The last remnants of light fade into darkness as day shifts into night, the moon making her appearance for an evening encore while the stars shy away from the city's glow. Winding through the multiplicity of tall and wide buildings down to the busy streets, there was an inspiring commotion from heroes outside their normal staking grounds.
"Rock on with these sparkling gazes! We've come to lend a paw and help! Coming out of nowhere... Stingingly cute and catlike! Wild, Wild Pussycats!" Declared Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, and Tiger, striking their iconic poses.
"Meow, that's right!" Jested Mickey, replicating Ragdoll's position in the lineup.
The large crowd erupts into ovations as they begin to gather to give their praises and ask for autographs and photographs, taking an immense interest in Mickey as they're bombarded with questions and compliments. Yet, as an entertainment savant, they awed their audience with slapstick humor and gags that elicited laughter and applause, reveling in the sincere joy they had brought out.
As the activity steadily dispersed and the cat-themed team said their farewells, they casually merged onto a quiet side street away from the bustling sidewalks.
"Don't get too used to the attention, Ka-Blam!" Mandalay disclosed, "The Wild, Wild Pussycats are a wilderness rescue team that operates primarily in The Beast's Forest. We only go into the city unless absolutely necessary, and that's only after the mountain has been cleared."
"Oh, but don't worry, we get plenty of visitors all year round!" Pixie-Bob contributed, "You'll have a lot more chances to goof around, plus you've got us!"
"Of course, it's not all fun and games; the work we do is very serious. There's a time and place for everything!" Tiger spluttered.
"Yeah, yeah, no drama." Mickey acquiesced, lazily scratching the back of their head, "I'm uh, more of'a big smoke toon, but I'll give it a burl."
Pixie-Bob muses, "That's the spirit! I think!"
Mickey lingers back behind the group, diverting their attention for only a split second when the concrete beneath them swings open like a double hinge door and drops the Wild, Wild Pussycats into an opaque abyss. Their eyes bulged out of their head in surprise, and without hesitation, they swiftly outstretched their arms to wrap around all three members as they continued to fall. The combined weight and gravity cause their arms to expand at full length, their toes teetering on the edge of the opening as they struggle to lift them, but their arms end up snapping back to the surface without the Pro Heroes in them, and the concrete closes back up.
They stand there, dumbfounded, with their stretched-out arms lying on the ground, but the reality quickly sets in, and Mickey snaps back into focus. After rewinding their arms to normal, they investigate the street for a handle or opening with their hands.
"Oh no." Mickey mumbles, "No, no, no, no!"
With one of their gloved, cartoonish hands, they grab onto the cement and pull up with the ease of a thin cotton sheet to peek, then insert the upper half of their body underneath in an attempt to expand their visual search. Though they fail to locate the Wild, Wild Pussycats from the source of disappearance, Mickey gets back on their feet and begins anxiously running around in a circle while mumbling to themselves,
"Gotta run an' think! Gotta run an' think! Gotta think, think, think, think, think-!"
Suddenly, there's a scream, a familiar scream, that brings a hand to an enlarging ear and stops them in their tracks.
"Ugh, I'll deal wit' this later!"
They lean forward, bringing their fists up to one side and raising their leg over the other before sprinting off towards the distressing cry.
In an alleyway less than a block over, Ximena stands at the end of the road, frantically searching her surroundings with her tongue flickering wildly, hoping to catch a familiar scent or, to a lesser extent, a potential criminal. What she wasn't expecting, however, was to have a pair of rubber hose arms hooked over her shoulders and see Mickey slingshot themselves from a considerable distance and kiss her snout with oversized lips, following a loud 'pop' sound.
"Awh' Mena, am I bloody rapt to see ya'!"
"Mickey! T-This isn't the time for kisses, I'm in serious trouble!"
"Strewth, you too?!"
"Huh? What do you-? Wait, why are you alone? Where are the Wild, Wild Pussycats?"
"Do ya' see me wit' those larrikins in kitten costumes? They've disappeared! Went missin'! Gone walkabout!"
"Then why are you here?! What happened?! Why didn't you signal your location for help?!"
"Oh, she'll be right! I ain't the one who was howlin' like a dingo!"
"That's because I was shocked! Señorita Mangle disappeared too!"
"Pull the other one! 'Ow do ya' reckon that happened?!"
"W-Well…"
Ximena takes a deep breath with a hand placed firmly on her chest, regaining focus on the situation at hand, and begins recanting the events before Mickey's arrival.
Ice-cold beer mugs reverberate against the solid oak bar top as drunken, boisterous conversations drown out any remnants of grievances. The lively atmosphere was accompanied by large work groups made up of mostly women. This establishment was reputable for having a larger female demographic due to the secure and inviting environment. Though the bar wasn't without fault, many continued to gather and support the business without hesitancy.
On this particular night, a young woman in her early twenties consumes alcohol past her body's limitations, trying to impress her other coworkers, and after rendering herself immobile without assistance, she sits on the cloth bench outside against the bar front, crying in embarrassment.
"Sorry to make you have to do this, Mangle." The bar owner mutters aside.
"I still have to do my job," Mangle noted, aiding Ximena in lifting the woman onto her feet.
