...'

Saitama watched him avert his gaze a few times, still trying to find the words he needed. Nothing useful was coming to mind. '... Maybe I should've gone easier...' His gaze shifted back out to the horizon to see the sun peeking out just behind their view of HQ, brimming the black towers in a beautiful orange glow. After a moment, he turned back and stuck the handle of the bat in front of the teen to help him up.

Metal Bat flinched at the sudden invitation and looked up at him. When he did, it was like everything around them just faded away all at once...

From his point of view, Saitama was brimming with that beautiful golden light, just like the buildings behind him. It was like he was dreaming and he found himself zoning in on his lips, desperately awaiting his words as he held his breath. 'What's he gonna say...? Is he... is he gonna take me on...? Am I too weak...? Am I... worthless...?' His heart was pounding in his chest as if his life depended on those next few words, yet his expression only hardened. '... Just say it, already... I don't care anyways, so... just say it... Just-..'

"Good try," Saitama's voice cut through his thoughts.

Somehow, those two words managed to completely kick him back to reality, and he just stared at the bald man with a bewildered look on his face.

"... It's getting kinda late, though... So... we should head back..."

Metal Bat didn't exactly know what to expect, but that was definitely a curve ball that he wasn't ready for. He gawked at him for a moment more before he finally reached up for the handle of the bat. "... uh... yeah..."

(On the television)

A grainy cell phone recording of Saitama effortlessly weaving strikes from some big brutish-looking turtle monster took center focus on the screen, surrounded by various headlines. He was moving as effortlessly as ever, and the few shots that captured his face spoke volumes about how disinterested he was in the battle. He delivered his lone, lackluster punch which, true to fashion, completely obliterated the creature, leaving very little behind. The video then looped back and played from the beginning as it shrunk down into a little window just over the shoulder of an elderly anchorman and his young female co-anchor.

"There it is again if you happened to miss it," the man said. "This was the last sighting of One-Punch-Man today, and boy was it spectacular."

"That's right, Toreni," the woman jumped in. "And this was his third defeat of the day. All three ending in one punch, just as advertised. Isn't he amazing?"

"Oh, absolutely," the old man continued. "I mean, I've personally never seen anything like it in all my years. One-Punch-Man is perhaps the greatest hero the hero association has ever discovered, and I wouldn't exactly call it close, Mui."

"Heh," she chuckled. "Well, I wouldn't take it that far, just yet. He is sitting behind our beloved Tornado, after all."

"oh- well, of course," he quickly sputtered. "I meant no disrespect to our number one. She has been an absolute blessing for many years, now. Though, their ranking has been hotly debated online ever since that record-breaking press conference."

"That's right. Though there is no official or accurate account of the exact divide, it just kind of seems like everyone is leaning toward One-Punch-Man taking on the number one rank, don't you think?"

"I can't disagree with that," he said. "But, it is worth noting that Tornado still has an overwhelming number of fans still pining for her to keep her rank, and regardless of the outcry, it seems the higher-ups within the association fully back the idea."

Tatsumaki stared at the screen from her table in a coffee shop. There were screens all around displaying a number of different news stations. They were all covering none other than Saitama himself, which was annoying, but it was at least distracting enough for her to ignore the murmuring glances of the lower-ranking heroes crowding the other tables.

Suddenly, a cup floated into her view engulfed in a familiar blue hue, and her sister swooped in soon after, floating down in the seat across from her. "Okay," Fubuki sighed as she settled in and used her power to finish mixing her cup of coffee in front of her. "They did have green tea, after all."

Tatsumaki tore her eyes away from the screen and looked down at her drink.

"Do you want honey?" Fubuki asked. "I see some people drink it with honey, sometimes, but I've never tried it."

"No," Tatsumaki replied, flatly.

"Okay..." Fubuki stripped the fur coat from around her shoulders and let it fall onto the back of the seat. She cupped her coffee and took a sip as she thought up a conversation. "... Sooo... this shop's pretty nice, right?"

Tatsumaki shrugged as she looked around at the decor. It was pretty barren aside from a few highlighted pictures of big Hero moments. There were a few snapshots of her own battles lingering around. "It's alright, I guess..." There were still a lot of leering eyes around. This was another hero-only establishment, not that it mattered for heroes of their notoriety. She took a sip and swished her tongue around her mouth, scowling at the aftertaste. "Tea sucks, though..."

"Oh... wwwell, do you wanna try my coffee? I know you don't really like it, but I like mine pretty sweet." Her cup gently slid across the table as she spoke. "It tastes amazing."

Tatsumaki looked at it for a moment, noting its light brown color. It was strikingly lighter than the one cup she had tried years before. With a sigh, she picked it up and took a sip.

Fubuki closely watched her get a good taste and she smiled watching her lick her lips.

"... Kinda tastes like hot chocolate," Tatsumaki muttered, taking another sip.

"Heh, yeah," Fubuki chuckled. "I use a lotta creamer..."

"Mm," she hummed as she took another.

