Funnier option- Bakugou based on TFS's portrayal of Vegeta. Probably not gonna happen, but STILL.

Anyways, here's your chapter. Here's the Discord: /cgFmXz3qJ5

Bakugou kept trudging along the track. No one had popped out for a while- it was strange. These kids had been dying to scare the shit out of them. Why were they suddenly stopping?

"Cowards probably realized it's pointless to scare me. And the bird guy and…tentacle guy." Bakugou said.

I gotta actually learn their names for reference. He thought.

Bakugou stopped as he passed a tree. He looked over to see a kid's body, slumped over. He wanted to walk past. This was probably a prank or something- he'd probably jump up and do something spooky. Child's play. But Bakugou felt something was off. None of the other kids had fake blood, right?

Bakugou knelt down and examined the body. Kosei of Class 1-B- Bakugou remembered him from the cavalry battle. This kid had some sort of air hardening quirk. He thought, checking the kid for other injuries. There was a nasty bunch of abrasion and laceration type wounds on his head, with the nastiest being on his forehead. Bakugou made a face.

This wasn't a prank. Bakugou reached into his pocket, and pulled out some bandages. They were strictly for his wrists, just in case they needed some makeshift support in battle. But this kid was bleeding out. He wrapped it around Kosei's head.

"Okay. Looks like I gotta carry this extra back to camp- maybe tentacles accidentally jumped him or something." Bakugou said.

Then something shot through his head.

"Three villains have invaded the area, and it's possible there are still more in the shadows." Mandalay's voice yelled. That got the whole class on edge. "Those who are capable, head to the facility! If you should come face to face with the enemy, do not engage them in combat! Continue and retreat!"

Bakugou paused. Villains? Here?

Bakugou looked down at the kid- he was the first goddamn victim, probably. Bakugou grit his teeth. "Goddamn it…" He cursed, looking around. Was that bastard still here? He didn't wanna avenge the kid- he just wanted to pummel this shit out of the villain.

Bakugou sensed something rushing up behind him. He ducked down, and shielded the kid- thankfully avoiding a size 13 metal boot smashing into his back. It instead smashed into a tree. The attacker flipped off of it, and landed on the ground.

He whistled. "Damn, kid. You're doing better than odd eyes here." Mercury laughed. "I slammed into his back, and slammed him into a tree- then he just sorta fell over. Disappointing."

Bakugou said nothing in response. He turned around to face his enemy. Mercury hummed. "So, you're the UA temper tantrum kid- God, you have a resting bitch face."

"And you're some graying jerkass who beats up kids in the forest." Bakugou frowned. "Class act, dickhead. You sound like Ben 10k if he gargled nails."

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Mercury sighed.

"All Might's not here. There's really no one to attack but a bunch of extras who don't even KNOW who they're in leagues with yet." Bakugou smirked.

"Oh, we damn well know that smiling jackass All Might ain't here. Shame! I wanted to kick his teeth in for old time's sake." Mercury sighed. He looked at Bakugou.

Damn it.

He hated to admit it, but those eyes reminded him of Emerald. That same red rageful eyes that glared with scorn at their enemies…it was a powerful vision. Mercury didn't realize how much he missed it until she was gone. He looked away.

"And no, we're not here for the Omnitrix brat either. We've got other plans for her." Mercury shrugged. "Something something…emotional distress. Whatever. We're here for the REAL star of the show- you."

Bakugou smiled madly. "What, you're gonna kidnap me to have a real shot against the pros? Thanks but no thanks. I'm sticking here."

Mercury smirked. "Okay then. You just made my job a lot more fun, then."

Bakugou grinned even wider. "Great to fuckin' know."

Mercury's legs struck with breakneck speed, but Bakugou intercepted the attack. Both attempted to strike each other, but their blows were blocked. Bakugou eventually made a decent move, thrusting his palm forward and unleashing a tremendous blast. Mercury hummed while being blown back. He nodded, satisfied—this guy wasn't half bad.