"And I appreciate the work that you do, but job or not, I don't like seeing you around here. This place isn't your life anymore."
"I know," she verifies, taking the woman's arms and laying them over her shoulder. Threading her legs through her arms, she gives Ximena her purse and heels to carry. "I don't want it to become anyone else's."
After gently questioning the woman on her situation, condition, and address, the group makes their silent trek a block and a half over to rows of townhouses hidden away from the main streets, but the silence doesn't last.
"I can feel you staring, del Desierto."
Ximena, unable to own up to her actions, turns her gaze down to Mangle's heels.
"You don't have to pretend you didn't hear what was said back there, I'm not one of these Pro Heroes that pretend they can do no wrong. I was dealing with a lot of personal things that happened all at once, and I didn't know how else to handle my problems, so I turned to drinking, and that almost cost me everything, but I got help, and I'm better now. I've been sober for eight years and haven't had a drink since."
"…I don't have much experience with addiction, but I'm proud of you- and I'm happy to be working under you."
"-Waaaah," blubbered the drunk woman, "I'll never touch another beer again, I promise!"
"Hah, easy there, make those promises the morning after; that way, you'll remember to keep them."
Mangle gently lowers the woman onto her front porch as they arrive at their destination, standing her up on her feet carefully and then allowing her to hold onto her while she riffles for her keys in her purse. Ximena assists her in her search by opening her bag wider and lightly shaking the contents until a familiar jingle is heard.
"Are you sure your roommate will be home at ten? I don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone for hours."
"Y-Yeah, actually, I was going to text her to see if she can come home early."
With slurred words, the drunk woman staggers on her feet and opens the front door, stepping one foot inside and then tripping over the threshold with the other. Mangle swiftly grabs onto her waist, balances her upright, and lets her go as promptly as she had caught her. She cautiously turns around in the doorway, her hands tightly gripping the doorframe as her eyes avoid meeting Mangle's face.
"I…I really am sorry for causing you both so much trouble! I'm not normally like this; I just really wanted to make friends! Y-You're so cool, tough, and brave. I wish I could be more like you, Mangle!" The woman splutters, slamming the door shut to hide her embarrassment.
"Looks like you have a new fan!" Ximena chimes quietly.
"Nah, I've learned that with enough alcohol, a deep voice, large muscles, and a thick body is enough to be the love of someone's life, but not the woman of their dreams."
Ximena, hesitant in her words, softly attests, "Maybe this won't mean much coming from another reptile, but I think you're beautiful- I really do."
Mangle chuckles, cautiously grabbing onto the crown of her sombrero de charro, lifts her hat, and ruffles her hair underneath. "You're too sweet, del Desierto. Don't become jaded like the rest of us."
She places her charro hat back firmly on her head and shoves her hands in her pockets, shuffling back onto the street as she adjusts the fit of her sombrero. Mangle draws out one hand and leans down to pick up a crumbled scrap. As she lifts the garbage from the ground, Ximena's rattle begins to vibrate, and the concrete flips up vertically, dropping her inside before the solidified apparatus falls back into place. Unable to reach her in time, she stands there with her mouth agape.
"Shit, looks like we got ourselves a booby trap baddie!" Mickey groans as they pull the flashback down by a string cord and allow the panel to roll up out of frame.
"Now will you signal for help?!"
"Alright, alright, keep yer snake panties on!"
She refuses to dignify them with a response and dramatically folds her arms over her chest with a huff. They pull out the collar of their hero costume and reach a hand inside, pulling out their cell phone and then snapping the elastic back into place.
"Now, let's see who's around," they mutter, scrolling their thumbs up and down across the screen. "Oi, lookie who we' ave here!" Mickey divulges, tilting their phone screen towards Ximena.
Two commercial buildings over, the automatic sliding glass doors of the convenience store open with a single chime as two people exit the establishment.
"-Nah, I'm an only child." Estelle imparts, "My parents told me they'd rather focus all their energy on my ice skating career."
"Well, if you did know what having a younger sibling was like," Takagi continues, "You'd know that the baby dictates what you can do with your time, and if you're a Pro Hero whose wife is stuck at home taking care said baby and she needs a treat, you get her one."
She snickers, "I didn't know internships include romance lessons."
"Very funny," he rolls his eyes, "I wouldn't normally do this if we weren't so close to my place, and she hasn't left the house the past few days dealing with our son, so she deserves this."
Estelle bends her right leg behind her and clumsily kicks Takagi's bottom with her foot, "Relax, old man, I'm just messing with you! I think what you're doing is sweet."
"Ouch! Watch the-!..Uh…Are you going to answer that?"
Throughout their conversation, Estelle's cell phone made multiple notification sounds, informing her that she had new text messages. After many ignored responses, her phone started to ring, alerting her that someone was trying to call her. She immediately recognized the personalized ringtone and picked up her cell phone, accepting the call.
"What?! What do you want?!" She shouts directly into the speaker in frustration.
The receiver of Estelle's cell phone morphs into the shape of Mickey's mouth, "Jus' who'da'ya' think yer talkin' too, mate?! Reckon I oughta' throw on'a pair of gaudy lashes an' monster teeth, see how ya' talk to me then!"
