Tatsumaki clicked her tongue as she mulled to herself. If she was at her full power, there was no doubt she could keep up with the two. Hell, she bet she could even fly circles around them!
As she was now, though, that wasn't happening. The two were blurs. The sounds of their impact and the trail of destruction they left as they clashed were Tatsumaki's only clues as to where the two were.
'The baldy can keep up,' she thought, brows furrowed. 'But if that monster goes into his glowing white form, he'll die.'
Tatsumaki had to come up with a plan. She needed a way to catch Boros off guard and kill him before he could transform.
The esper forced herself to stand, stumbling slightly as she had nowhere to hold on to for support. Steadying herself, Tatsumaki quietly cursed the baldy who placed her smack in the middle of the throne room. She walked carefully in the direction of the ensuing brawl, noting the increasing destruction of the room as they fought. The pillars that managed to remain standing after Tatsumaki's previous attack were now completely demolished as Boros and Saitama clashed. They left nothing in their wake save for dust and molten stone.
Tatsumaki's steps grew more confident, but she was forced to keep the pace at a crawl. Red-hot debris dotted the ground — Boros had just drop-kicked the baldy into a column, blasting through it in an explosion of magma. She had to believe that the B-Class baldy could survive that, though she highly doubted it. The esper decided that it would be best to take cover under some upturned stone. If the baldy had bitten the dust, she needed to stay hidden and strike as quickly as possible.
The esper flinched as she heard an ear-ringingly loud crash above her. Looking over the stone she'd hidden behind, a gaping hole had formed in the throne room's ceiling. Light streamed from it, and the sounds of distant clashing could be heard. The B-Class was still fighting. Despite him cutting her fight off midway, she had to respect the baldy's spunk.
Tatsumaki allowed herself a moment to rest as she settled under the circle of sunlight. She took a few deep breaths, settling the adrenaline rushing through her. Her body felt like stone. It was telling Tatsumaki that she was at her absolute limit — that she couldn't push herself further.
As if to further convince the esper that it was a bad idea to continue fighting, a blast of fire scorched the top of the ship, singeing the esper's collar and sleeves. The ceiling turned red-hot and the edges of the hole bubbled and popped. Everything above was covered in smoke.
Ignoring the obvious danger going up there posed, a thought entered Tatsumaki's mind.
'He could blast FIRE?! Did that alien really hold back against me?!' The esper felt heat flow through her. 'How DARE that one-eyed freak!'
Her power renewed by anger and sheer will, a flickering green aura surrounded Tatsumaki. She flew up through the still-boiling hole and into the fog.
BOOM!
The green-haired esper shielded her face as a blast of wind blew across the rooftop, dissipating the smoke. Someone had just been hit. Looking over to the source of the sound, she saw the B-Class hero standing in a daze. Boros was speaking loudly about how his race was far superior to the human species, being given the ability to self-heal and yada, yada, yada. Tatsumaki's mind was focused more on how long it would take before she had enough power to snap the alien's neck. Judging by the inefficiency of her flight, she guessed that it would take around five minutes.
Boros' booming voice was interrupted by the baldy's. Tatsumaki couldn't hear his words, but they seemed to enrage the alien. She took a step back as the alien surrounded himself in a sphere of white energy. The baldy was just standing there. Was he stupid?!
Inwardly, Tatsumaki cursed. She didn't have enough time!
In anticipation of Boros' attack, the esper threw out her hands and pinned the alien with psychic energy. Her head pounded. Why wasn't the baldy doing anything?
"MOVE!" Tatsumaki screamed. The ground around Boros sagged down under her power. Saitama didn't seem to hear, watching as the alien aimed directly for him.
"METEORIC BURST!"
The esper's hold on Boros was broken in an instant, and the baldy was punted into next week.
Tatsumaki was blown back by Boros' attack as well. Barely able to put up a barrier in time, the ship liquified around her. Sensing multiple alien henchmen inside the ship vanish, she realized that the alien was no longer holding back.
