Justice Across Space and Time: Year 2
Chapter 13
Now to finish this chapter and set up for a new set of arcs. The last 13 were all what you could call the "Start of Second Year" or the "Hero Work Recommendation" arc. This one will cap it off and set up a few more story lines for the future. So on with the show.
(No POV)
Itsuka hurried deeper into the caverns to search for the room that was revealed in her scans of the mountain. "I don't know exactly what it is. But it can't be a good idea to just leave it," she said while knocking out a few more goons that hadn't run outside.
Once she was there though, here eyes were wide. It was a large production facility, but not just for making Trigger and other drugs. "So that's what some of the metals got used for." Itsuka said to herself while walking around and looking at a few sections of the facility.
In one area there seemed to be a press making thousands of counterfeit bills. And the plates to make them were made from an alloy that she recognized from the raid with Ryukyu. Another section had a strong set of bits and grinders that were breaking down the ingredients to make Trigger. And a third had machines to make weapon parts.
"Whoever is behind this…. They want to get into every type of trade. But where did they get all of this? This is more than a single officer or a few goons can get their hands on," she said while putting a hand on a stack of money. "Slow and steady wins the race girl. And rushing in, leads to danger."
Itsuka suddenly felt something prick her neck before being blasted by a beam. After she shook out of the pain and shock, she saw Revenant glowering at her. "How? Who are you?" she asked while shaking her head a bit.
The man smirked and said, "doesn't matter. You won't be able to think clearly soon enough. Your quirk will rampage and leave you open to attack." Itsuka's eyes widened a bit before she smiled and started laughing.
Revenant didn't know what was going on and asked what she thought was so funny. "You don't watch the news much do you? You don't know who I am?" Her questions confuse the villain who narrows his eyes before preparing to blast the girl. She jumps back though and tosses out a few kunai from her belt.
The item passes through Revenant, but it still worked to distract as Itsuka hid among the machines. "How is it you aren't going mad? Aren't you a hero student of UA? Where they gather the greatest monsters?" Revenant says while floating above his production area. Keeping an eye peeled for any sign of Itsuka.
'I really should have taken more of Aizawa and John's lessons about stealth more seriously. But I think I can still stop him or at least mess up his operation.' Itsuka thinks while grabbing some nearby rags and making them into a makeshift headscarf.
With that done, Itsuka took to attacking from a distance. Everything from ki blasts to the various weapons that were part of her gadget gauntlets and the few tools in her utility belt. Revenant meanwhile was stunned the few times he was attacked. Namely after he got hit with Itsuka's Storm Fist blasts and Uneru Nami waves.
"How are you doing this? If you don't have a quirk and are not a true meta how is this possible?!" Revenant shouted while getting more frustrated. At least until he calmed down and noticed something important. 'She's kept relatively the same pattern while moving. Always going counterclockwise. Just need to get to the same area.'
Once he was in place, he waited for Itsuka's attack. Intercepting it with his energy blast and then flying down quickly to catch the girl. Kicking her to the side and blasting again. The martial artist grunted from the first hit but guarded herself with her gauntlet shield to stop the blast.
She then quickly fired it's few munitions to disorient or hopefully hurt the villain. She does more of the former than the latter, but Revenant was still injured by the electric pulse shot she fired. Seeing her moment, Itsuka took it and charged her foe. Blasting him with ki waves and then in close to combo some attacks.
"Enough!" Revenant shouts before lashing out and trying to blast Itsuka again. He restrains himself somewhat as he didn't want to damage his operation. So instead, he flies as close as he can and blasts in short bursts from his fingers.
This is when Itsuka notices something important. 'He's not been fighting me up close. And he seemed to get set off once I did go melee on him. That's it! He's been reliant on his phasing, floating, and energy blasts to where he's neglected any physical training and fighting! Which means, I have the advantage there.'
She cartwheels and rolls to avoid the blood red beams. Smiling to herself while tossing out some special surprises and the like to turn the tides. Among other things. Itsuka takes a hit back to a wall and as Revenant gets closer to attack, she activates her trap. A shock field that injures and brings Revenant down to the ground again.
Leaving him open to Itsuka's fist, kicks, and even a headbutt to further disorient her foe. The going into her ki attacks. First with a Tsukisasu kick to his abdomen, her Ken no Nami blade waves, and then her Fuji no Sakeme chop to try and crush the man.