"Poukisa ou-!" Growls Estelle, clasping her hand over the receiver to muffle their voice.
After a brief struggle, Mickey licks the palm of her hand, and she quickly removes her hand away with a disgusted whine.
"P-Please stop fighting! We're in serious trouble!" Cries out Ximena.
"Huh? Ximena? What are you doing there?"
"We'll explain everything when you get here! We need your help!"
Takagi and Estelle share a glance of urgency and set a course for their destination, taking off as fast as their quirks could take them. When they arrive on the scene, they slide into action with heroic vigor, ready to assist in the fight and save the night. They are stunned in confusion when they find the heroes in distress standing there and out of harm's way, even receiving a friendly wave from Mickey. Unbeknownst to them, danger was lurking closer than they could sense.
"Is this some kind of joke?! What the hell is the matter with you two?!" Fumes Estelle.
Mickey throws their hands up in defense, "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Don't crack the shits at us! Crikey mate, ya' always rock up earbashin' every bloke ya' see?!"
"Look, can you just tell us what's going on so we can get to the bottom of this, and where are Mangle and the Wild, Wild Pussycats?" Rock Lock questioned, irritated by instant hostility.
"That's why we called you here," Ximena frets, "Señorita Mangle and the Wild, Wild Pussycats disappeared into the street!"
"Huh?!" Estelle exclaims.
"What do you mean they 'disappeared into the street?'" Asks Takagi.
"Ya' heard her right. Dropped down like one'a Abracadabra's cheap tricks." Responds Mickey as they use their hands to recreate the motions of each trap.
He sighs, "Alright, I know you guys were only doing what you were taught, and you're not familiar with every Pro Hero here, but I'm afraid I can't help you. My name is Rock Lock. My quirk, Lock Down, lets me immobilize any non-living object. I could've stopped them from being trapped, but I can't get them out."
"Is there really nothing we can do for them?" Worries Estelle.
"…There may be something, I can't guarantee it'll work, but we might get something out of it. Can you show me where Mangle or the Pussycats got trapped?"
Ximena slithers a few feet to the left, coiling on the line between residential and public property, and holds her arms down and out, "A-About here."
Takagi kneels on the opposite side of Ximena, giving themselves a few feet in between, then rubs his hands together, "If I do this correctly, we should get some kind of idea of where Mangle might be."
As his hands hover over the cement, the muscles in Ximena's tail tip begin to contract, and the international heroes brace themselves while the loud, abrupt noises surprises Rock Lock, causing him to lose his balance and fall on his bottom. Then, right before her first warning commences, he disappears in a flash of green light shrouded in pixels that fade into obscurity.
There's a moment of stunned silence, then a collective of high-pitched screams in a group huddle.
"Why is this happenin' to us already?! We jus' got here!" Mickey yells to the sky with their hands on their head.
Ximena stammers in disbelief, "I-I…I-!"
"That's it, I'm calling the police." Estelle growls, rapidly tapping on her phone screen with her thumbs, "We're not going to be able to help anyone if we don't know who to call or-!" A notification appears as she searches for the emergency contact number, letting out a soft gasp upon further reading, "M-Mick' come here for a second!" She jabbers, flailing her arm in their direction to grab their attention.
Leaping from rooftop to rooftop with unmistakable finesse and soaring through the night sky as elegantly as the moon herself, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Enji keep themselves airborne while Javier and Shoto use the varying levels of the roofs as leverage to get from one building to the next. They remain diligent, keeping their focus on the main streets below yet oblivious to what may appear ahead of them.
Todoroki, unintentionally jumping ahead of everyone, becomes within a couple of feet of a marquee with a blinking, red arrow wrapping around and down the word 'DETOUR' in large, bold letters, and after being unable to read the word at that moment he stops in his tracks attempting to comprehend the sign in front of him. This action causes a domino effect of accidental pain as Bakugo crashes into Shoto from behind, with Midoriya slamming head first into Bakugo's upper back, and the three heroes begin falling into the side street as Javier staggers over the ledge after forcibly stopping himself from colliding into everyone else. Endeavor grabs Javier by the back of his unca when he drops right beside him but is unable to catch any of the boys in time with his other hand.
"Shouldn't you have made the sign in Japanese?" Asks Ximena.
"Wha'da'ya' mean 'made the sign in Japanese?'" Wondered Mickey, merely seconds after Bakugo, Midoriya, and Shoto land in front of them in a lopsided pile, "Ya' see? I knew they'd drop in to check on us!"
"I'll kill you!" Bakugo yells.
"Amigos!" Javier shouts, sliding down the brick wall of the multiplicity building alongside Endeavor.
"I demand to know what is going on here!" Orders Enji, stomping over to the international heroes. Then he folds his arms firmly over his robust chest as he looms over them. "Just what is the meaning of this…of this…unprofessional behavior"?!
There's a pause. "Ay, they weren't kidding about this guy," murmured Estelle toward Ximena and Mickey.
Endeavor can't believe what he hears.
"Ain't no way this drongo is numba' one, reckon they was too chook to tell 'em ta' rack off." Responds Mickey under the same tone.
Again, he's rendered speechless.
"Cht!" Ximena shushes, tugging on both of their sleeves.
"T-that's-! Where have you been getting your information from?!"