Fubuki chuckled and floated the green tea over to her waiting hands. They sat in silence for a few sips and awkwardly gazed around the room, every so often unintentionally locking eyes with a stranger caught looking. Fubuki offered a smile and the occasional wave when it happened, but Tatsumaki simply stared at them until they got the hint and looked away.

Fubuki eventually found herself watching her sister who had tuned into the tv again. Obviously, she didn't just drag her out here for a nice sip of green tea. Tatsumaki was adamant about wanting to forget the whole crush situation, but Fubuki wasn't giving up on it, yet. Even if she had to secretly nudge her along through the guise of helping her with her other problems, she'd get her to change her mind, eventually... and if she failed, she'd try again...

(On the television)

"-and the thing I admire most, Mui," the old man anchor was saying, "-is that he is... truly humble about his strength and his many achievements. I mean, just two days ago, he was asked if he held any ill-will toward the former S-Class member 'King' for essentially... stealing his credit for years, basically... And, ya know what he said...?'

The female anchor shook her head with a very invested look in her eyes.

The old man paused for dramatic effect before he continued in a sullen voice, "He said, 'no...' In fact, he said he's good friends with King, now, and he urged people to, in his words, 'lay off him, already'."

"Wow," the woman said, shaking her head as if it were the sweetest thing she'd ever heard. "That is so... inspiring, isn't it?"

"Yeah..."

"I mean, we're talking about a guy who... lied to everybody for over a year and a half about being the strongest man alive when it was really Mr. One-Punch-Man the whole time... All those years he was living in luxury off of the merit of Mr. Saitama who was living in absolute ruin, struggling to get by."

"Yes," the old man nodded along. "... and for Mr. One-Punch-Man to discover this man and... not only forgive him... but befriend him, as well?"

"Inspiring," she said, dramatically shaking her head in disbelief. "Truly inspiring."

The old man looked to the camera with a kind smile. "I think we could all learn a thing or two from the world's strongest hero, ladies, and gentlemen... Make today about second chances..."

"Pfft," Fubuki sputtered with a chuckle. "They look for anything to make a story on Saitama, nowadays."

Tatsumaki chuckled through her nostrils but continued to watch. "... Yeah..."

Fubuki looked back to the screen and watched for a second more before her eyes subtly peeked back at her sister. "... s-... speaking of Saitama-.."

"No," Tatsumaki quickly said, nearly cutting her off.

"w-Wait, not that-.."

"Nope."

"You don't even know what I was gonna-..!"

"No, Fubuki! I don't wanna talk about it, right now!"

"I know!" she yelled, sitting back in her seat with a huff. "I got it already...!"

They both eyed each other down with intense scowls and held the gaze for a beat. Eventually, they noticed the sudden silence and glanced around to find the entire room staring at them... "What!?" they both shouted in unison.

The crowd reeled at the sudden flare for only a moment before they all immediately scrambled back into their own conversations as if they were never even looking.

Fubuki shook her head and turned back to Tatsumaki who was angrily taking another sip of her coffee. "I know already," she said in a much softer tone. "I was just gonna say that... I've been... thinking about how to help you with the whole rank situation..."

Tatsumaki glanced her way briefly before looking back at her draining cup of coffee.

Fubuki sighed and took a moment to collect her thoughts. "... uh... have you spoken to Sitch and Sekingar, yet?"

"Yup," Tatsumaki muttered.

"Okay... well, have you asked Saitama what he thinks about it?"

Tatsumaki took a deep breath and huffed it out with an irritated eye roll. "Why would I do that?"

"Because," Fubuki quickly replied, "maybe... he thinks the same way..."

Tatsumaki shook her head and glanced back at the screen. They were showing another of Saitama's many victories over the week. "... Yeah, right... You heard him in that press conference..." She took another sip of her coffee and watched him destroy a monster over the brim of her cup. "... For some reason, he..."

Fubuki watched her sigh and shake her head, never finishing her statement, but she already knew what it was. Saitama seemed to be one of the few people who agreed with the ranking, oddly enough. "... How about talking to the sponsors, then?" she offered. "I mean, if you explain your case, maybe they'll hear you out and-.."

"It's not up to them," Tatsumaki stated. "It's Sitch and Sekingar... As long as those idiots believe I'm the top hero, they're not gonna change their minds..."

"So, what? You plan on just cutting back on saving lives or something?"

"I didn't say that..."

Fubuki crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her sister with a frustrated scowl. She definitely seemed to love shooting down ideas, and if that wasn't her plan, "... well, then I don't know what you can do, other than ride it out... right? I mean, Saitama's... really really strong, so... I'm sure he'll keep saving the day and... the more he does, the more it'll force their hand..."

Tatsumaki thought it over for a moment before she shrugged and took the last sip of her coffee.

"... Sooo... it's the same as the old plan, I guess..."

"... guess so," Tatsumaki muttered.

