Chapter 15: Double Date Ruined
To make arrangements for four students to leave campus together was slightly difficult. U.A. had tight security for a reason after all. However, with the help of Midnight, Josuke, Hana, Hisa, and Tenko got permission to leave on the next Sunday. Midnight told her grandkids that they had to make sure to get all their homework and schoolwork done if they wanted to go out on those dates. Josuke wasn't one to work hard at school, just barely making passing grades, but the thought of not going out on a date was all the motivation he needed to seriously work on his school tasks. Hana was the opposite; she always worked hard at school and had the best grades of all her siblings because of it. This was easy for her. In time, the awaited day arrived.
In his room, Josuke decided to go with a white polo shirt and black pants, socks and his nice shoes. He even went the extra mile to make sure his clothes were ironed and put on some cologne his Dad had bought for him. Hana went with a long-sleeved yellow dress that matched her hair and eyes with purple leggings and yellow high-heels. She dabbed a little perfume on herself and some eyeliner and lipstick; not a lot but enough to be noticeable. She looked herself in the mirror and gave herself a smile, saying aloud to herself, "I'm a bombshell."
Hana and Josuke went to the common room and saw Iida Tenko was already there, dressed in navy blue dress pants and black shoes with a short-sleeved white dress shirt and red vest. The scion of Ingenium was even wearing a different pair of glasses, these were gold rimmed and circular instead of her usual square black framed glasses. Hana whistled when she saw her date and said, "You look sharp, Tenko-chan."
Tenko smiled at Hana and said, "And you look very lovely, Hana-chan." She walked up and moved a stray hair from Hana's face and said, "Perfect."
Hana's heart skipped a beat, and Josuke muttered, "Damn, that was smooth." He then smelled the air and realized Hisa was coming and straightened his clothes out a little. The shark girl arrived at the 1-B dorms and everyone noticed her. Samerya Hisa was dressed in a sleeveless, backless white dress that let her dorsal fin out and a short skirt that showed off her muscular calves, accented by her matching heels. "You look amazing, Hisa-chan," Josuke said with total confidence. The shark girl blushed and said, "Thanks, Ka- Josuke-kun."
"Now we just need to wait for our escort," Tenko said as she checked the time on a clock, "They should be here soon."
Josuke took a deep breath through his nose and picked up a familiar scent. "Huh, I guess someone pulled some strings. I think I smell our escort, and it's not one of our teachers."
"Who is it?" Hisa asked him.
Josuke smiled, "The only woman our Mom will admit to being afraid of."
Hana smiled too, as they heard a female voice outside yell, "Knock, knock!"
The front door of Class 1-B's dorms was kicked in by a mechanical leg, owned by none other than the legendary Rabbit Hero, Mirko! Despite losing both of her arms, a leg, and the tip of her right ear in the battles against All For One, Mirko held out among her generation; she was the Number 10 Hero now, the last of her generation to stay in the Top Ten Heroes. Her prosthetics looked freshly cleaned as she gave a big smile, "There are my favorite kits! And these are your dates, huh?"
"HOLY SHIT! MIRKO! IT'S AN HONOR TO MEET YOU!" Hisa screamed as she ran at the Rabbit Hero and then stopped and bowed a bunch of times and started jabbering like a crazy woman.
"Whoa, whoa! Calm down, rookie!" Mirko said, and Hisa stopped to take a breath, and the white parts of her skin all turned deep red as she blushingly said, "Sorry. I'm a big fan, you're the most famous Hero with an animal Quirk after all. You're one of my big inspirations, you and Tailman. I got into martial arts because of you, and him."
Mirko smiled at that, "Oh yeah? Maybe I can stop by another time, and you can show me what you got. I used to pound those kids' parents into shape all the time, especially their Mom. Wolfheart was almost as good as me by the time she went home to America."
"Wow," Hisa said, all starry eyed, "It'd be an honor to be beaten by you."
"Alright, alright," Mirko said, noticing the rest of the students who wanted to get her autograph, their initial shock over. "I don't have all day, so line up if you want an autograph. I got escort duty with these kids."
The 1-B students all lined up and everyone got Mirko's autograph, except for Hana and Josuke. Once that was all over with, Mirko murmured, "I'm getting soft with age." She then yelled, "Alright, lovebirds, let's go already! We're burning daylight!" Josuke, Hana, Hisa, and Tenko all headed out with Mirko leading them to a waiting limousine, and they all got inside.
Once inside, the four teens all started talking about what they were going to do. The fact was that this date was going to be sort of old fashioned; some window shopping followed by a movie and ending with a late lunch. It was a first date after all, not an engagement. No need to be too fancy. Mirko had the limousine driver take them to the Shopping District, and they all got out. As they left the limo, Mirko turned to the four teens, "Alright, lovebirds, lets get something clear here. I'm your escort, my job is to protect you rookies. That means that you can't get in any fights.
