Justice Across Space and Time Year 2

Chapter 28

It's time for a monster hunt. As well as seeing more of the reasons why I wanted Itsuka to be the one to take down weretiger Ochaco. For those of you who have seen some of the DC animated films, you might recognize what I'm getting at with a conversation here at the start. On with the show.

(No POV)

"This is nuts. What was John thinking?!" Itsuka thought aloud as she was making her way through the bamboo grove outside of the city. Aside from her usual armored costume, gadget gloves, and gear belt, she had some new pieces on to protect herself against her current quarry.

The main piece being a helmet Melissa had modified from her own armors to loan to her fellow quirkless hero. It didn't completely cover her head, but it would protect her face and neck from Ochaco. The extra bonus being the sensors to help warn Itsuka if or when Ochaco would come at her. "So, she said. But what if Ochaco is now faster than the sensors can warn me? This thing was built with the response time of her armor. Seriously what was he thinking?!"

"What were you thinking by saying that Itsuka should go after Ochaco?" Kibou asked while he was flying above the city with Justice. Who grumbled at him to stay quiet before focusing back on the energies below him. Signaling that this was more important at the moment.

Though he was unsettled by the magical energies coming from three of the four targets. 'Which means one of three possibilities. One, they are spread across three spaces. Making it difficult to take them all out. Two, two of them are real and the third might just be a big magic bomb or other trap. But I can't tell from here. And three….'

He hummed a moment before mentioning that they had to report back. While they were going back though, Izuku again pestered John for the reason he insisted that Itsuka would be the one to catch Ochaco. Reminding him about how he kinda pushed her towards the mission.

(Flashback)

"Uh…. what?" Itsuka said as everyone was looking at her. John included with a subtle nod her direction. "No, nononononono! No way! Are you crazy?! Look I am all for catching Uraraka and stopping any possible rampage she's on! But there's no way I can do it alone!"

Majestic offers to go with her but the big hero shoots that idea down again. "Up against a werebeast like a weretiger, it's better to have only one person. I'm half basing this off of horror tropes (still hate those) but the reality is that if more than one person tries to take her on or down, they'll get cut up or killed and leave the other person or people open."

Everyone gives him a half-hearted glare at the fact he based his ideas on something like horror movies, but the heroes did agree with some of his point. "Look the reason I think you need to do this Itsuka, is because you have exactly what is needed to stop her." John says completely stone faced and focused.

Surprising all in attendance before he noted that she still shouldn't go in unprepared for the fight to come. "Because this will come down to a fight. Make no mistake," he says in a deadpan tone that quickly chills everyone and increases the fear Itsuka was feeling.

(Flashback end)

A fear she continued to feel as she was moving through the grove. 'What does he think I'll be able to do? It's not like I'm some natural monster hunter or fighter! I mean sure, I've fought and won against people who are heteromorphic types and all, but that's different. Most of them still act more human. This is a rampaging werebeast we're talking about.'

Itsuka shakes her head before trying to refocus on the matter at hand. Using the screen in the helmet and her gadget glove to try and track Ochaco. Picking up her heat signature but then losing it. The martial artist grumbles while dropping some tracking beacons behind her.

They were mostly used as a way to track her progress, but she was using them for a different function. One that was now proving useful as a few of the beacons stopped transmitting. Resolute gulped before feeling the tension growing as the sounds seemed to stop around her.

She looks around while taking shaky breaths to steady herself. The signals from her gauntlet and the helmet alert her that there is a large heat source approaching, but it keeps dropping off as she looks around. Her eyes dart around as she looks for anything in the shadows of the bamboo. Catching glimpses of shapes that are possibly Ochaco. But she can't be sure.

From behind a large rock, Ochaco's weretiger form gently pokes her head around. Her eyes flashing slightly as the instincts of the beast take over more. She darts around between rocks and fallen clutches of bamboo and trees. Even subtly getting into a shallow pond to cool her off. Causing the discrepancy as Itsuka tries to track her with the technology.

Finally at a close point, the weretiger lets out her claws and feels the ground beneath her paws. Lightly growling as Itsuka is looking around to try and spot her or pick up her heat signature. And as the orange haired girl's back is turned, Ochaco seizes her moment and pounces towards her unaware prey.

"Will you seriously answer me?! Why did you insist that Itsuka be the one to fight Ochaco?" Izuku again asks as they returned to Uwabami's agency. And while John gives him an annoyed glare, his protégé won't budge and the look he gives conveys the question once more.

The bigger teen sighs before saying, "it's more than just because we'd be vulnerable to any number of attacks Ochaco could hit us with. The biggest factor is something else that's less tangible." Izuku grumbles before saying that he still didn't answer the question.

"All right. Then let me ask you a question: what was your first impulse at the thought of what's going on with Ochaco? What was the first thing you thought of?" Justice asks with a raised eyebrow Izuku's direction. Who looked at him funny before saying, "uh…. Well I thought I had to save her. What does that have to do with anything? Wouldn't you do the same?"