"We're fine, Endeavor," Todoroki announces impassively, helping Midoriya to his feet with Javier's assistance.
Bakugo brushes the debris from his pants with a scowl, remaining silent.
"Of course you are! I wouldn't dare undermine your well-being!" he blurts out, then swiftly formulates an excuse: "I was simply overwhelmed with concern for our foreign heroes!"
Chirp-chirp. Chirp-chirp.
Enji clears his throat, "Now, what is your emergency? Judging by the…*unusual* nature of your signal, I suspect that you're in serious trouble!"
Given the urgency of the situation, the interns suddenly disclose their current position all at once, overlapping each other's voices to create an unintelligible information overload. Endeavor attempts to remain calm, but his annoyance flushes over as their voices become grating with no relief from his side speaking over them, trying their best to calm them down.
"One at a time, one-at-a-time!" Snapped Enji.
"Wild, Wild Pussycats-"Mickey exclaims.
"Señorita Mangle-" Ximena yelps.
"Rock Lock-" Estelle hollered.
Simultaneously, they shout, "-Are gone!"
"They're gone?!" Gasps Midoriya.
"N-No way!" Stammered Javier.
Estelle groans, "Yeah, yeah, we've heard it already! Can you help us or not?!"
"Tell me what happened this instant!" Commands Endeavor, "Where did this happen? How did this happen? Did you see who did it? Were there any witnesses?-"
Mickey drops to their hands and knees, recreating the events with their hands, "Me 'n the Pussycats were shootin' through that alleyway back there when the street opened up like this-"with their hands leveled and the tips of their middle fingers touching, they relax their wrists repeatedly to create an opening-closing effect. "I-I tried catchin' 'em, ya' know, but these snags weren't made for heavy liftin'!" Mickey sputters, weakly flexing their arm as their bicep drops into a U-shape.
"A-And Señorita Mangle and I were helping someone home, then as we were heading back, she went to pick up some trash in the street and-"Ximena uses her right arm to simulate the previous motion; she rotates her shoulder to raise her forearm up and down, "I couldn't reach her in time, everything happened so fast that I-I didn't know what else to do but scream! That's when Ka-Blam! came to see what happened!"
Estelle places her hand on Ximena's shoulder, "And that's why they called us! We were just around the corner and as soon as they told us what happened Rock Lock tried to help but- but then something weird happened! He was sitting here like this-"she takes a few steps back and kneels in the same position Takagi did before his disappearance, mimicking the position of his hands, "then he fell over because Xime- I mean, del Desierto's, tail started rattling and the next thing we know, there was these green lights and blocks," Estelle attempts to recreate the effect by bringing her hands up in front of her and wiggling her fingers in a twinkling motion, simultaneously moving her hands above her head, "and he was gone!"
Ximena raises her hands to her chest and interlocks her fingers, pressing her palms together. "Please, Señor Endeavor, we don't know which other Pro Heroes to contact. We're not from here."
Yet again, Enji can not fathom the ludicrous ramblings he's hearing and verbally expresses his distaste for their accounts: "If this is some kind of joke, it's not funny."
The interns, in collective disbelief, are flabbergasted by his response; at that moment, none of them can articulate a proper response.
"To waste Pro Hero resources like this after being invited as a guest to our country is not only irresponsible but a poor reflection of your own countries!"
Mickey rolls back one of their sleeves as they wind back their fist, "Why ya' lousy rotten-!" Ximena and Estelle firmly grab onto each arm and hold them back. Although they were equally as furious by his statement, they suppressed their angry outbursts through tightly clenched jaws.
"How could you even say such a thing, Señor Endeavor?!" Javier condemns, stepping in front of the other international students, "Just because what they're saying might sound crazy doesn't mean that's not what happened!"
"And just because they're your friends doesn't mean you have to believe them outright."
"Even if they weren't my friends, I'd still believe them! Why would they go to all this trouble if they didn't need our help?!"
"El Volcán Niño is right!" Debated Midoriya, joining Javier at his side: "S-Sure, their story is a bit hard to follow, but if we help investigate, I'm sure we'll get more answers!"
Todoroki readjusts his position next to Javier, "We were so focused on the main streets we could've passed by them entirely."
Bakugo, reluctant to agree with them, drags his feet as he stands next to Midoriya, "If they're screwing around, I'm cracking their skulls!"
He was clearly outnumbered, and Endeavor may have allowed his irritation to get the better of him before rationalizing the situation; they succeeded in grabbing their attention, although a reckless attempt, and explained the perplexing incident to the best of their abilities, despite the convoluted narrative.
"…Perhaps I was too- hasty to dismiss you three, and regardless of what actually happened, five Pro Heroes are missing."
Javier exhales in relief, "Gracias."
"From what I've gathered, we don't seem to be under any sort of time limit, but the sooner we find out their whereabouts and who's responsible, the less danger they'll be in, and of course, prevent any more victims from disappearing. Therefore, I propose-"
That sound. Once more, Ximena's warning rattle cuts through another Pro Heroe's efforts to make any sort of progress, and following the same demise as Rock Lock, Endeavor vanishes in a visible green light enveloped by pixels that dissipate into nothingness. The silence, like before, was deafening, as was the disbelief that had vexed them previously; everyone redrew their focus to the alarming noise, and the moment their attention was diverted, the culprit took hold of the opportunity.