Bakugou charged towards Mercury with an explosive boost. The villain raised his arms, obstructing Bakugou's hitting arm. Mercury smirked, but Bakugou's manic smile was a telltale sign of what came next.

"DIE!" Bakugou roared, his palms exploding. Mercury maintained his position. Bakugou anticipated him to fly backwards and crash into a tree, but he didn't move an inch. Bakugou's pupils shrank as Mercury yawned.

"Are you finished?" Mercury smirked, his body sparkling with some sort of weird forcefield. Mercury swatted Bakugou away, and the boy grumbled.

I can't get an angle on this guy's quirk. His fighting style is tied to his legs, but the rest of his powers are so nebulous I can't wrap my head around it! Bakugou thought.

"Hey, come on kid. Quit wasting your time trying to analyze me." Mercury frowned. "I didn't come here to butcher heroes. If we did that, we would've brought the crazy guy. This is just a simple extraction- I'm taking it easy on you."

Bakugou smirked. "You're going easy on me?"

"No." Mercury snarked. "That was a joke. But seriously, give up or you're gonna be like that idiot kid behind you."

Bakugou laughed. "You're just making shit up. That guy? I've seen his training. You just busted through his barriers a lot and got lucky. So what?"

"Or, I genuinely kicked his head so hard he got a concussion. My source is that I was the one who did it." Mercury said.

"Then spare me the 'I'm going easy' on you bullshit and fight me- don't hold ANYTHING back." Bakugou said.

Mercury sneered again.

"Famous last words." Mercury said.

Bakugou charged towards Mercury, while the assassin took a defensive stance. He was looking forward to the next strike. Mercury deflected another punch and reacted with three kicks to Bakugou's chest before receding to what he felt was a safe distance to await Bakugou's next move. Bakugou's range wasn't that great, but his power was fantastic. Shame he had no way of projecting the attacks.

Right?

Bakugou smirked, and made a circle with his hand. He placed it in front of his other palm. Mercury raised an eyebrow.

"You picked a bad time to drop in. We've been doing quirk development…and I came up with a new super move." Bakugou smirked. Bakugou shot his explosion through the circle, creating a single concentrated blast. Mercury crossed his arms to defend from the shot and yelled. Black smoke

He concentrated the attack into a single point for a more focused blow! Mercury realized. Mercury felt his arms ache. Damn- those last explosions stung, but this one felt like he launched a brick at me. Okay then- now we really cut back, Mercury.

Bakugou chuckled. "What was it you said about famous last words, jackass?" He cursed the smoke.

Something fired- then, that something arced through the haze and smashed into Bakugou's chest. It was white and landed hard. Bakugou tanked the blow, but it left him with a terrible bruise on his chest. "HA! Was that intended to be a weak ass response?" Bakugou exclaimed. A few more projectiles launched out of the smoke. Bakugou was quick to dodge them, jumping back. One of them flew past him.

"Terrible aim, too! Jeez, pick it up-" Bakugou was cut off by the projectile smashing into his backside. Bakugou fell forward. He cursed the bastard, before pushing himself off the ground.

THIS must be his quirk, Bakugou thought. It's some sort of weird forcefield and projection mess. Quirk factor's gotta be in his legs or something. Maybe I can break it…

Bakugou jumped back and avoided a few more shots. These shots were aimed low at the ground. Mercury was trying to move Bakugou further and further away.

Let's see how far that damn concentrated blast can really go. Mercury thought, kicking some more blasts at Bakugou. Bakugou dodged the attacks, before cupping his hand and holding his palm. The boy launched another concentrated explosion, but Mercury was able to take it better than before.

It hurts more at close range, then. This one hurts more like a decent sized rock was chucked at me. He solved nothing. Mercury smirked. To think I was scared of that attack for a second!