It partially works and he does feel the initial impact, but he phases through the floor as he's coming towards it. 'This is getting annoying. I'm still not sure why or how she's doing that blast trick, but it actually hurts. And those little traps of hers are becoming a problem.' Revenant thinks before floating up through the cavern again.
He decides to get more serious and goes invisible to ambush Itsuka. He blasts the girl from behind and burns her body. She tries to engage again but can't see or hear her enemy. Itsuka is blasted two more times by the ghost like villain before knocked into a wall and is coughing up blood.
"You fought well. And you actually hurt me. But this is done girl. I won't let you stand in my way." Revenant declares while Itsuka is on her knees and the villain floats above her with an energy blast in his hand. The martial artist coughs while trying to think of her next move.
Coming upon an odd parlay of sorts. "Before you kill me, I have to know. What happened to you? And if you don't feel like sharing, I'd be willing talk about my own history. You asked me after all." Revenant pauses before dissipating his energy blast. "Fine. You wish to know before you die. Here it is. I was once an author and artist for a manhwa group from China. I had a decent life and some acclaimed success. But it all changed. When a quirk gang decided to take everything from me."
He had a fiancé, but one night they were set upon by a group of heteromorphic quirk thugs. Revenant while alive had handed over his wallet, but that wasn't what they were after. They just wanted to make him, and his fiancé Yuri feel small and like they were worthless.
"They took us, raped, and killed her in front of me. And then beat me to near death before dumping me in a river with her." Itsuka's eyes were filled with shock and tears at this. Muttering that neither of them deserved that. "I thought there was trouble here with people pushing quirkless to suicide. Though the pitying looks don't help either. And I guess the heroes didn't get involved. Right?"
Revenant confirmed the matter. Saying that one of the ones who attacked and tried to kill him was a high ranking hero of his homeland. One who had been hiding the crimes of the gang who attacked him because they were related or sympathized with being heteromorphic types.
The villain's eyes filled with some tears before saying, "I eventually awoke as a true meta. But it took over six months for me to reawaken. When I found out that my death had been used to beat quirkless people down more, I decided to take my revenge on not just the hero. But almost the entire population of heroes and quirk gangs in my homeland."
"You killed them all?" Itsuka said while wiping her eyes. The deadly specter closed his and admitted he did. Killing many while invisible or vaporizing some with his energy blasts. He even killed the top 50 heroes of his home in one night. By using the strongest energy blast, he could decimate the building where a celebration with them was taking place.
The young martial artist was crying again and admitted many of them did deserve it. "And I guess that's why you want to take out your anger on all heroes. Even student ones like me. Now here's my tale." Itsuka relayed what had happened to her and how she almost died to the evil of AFO and lost her quirk in order to save her life. And then relayed that she didn't let that stop her.
"I kept fighting. I learned how to use these gadgets in my belt and in this gauntlet. As well as planning ways to fight even the strongest heroes and villains. And it was later that…. My partner decided to teach me something I didn't know existed. Ki."
Revenant was shocked by what he had heard. He assumed most who lost their quirks would just give up and crawl away in shame because of all of the ego built into them. But here he saw a young hero who refused to let that slow her down or be what defined her life.
He closed his eyes before saying, "you have my absolute respect young lady. You have persevered where most would bury their heads or run away. What is your name?" Itsuka gave it before thinking of something else. "You can also call me, Resolute. Because that is who I still intend to be," she says while glaring up at the villain.
"I will remember it. But this is done." Revenant says while charging up two beams. Itsuka smiles before pressing a special section of her belt. Causing multiple explosions to rip apart the machinery and some of the product that had been made.
The villain turned and was furious at what had transpired. Only to be struck from behind by Itsuka. Using her special taser disks, she could keep Revenant from phasing through her attacks. Using her strongest hits and combos to try and take him down. Ending with a pin from her Ruyi Jingu Bang fingers. And forming a one-handed Storm Fist to knock out the villain.
Except, right as the attack landed Revenant seemed to disappear. "What the? Where did he go?" Itsuka thought aloud while coughing from the smoke of the explosions. She shook her head and made her way out of the production area and back to her friends.