Justice takes a breath before saying, "under normal circumstances, that wouldn't be bad. Neither would my first impulse or instinct. One you saw me act on already. My first thought was I need to stop that beast. Or villain. Or whatever. You get the idea."

Izuku was still confused and asked what he was getting at. "The reality is, that those mentalities are…. Problematic when dealing with a werebeast. Especially a weretiger. Aside from her magic being able to get past my barrier while I'm in this state, she can disrupt your healing factor."

"So? Why does that hinder us?" Izuku asked before Justice reminded him that they could both be made vulnerable thanks to that and their mentalities. "Aside from trying to punch her out, I'd likely take a hit from her out of habit while in this state. One that could get me killed or badly hurt. And while you're trying to save her, she could bite through or break out of any bindings you make. Especially because of your relationship with her."

The green hero could see some of his point with that, but he then questioned why Itsuka had to be the one to do it. "It's because of something very important." Justice said. And right as he was saying it Ochaco was pouncing on Itsuka.

You could imagine this as a bit of narration during a fight scene in like the anime.

Who just barely felt her instincts go off about the danger in time and ducked under Ochaco's claw swipe. Just putting her hands down to brace herself before kicking Ochaco in the jaw with all the ki powered strength she could. "Itsuka thinks about how to beat someone. Now more than ever." Justice says to Izuku right as this was happening.

As the weretiger shook off the impact of the kick to the jaw as Resolute rolled forward and quickly took out some things to throw at the werebeast. The lead of which were a few shuriken and some shock disks. The latter of which stuck onto Ochaco's fur before giving her a jolt.

"You see since she lost her quirk, her frame of mind has become a bit more human. And by that, I mean that she tries to think around a problem. Look for a solution other than going through it." Justice explains to Izuku; as the fight between the girls is going on.

As he notes that humans for a long time thought around ways to beat animals that had far better tools for fighting, Resolute was dodging renewed attacks from Ochaco. Rarely blocking and focusing on evasion. At one point the beast tries to bring both claws down on top of her, but the hero times her jump just right to go between her claws.

But just before the jump, Resolute dropped a pair of stun grenades. Ones that knocked back Ocahco's blow and took her off balance. Allowing the quirkless hero to throw a few more shock disks onto Ochaco's back. Causing her to freeze up while the hero caught her breath and took more stock of the situation.

After Justice had given the probable situations for the locations, he continued his talk with Izuku. All while Resolute was continuing her fight with the weretiger. "Quirks and true meta-abilities like ours often make us think only with them. But that can make us limited or hamper us. Itsuka doesn't have the limit or complication anymore." Justice says.

As this is happening, Resolute turned and ran into a thicker bunch of bamboo. Doing so though triggered instincts in Ochaco's changed body and she tried to pursue. Only to get stuck between the shoots and left open as the hero threw some more items at her. Causing more pain to run through the transformed girl's body.

The orange haired hero took a few fast breaths before moving into the thicket further. Dropping items behind her while trying to make notes of them with her gauntlet and the helmet she was wearing. As the weretiger pushed back from the attacks and slashed through the bamboo to chase after her prey.

But this worked against her more and towards Itsuka's ends. As not only was she alerted by her equipment when the traps she dropped were activated (there by tracking her pursuer), but it slowed and injured the werebeast as she was running. As well as moving all around to throw off her scent for a number of minutes. "Okay. This is working so far. But I remember Melissa mentioning that weretigers are supposed to be unstoppable. Or something like that in myth. I wonder how true that is." Itsuka thought aloud.

"It's not inaccurate to a point." John explained to Izuku at the meeting with some of the heroes. Noting that weretigers were nigh unstoppable in many stories and myths. With very few weaknesses to exploit compared to other lycanthropic beings. "Also, given the method used to turn Ochaco, it's not as simple as taking off a tiger skin to stop her."

Izuku has a flat look upon hearing all of that. And while this is happening, Itsuka has once again been dodging and evading the attacks from Ochaco. Though she couldn't evade them all forever.

The hero cries out in pain when she trips up and it leaves her open to getting slashed in the side by the weretiger. The visor of her helmet cracking and obscuring her vision slightly as she is sent flying. She winces in pain from the blow as she tries to get up. 'One hit was enough to bring me to my knees…. But I wonder if I can make her drop as well,' she thinks as the beast stalks towards her.

'No wait…. I've been going about part of this wrong. To beat her or rather the weretiger, I don't have to knock her out. I just need to do something… a little unsettling and kinda disgusting….' Resolute realizes before an uneasy look of disgust settles on her face.

And this leaves her open to getting pounced upon from behind by Ochaco. The weretiger biting down on her head and neck but thankfully being stopped by the helmet the heroine was wearing. Itsuka cries out as she feels the pain from the claws in her back and the impact of the teeth on her head and neck. And then the claws of her foe dug into her back and legs.

