Justice Across Space and Time: Year 2
Chapter 11
Time for the next stage. And for a few new pieces of these puzzles to fall into place. Let alone the threats to the world as a whole. So, on with the show.
(No POV)
"Time to see which of our blades is sharper," Itsuka says while getting ahead of the rampaging Kamakiri. She then takes her stance before starting her Ni moto no Ken technique. Rushing forward and attacking the bladed arms that Kamakiri swung at her.
The rampaging mantis teen seemed surprised at the fact his attack was stopped. But it didn't slow him from attacking more. And that is when Itsuka noticed an important factor. 'He's completely out of control. Not just because he's attacking us. Kamakiri usually is a lot more efficient and skilled with his strikes.'
Despite acting like a fool only looking to cut things up with his quirk, Kamakiri had often shown intelligence when using it. Attacking from specific angles, destroying objects that could be used with a quirk, etc. Now though he was just slashing at anything within reach. And missing often.
Itsuka chops and intercepts some of the blows Kamakiri swung in her direction. Before using a Saisho no Ken attack vertically rather than horizontally. Though it knocks her off balance when she first attacks. "Hm…. Wait. Let's try that a different way."
The president of 2-B takes a step back before using a pair of ki waves to buy her a moment of time. Kamakiri flinches as the ki waves impact but he roars while readying to attack again. As he charges Itsuka adjusts the angle of her impending chop and blade.
"Saisho no Ken; Deki En!" she shouts before striking so fast no one can keep up with the movement of her arm. She winces as she feels the ligaments in her limb straining but doesn't falter in her stance. The blow impacted Kamakiri's stomach so hard it sent him flying and through a tree. Knocking the rampaging mantis out.
The red headed fighter grunts in some pain as the ki could only compensate for so much. "Little risky to use a new move. But worth it to finish this," she says while stretching her hand a bit. She calls out to Awase and Nirengeki to restrain Kamakiri.
But they are shocked when they saw the boy. His mandibles and green skin were changing. Becoming more akin to a normal human. "What is going on here?" Awase questioned as he picked up his classmate. Itsuka wondered the same before questioning in her mind if this was only really happening now. 'Or has this been going on longer?'
While those three were dealing with Kamakiri, Pony and Bondo were hurrying as fast as the American student's horns could take them. "At least Jurota is getting away from people. Then we won't have to worry as much!" Pony shouted while maintaining her heading.
Bondo agreed before saying, "just get me a little ahead of him! I'll make a net and stop him!" The horned heroine nodded before dropping herself. "I can put in more speed if I only focus on one set!" she shouts while falling.
She rolls before putting her fingers up by her horns in her usual pose. Closing her eyes as she increases the speed of the horns Bondo is holding onto. He freaks out a bit as they move but keeps his focus enough to blast a net of his cemedine out.
It wraps around Jurota and slows him. But it doesn't stop the rampaging teen. Right as Bondo is about to be hit, Pony fires another set of horns to get her friend out of the way. Once he was clear she shot again to do some damage to Jurota.
But the roar from the younger teen told Pony that she'd mostly made him mad. "Oh no." she said as the hairy hero leapt at her. She tried to run by the sand on the beach tripped her up. Right as she was certain she'd be crushed, Jurota stopped short.
"Glad at least something I did worked!" Bondo shouted while holding onto a rope of his glue that was attached to some boulders. He called it his Tripwire Cement and it helped to keep Jurota from leaping as far as he'd intended. This in turn made Jurota focus on him again.
And that is when Pony got an idea. "Plamo! Attack after I do! I think that'll work!" Pony shouts before firing more horns at Jurota's back. Once the younger teen had focused on her again, Bondo used a quickly made glue slingshot to attack Jurota with.
For ten minutes they kept going back and forth. Until Jurota was finally worn down enough and stumbled into unconsciousness. But he wasn't just unconscious. "Uh. Where are his fangs going?" Bondo questioned as they checked in on their classmate. "Fangs? I'm more concerned about the hair loss." Pony says as Shishida starts looking more like an average teenage boy.
Tetsutetsu and Kosei though were scared when they found the area where Kinoko and the others were infected. There were dozens who had mushrooms growing all over them. "She just had to go to the shopping district for patrol. And it happened to be when everyone was around." Kosei says with a gulp under his mask.
"Focus man. I gotta get closer to her and start the spell." Tetsu says while turning his body metal. It wouldn't stop the spores from attaching, but it would keep his body a bit safer. Especially if there were others around. "There she is!" Kosei shouted after they had run past another shop of people.
Tetsu nods before channeling the energies he could feel around him. And then calling upon the power of Apasam Kamuy in the Ainu language. He then started a set of movements that the shrine had shown him. With a circle appearing beneath himself, Kinoko, and everyone within the shopping district.
His concentration though was disrupted as he felt a bullet impact on the side of his head. He turned to look and saw a young man with black hair pointing a gun at him. "Why you lit- no! I can't stop this. I have to focus." Tetsutetsu says before concentrating on his spell work.