Through the smoke, the green-haired girl couldn't see the two at all. The only thing she felt was impact after impact, seemingly coming from every part of the ship at once, shaking the ground beneath her. Inside her barrier, the esper tried — and failed — to stifle the alien's attacks on the B-Class using the surrounding rubble. But her barrage of debris wasn't strong enough; the pieces of alien metal simply melted as soon as they entered Boros' white aura. Relying only on her energy-sensing capabilities for vision didn't help, either. She was hitting much, much less than she would have liked.
After several more scorching moments of fighting, a loud crash from above caused the city-sized ship to rumble dizzyingly, dispersing the smoke and flames around Tatsumaki. For a brief moment, the esper saw a pillar of light pierce the sky, and she could no longer sense a trace of the B-Class hero.
Boros' chest rose and fell as he looked at the deep blue above him. It didn't take him long to hunch over, grabbing his chest in pain. Tatsumaki steeled herself. The B-Class wouldn't be dying in vain.
This was her chance.
The esper raised her arms, commanding several thousand pieces of the ship to obey her will. Realizing they were near-liquid and easy to manipulate, she flicked her finger — bathing the rubble in emerald light. The stones transformed, writhing in the air like eerie black rain, they warped and turned needle-like. Boros looked around, not comprehending.
A sharp pain shot through Tatsumaki's head, but she ignored it. Boros took a stance to guard himself, but the spears were already upon him.
.
Thousands upon thousands of blades screamed, whistling toward the alien commander faster than the speed of sound. They smashed into the ship's hull, the sickening scraping of metal upon metal cutting through the air. The barrage seemed to be unending.
Tatsumaki bit her lip as another spike of pain shot through her body. Her head was bleeding, but she had to keep the attack up for as long as possib—
A plane crash of a punch sent the esper flying, sucking the air out of her lungs. She crashed into the ground several dozen meters away, coughing up blood.
"You… did you think you could catch me… by surprise?" Boros said, taking his time to walk to the girl. His body was covered with needles, which were slowly melting from his skin. He bled viscous alien blood. Boros' shadow loomed ominously over her.
"Rrrahhh!" Tatsumaki used the last of her power to envelop the alien's head in a ring of energy, tight as a vice. And she twisted.
"Ngh!" Boros' head turned sharply to the left like a puppet's, his neck muscles being pulled like rubber. Tatsumaki could feel his exhaustion — his resistance to her powers was getting weaker and weaker. She was so close… if she could withstand the pain… if she could just keep her arms from dropping…
The alien slammed his hand onto her throat, breaking the esper's grip in an instant.
"I grow sick of you!" Boros roared, snapping his head back fiercely. He raised her up with one arm and stared into her eyes. Barely conscious, the esper stared back. She felt as if she was looking at pure power. "A runt should learn when to flee," he said, gripping tighter. The esper gasped in pain. "This unfounded stubbornness will be your demise!"
In the corner of her eye, Tatsumaki saw a yellow-white flash blast through the sky. It collided with the ship and exploded behind Boros. The entire ground shook with the strength of the impact.
Turning to face the noise, the alien dropped Tatsumaki with a thud, looking surprised. The green-haired girl felt the ship list sharply, and she slid helplessly down to a nearby wall.
'Metal Knight…?' she thought dully, trying to put the pieces together. 'Did that dumb slacker finally decide to show up?'
The esper's eyes widened as a figure walked out of the smoke, clad in ridiculous yellow and red. A certain bald B-Class hero had just returned from the dead. And with a stupid grin on his face to boot.
"Ah, I made it," Saitama said looking around. His eye caught a hint of green hair behind the alien and he turned worried. "Oi kid, are you—?"
With a roar of joy, the Dominator of the Universe rushed toward the hero. The baldy was forced to defend against the alien's onslaught.
Tatsumaki could do nothing but watch the alien begin his barrage anew, smashing into the hero seemingly everywhere at once, leaving no room for counterattack.
The sound of Saitama's single punch rang through louder than any of Boros' mighty blows. The alien was sent hurtling back past the esper, only managing to catch himself after several dozen meters. Spitting out blood, Boros grinned.
"That's it Saitama!" he said. "You are indeed a man worth defeati—"
"Consecutive Normal Punches."