Mercury decided it was time to bring out his secret weapon. He hit the side of his thighs, and his boots turned from white to red. Bakugou lowered his brow, as Mercury rushed over. As soon as he was close enough, he performed a quick handstand and started to spin around for a flurry of spinning kicks. Bakugou blocked the attacks, caught off guard by the sudden heat from the attacks.

Where'd this damn heat come from!? Does he have some shit in his boots? Bakugou cursed, as Mercury ended his attack with a flip that launched another projectile. Bakugou sidestepped the attack, and the projectile smashed into a tree, lighting it ablaze. Bakugou stared in confusion, and then back at his arm. There was a nasty red mark of Mercury's sole burnt into his arm.

Mercury continued his attack. He reached into his pockets, and pulled out a switchblade. He began to slash at his opponent, wildly trying to break his defenses. Bakugou evaded the cuts, before slamming into his chest. Mercury took advantage of Bakugou being so close- he stabbed the boy in the arm. Bakugou yelled, blasting Mercury away with a massive explosion. Mercury skidded back, as Bakugou clutched his shoulder.

"You FUCKER!" Bakugou yelled, as Mercury laughed.

"Oh, man! You're gonna owe a bunch of money to the swear jar if you keep up the swearing." Mercury smirked. Bakugou frowned, as he forced some pressure on that bleeding shoulder. "Aw, man. That wound looks pretty bad. Here, lemme CAUTERIZE IT FOR YOU!" Mercury propelled himself forward.

Bakugo swung his arm forward and released a powerful explosion from his palm- Mercury guarded his body, but the blast was strong enough to tear some bits and pieces of fabric off his pants. Bakugou was left in bewilderment as he stared at the man's legs.

"You're fucking kidding me."

Bakugou was looking at Mercury's new prosthetics- these ones were more human looking, with less of a ramshackle feel. Whoever made them had a real handle around technology.

"Ah, damn it. I liked those pants." Mercury frowned.

"So, your legs AREN'T linked to your quirk. You just have great prosthetics." Bakugou scoffed. "Laaaaaaame."

Mercury held back a laugh. "Repeat that again, kid."

"What the fuck's your quirk then!?" Bakugou yelled. Mercury laughed like a hyena, to the point he had to hold his gut.

"O-oh, that's fucking FUNNY!" Mercury said between laughs. "OH!"

"WHAT'S SO GODDAMN FUNNY!?" Bakugou roared with rage.

"What's funny," Mercury said, whipping away some tears. "Is that I…am quirkless."

Bakugou stared in confusion.

"I'm a hunter, kid. I'm one of those rare cases of someone who doesn't have a quirk." Mercury explained. "Kinda like your buddy…"

"B-but, your forcefield-" Bakugou said.

"Oh, my aura? Yeah. Looks pretty quirk-y. But nope. Just a natural thing." Mercury said. "My boots contain a special type of round- it's like a buckshot / muzzleshot round that disintegrates on contact. I don't LIKE my attacks being traced back to me."

Bakugou growled. "Then how the hell are you damn strong?!"

Mercury stared at Bakugou for a second. "God, kids today are so arrogant. You remind me a lot of me…"

"The fuck's THAT mean!?" Bakugou cursed.

"Dude, stop asking shit for a few minutes. Jeez." Mercury said. "I used to have that shitty attitude too…I wanted to be top dog too. My dad always pounded it into my head- never show any weakness, not even for a second."

Bakugou's face fell.

"Of course, he sucked at following that mantra. When I killed him, he was screaming like a wailing banshee." Mercury laughed. "RIP, bastard."

"Anyways, I did what you did. Push people away, look down at the others not in my circle, soak in the love- hell, I would've won the Vytal fest if I didn't have to hold back against Blondie. That would've been great on my ego." Mercury smirked. "I even had my own annoying green haired friend."

"He's NOT my friend." Bakugou growled.