Again, an awkward silence overtook their table and the two sisters avoided each other's gaze at all costs. Fubuki huffed out an exhausted breath through her nostrils and glared at the pattern on the table. This outing was a lot less constructive than she thought it would be. Just when she thought she had finally opened up, Tatsumaki shut her out. It would probably be upsetting if she wasn't so used to it. They always had those little moments of sincerity from time to time, but it was almost always framed by her sister reverting back to this know-it-all mood before too long. She got into this space where she just wanted to do it all herself and anything Fubuki said or did was just stupid in her eyes. Normally, Fubuki would just back off and leave her be, but this was different...

Tatsumaki was different, especially after that big mission. She knew it wasn't the case, but Fubuki had this serene feeling that that world-saving event was somehow the climax to their story. A point that truly changed the minds and hearts of everyone involved, specifically her sister. For the first time ever, Tatsumaki respected her as a hero... She didn't just see her as that same little girl who needed to be saved all the time... Even more than that, Fubuki saw a different side to her, as well. A side that was starting to become more and more prevalent as the months droned on... Tatsumaki is not all-powerful... She is undoubtedly the strongest hero aside from Saitama, but she is far from unbeatable... and she is more human than even Fubuki ever considered...

If this wasn't her sister, perhaps she wouldn't try so hard to push her to the things she needs. Maybe she'd just let her try and figure out how to cope with being the number 1 hero on her own... or let her forget about her crush on Saitama, '... but she is my sister...' Fubuki's gaze fell on Tatsumaki who was again, staring at the television with an intense look. '... So, I can't do that... I don't care how many times you try and shut me out... No matter what, I'm gonna help you... I swear, I'll-..'

(WHOOSH)

Before she could finish her thought, Tatsumaki zipped passed her and out of the door, faster than she could visually keep up with. Fubuki turned around in her seat and noted the surprised looks of everyone else. Some were looking back at her or just turning away from the door her sister fled through, but most of them were watching the wall of TV's with shocked looks.

(On the television)

"-again, this attack was completely spontaneous and utterly devastating. By far, the most catastrophic event since the Monster Association attack. The beast has ravaged a number of streets in City-F in just the span of about ten minutes, despite the joint efforts of Stinger, Lightning Max, Spring Mustachio, and Golden Ball..."

After a very uncomfortable walk back to HQ, Saitama waited outside of Metal Bat's room in the medical wing as the doctor checked him over. He was ignoring the whispering glances of the passing nurses and lower-ranked heroes that admired him on their way by.

As he waited, he couldn't help but wonder if he said enough back then. Words of encouragement weren't necessarily easy for him to come up with on the spot. It was one of the things he found lacking in himself when it came to being a good Master.

For some reason, he figured he'd be better at it with Metal Bat than he was with Genos, but it almost seemed harder. They had striking similarities in some aspects, but Genos was a lot more robotic, for obvious reasons. He seemed to take everything Saitama said as some kind of hidden lesson or something. It was kind of annoying, but it did take the pressure off of overthinking his words. With this kid... there was really no telling how he'd interpret things...

"Mr. One Punch Man...?"

Saitama looked up to see the female doctor he spoke to moments ago stepping out of his room. "Oh, uh... Saitama's fine," he said as he walked over to her.

"r-Right," she said with a smile, tucking a loose bang behind her ear. "s-... Saitama... Heh..."

"... sssoooo... Is he hurt bad?" he asked, breaking the moment of awkward silence.

"o-Oh, no sir. He is perfectly fine, now. He has a few cuts and bruises and there was some slight internal bleeding along with signs of a possible concussion, but as we performed our evaluation, he got remarkably better over time. He's... a very quick healer."

"Oh... okay then... Thanks..."

The doctor watched him walk away for a moment with sheer awe glimmering in her eyes until she snapped back to reality. "uh-.. Oh, wait, Mr. One Pu-.. i-I mean, Saitama?" she quickly sputtered.

"Hm?"

"Mr. Metal Bat requested that I send you in if you were still lingering around. I believe he wants to speak with you...?"

"Oh..." He peaked back down the hall, considering ignoring the request. What more did they have to talk about...? What more could he say? "... uh... alright..."

Metal Bat stared up at the ceiling with his mind swimming through replays of their battle, wondering what he could have done better.

'... Good try...?' Was that meant to be a compliment? To him, it felt like a joke... a demeaning jab at the fact that he couldn't even touch him even though Saitama was barely trying. That mountain he saw in his mind seemed so much higher now.

Damn near unreachable, really...

It irked him for more reasons than he could count. For one, Saitama was new to the S-Class rank. Though everyone recognized his power, it didn't feel good to be pushed back in the rankings. It was... embarrassing being humbled the way he just was... Another reason was that he had taken the time to view a few of the highlights from Saitama's battle with the Hero Hunter, and though it was lopsided nearly the entire fight, Garou still landed a few solid hits. So, that said a lot about how far he was from even that monster...

All of these years he's fought relentlessly to prove he is strong enough to stand with heroes like Tornado and Atomic Samurai, yet... it felt like every time he saw them, they were moving forward... and he wasn't moving at all...

The click of the door drew his attention and he saw the bald man poke his head in. "Yo..."

Metal Bat nodded his way and silently watched him tread toward his bedside. He was partially hoping he had more to say, but Saitama just pulled a chair up and sat down, staring at him as if he expected him to say something. Made sense, considering he's the one who sent for him. '... Damn... What do I say...?'