"Although the rules have been loosened since I started being a Hero, keep this in mind. If there is something too bad for me to handle, it'll be too much for you as well. I'm sure you're all capable fighters; I know at least three of you come from good Hero families, however, there is a world of difference between someone with power and someone who knows how to use it well. So, if something does happen, you're going to run for the limousine, and call for a Hero. Understand?"
The Rabbit Hero was dead serious in her assertion, and although no one believed there was actually someone too tough for Mirko out there, but then they thought about the thieves with multiple Quirks in America. Anything was possible in this world, and the thought made them all swallow nervously. "Alright," Mirko said, clapping together her robotic hands, it sounded like two gongs knocking together, "Now that that's out of the way, let's get this date started!"
The five of them walked into the Shopping District. Mirko drew quite a reaction from the people there, but most of them saw her expression and realized she was busy and had enough sense to leave her be. After a few awkward minutes, Josuke, Hana, Tenko, and Hisa started feeling more comfortable, and it became a more proper double date. The girls all went around the clothing stores trying on different outfits.
Hisa was nervous as she tried on different dresses, but Josuke and everyone assured her she looked good in them. Tenko stuck to more androgynous looks, suits and polos mostly, but Hana managed to coax her into wearing a loose dress that hid her muscular physique. The effect was quite stunning on her, Tenko looked almost like a model in her dress. "Whoa…didn't expect that. I guess clothes really do change a person," Josuke commented. That was when he got a feeling and looked back to see Hana and Hisa holding a few outfits for him.
"Alright, JoJo," Hana said, "Your turn."
"Please," Hisa said.
Josuke sighed, he couldn't say no to Hisa, she was too earnest for him to want to disappoint her. He sighed and dressed in the first outfit, one chosen by his sister, a ridiculously shiny Hawaiian shirt and cargo pants combo. Josuke put it on, and Hana quickly took a picture with her phone before he could stop her. He glared at his sister and said, "You know I hate bright clothes." Hana just smiled deviously while Tenko pulled out a black polo shirt and matching pants. "This is more like it," Josuke said as he went to the dressing room and put it on.
When he stepped out, Hisa was blushing and took a picture with her phone. "Don't fall for me too much," he smirked cockily. Hisa then showed her outfit, and he almost choked, it was a swimsuit, a very small swimsuit. "Oh Jesus, I don't need to see that much of him," Hana said and turned around as Josuke went to put on the swimsuit.
When he emerged from the dressing room, Hisa took several pictures of him quickly, her dark grey skin turning darker while the white parts of her skin were dark red. Josuke went with it and did a few muscleman poses, making sure that she was watching. "Knock it off, stud," Mirko said behind Hisa, "You aren't being paid for this show." Josuke stopped but was smirking at Hisa, who looked like she was going to pass out from overheating. He got dressed back in his normal clothes and they all got what they wanted and left the store, Hisa still blushing as Josuke walked next to her.
Hana checked the time and said, "We've got some time before the movie, who's up for some ice cream?"
"Let's go," Hisa said with a smile that showed all of her shark teeth. Other people would have been intimidated, but Josuke was fine seeing her smile.
"I know a good ice cream shop not far away," Tenko said, and led them to it. They all started to walk in, but then Mirko got in front of them. "Listen to me," she whispered so quietly that only people with above average hearing would have heard her. Josuke, Hisa, and Hana stopped, while Tenko looked confused. "We're being followed. Four of them. Don't look. Just get your ice cream. I'll deal with this. If I tell you to run, you run, got it?"
Hana started to say something, and Mirko gave her a look that said 'Do as I say or I'll kick your ass', and she shut up and got in line with Tenko, and quietly told her what was happening, while Mirko went outside the ice cream shop. The four of them got their ice cream, as calmly as they could, while trying not to think about being followed.
Josuke barely managed to order a vanilla shake, while he couldn't remember what the others bought. He looked out the window of the ice cream shop after getting his shake and almost jumped out of his skin when Hisa said, "Relax, Josuke. It's Mirko after all." Josuke swallowed, "Yeah. It's just…I thought I mean… I can hear and smell so much but had no idea we were being followed. I mean…Mom trained me to use my senses. But…"
"It's okay," Hisa said, putting a hand on his, "We're not Heroes yet. We've been training, but, we've never ACTUALLY done anything Heroic. Like Mirko said, we're rookies. Beginners. She's a Pro, not just a Hero, she is THE MIRKO! She's been on the Top Ten longer than we've been alive! She's still fighting the good fight after losing most of her limbs, Hell, most of the people on the Top Ten with her used to look up to her! Of course she figured it out before anyone else. We'll get there one day, if we work harder. There's nothing wrong with not noticing four people when we're in a crowd."
Josuke smiled at this, "Thanks, Hisa-chan."
They were joined by Hana and Tenko, and the four teens looked out the window, looking for signs of Mirko. "There she is," Tenko said, and pointed to an out of the way spot. Mirko dodged an energy blast and kicked her attacker into a second one before using her robotic arms to block a knife and knock this third attacker with a punch.