"I said the same about mine." Mercury said. "Nice smile that hid a dangerous power. Could fit into any friend group. Wanted to prove herself to our…" Mercury thought of a word. "Higher up. Despite my friend voluntarily helping her commit all manner of atrocities, she had something annoying in the back of her mind- second-thoughts."

Bakugou didn't like this conversation, but if it was keeping him blabbing, good. Maybe some other extras could act as a distraction so he could bandage himself.

"The more and more she learned, the more and more she questioned everything around her. 'Am I doing the right thing?' 'Am I in the right?' 'Should I follow orders?' Then, one day, she ditches everyone. Her girlfriend was soon to follow." Mercury sighed.

"The fuck do you have to do with her story? Sounds like she just ditched you." Bakugou smirked.

"THE POINT-" Mercury said. "The point is that she ditched me. At the time, I didn't care. Whatever, she's replaceable. I don't care- I don't need someone holding me back. But…sometimes I wish I had someone doing that."

"Hindering your own development sounds like a bullshit move." Bakugou said.

"No- it's probably the best fucking thing you could have." Mercury said. "You know what the drive for power gets you? Nothing. No trophy. No flashbulb. No flowers. No wine. You're haunted by something you can't define. It's like the damn lottery- you have everything one day, and then nothing the next. It's bullshit- but, power doesn't last forever. You have to give it up."

Bakugou scoffed. "PLEASE shut the hell up."

"Yeah. Scoff. It'll help. If I got told this stuff at your age, I'd laugh too." Mercury said. "But if I were you, I'd fucking listen. Maybe if I fucking wasn't so goddamn obsessed with besting my old man, I'd be in a better fucking place. But no. I'm here. In the goddamn woods. With some dumbass."

Bakugou stared at Mercury.

"...you seriously expect me to buy that bullshit?"

Mercury looked up at Bakugou.

"Seriously. None of that rant sounds real. You're telling me to get weaker!? To hold back?! Is that supposed to make some impact on me? I don't fucking CARE about the extras! All I care about is being number one." Bakugou said. "I don't need anyone else around! All Might never needed anyone."

Mercury shrugged. "Except he did. I fought him when he was still a beginner- before the accident."

Accident? Bakugou thought.

"That guy got knocked around a lot, and Ben or Ruby or Kevin or whatever swooped in to save their ass each and every time." Mercury said. "So, yeah. All powerful. And didn't he need to be saved from that Nomu?"

Bakugou made a face. "Yeah…"

"So, yeah. There. Power is a lottery. All Might lost it during that fight. Done and done." Mercury sighed. "Jesus- I wish you weren't such a stingy kid."

"And I wish you'd shut your mouth more. You talked FOREVER." Bakugou said.

"Fine. I'll shut up." Mercury smirked. "And stand here. Motionless."

Bakugou frowned. Mercury just smiled, and put his hands in his pockets. He began to whistle and look around, obviously taunting the boy.

He's gonna counter immediately. Unless I break his guard here. Bakugou thought. So, just go all out, Katsuki! This guy is NOTHING! You don't need anyone else!

Bakugou propelled himself straight forward using a series of explosions from his hands- he propelled himself back down at the opponent and generated another explosion that dealt heavy damage. Mercury casually jumped back, as Bakugou smashed into the ground.

Bakugou struggled to get up. Mercury decided now was the time to really hammer in the message.

"You're not as great as you goddamn think, kid!" Mercury yelled, grabbing Bakugou by the shirt collar. He threw him into a nearby tree, which slammed into his shoulder. It forced the knife deeper into his shoulder.

Bakugou tried to remain on his feet, as Mercury approached. Bakugou threw the meanest left hook he could muster, and Mercury caught it. He twisted Bakugou's wrist, and kneed him in the stomach.

"You're really showing me, damn it." Mercury said, taking Bakugou by the back. "I'm REALLY scared of you!" Mercury spun him around and tossed him into another tree.

Bakugou stayed on the ground, breathing heavily.