Saitama dug a finger in his ear as he waited patiently. Eventually, the silence grew too uncomfortable. "... Uh... so, the doctor says you're all healed up, already..."

"Yeah... I guess so..."

"... heh, I guess you do heal pretty fast then, huh...?"

"uh... yeah..." The teen's gaze continuously shifted from Saitama to the sheets covering his lap.

"Huh... That's pretty cool..." Again, the room was enveloped in an odd atmosphere before Saitama spoke again. "... Whelp," he groaned as he got back to his feet. "Glad you're okay, but it's... gettin' kinda late, so I'm gonna-.."

"Wait," Metal Bat stopped him. His gaze had settled on his lap, but Saitama could tell he was lost in his mind for a moment. He took a steadying breath before he continued. He was so afraid of the answer to his next question, but... he had to know. "... Was I... h-How'd I do...? Really..."

That look in his eyes froze the bald man in his tracks. There was a hint of... desperation oozing from his cold glare. No matter how tough he was trying to be, there was something very fragile about him that Saitama felt he had to tiptoe around. Where Genos was almost too robotic, this kid was almost too human... and he couldn't tell which was worse. "... Umm... Okay, I guess..."

"Uh-!" Metal Bat was visibly shocked by that answer. It was about as lackluster as his last words of encouragement, but it wasn't as vague. "But... i-I didn't even land a hit..."

Saitama tucked his arms over his chest and looked up at the ceiling as if the right words to say would be written in the panels above. "Well... that's true..." When his gaze returned, the kid was subtly less enthusiastic about his initial evaluation. "... but, sometimes it's not always about winning," he continued. "As long as you gave it your all, there's no shame in losing... You just gotta... try again, I guess..."

Metal Bat stared off into the middle distance as he reflected on his words. That wasn't much better than the speeches his old baseball coaches would give after losing a game... in fact, it sounded like he'd heard it before. "... I can try again...?"

Saitama shrugged in his usually uninterested way. "Sure... but, not like tomorrow or anything. You should really get some rest, maybe do some training too..."

Metal Bat huffed out a quick breath as he leaned back against his pillows. His eyes glazed over as he thought about the battle again. It was likely one he would never forget. "... Hey," he called out. "... What do you think I should work on...?"

"Hm...?"

His gaze rolled back over to the bald man. "... for next time..."

"... Oh, uh..." Saitama took a deep breath and rubbed at his neck. That was a very good question that... he didn't know how to answer. "... well, I guess... speed...? I mean, you don't really have to land a killing blow or anything to pass, so... you should probably just focus on getting faster."

"... Speed, huh...?"

Saitama watched him contemplate his words for a moment when a thought occurred to him. "... Hey..." The teen's gaze shifted back to him. "... Why do you wanna be stronger, anyways...? I mean, I think you're pretty strong already..."

"Tch," he scoffed. "I told you... I just don't want my sister to worry about me anymore..."

"... Oh," Saitama muttered. He forgot about that.

"... Besides," Metal Bat continued. "I'm a hero... Ain't gettin' stronger what we all want?"

"... Eh," Saitama shrugged. "Not always..."

Metal Bat narrowed his gaze curiously. "... well, what do you want...?"

There it was again... that same damn question. "... uh..."

Before he could answer, they both turned to the door when it suddenly flew open. "Big bro! Why are y-..!" Zenko's breath caught in her throat when she noticed he wasn't alone. Her eyes locked onto the bald man sitting in the chair next to him, and suddenly, she forgot why she was there.

"Oh great," Metal Bat grumbled, throwing his head back on the pillow.

Saitama stared at the little girl who was gaping at him from the open door. "... Oh... hey, it's your sister," he said, turning back to the teen. "Should I... should I go, or..."

Metal Bat shook his head in annoyance before a devious thought crossed his mind. "Heh, um... actually, she's been wanting to meet you in person for a while, now. In fact, she never shuts up about you." He expected some flustered outburst to follow his words, but his sister was still staring at the bald man with shock and awe in her eyes as if she didn't even hear him.

"Hm?" Saitama hummed. He turned back to the girl with a curious look. "Really...?" She was staring him right in the eyes with a look he couldn't really pinpoint, but little by little, a smile was creeping its way up. "... uh... Hey..."

(Wooosh BOOM!)

"Ergh-!" Lightning Max groaned as he pulled himself from the rubble of a shop he was thrown through.

"Lightning Max!" a man shouted from behind the counter, looking at him in a panic.

(BOOM)

The man ducked down when another blast in the distance shook the building around them and some dust dribbled down from the ceiling. Lightning Max wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Hey, you should probably get to a bunker!" he shouted, urgently, as he rolled his shoulder out. "It's not safe here!" He jumped out of the gaping hole that marked his entrance and looked around for the beast they were battling. There was destruction in every direction. "Stinger! Where'd it go!?"

'35th and Hillside!' the hero in question shouted out in his earpiece.