Mirko handcuffed the three of them, but then a green fireball came out of the sky. Mirko nimbly dodged it, but her captured opponents weren't so lucky and were incinerated. "Oh man, this is serious!" Josuke said. Tenko grabbed him, "We can't do anything yet. If we join, we'll only get in Mirko's way." Josuke clenched his teeth but was quiet, and watched as Mirko nimbly dodged the fireballs from above. Mirko then jumped up and grabbed the side of a building, jumping just in time to avoid another green fireball.
Mirko jumped up and landed a hard kick on the Fireball User, only for him to get back up and his body to double in size until he looked like a naked, muscular goblin with pointed ears and green skin. "What the Hell?! Multiple Quirks!?" Hana yelled in shock as the Fireball Goblin sprouted wings and started flying. "You're not the only one with upgrades, punk!" Mirko yelled out as she raised her left arm and a wire shot out of it. The wire wrapped around the Fireball Goblin, especially his wings, and Mirko yanked down hard.
The Fireball Goblin hit the ground hard, and Mirko knocked him out with a hard kick to the temple. "AWESOME!" Hisa yelled, but then Josuke got a chill in his spine as he realized that no one else was cheering. Josuke and Hana looked back to see that everyone in the ice cream shop was staring not at the fight, but them, and raising their arms, all of them crackling with different colors of electricity. "Just surrender kids, and you won't get too badly hurt," one said, a bald man with glowing green eyes and green electricity crackling around him.
Hana looked at Josuke, and she nodded to the window. Josuke nodded, and Hana said, "That's not happening, sucker!"
The bald man smiled, and the lightning was sent flying, but Hana stepped forward and summoned her own lightning, while at the same time Josuke transformed into his werewolf form. The lightning all went straight to Hana as she raised her hands and used her body like a lightning rod, just like their Father had taught her. All the lightning went straight to Hana, attracted by her own electricity, and she smiled as she felt power coursing through her. It was greater than any sugar or caffeine rush she had ever experienced, and for a moment she wondered is this was what being on drugs felt like. She felt like she could blast through anything as the ones surrounding her all stared in shock as she absorbed their attack.
Meanwhile, Josuke grabbed Tenko and Hisa and lifted them onto his shoulders and jumped through the window behind them. Once Hana knew her brother and their dates were safe, she smiled a vicious smile at her attackers and said, "My turn!" All of them stopped with the lightning, and some of them summoned fireballs, but they were too late. As soon as they finished their electric attack, Hana yelled out and blasted them back with all the power she had stolen from them. All of her attackers screamed in shock as they were hit, none of them were trained it seemed to absorb electricity like Hana had been. After ten seconds, Hana stopped her counterattack, she didn't want to kill them after all.
The bald man with glowing green eyes was the only attacker still standing, although his clothes were smoking. "Try this on for size!" he growled as his whole body turned black, and he pounded his fists together, they clanged like an iron bell! Hana raised her hands in a fighting stance and said, "Bring it, sucker!" The bald man ran at Hana with his fists raised, only for Mirko to rocket past Hana and slam both her feet into his stomach, knocking him through the back of the ice cream parlor and out cold. Mirko looked at Hana and said, "Are you alright?"
"Yeah," Hana said, then sighed, her adrenaline was gone, and her body was shaking hard. "That was intense," the Hero-in-training said. She plopped down on a chair and leaned down on the seat.
"What's wrong!?" Mirko said as she grabbed her.
"This always happens," Hana said, "When I go all out with my electricity. For my Dad, his brain shorts out, for me it's my muscles. I can't really move much for about an hour. I'll need someone to carry me back to the limo." Tenko walked over and lifted Hana up in a princess carry.
"Sorry, Tenko," Hana told her date.
Tenko just smiled at her and said, "You saved my life. This is the least I can do for you."
Mirko took the lead as they all went back to the limousine while the police arrested the Villains. Hisa and Josuke held hands on the way, the shark girl was blushing but didn't try to let go. Their date was ruined, but at least everyone was alright, more or less.
Summerville, SC
She sighed as she saw the news that the kidnapping attempt had failed. Her experiments had failed her, and she needed more subjects, more data. She needed better quality subjects, healthier, younger, more moldable. The woman sighed as she typed into her laptop. She had prepared for situations like this. Every person she experimented with had a microchip implanted into them to track them, or to dispose of them.
She typed in the kill code and typed in the password: BURN-NOTICE. She pressed enter and watched on another screen as various signals went off, shut down as the chips self-destructed, severing her subjects' brainstems. Instant, and painless death. She wasn't a monster after all, only driven to success.
Charleston, SC
Marie turned pale as she heard the news about what happened to their prisoners. All of them, dead. This, on top of what had almost happened to her children, left her in shock. "What the actual Hell are we dealing with!?" she yelled. "I don't know," Marcus said as he shook his pumpkin head. "Whoever we're dealing with, they're absolutely ruthless. According to the autopsies, all of them had microchips implanted into their brainstems, at least from what little remains. We don't know if those chips controlled them, or only tracked them, or were only for this. God damn them! What the Hell do they want!?"