The alien was turned into mincemeat.
But only for a second.
Quickly, and much to Tatsumaki's surprise, the alien quite literally pulled himself together — with the sickening sound of meat and bone gnashing together.
Lightning began to flash around Boros' body, and he yelled in rage. Light cascaded down in waves, scorching the ground it touched — and Tatsumaki couldn't avoid it.
Saitama jumped in front of her, blocking a bolt of lightning that would have burnt the esper to ash.
"I WILL DEFEAT YOU!" roared the Dominator of the Universe, jumping to the sky. "I'LL RELEASE ALL MY ENERGY, BLASTING YOU — AND THIS PLANET — TO OBLIVION!"
The attack was like a star had come to visit the earth — there was no other way to describe it. The esper, even almost completely drained of psychic capabilities, could sense Boros' energy piling up exponentially. Power upon power, ability upon ability, heat upon heat — the energy grew and grew. His claim that the attack could destroy the planet wasn't a bluff, he was here to end everything.
'How had it come to this?' Tatsumaki cursed. If she'd not let her guard down… if she had killed Boros before he transformed, this nightmare scenario would never have taken place.
Using her feelings of frustration as leverage for power, Tatsumaki used the last of her strength to try to at least redirect the blast.
"COLLAPSING STAR, ROARING CANNON!"
The alien's attack ripped the atoms of the air apart — and try as she might, the white-hot beam barely budged under her power's influence. It was over.
.
.
In a personal room in the Fubuki Group headquarters, a raven-haired esper was watching a small television set in a daze. The news was on, and all broadcasts pointed to the immense ship that loomed above the city. Reporters rattled on about the situation, detailing the heroes sent to meet the enemy as well as those sent out to rescue any survivors. Surges of static popped up here and there as the energy emanating from the floating spacecraft spiked. Nevertheless, the reporters pushed through.
"… According to S-Class Rank 5 Child Emperor, the ship has been almost completely silent as of a few minutes ago. Partially, he states that it is due to S-Class Rank 2 Tatsumaki's disabling of the ship's ground cannons, but he worries that there may be another reason behind it. Further updates will come."
The camera cut to a close-up featuring the young S-Class prodigy, frantically sipping orange juice and typing quickly on his laptop. His screen was blurry, but the flashing red was definitely not a good sign. He clicked his tongue and looked to the roof of the listing ship, which had been flashing with fire and lights nonstop for the past few minutes.
The screen returned to the female reporter, who had just received news on the happenings beneath the ship. Child Emperor carried on typing in the background.
"Near the center of City A's ruins, the S-Class heroes Silverfang, Atomic Samurai, Metal Bat, and Puri Puri Prisoner have defeated a Dragon-Level threat! They have reported that it seems to be the only ground troop the aliens have sent out, and are now discussing amongst one another about how to bring the ship down."
Fubuki frowned as the reporter listed the heroes present. Tatsumaki had gone to the meeting hours ago — she should have been one of the first ones to react when the spaceship attacked, and was an indispensable force to help bring any enemies down. So why hadn't they mentioned her name?
Cold crept up the B-Class esper's spine as she realized what her sister had probably done. And the news reporter confirmed just that mere moments later.
"It seems that the S-Class hero Tornado of Terror entered the ship alone around half an hour ago. None of the S-Class have been able to communicate with her since then, but rest assured, we must believe that our Rank 2 hero will defeat the ene—"
Child Emperor practically threw his laptop in the air, screaming to the S-Class in the distance. "IT'S GONNA BLOW!"
In her head, the raven-haired esper heard her sister speak telepathically. Tatsumaki's voice was barely a whisper, and Fubuki's heart dropped to her stomach, unable to believe what her older sister had just said.
'Fubuki, I'm sorry.'
On the small screen, Fubuki watched as the top of the ship exploded, and for a few moments, it was as if a star had appeared in City A. Blue, gold, and that pure, searing white filled the sky above. The screen turned into static.
Members of the Fubuki Group burst her office door open, clamoring over one another in an attempt to console their leader.
"Miss Fubuki, are you—?!"
"Fubuki-san, we—!"