Lightning Max turned in the direction of the given intersection and immediately spotted the calamity passing by on the adjacent road. It was a massive six-armed behemoth that was clawing after the evading Spring Mustachio with a vengeance. It was at least six stories tall with dark grey skin, red eyes, and a massive mouth that stretched from one side of its head to the other.

"RAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" the beast roared its earth-quaking warcry.

"Mustachio! Keep it busy!" Lightning Max said as he began sprinting down the road. "We'll drive it away from the bunker! There are still civilians on West ave!"

'Hurry! It's unpredictable!'

Lightning Max zipped down the road, masterfully weaving through the obstacle course of destruction in his way. Every so often, he passed by a gap in the buildings and got a visual of the beast still clawing its way down the parallel road. "Hergh-! Hergh-! Hergh-!" With a burst of speed, he zoomed up a few blocks before cutting a sharp right. He continued down the road, timing his attack with the boom of the creature's footsteps.

(Woosh!)

Spring Mustachio came flying across the intersection with one of the monstrous hands just inches from snatching him out of the air.

"HrrrrAAARRRGGGHHH!" Lightning Max gave the big hand a strong dropkick, giving his ally just enough time to slip away.

"RAAAAAARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!" the beast roared. It turned to its new target who was rolling to a stop on the other side of the intersection.

"That's right," Lightning Max growled, eyeing the monster down with a dangerous glare. "Follow me, you ugly son-of-a-.."

"LOOK OUT!" Stinger shouted, slicing a big slab of concrete in half before it could crush the blonde man.

"Whoa-!" Lightning Max exclaimed, jumping back. Before he could get his bearings, Stinger zipped past him.

"RUN!"

"RAAAARRGGGGHHHH!" The beast was hot on their trail, now. With its six arms, it clawed and scraped at the buildings on either side of the street to propel itself forward, taking swipes at them when it got in range.

"We got its attention!" Stinger shouted. "What now!?"

"I don't know!" Lightning Max said, swinging off of a street light to avoid its grabbing claw. "Head for the park! We've gotta get it away from the buildings! There are still people inside!"

"Where the hell's the backup!?" Stinger shouted. "... Huh!?" His gaze locked onto something in the distance. "Max!"

The blonde man quickly followed his gaze as they ran. There was a teenage girl standing on the sidewalk a block away, staring at the monster with fear in her eyes. "Shit!"

"Get her!" Stinger jumped and used his weapon to slice at the hand that was reaching for Lightning Max.

Without a moment's hesitation, the blonde man cut just before they passed by and tackled the girl through the window of the building next to them. He did his best to protect her from any damage, but he didn't really have time to be graceful about his attempt. "Ergh-!" he groaned. "You okay?"

The teen girl was completely shell-shocked. There was a small cut on her cheek, but she was otherwise completely fine.

Lightning Max scrambled to his feet and dragged the girl back behind the counter at the back of the shop. It was some kind of clothing store. They could hear the fading sounds of destruction pass by.

"Stinger!" Max shouted, grabbing at his earpiece.

'I'm fine! Hurry back!'

Lightning Max breathed a quick sigh of relief before he turned to the girl again. "Uh... stay here, okay? It's not safe to be out there, right now." He vaulted over the counter and charged out of the shop to rejoin the chase.

Stumbling back out onto the street, it wasn't hard to tell where the monster went. Its path of destruction was still crumbling all around. "Golden Ball! Did you get ahold of anyone!?" He took off down the road, hopping and twisting around the newly formed hazards scattering his path.

'Yeah,' he said. 'They're sending for an S-Class member, right now.'

"Oh man, I sure hope it's One-Punch-Man," Lightning Max muttered as he rounded a corner. "We could really use the save, this time..." A few blocks down, he could see the beast was still in a frenzied chase, tearing away at everything in its pursuit. "Stinger! I'm right behind it! Lead it to the park and we can corner it there!"

'Uh, are you sure we wanna do that!?'

"We-! Uh-!" Lightning Max slid under a bus that the creature swiped out of its path. It was a tight fit, but he managed to avoid it before he was back in his sprint. "We don't have a choice! We have to focus its attacks away from the buildings, and wait for backup!"

'Alright, I'm with you! It's definitely got tunnel vision, though! We'll have to attack at all angles at once if we really wanna keep it stationary!'

"Yeah, I know! Uh..."

'I'm with you!' the voice of Spring Mustachio re-entered the call. 'Coming up from 12th and Midland!'

"Alright!" Max exclaimed excitedly. "With three of us, we could at least pester it for a while!"

'Hey, don't count me out, just yet,' Golden Ball said. He was on a commandeered motorcycle, speeding down the road. 'We'll box it in on all sides!'

"Perfect!" Lightning Max shouted. "Let's do it!"

Stinger broke through to the park with the creature hot on his heels. He ran through a collection of trees bordering the empty field and continued on.

"RAAAAAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!" The monster charged through the trees in its way, completely tearing away a new path.

When the beast made it to the center, Max took off with a big leap, firing like a missile at the back of its head. "Hrrraaggghhh!" He kicked it in the side of the face with a charged swinging roundhouse.