Ibarra of whom panicked upon seeing her and asking if she was okay. "I saw you at the mercy of that villain and I thought!" Itsuka calmed her friend by noting she was fine. "A bit burned and beat up, but I'll live. We should find the others."
The holy girl nodded while holding up the few villains she beat with her vines. Meanwhile Tetsutetsu had freed Yui, Monoma, Manga, Sen, and Kuroiro from their special cells. But Manga had to be carried as he was still coming off the tranquilizers the villains had pumped him full of.
"Hold on. Where's Yanagi?" Kuroiro asked after they all came together. Itsuka hummed before telling the rest to head up. "I'll check through some other passages. See if I can find anything." While they did want to protest, Ibarra reminded her friends that they had been injured and possibly drugged as well. "You may not be much of a help right now."
The other hero teens looked down and Monoma was the first to agree. "I don't know if they did anything else to me while that villain there was forcing me to run on a treadmill to power this place. We're no good to either of them like that."
Yui and Sen tighten their hands but agree and all make their way to the mouth of the cavern. "You sure you're good?" Tetsu asked before running off with Manga. Itsuka confirmed she was and made her way down a different stretch of caves.
Eventually she found a locked door that had a camera pointed at it. She slid one section open and saw a man with light brown hair inside. "Hello? Who are you?" he asked while looking at Itsuka. She introduced herself and the man gave his name and where he was from.
"Shimano-san? What are you doing here? We're on the opposite side of…. Wait, you're from Nabu? Huh… my classmates were also doing a work study there. Talk about coincidence. Anyway. Stay back. I'll take care of the door." Itsuka says before putting a small amount of sticky explosives on the lock. Blasting it and releasing the man.
He stumbles out a bit before asking where he was. Itsuka told him the rough area of Hokkaido he was currently in. "We'll get you home sir. But I need to find someone else. She was taken like you." The man hums before asking if it was a girl Ituska was looking for.
After confirming the fact, he says, "I think they moved her down this way. The boss or whatever from what I overheard had an interest in the girl." Itsuka was afraid at hearing that and asked if the man could find his way out to her friends. "I need to get Reiko somewhere safe."
The man nods and notes he could find his way out. Itsuka gives him an energy barrier from Melissa just in case. "Thank you young lady. You truly are a resolute hero." Shimano says before making his way to the mouth of the cave. Itsuaka found the last exchange odd but put it out of her mind to find Reiko.
Eventually finding the room where she was held. "Have you just been reading manga and manwhas this whole time?!" Itsuka said upon finding the girl casually reading a book. Reiko blushed before saying, "um… more or less. I couldn't do much else."
The martial artist groaned before telling her friend to come with her. But not before noticing Revenant's photo album. And seeing what the man used to look like before he turned. And the woman who stood next to him. "Huh. She really does look like you. C'mon. Let's go."
Reiko blushed and was worried about the idea that the villain might become obsessed with her. "We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now though, we've shut them down and I think our job is just about done." Itsuka smiled before escorting her friend out.
Once out, they were surprised to see that not only were a number of thugs beaten but there were some other heroes and officers in the area. The lead hero being Oki with his sidekicks. The wolf like man was upset though.
"This was happening in my home region. And I missed it or knew nothing about it," he said in frustration. Flyby meanwhile tried to bring up his spirits while Coldsnap was helping others in restraining the various thugs and other villains that had been captured. Loading both Amp and Chroma into maidens.
Once that was done, questions could be asked about Shimano and details given about what happened with the villains around Correya. "You did exceptionally well. But are you sure everything was destroyed down below?" an officer asked Itsuka. She grumbled a bit about it but said it should. "I used enough explosives to probably deal with any pieces that were dangerous. If the equipment is still down there, it might not be useful."
The officers and heroes nodded before making their way down to collect anything they could for evidence or similar. Meanwhile, Shimano would be escorted out and back home by the police who were leaving with the villains. The man again thanking Itsuka for freeing him and stopping the villain.
Just as he was getting into the car though, his eyes flashed red and a different smile came across his face. The teens were given a few days to recover and would then head back to UA to continue their second year of school. "This has been one weird assignment." Setsuna said while practicing with her quirk.
She and the others had returned to mostly normal just before they left. "My guess is that they were counting on the rampaging killing their targets. That or it was still in the test phase." Rin said while looking towards his backside. Thinking about the tail he had grown in response to the strange form of Trigger.