"Do you want us to head to City A, ma'am?!"
They chattered on, but the B-Class esper didn't respond.
.
Fubuki was in shock. That was the first time her sister had ever apologized to her.
Was it really going to be the last?
.
.
When Tatsumaki came to, she could barely believe what she saw. The sky was split in half, the deafening thrum of lightning had ceased, and the alien was on the floor, unmoving. Unbelievably, the fight was over.
The baldy somehow broke through an attack that could have wiped out humanity.
The baldy somehow forced the Dominator of the Universe to fall to the ground, half his supposedly self-healing body burnt to nothingness.
There was no cheering, no fanfare, no celebration from Saitama. The man who had saved the world just stood there, quiet. For a brief moment, she had a vision of the white-caped hero that saved her all those years ago. Tatsumaki's vision blurred, then faded to black.
"I… I feel nothing. Did I… lose…?" Boros was the first to break the silence. His skin was charred gray, and his hair was a pale pink. Even at death's door, however, his voice echoed with dignity.
Saitama looked over at his foe.
"You're still conscious," the hero said quietly. "You really are strong."
"… The prophecy held true," Boros replied. "The battle was… hard-fought."
The slightest hesitation.
"Yeah."
Boros smiled to himself. He had not expected the planet's finest warrior to be so… odd. "It seems… we are different in that way as well."
Saitama raised an eyebrow. "In what way?"
"Lying," the alien said knowingly. It was then that Boros decided — he would not die in delusion. "Try as I might… you still had strength to spare. I… didn't stand a chance. It wasn't even a battle."
The hero didn't respond.
"So much for prophecies, huh?" Boros chuckled weakly. "You're far too strong…
"Saitama…"
As life drained from his body, the alien sighed. A weight had been lifted, and the Dominator of the Universe passed on a crushing truth to the hero standing before him. It was a truth he wouldn't wish upon his worst enemy, but it seemed to have been passed on to a strange sort of friend. It was different if it was that man — someone who would lie for the sake of others, instead of for himself. Maybe he would do better?
All the ex-Dominator of the Universe knew now was that he was free — and that this warrior was the one who freed him.
Boros died before he could say thank you.
.
'Is he coming over to gloat?' Tatsumaki thought as Saitama walked over to her.
There was a shadow over his face, but his expression was completely blank. Try as she might, the esper couldn't tell at all what was going through the man's head.
'Go ahead, brag — laugh!' she said in her head. 'Tch. The one time I fail, and this man has to be the one to see it.'
Readying herself for scathing words, she was taken totally off guard as Saitama picked her up bridal style, so as to not burden the esper's injured body.
Tatsumaki looked at Saitama's face, trying to get a read on him. His exchange with Boros was probably still fresh in his mind, and the distant look he had practically proved it. Based on the alien's propensity to blather on and on, he had probably said something that stuck with the caped hero.
"The ship's about to crash. Hold on," he said, cutting the esper's train of thought. Tatsumaki looked at him, again trying to pry open into his head. It seemed utterly and hopelessly sealed shut — but the esper wasn't the greatest at reading people, anyway. Wasting any more energy on the matter was worthless, she decided, and let herself relax in the man's grip.
As Saitama thought about what he'd make for dinner, the ship shook roughly — had it finally begun to crash? Tatsumaki lurched sideways, not feeling confident in the baldy's hold on her. She tried repositioning herself.
It kind of worked. Just for a little while, though.
The tremors around the ship grew stronger, and try as the baldy might to keep both of them steady, Tatsumaki grew more and more uncomfortable.
She turned towards Saitama and held his arm.
'Ah, that's a little better.'
.
The hero was surprised at how soft the esper's grip was.
.
.
And that's the end of the Boros fight! Trying to keep Tatsumaki somehow overpowered during the fight was a little hard to write, but I hope I did her character justice, even if she did get beaten down. In all honesty, I doubt Tatsumaki could take on Boros, especially in his meteoric burst state.
But! Anyways! The next one or two weeks is gonna be a little busy for me, so I'm sorry if I can't update as much as I want to. See you all soon (hopefully)!