"S-See?! Did you see that?! That's what happened to Rock Lock!" Estelle shouts, pointing her finger in the direction where Endeavor once stood.
"Endeavor? Endeavor?!" Called out Midoriya as he rapidly scanned the perimeter with erratic head movements.
Mickey grabs Ximena by her shoulders and shakes her back and forth, "Dammit 'Mena! Don't go waggin' yer' tail an' not say nothin'! That's the second time ya' done that!"
Ximena stammered with each shake, "I-I'm s-sor-ry!"
"Mickey, stop shaking her!" Javier pleads.
"Ugh," she groans, grabbing the top of her snout with both hands as Mickey holds her in place, "I just- didn't want to say anything until I knew for sure…"
"Until you knew for sure what?" Questioned Estelle.
"H-How the criminals were moving around without anyone noticing."
"Criminals?" Reiterated Todoroki, "As in, more than one?"
She nods, holding up her middle and index fingers, "There's two. I'm positive."
"Of course," Midoriya chimes in, "Rattlesnakes have heat-sensing organs by their noses that let them detect thermal radiation, so even if the criminals were invisible, Ximena would be able to see them. Also, because of the Jacobson's organ on the roof of their mouth, rattlesnakes can pick up scents that humans can't just by flicking their tongue!"
"Yes! I can't believe you remembered all that- oh, but there's something else too! I can also sense vibrations through my lower jaw! You see, humans and snakes have an inner ear, but the difference is a snake's inner ear is connected to their lower jaw, and because our jaws are connected by ligaments, they're able to move separately! That's how I'm able to read the vibrations through stereo hearing!"
"What is this, science class?! Get on with it!"
"K-Kacchan!"
"Sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Just tell us what you know, amiga." Gently urges Javier.
"Hmm," thinking her words over carefully, she begins speaking. "One of them is small, about my height, and lighter than Estelle. They have an odd smell, too, almost like when you're playing games on your laptop, and it gets really hot!"
"I-I don't think that detail will help us very much."
"And I've seen them twice now, right as Rock Lock and Endeavor were taken, then they disappeared."
"We really got sucked into this one, 'ay?" Mickey sighs.
"The other culprit is really big, though, heavier than Javi' but smaller than Endeavor. The weird thing is, I haven't seen them at all, and I've only heard them once! Their scent is quite strong, b-but I'm not really sure how to explain it."
"That doesn't give us much of anything, does it?" Grumbles Estelle.
"Maybe, but it's better than nothing." Midoriya declares, "And if it wasn't for Ximena, we wouldn't have any idea what we might be up against. Which is why I think we have to find everyone and take down the criminals ourselves- the seven of us!"
There's a collective silence, an uncertainty that weighs heavily on the student's minds as time continues to move forward without action.
"He's right," Ximena wearily continues, "If we keep signaling Pro Heroes here, Japan will become anarchy before midnight. We signaled for help in the first place because we don't know our way around yet, and despite everything that happened, we ended up lucking out. Now, instead of one Pro Hero, we have three heroes that we know to help us!"
She tried to make a case for them as bestas best she could, but Estelle, Mickey, and even Javier weren't persuaded by her epiphany. Yes, Midoriya, Bakugo, and Todoroki excelled in their quirk use and had proven to be capable heroes, but there was something about them that didn't instantly bring an instantaneous feeling of reliability. Whether that was due to unfamiliarity altered their opinions regardless, and Javier, who had been working with them, had his doubts.
Estelle sighs, slouching her shoulder theatrically, "Well, there is a reason she's the smart one."
"An' for once, lil' Miss Right, is right." Quipped Mickey towards Estelle.
"¡Estupendo! ¡Estamos en!" Javier cheers, pumping his fist in the air, "So, what do we do first?!"
"We're never going to find Endeavor or the others if we don't find who's doing this. That's why, even if we manage to catch one of them, then I'm sure they'll tell us where they're at. If that doesn't work, they'll likely lead us to their accomplice, or they'll come and try to rescue them!" Directs Midoriya.
"But how are we supposed to stop them taking any of us?" Todoroki interjects, "We were all here when Endeavor was taken, and the same happened to Rock Lock when Mickey, Ximena, and Estelle were together."
"I-If it's alright with everyone, I have an idea," Ximena confesses quietly.
With her leather-gloved hand, Ximena gently grabs Estelle's wrist and leads her a few steps back; then, she slithers over to Todoroki and cups her hand over his wrist cuff softly, leading him over next to Estelle. Next, she gingerly takes Javier by his shoulders and pulls him behind Estelle, and with some caution, she manages to place a reluctant Bakugo behind Todoroki. Finally, with a delicate nudge, Midoriya and Mickey were positioned in front of Ximena.
"!Perfecto!"
"Ohhh, I get it! The closer we are, the harder it'll be for them to take us!" Chirps Javier.
"And the easier it'll be for me to protect everyone." Hums Ximena, her thick tail spilling into the spaces between the middle sections of the newly formed human barricade. She settles the upper half of her body onto the concrete, brings her arms behind her back, and clasps her hands together. "P-Please be careful not to step on me!"