Jurota had his hair and fangs back, and Juzo no longer had lips or a nose. "You know, I'm not sure how I feel about that. It wasn't bad looking normal at least. I looked less like a skeleton that way." Juzo said while on the plane back to Mustafa.
Others though were coming to terms with what they had learned or gained. "So, any idea on how you're going to keep that hidden?" Kinoko asked Ibarra while looking at the girl's dragon hand. Ibarra blushed and admitted she had no idea. "I'm hoping that Sahiraah may know something. But at least I know I'm truly an Awakened Mage. I just need to get to know my familiar better."
"Yeah but its so manly that you've got a kick ass dragon as a familiar! And one that lets you set yourself on fire!" Tetsutetsu said with an excited gleam in his eyes. While he like the idea that he was a Hereditary Mage, he thought it would have been more badass if he got some cool familiar as well. "Like a tiger or dragon. Oh! What about finding a monster that has even more power than that!"
Before he could ramble on, Ibarra silenced him with a few of her vines. Reiko and Itsuka though were of different mindsets upon leaving Hokkaido. The former felt sympathy and a bit of fear of the one who had kidnapped her. 'He saw in me his lost love. That just makes me worried he'll come after me more. Especially since we didn't actually catch him,' she thought while remembering the series the man had written.
Itsuka though had a funny feeling upon leaving the region. 'He called me Resolute. And it felt intentional. Given he said it in English rather than Japanese. But I never told the others that was what I had chosen to be my hero name. Unless!'
As much as she wanted to follow up on the matter, she was still on a plane heading south. So no phone calls. "This isn't good. I'll have to get in touch once we're back in Mustafa." Itsuka thought aloud before settling in for the rest of the flight.
Once they arrived however, she was surprised by who was there to greet them. "Sahiraah? Anwar-san?" the teens of 2-B said upon seeing the genie. She smiled before going over to hug Itsuka. "I'm here to get you guys back the rest of the way. If you've got your bags, we're good to go!"
And with a snap, all of 2-B was teleported to Heights Alliance in a puff of smoke. Though some landed better than others. "Ah how about a warning next time teach!" Tetsutetsu said while getting his face out of the dirt. Sahiraah smiled before snapping again and bringing 2-A to the dorms as well (the teens also falling upon teleportation); and then asking what happened.
"Well let's just say things got more complicated than we expected. Though I wonder if it was the same for you." Itsuka said while looking at the genie. Who narrowed her eyes before asking what happened.
After being given the run down, Sahiraah nodded and relayed what had happened at Nabu. "So I was right. The two incidents were connected. If only minorly." Itsuka said while following Sahriaah into the 2-A dorms. "What is this all about though? What else could be brewing behind the scenes?"
A new voice decided to answer those questions in a cryptic way. "If we had all the answers, they we may be too scared to act. And if we don't act then the situations might happen anyway. Sort of a damned if you do, damned if you don't scenario."
Itsuka, Sahiraah, and all the others turned to see someone they weren't sure they would see again. Standing in the kitchen with an apron and his usual sunglasses on, was Justice or John Dimitri Svoboda. He smiled before bringing out some of what he cooked to address the rest. "Sorry it's been a while. But things have been complicated out there."
"That's one way to put it," another new voice said as the young man was sitting in a chair. Jaws dropped all around as a woman came out from the showers in a bathrobe. A very tall, Very muscular woman with long blonde hair. She shot the kids a confident smile as she put an arm around John's shoulders.
Izuku and Melissa all but fainted and most of the others weren't too far behind them. "Why….. is the world's strongest woman here?! Why is Star and Stripe in our dorm room?!" the students of 2-A shout out. As the two newly arrived American just smile in their direction.
I hope that surprised enough of you. I want to do more with her character, and we'll get into what is going on with the next arc I'll be releasing. At the same time, I hope you all caught onto the mystery and trouble that is coming the students' way in time.
Not to mention found the fight a decent sort of tense. Kind of wanted to do the Batman vs Mr. Freeze fight from Arkham City for Itsuka. She won't be going full Batman, but I'd be up for having her learn more from his style, so to speak. I can always rerelease the chapter again after some work if it wasn't enough. Please review!