But before she can pass out from the pain, she thinks back on two things of her true origin that brought her to where she is. Remembering the pain of almost dying due to trying to save John during the Kamino battle. Her body moving on it's own to help him, even though she knew he was invulnerable. As well as the hurt she felt when she realized her quirk had been destroyed to save her life.

The bigger memory that pushed her forward and hardened her resolve was the support from so many who believed in her to become a hero. Jotaro or John who helped her fighting skills grow even before she lost her quirk. Ryukyu who stood up to the commission member who wanted to eliminate her from the Provisional License Exam just because she didn't have a quirk. As well as all of the senior hero students who supported her that day. Melissa building gadgets and other equipment to help with being a hero.

And finally, the trust John had shown in her to hold onto Sahiraah's ring while he was away from Japan. Each of these memories of encouragement, the words of those who believed in her pushed away some of the pain to give the girl her opening. One that involved firing a few shots from her gauntlets to distract or startle the weretiger.

As the beast stood and stepped back, Itsuka focused on strengthening herself with what ki she could pull on. And use that to kick her foe in the face a few times before aiming for a specific point. 'I hope this works!' Resolute thinks before trying something new.

She focuses her ki into her palms and strikes Ochaco right in the stomach. Though it was to impact a specific point in the stomach or intestinal region. As the weretiger coughed out, and then clutched her abdomen, Itsuka could hear it. A faint grumbling noise coming from Ochaco's gut.

"Sorry to do it this way, ah! But I don't have a ton of other options. Also, catch or eat up!" Resolute says with a wince of pain before pulling out some pellets from her utility belt. One was an orb than had water stored within it and the other was a medicinal food pellet she'd looked up as a way to get calories quickly.

Ochaco ate them both and suddenly felt as though her stomach was full and uncomfortable. And as that was happening, Resolute moved in and gave her another solid hit to the stomach that dropped the weretiger to her knees. And she seemed to be trembling while down there.

The weretiger took a few pained breaths before roaring again and trying to pounce on the hero once more. But Resolute lived up to the name she had chosen and stood her ground enough to bait more attacks from her foe. As well as dropping some smoke bombs and even a stink bomb to mess with Ochaco's new senses.

She snarled while stepping back and holding her grumbling stomach again. As well as holding her nose to deal with the foul odors. This left her open to Resolute impacting on her back, legs, and a few other pressure points of her body. The shaking in her knees continuing as the blows kept coming.

'I hate to do this to you since you didn't ask for any of this. But it might be the best way to beat you, stop you, and save you.' Resolute thinks while focusing on the flow of ki around her. Sensing Ochaco as she was a part of the world as much as the wind is. Moving her hands out to the side before moving them in front of herself, one palm above the other.

She then brought her palms to her side and said, "Nagareru yōna dageki: Hiki-ha shōgeki!" She burst forward with her ki lit up in her palms and once again impacted hard on Ochaco's abdomen. The ki setting off the pressure point as well as the others to finish the job.

As the smoke was clearing, Itsuka could see the tears in the weretigers eyes as her knees were shaking. And could smell the results of what she had set up to finish the fight. Blushing and apologizing to Ochaco again as she saw the puddle beneath the weretiger. The girl roaring and yowling as she crawled forward on her four limbs.

And the transformation that was letting up thanks to doing that. It wasn't immediate, but the claws of the weretiger were retracting and had slightly turned back into human hands. With Ochaco's Zero Gravity pads being more visible. And instead of her head looking more like a tiger alone, Ochaco's hair was growing back and the face was morphing back to closer to her normal face.

The tail and fur with stripes were still there, but they were receding as time went on. Itsuka catching the girl as she mostly looked like herself. "You look a little like those old images of furries or catgirls in this state. Wonder if your boyfriend and girlfriend would find it fun," she joked as she felt a few tears on her shoulder.

"Tha…aank…. Yoouu. Resss… ou…. Lute…" Ochaco growled out as she passed out once again from turning back to normal. Itsuka's eyes were wide as she heard that and she teared up a little. Sniffling as she put Ochaco's arm over her shoulder to walk her over to the pond and clean her up. But not before sending a quick message that she'd saved Ochaco.

"Huh. I guess you were right." Izuku said over the comms to John as they were waiting at each of their target locations. It may have taken a few hours, but Itsuka had done what John believed she could do. She stopped a nigh unstoppable weretiger. "Now we just need to make sure they can't make anymore," he says with a narrowed gaze at the building.

I'll admit, I was trying to write a big chunk of this like the meetings and conversations were happening at the same time. You see it a lot in comics after all. And I wanted to use it as a way to describe matters and intangibles that may not be clear on the surface. But if it's bad, just put in the review that you'd prefer the other style.

Also, yeah, I won't deny the way to end the weretiger fight was one I kind of pulled out of nowhere because of what was involved with the change and I needed a good way to finish the fight. Even if it was kinda gross as a way to win. But the next chapter will have more of normal kinds of fights for the heroes. So look forward to that.