With her lower jaw reposed against the street, Ximena takes a few deep, steady breaths as she begins to examine the surrounding area thoroughly.
Her sharp pupils glide across her golden scleras while scanning the perimeter for any movement, and whatever wasn't detectable through her eyes was instinctually enhanced by her other sensory organ. Yet, with the additional assistance of thermal radiation detection, she doesn't see anything suspicious. From the tips of her nose to her tail, the steps she had familiarized herself with couldn't be heard, but apart from the feet shuffling against her body, no vibration anomalies could be felt. When her eyes and ears are unable to provide results, her nose cinches the answer. Ximena lifted her head at a thirty-degree angle and sniffed the air through her nostrils, though the city's aroma was all that passed through her airways- unpleasant but consistent. Then, with a flick of her black tongue, the hunt begins.
A soft hiss eludes her narrowly open jaw as she slithers her heavy body around in the opposite direction, and while everyone is surprised by her sudden shift, the heroes follow in accordance with her movements. Slowly, her rib bones engage with her muscles, allowing her to move on against the concrete with ease despite the friction caused by her clothing. She could smell them, both of them, and in that second, she couldn't see them, but they made the mistake of moving simultaneously and revealing themselves to her. None of the heroes reacted. The two criminals remained invisible as they attempted to make their escape.
The interlocking segments vibrate against each other, alerting everyone that they were not alone and to prepare themselves to move forward with an offensive or defensive maneuver; though the criminals went undetectable again, Ximena keeps her eyes locked ahead of her and resumes the pursuit while their scents are still strong.
' So, they can move while invisible,' Ximena internally assesses, ' and are somehow able to get further without me seeing or feeling them. El uno pequeña keeps appearing and reappearing, but I can't seem to figure out how, and I don't even know what happened to El uno gigante, but I can still smell both of them. I could smell them then, too, when we were discussing our plan. They think they can outsmart my instincts, b-but I won't let them make a fool out of me! Not anymore!'
"Oi, this is where me 'n the Pussycats shot through," Mickey whispers, comically large wooden baseball bat at the ready.
The chase comes to a slow halt when Ximena can no longer sense or visibly detect either criminal. However, the larger body's scent becomes overwhelmingly strong. The other heroes tighten their perimeter around the viper hero, covering as much surface area as possible while arming themselves. Somewhere, hidden amongst a slew of garbage bins and bags, was an elusive criminal unlike any they'd ever encountered.
Ximena slips her fingers apart and draws her arms forward, then lifts her upper half off the concrete, coiling back in a defensive position with her rattle erect. She flicked her tongue in the direction of the debris; there was some hesitancy in making her callout as she wasn't able to identify how they were hiding, and missing such a vital component could cost them; a figure that large couldn't properly hide amongst the neighborhood trash. There wasn't any more time to waste; the odds were in their favor regardless of how they were hiding.
"Spread out!" Ximena shouts, the loudest anyone has ever heard her speak.
Their stomachs dropped; that was the last word they were expecting from Ximena. They miraculously found and cornered one of the criminals, ready to capture them, only to have the opportunity suddenly stripped from them. In that split second, the heroes had no choice but to put their frustrations behind them and act accordingly.
Javier, Todoroki, and Estelle dive in the direction of the street while Mickey and Midoriya help pull Ximena forward; Bakugo grabs Ximena by the base of her tail and, reacting stronger, bunts Midoriya out of his way and quickly shoves him towards the other group. The two parties were abruptly divided by a row of metal spikes that had risen simultaneously from the street despite no indication of activation or appearance.
"R-Run!" Shrieks Ximena, pushing Mickey and Bakugo forward.
Thrusting from invariant concrete, Ximena nearly skewers her tail, saving Bakugo and Mickey, as another sharp row of spikes creates a thicker barrier between groups.
"Guys!" Midoriya hollers.
Estelle forms a thick diamond glove around her fist and breaks the first row of metal shafts narrowly using her full strength, but as the first set of spikes snaps under the hardness of pure, solid carbon, more rows continually rise every second. One after another, Mickey, Bakugo, and Ximena move as fast as either of them were capable of to avoid an unforeseeable, clumsy death. With her arm folded out in front of her, Estelle uses her diamond glove as a battering ram to break through the spikes and attempts to catch up with the three of them as Midoriya, Todoroki, and Javier follow closely behind her. When the spikes ceased launching, the three heroes were backed up against a brick wall.
Mickey wipes the sweat from their forehead with the back of their hand, panting in between breaths, "'The hell kinda trap doors are these?!"
With only two rows of spikes separating them, a metal arch emerges from the solid structure of the building and pins Bakugo, Ximena, and Mickey to the brick wall as the block spins three-sixty degrees and encapsulates the three on the opposite side. As the final row is broken, Estelle catches herself from falling over, standing there in disbelief before Javier crashes into her and bounces off her back, stumbling backward. Midoriya and Todoroki are unable to say anything as they, too, stand there in shock; Javier grabs Estelle's shoulder to steady himself and places his other hand on her opposite shoulder to ground her.
"Ki kaka sa!" Estelle yells at the top of her lungs, resonating from the ground to the rooftops.