"Hrrrrrgghhh!" the monster grumbled, turning around. Lightning Max was already leaping back. It made to go after him, but as soon as it did, it was smacked in the back of the head again with a slab of dirt thrown by Stinger behind him. "rrAARRGH!" Before it could choose who to attack, it was impaled through the chest by the unnaturally long sword of Spring Mustachio from another direction, and soon shot with by a small golden ball that tore a piece of flesh from its shoulder. "hrrrrrggghhhh...!" it grumbled when it realized it was surrounded on all sides.

The four heroes were all poised for another attack, dangerously eyeing the monster down for any sign of a movement. All they had to do now was contain right here until backup arrived... a task that seemed a lot harder than they originally thought...

"ssssooo," Zenko said, sitting on the edge of her brother's bed, happily swinging her feet as she stared at Saitama, "you trained so hard it just fell out...?"

"Yup," Saitama said, "Pretty much..."

"It won't grow back anymore?" she asked.

"Mm-mm," he shook his head.

"... well, have you tried hair growth cream? Our uncle had to use it to cover his bald spot."

"Nah, it probably wouldn't work."

"How bout a wig?"

"No, they fall off too easily, and that'd be embarrassing."

"More embarrassing than being bald?"

"... Uh, I wouldn't say it's embarrassing..."

"... Really...?" she asked with a confused smile.

Metal Bat watched the back and forth with great interest. He had never seen his sister so enamored by a hero before. She had met a few of his co-workers on multiple occasions, but she was hardly ever this excited about it. All week he found her chattering on about Saitama and everything he was up to. It was such an odd tonal shift because she usually hated violence, yet he constantly found her watching Saitama's many defeats anytime he happened to pop up on the news. It was clear she had a new favorite... and if he were honest about it, it didn't really feel good...

There was a time when he was the strongest hero in her mind. That was back when he was just a street punk laying down lesser monsters that popped up around their neighborhood, and Zenko was just a little girl watching her older brother beat up bullies. Now, things were different. The threats were getting more and more dangerous, and she was visiting him in the hospital every other week... and she wasn't so little anymore. Now, she knew what awaited the heroes that bit off more than they could chew. She knew there was a chance that he'd step up to the plate one day and not make it back... and the older she got, the more she'd realize that...

If he were honest, he kinda missed the days when she would congratulate him on a job well done... He missed the days when she would come running for him anytime she saw a sign of trouble... He kinda missed being her favorite hero...

Metal Bat smiled when she giggled at something Saitama said. He kept watching her, even as the bald man stood up to leave. He was locked in a daze... and he didn't wake up until she turned to look at him with a confused look.

Zenko slapped him on the knee. "Big bro! Are you listening!?"

"What!?" he yelled back.

"Saitama said goodbye!"

"Oh... uh... I think I fell asleep for a second," he mumbled, rubbing at his eyes with a fake yawn.

"You liar!" Zenko said. "You were staring right at me!"

"So!? I sleep with my eyes open sometimes!"

"No, you don't! Since when!?"

"Since nun-ya! That's when!

"That's so lame! Why are you so lame, now!?"

"Keh-! Yeah, whatever! Remember that knock-knock joke you tried to-..!"

"Shut up!" she yelled, slapping his knee again. "I told you, I messed up!"

Saitama raised an eyebrow as he watched them bicker. For some reason, it reminded him of Fubuki and Tatsumaki yelling at each other during the Monster Association mission. He didn't have any siblings, so he didn't have any personal experience, but it was starting to seem like all they did was yell at each other. The difference between these two and the esper sisters was that they didn't really seem mad. It wasn't as dramatic... If anything, it convinced him that, '... Kids are weird...'

He bid the two farewell one last time on his way out and thoughtlessly made his way back to the helipad, ignoring the chattering glances along the way. It was a long day, but it was finally coming to an end and he had the next three days off, barring any world-ending events, of course.

He found himself thinking about Metal Bat's question again, along the way. '... What do I want...?' A question he had heard a lot lately, in many different forms. What did he want out of life? What more could he possibly ask for...? And would he actually want it after he got it...? Above all else, that was the main issue. Achieving a dream seemed to be the easy part. It was maintaining the joy of the chase that was the real problem.

He wasn't like those kids back there, anymore. They both still had these dreams and aspirations that they were so desperate to achieve. Metal Bat wanted to be the strongest, and his sister wanted to be the greatest piano player ever. Both of those dreams were realistically attainable. It was what came after that they didn't understand. Regardless of how true that was, did that make it right to say? '... I think I've had enough of children for one day,' he thought. 'I really don't understand them...'

"One-Punch-Man...!"

He came to a stop, only a few yards away from the exit leading out to the helipad when the youthful voice caught his ear. "... hm?" He turned around and was greeted by... yet another kid... This one, he knew. "... Oh, uh... Childish Master, er.. whatever..."

"Heh-heh! It's actually Child Emperor!" he happily corrected him. The kid was nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement. It was a little offputting considering he himself was also an S-Class hero if Saitama remembered correctly. "But you can call me Isamu if you want! That's my real name!"