Null was there and trying to keep Kinoko's rampage going. Even though he had a few mushrooms growing on him. Kosei then came forward and made the strongest air wall he could make to stop successive attacks. "Keep doing what you're doing! I've got you!" Kosei say while trying to regain his breath.
He manages to make two more walls to cover Tetsutetsu, but not without consequence. Namely a mushroom started growing in his throat. Restricting how he could use his quirk. "Just hold on! Almost…. Done!" Tetsutetsu shouted as time started to flow in reverse around the shopping district.
Tetsutetsu's breath comes short but he maintains his composure long enough to see Kinoko no longer crumpled over in pain. "Tetsutetsu? Kosei? What ah, happened?" she asked as the red that had dominated her eyes started to fade. Coming to their aid as the others in the shopping district started to recover as well.
Null's eyes were wide upon seeing the end of the effect from what they made. 'Now isn't the time to try and fight again. I'm out of bullets anyway. I need to get back to Revenant,' he thinks before hurrying away to check on the others.
For Ibarra though, she was dealing with a frightening situation. "Juzo! Please you have to stop!" she shouts while her vines started softening. She wasn't the only one at risk though. Juzo's range had increased thanks to the effects of what infected him. And to certain peoples' horror, they started to soften and melt as well.
Ibarra worked to get as many of them away as she could. Praying to save them all the while and attempting to use various magics to ease the effects. 'Nothing is working! I've tried using healing spells but they don't seem to work! And I can't get close enough to keep from melting too.'
The holy vine girl for a moment considered the idea of simply getting the civilians away and leaving Juzo. At least until whatever it was that was causing these effects ran it's course. In that moment of thought though, she wanted to slap herself.
"I stand as a hero not just to protect the innocents who cannot do the same. But also to save my fellow heroes. Lord. Look upon me in favor as I face this trial. And grant peace and protection to those who have been affected." Ibarra prayed before diving in with body to pull Juzo out of the quicksand pit he made.
She felt her body start to not feel right as she got closer to where he could or should have been. But it didn't stop the girl. Even as her hand turned into little more than flesh colored sludge, she reached out to pull Juzo to safety.
Right as she reached him, Ibarra felt an insane new power run through her. One that reinvigorated her body and spirit. The hand she thought she lost suddenly felt it grab onto Juzo's costume. And with a mighty pull of the vines she had tied to the still solid trees and buildings, the two were brought to the surface.
Both were coughing as the made it to fresh air, with Ibarra holding her classmate aloft while trying to figure out what happened. "If only…. I could get him…. Higher. Then his quirk wouldn't work any….more?"
Right as she was saying this, she felt something odd from her back. It was a bit painful, but she let it happen. Seeing it as a trial and then maybe reward granted for her faith and courage. Which it was, as what came from her back were a large set of burning wings. Three pairs glowing and growing from her back.
"How… doesn't matter. I have to get Juzo away from the civilians." Ibarra says while picking the boy up. Not realizing that she had changed as well. Namely, the hand that had melted now looked like a draconic limb.
She kept trying a number of healing spells on Juzo until the effects started to fade on their own. Though with an odd effect. Juzo now had a real face. Complete with a nose and lips. "What manner of evil is it that we face this day?" Ibarra questioned aloud as she landed and the wings retracted.
With that, the major battles between classmates had ended. And there were numerous casualties. "They got us. Whoever they are." Nirengeki said with his normal fearful look. Observing while Ibarra used what healing spells she could to help the others back at their office.
No one asked about her new appendage, it wasn't the time to worry about that. What worried everyone was that six of their classmates had vanished in the commotion. "Who or what are we dealing with?" Awase asked while pulling at his bandana.
Itsuka sighed before saying she was going out. "Shouldn't we stay close? I mean if those guys are still out there, you could be at risk." Setsuna said. Worry lacing her voice as Itsuka made her way to the front of the office. "I doubt it. I don't have a quirk after all. Besides, something about all of this is nagging at me."
A few of the others wanted to go with her, but Tetsutesu stops them. "Look we're all at risk given what's happened. She's got better odds at finding out more. Let's just trust the prez." Itsuka smiled hearing that and quietly thanked Tetsutetsu.
She took her bike up into the hills, where the people who wanted to disappear had been living. "I should have just started asking questions in the first place." Itsuka says to herself while walking to a few of the homes. Some turned her away outright. Others threatened her, but she didn't back down.
It took meeting some children and showing she meant no harm for a few finally admitting some of what had been going on. There had been some strange noises and a few very removed folks had stopped being heard from. From there Itsuka starts to wonder why it had been going on for a few weeks, but no one really knew. That was when she started piecing together something a bit darker.
"Chief? I need to talk with you." Itsuka said upon returning to the town. The lady officer was confused and asked what was going on. Itsuka cleared her throat before saying, "not here. Can we speak somewhere private?" Itsuka asked and was directed to an interrogation room. Where the chief started to draw her weapon as Itsuka's back was turned.