Somewhere, in an undisclosed location, Ximena, Mickey, and Bakugo are dropped onto the street from a flash of green light enveloped by pixels, plopping down in a disjointed pile with Mickey and Bakugo entangled in Ximena's thick body and long tail. The streets were eerily silent, and the homes aligning the residential passage appeared unoccupied and recently constructed; the surrounding area didn't strike any familiarity, and the lack of noise suggested they were farther out from where they once were.
Mickey slides out from between two folds of Ximena's tail, with appropriate sound effects tracking every cartoonish movement. "Ain't this a dog's breakfast?"
Ximena pulls down the rim of her sombrero over her face with both hands, sniffling, "It's all my fault. How could I have been so stupid?"
"No worries, mate! If it wasn't for ya', we would'a gone bonkers tryin' to find these dipsticks!"
"Y-You think so…?"
"Sure! Why, I reckon even the mongrel would agree wit' me- wherever he went!"
From beneath Ximena's body, Bakugo pounds the side of his fist against her leathery scales while his mouth is muffled by tough muscle. Regardless of the crushing weight on top of him, his anger would be heard one way or another.
"Ow! Stop biting me!" Ximena yelps, moving her entire body off of him.
"Aargh! Can't any of you idiots do something right?!" Exploded Bakugo.
"Gimme that!" Mickey growled, ripping Bakugo's mouth off of his face, "Ya' can get this back when ya' quit actin' feral!"
Bakugo's mouth lunges toward Mickey and attempts to take a bite out of their face, "Put my mouth back, ya' damn knockoff!"
Mickey grabs their wrist and pulls their arm back, struggling to fight off Bakugo's mouth as Bakugo himself makes threatening gestures at them from the sideline.
Ximena waves her hands out in front of her defensively, "Please stop fighting! W-We need to work together so we can-!"
The contraction of muscles in Ximena's tail causes the hollow, interlocking segments to vibrate against one another, making a rattling noise. Mickey and Bakugo synchronically look back at Ximena, then shift into position around her, standing back to back. They both hurriedly scan the perimeter for incoming danger, but neither one sees or hears anything ominous.
"Talk to us, 'Mena." Mumbles Mickey, "Where are they?"
"And don't wait this time." Growls Bakugo.
"They're… They're everywhere. We're completely surrounded."
Bakugo and Mickey glance at one another, alarmed, then return their focus to their surroundings, unable to fathom what they were just informed.
"Tch, great." Bakugo fumes.
"We can' just go around here swingin'. 'Ow we are suppose'ta fight what we can't see?"
In that split second, neither Mickey nor Bakugo notices the long barrel of a gun aiming through the space between them, and as the surprises continue to pull forward, the criminal behind the disappearances reveals herself in front of the two heroes, running towards them, ready to attack. She was a small girl with tanned skin and threaded cybernetics embedded in her face and hands, long, dark green hair, and dressed in a middle school uniform. As soon as she appears, she disappears as a dart shoots through her forehead and cracks against the concrete, her visage dissipating into a visible green light enveloped by pixels.
Ximena draws her arm back and cocks back the hammer with her thumb, then props open the cylinder with a flick of her wrist.
"I've made too many dumb mistakes today. Because of me, two criminals were able to kidnap three more Pro Heroes."
She rolls the pad of her thumb along the cylinder ratchet until an empty chamber appears, unsheathes a dart from her double bandolier from underneath her poncho, and gently slides the projectile inside.
"I don't like being teased, and I especially don't like being tricked."
The last empty chamber rotates into position, and another dart plunges into the large, cut hole of the cylinder ratchet. In another flit, the cartridge locks into place, and with her thumb back on the hammer, she tilts the mechanism back and forward into the frame.
Her tails firmly wrap around Mickey and Bakugo's ankles, and she pulls them in towards her, raising her gun with her finger away from the trigger, "Stick with me, and I'll cover you."
There's a moment of undivided attention accompanied by silence until Mickey's boisterous reveal of their tasteful vaquero attire and double, toon-adjacent, single-action revolver handguns.
"Yeeeehaw! Looks like we got ourselves a good ol' fashion standoff! Let's show this mongrel 'ow we do things in the West!"
"You think either of you can out-shoot me?! Ha! I don't even need a gun to beat you bozos!" Yells Bakugo, "Hey! What are you waiting for?! Come out and fight us!"
A warm wind brushes through the desolate street, hinting at the upcoming change in seasons as miscellaneous debris rolls against the concrete. The silence, heavy and solemn, keeps the three heroes on their guard, their limbs restless while the tension continues to build around them. Both sides wait for the other to press the attack, keeping each other at a frustrating stalemate that persists longer than necessary. A toe-tapping foot. A finger drumming on the grip of their gun. A row of top teeth rolled over their bottom lip. A shifty glance that follows along the horizon.
Then, a shot. Ximena launches a dart adjacent to her body on her left and directly into the center of the chest of the criminal, who, once more, bursts into a flash of green light enfolded by pixels. The dart crashes into a pile of construction materials and breaks on impact. There's another brief, silent unrest.
"Three o'clock!" Ximena blurts.