"... uh... Okay..." Not really knowing what to do, he stuck his hand out for a shake. "Saitama..."

Child Emperor stared at his gleaming red glove with a surprised look for a moment before he accepted the gesture. "Heh..."

Saitama shook his hand a few times and awkwardly raised a brow when the kid held on for a little too long. He eventually let go and continued to stare at him for a beat or two making things more uncomfortable as the moments passed. "... Uh... okay, then... bye."

"u-Uh, hold on!" the kid shouted, just before he turned away. "Are you... Are you busy, right now?"

"Hm...?" He thought about it for a moment. "... Um... not right now, but-.."

"Cool!" the kid cut him off with a beaming smile. "Can I show you something...?"

'Damn,' he thought, '... I'm kinda hungry...'

"RRRAAAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!"

(BOOM)

The six-armed behemoth slammed its many fists down, trying to crush Lightning Max who managed to slip away at the last second. Before it could recover, it was stabbed in the back by the long blade of Spring Mustachio, and sliced by the staff of Stinger who jumped away right after. The monster tried to grab at him but it was shot in the eye by Golden Ball from a distance.

"RAAARRRGHHH!" It spun around, flailing wildly in an attempt to clear some space.

Lightning Max skid to a halt and watched it thrash about as the other three continued to pester it with attacks. This was getting increasingly more difficult by the second, and they were all running low on energy and resources. If this kept up, they weren't likely to hold out for longer than a few more minutes.

He charged back in to rejoin the battle. If even one of them fell out, it would likely spell disaster moving forward. He could see a few courageous civilians in the surrounding buildings trying to record the catastrophe on their smartphones. They didn't really have the option of running for a shelter anymore, but one would think they'd focus more on prioritizing their safety than recording a clip they could sell online. It would make their job a lot easier if that were the case.

"Stinger! Mustachio!" he shouted. "Cut it down!" Lightning Max jumped up and over the beast to grab its attention.

"RAAARRRRGGGGHHHH!" As soon as it saw him, it began snatching for him, narrowly missing every time.

Stinger and Mustachio came in low while it was distracted and clipped its ankles with their bladed weapons. The monster had oddly humanoid legs, so it was safe to assume they worked in a similar fashion. Their blades sliced through its oversized Achilles tendons, dropping it to its knees.

"RAAAARRRRGGGHHHH!" The monster swiped at them with sporadic movements. Stinger managed to slip away, but Spring Mustachio was smacked with a brutal backhand and tumbled across the field until he slammed into a vacated car on the street.

Lightning Max landed and immediately looked over to his fallen comrade. "Mustachio!" Before he could run to his aid, he had to jump away before a massive hand smacked the ground he stood on.

"Max!" Stinger shouted. "Stay focused! He's fine!"

Spring Mustachio shook his daze away and pushed himself out of the indent of the car with a groan. "Ergh...! We can't keep going like this," he grumbled. "If this monster doesn't give soon, we'll be fighting for more than just minimizing damages... we'll be fighting for our lives..."

'I know...!' Max replied through his earpiece. 'I... I don't know what to do. It keeps gettin' up...'

'Where the hell's the backup?' Golden Ball chimed in.

With a beep, they all tuned into a new voice on their frequency. 'Arriving now,' a female association member said. 'Thank you all for your heroic efforts.'

They all looked at each other curiously, wondering why they couldn't hear any approaching choppers or vehicles. The only sound flooding through the field was the heaving breaths of the six-armed beast. If salvation was on its way, they had no way of knowing... that is until the monster started to look around as if it could sense something they couldn't. It looked more like a cornered animal than ever. It was suddenly eerily quiet, like the calm before a storm, until...

(FSHHH!)

"GRAAAAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!" The monster roared when two of its arms were suddenly twisted completely around, spurting blood in every direction.

Stinger reeled at the sudden brutality of the unseen attack. "WHAT THE F-..!"

(FSHHH!)

"GRAAAAARRRRGGGHHHHH!" Two more of its appendages were twisted around like someone was wringing out a wet towel.

"LOOK!" Max shouted. They all followed his gaze up to the sky. It was their number one hero in the flesh, floating down with an air of authority oozing from her petite frame.

Tatsumaki stared at the beast without a shred of urgency. Her arms were folded over her chest, showing absolutely no concern. "Get lost," she said to the others. "I'll take it from here."

"Heh," Stinger chuckled. "Great! Thanks for the save!"

Tatsumaki watched the monster thrash around in pain for a moment waiting for it to make a move. Her gaze shifted over to a building nearby when she saw multiple windows pop open. There were civilians peeking out with their phones in hand trying to capture a better shot of the conflict. It would've irritated her, but she could tell this creature wasn't really worth the concern, to begin with.

In a rage-fueled panic, the monster suddenly dug its last two hands into the dirt and ripped out a huge chunk of earth that it hurled her way.

With one hand, she reached out and stopped it in its tracks with no effort. She clenched her fingers shut and shattered it to bits, and with a point of her finger, she sent the shards screaming back, tearing into the creature's flesh without mercy.

"RAAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!" The monster's massive body was being torn to shreds by the second like it was being peppered by a barrage of machinegun fire.

The surrounding crowd began to cheer her on as if it were a show instead of the life-threatening situation it was. Tatsumaki ignored them, as usual, and continued her relentless assault until she was out of shards.

The monster was left in ruin when she was done. It had multiple punctures all over its massive torso and the attack managed to lop off three of its extra arms. Its red eyes were glossed over, glimmering in the light of the setting sun. "eeeerrrrgggghhhh..." its booming voice groaned before it toppled over, inciting another cheer from the surrounding viewers.

"YEEEAAAHHH!"

"Tornado!"

"SHE DID IT!"

"Did you see that!?"

"She's amazing!"

Tatsumaki stared at the lifeless carcass for a moment, mindlessly listening to the praise thrown her way. It wasn't like she was expecting much from the ridiculous beast, but she didn't think it'd be that easy. The news report made it seem so much more dangerous than it actually was. It was almost surprising that those four lower-class heroes couldn't take it down on their own. She sighed and turned to leave...

In one of the buildings surrounding the park, Code sat on the window ceil, casually rolling a gold coin across his knuckles as he watched the spectacle with a lazy glare. "... huh," he muttered, staring at the flying woman up above, "... wasn't expecting you..." His gaze shifted around the sky around her as if he expected someone else to swoop in. "... fuck, was this too far out...?" With a sigh, he stopped rolling the coin and popped it up in the air, snatching it before it fell. There was a glowing 3 on its face that he glared at for a second. "... Hergh," he groaned. "Fuck it..."

(Ting!)

He flipped it up into the air with a flick of his thumb and it seemed to shimmer as it dropped back into his palm. The 3 melted down into a glimmering 2 before it settled down into a seemingly regular coin again. His lazy glare shifted back to the center of the park where the monster was. "Wasn't expecting much, anyways..."

"Whew!"

"Tornado! You're the best!"

"Thank you!"

The crowd of civilians lingering out of their windows continued shouting up at the fleeing woman with unrelenting vigor. Tatsumaki was nearly out of earshot, but she could still hear their words in the distance as she flew away. She wasn't typically a hero that liked to stick around for the praise, so anytime she got the opportunity to snag a quick kill she was swift to flee right after...

(SNAP!)

Suddenly, a deafening cracking sound muted the cheers of the rowdy civilians, and Tatsumaki slowed to a halt. "... huh...?" She couldn't see the monster from how far she had flown, but it didn't take long for her to notice the quickly growing sound of panic from the crowded buildings. With a soft boom, she took off back in the direction of what she thought was a carcass, and when she finally caught sight of it, she was almost more alarmed than the civilians that were scrambling back inside.

The monster was both healing and further mutating all at once. Its twisted limbs were twisting back with a disturbing cracking sound, its red glowing eyes were nearly popping out of its still oddly human-shaped head, and its body as a whole was growing in size at an unreasonable rate until it was nearly eye-level with the top floor of the 12 story building nearby. To top it off, its grey skin looked like it was being stretched to its limits before it started to tear. It was almost translucent, and from within, there was a glowing gold light emanating from the center of its chest. The odd energy was almost pulsing inside of its body along with a deep humming sound that permeated through the air.

The creature whipped its head around like it was dizzy and it was trying to catch its bearings. Two of its hands were clutching at its face while another two were clawing at its ribs as if it were in agony.

Whether it was the weight increase or something the creature was actively doing, she could see the ground around it starting to crack. "Damn it," she muttered, surveying the entire field. The lower-class heroes were still in the way, and this park was suddenly nowhere near big enough to contain whatever this battle was turning into with the civilians packed inside the buildings surrounding them.

Lightning Max had Spring Mustachio's arm draped across his shoulder as they glared at the growing beast in shock. "What the hell!?" he yelled. "It's on some kind of second phase!?"

Spring Mustachio spat a glob of blood from his mouth. "It revived itself...! And it's growing at a phenomenal rate!"

Stinger stood behind them with his weapon at the ready. "Damn it! What do we do!?"

'You get outta there,' Golden Ball chimed in through their earpieces. 'Tornado circled back, you'll just be in the way.'

"Uh... It may be too late for that," Lightning Max noted.

"Er-..! e-Eerrrgghhh-!"

Tatsumaki's gaze shot back to the monster when it suddenly started spazzing out and wildly whipping its head around. That hum, and the pulsing energy inside its body, were getting increasingly louder and faster, like an old engine kicking up speed.

"Er-! ERRGGGHHH...!" The monster reared its head back with an agonized groan for a moment... and then, before anyone could really react, it hunched forward and shot a beam of that glowing golden energy right into the ground at its feet.

(BOOOOOM!)

Tatsumaki narrowed her gaze and threw both of her hands forward without a breath of hesitation.

AN: There we go, another chapter in the books! As you can see we're getting closer to progressing the main plot, now. It's almost a relieving feeling. It just feels like we're getting closer to the end, at last! Thank you for reading, and please review to let me know how I'm doing! Till next time...!