This guy…is insane. Bakugou finally admitted. There's no way one quirkless dumbass can be this strong.

Mercury picked up Bakugou by the shirt collar, and pulled him in close. "Don't tell me you've had enough, you little shit..."

Bakugou spat in his face. Mercury's eyes lit up.

"Merry Christmas to me, then." He slammed Bakugou against the tree, and started raining down punches. Mercury's punches were just as powerful as his kicks. They were faster, which made things a lot worse.

"COME ON!" Mercury yelled between punches. "SHOW ME THE POWER THAT BESTED THAT OCHAKO GIRL! GIMME THE MIGHT THAT KNOCKED DOWN THAT HALF AND HALF BASTARD! GIVE ME SOMETHING TO WORK WITH!"

Why was there a weird sense of pain in his voice?

Had Mercury run out of people to fight? Was this who he had to settle for?

His path to…power is…sad. Bakugou thought.

Bakugou knew someone had to be coming. His explosions could probably attract someone from across the forest. Mercury was an insane fighter, though. Could they (if necessary) avenge his loss?

Well, he'd have to put his pride aside for once. Time to weaken Mercury's offenses.

Bakugou weakly held up his hands- this was his last counterattack. He crossed his fingers and prayed that this would work. His hands started to light up, before he caught one of Mercury's fists and clasped it tight. Mercury was caught off guard- where did this sudden strength come from?

"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" Bakugou roared, focusing his attack on the arm. The concentrated blast exploded, instantly breaking Mercury's wrist and shattering his aura. Mercury ripped his arm out of Bakugou's grasp. He clutched it in pain, cursing over and over again.

"You…damn brat!" Mercury yelled.

Bakugou smirked. "Yeah. Fuck you too…" He collapsed to the ground, finally spent on energy. Mercury growled.

"I swear, if you weren't needed alive, I would stomp your goddamn head into the dirt!" Mercury yelled, as he took off his jacket. He used it to make a makeshift sling, and picked up Bakugou's body with his good hand.

This damn brat is just as brutal as he brags. His arrogance is gonna bite his ass- part of me wants to let that fester and grow, but…Mercury stared at Bakugou. Why the fuck do I care? Why do I care if this kid grows up to be like me?

Mercury blinked.

Oh yeah. Because my life fucking sucks.

Mercury dragged Bakugou away, limping as he walked. He tapped onto an earpiece with his shoulder.

"This is…Mercury," Mercury rasped. "I've got our target. Send backup, since I've been seriously injured- and I think more kids are coming. His dumbass was loud enough to probably turn some heads."

"He was alone? Wow." Twice said through the ear piece. "That was easy."

"Yeah- not gonna lie, the kid's stronger than we thought." Mercury said.

"Well, duh. He was the winner of the Sports Festival." Twice scoffed. "I know it's against kids, but you saw how brutal he was to his classmates."

"I didn't watch some stupid sports fest. I had better things to do." Mercury said. "I just read the files."

"Like what? Shoe shopping?"

Mercury glared at Twice through the ear piece.

"S-sorry, man."

"Fuck off, Twice." Mercury said. "I'll meet you at the meetup."

"See ya there!" Twice said, signing off. Mercury scoffed.

"What I would give to kick that guy's ass." Mercury frowned.

Mercury continued to drag Bakugou away. It was a slow, annoying process that made Mercury wish Cass had tagged a long to tank his explosions and shoot them back at him. The job would've gone a lot faster this way, but Cass wanted to 'save her energy' if Tennyson got involved. Screw that. Bakugou wanted to see this kid get destroyed by his own attacks.

Mercury stopped walking. He heard footsteps approaching.

"Goddamn it- they got here faster than I thought." Mercury sighed. He turned around and grimaced.

"Just my luck." Mercury said. Standing before him was one of the people he was warned about.

"What the hell are you doing with Bakugou!?" Ochako yelled, hand over the Omnitrix.