Just as she was pointing the gun at Itsuka's back, the girl quickly turned and cut the weapon apart with her ki blade hand. "I thought so." Itsuka said before kicking the officer to the side of the room. She then slammed the door and used a gadget to sabotage the lock. "So then. Care to tell me why and how long you've been letting people get hurt?" Itsuka says before countering some attacks from the officer.
Itsuka knocks the woman to the ground after a few more blows and the officers arrive to see some of what is happening. As well as Itsuka's classmates. They try to open the door, but her sabotage keeps them at bay. "I'll ask again. How long have you been letting this happen? Do you know where my classmates are?!" Itsuka says before picking the chief up by her shirt.
The officer seems determined to stay quiet, but her eyes bug out in fear as Itsuka points two fingers at one eye. And builds some ki to push towards the organ. The hero holds her quarry in place and reiterates the question. Noting that her friends were probably being held by the villains and it would all be on her head. "Starting with this!" The burning teal glow growing closer and closer. Just as Tetsu and the others start breaking in, the chief shouts out. "Alright I'll talk! Just stop please!"
The ki in Itsuka's fingers retracts and she shoves the woman to the ground again. Before telling her to start. "It... it wasn't supposed to be like this! They paid me to ignore or not worry if some reported noises from the hills. I knew about... the Trigger testing and everything, but I was willing to let it go since they weren't hurting anyone from here. Just... ex-criminals and the like who were hiding out. I didn't think they'd be getting closer to the town. Let alone kidnap or use all of you as subjects."
"What part of that even seemed like a good idea? You honestly didn't think they wouldn't eventually use people from the town as test subjects." Itsuka says with some venom before demanding to know where they were. "I don't know! I'm telling the truth. They'd just send some guy with black hair to pay me."
Kosei steps in after hearing this and asked if it was a shorter man. Giving a rough description of Null. At the affirmative, the young hero relayed who had attacked him, Tetsutetsu, and Kinoko at the shopping district. "I couldn't really follow him. He seemed like an expert at sneaking."
The president of 2-B lets out a frustrated breath before telling some officers to lock the chief up for the time being. She then called for the remaining members of 2-B to gather and talk. "We're seriously outgunned and outnumbered here. At the same time, I doubt we can wait for hero reinforcements."
"What do you mean? Surely they'll have reports on this within the hour." Rin said while trying to create some scales on his arm. Kosei shakes his head before reminding them that the chief had been working for the villains. "My guess, she kept it quiet or covered up what was happening. Possibly even sabotaging the ways to call for help."
Ibarra winces while feeling up her strange new limb before noting they weren't totally removed as they were still land locked. "But at the same time, I don't want to think about what could happen to our classmates. And we can't be so sure that they won't run away before help arrives." Pony says with tears in her eyes.
Itsuka sighs and says that they won't leave them. "We just need a way to find them. Somehow." While this was being discussed, the members who were kidnapped found themselves in unsettling situations.
Monoma was currently on a treadmill with Chroma keeping a tight grip on his hand. And the boy was stuck in using the color yellow. Aside from granting him super speed, it made him very fearful. "At least now I don't have to recharge the batteries. Keep running brat!" Chroma said while glaring at the fearful Phantom Thief.
Both Sen and Yui were nursing multiple injuries to their bodies. Not that Amp wasn't feeling it too. "That one kid can do some good damage. But his partner didn't help him. She just made me stronger!" she said while kissing her lightly bandaged bicep.
"Yes, yes, very impressive. We gotta make sure that one kid can't speak though. He could be some serious danger," a medic and drug manufacturer said while patching up the muscle of the gang. Noting that Manga had been taken to a different area an muzzled as best they could manage. "Hey where's the boss?" Amp asked while leaving the medic.
Who shrugged and said he was doing something with the other girl he captured. Revenant was currently sitting in his personal quarters for the complex. Looking at a few old photos. While also glancing at Reiko sleeping on his bed.
He hadn't stripped her or anything like that, but he had taken off her mask to get a better look at her face. After looking back through his photos, he set the album down. Stepping over to the sleeping Reiko. He gently brushed some of her hair away before muttering to himself.
"She looks just like a younger you. Isn't that right Yuri?" he said to himself before tightening his fist in anger. In his mind, he relived the moment he became Revenant. How a group of monsters had taken all he cared about. And made him watch, unable to do anything.
In his photo album was an image of a brown-haired version of Revenant. With a blonde-haired girl next to him with a ring on her finger. Her hair going the opposite direction of Reiko's. Both smiling and happy.
Well hope that wasn't too much. But I want to flesh out my villains a bit more with this. After all, just having a villain that wants to destroy everything isn't the absolute best. Not to mention you need more than just some surface obsessions to make a decent boss and semi-redeemable monster. Unlike Overhaul or Tomura.
Next chapter though will be the students eventually confronting Revenant and his crew. Itsuka being the one to use a few dangerous and desperate methods to get the job done. Please review!