Mickey, standing behind Ximena to her right, aims one of their guns in front of them and pulls the trigger, shooting out a stubby cork into the abdomen of the small girl, then disappears into obscurity as the cork bounces off of the wall of a residential building.
"Nine o'clock!"
Bakugo, standing back to back with Mickey and Ximena, raises his arm out in front of him and flattens his palm in the corresponding direction. "Die!" he curses, igniting an explosion from his hand on command. The criminal's presence, like his nitroglycerin blast, gradually vanishes.
"Six o'clock!"
Both Mickey and Bakugo turn their heads to look over their shoulder to see the young girl running towards them. They simultaneously shoot their attacks directly at her and watch as she fades into nothingness. They refocus their attention on Ximena, who shoots another imitation round into a convincing attempt on the criminal's part and pulls the hammer back with her thumb.
"Two o'clock!"
"Seven o'clock!"
"Five o'clock!"
And she just keeps coming. The speed at which she appears gradually increases along with the number of bodies coming towards them, remaining avoidant of any consistency to throw off their cadence. Ximena is no longer able to make proper callouts to Mickey and Bakugo for the amount of foot traffic in their proximity. The criminal diving in from above, in addition to the three-sixty ground attacks, begins to overwhelm all three heroes and fumble over each other; Ximena couldn't reload her gun without a barrage of bodies trying to grab onto her, and she couldn't sink her fangs into was either blasted away by Bakugo or shot by Mickey.
The young criminal became bolder, grabbing onto wrists and digging their short nails into their arms, kicking her toe tips into Ximena's tail as hard as she could; despite the simulated torrent engulfing them, the air grew hot, suffocating, wearing them down faster the longer the illusion drew out. Bakugo's explosions and cussing drew out any incoming sound on top of Mickey's cork gunshots and wacky antics. Elbows were being thrown around and shoulders bumping against one another as Ximena curled her tail tighter around Bakugo and Mickey, and with each dissipation, another body took its place, and the outside world was no longer in sight.
Her chest becomes heavier, her breathing picks up in pace, and the pain felt in her tail and arms shoots through the rest of her body. All of Ximena's senses were deluge, she could no longer appropriately focus on her attacks and only on protecting herself and the others. If Ximena could cry, she would- the overstimulation was just too intense; she was stronger than this, yet she was giving someone much younger than her the advantage for some arbitrary excuse, but Mickey and Bakugo were giving their all; they weren't whining or complaining. They were fighting to see this through to the very end, to win this, so if they weren't giving up, why should she?
'¡Caray, Ximena! ¡Usar tu intuicións!'
And just like that, everything became clear. No longer were her eyes impugn by false visions, and the pulsation of her heart was the only sound rhythmically thumping in her ears. With her keen sense of smell, through her nostrils and quivering tongue, there was that unmistakable scent. Why was her odor suddenly so potent? Then, she feels something, something she hadn't felt in quite some time, not since before they were captured. Was this always the case? No, it couldn't be because what her eyes didn't pick up before was being sensed by her heat-sensing pits. As the contraction of muscles in the tail causes the keratin segments to vibrate against one another, Ximena allows her body to make her next move for her.
Bakugo violently shakes the criminal from his forearm, "Get off me!" He rages, swinging his arm from one side to the other in a swift motion creating a dense wave of explosions, "Quit pissing me off!"
In an aggravating frenzy, Bakugo lashes out with a bombardment of powerful explosions, using his sturdy body as leverage to produce devastating blows that burn through three-dimensional images and mantle the three heroes in condensed smoke. Through the deviating, narrow gaps, a glint of the criminal flashes glaringly in Bakugo's sight as her hand outstretches in his direction with glowing green fingertips.
Before he could lift a finger or finish taking a breath, Ximena's upper body launched forward in front of him and in the face of the young girl. With her mouth completely unhinged throughout her attack, long, healthy fangs came centimeters away from Bakugo's shoulder, and with a gland full of venom, a light splash of toxic substance from her sharp teeth grazed his cheek and burned his skin. Yet, he couldn't move, even when danger was within distance. His body refused to flinch; the hairs on the back of his neck were taut against his collar, and a cluster of goosebumps cascaded up his arms before he exhaled heavily after holding his breath.
A shriek reverberates against the empty residential homes as the criminal rolls back on her heels and falls backward, crumpling onto the street and then curling her body into the fetal position while she quietly sobs.
"Well, well, well, wha' do we have 'ere?" Mickey drawls, swinging around the loop of a lasso, then tossing the rope around the frightened girl, pulling tightly to restrain her. As they pull her solid body along the cement, Mickey hoists her up by the rope, letting her dangle in midair, "Whoo-wee! Ya' reckon this ankle biter'll fetch us a high price? Hehe!"
She sniffles, her entire body sporadically glitching in and out while she remains apprehended, "I'm s-so tired…" Her voice crackles.
"'Ere ya' are, pardner!" Mickey banters, shoving the criminal into Bakugo's arms, "Ya' carry the spoils, an' I'll take McGraw!"
"Huh? Why are you pawning her off on me?!"
With Ximena's thick body in their large, cartoon hands, Mickey slings her length over their shoulders, "Oh, I'm sorry, didn' think ya'd wanna be cuddlin' up ta Desierto after ya' went cactus on 'er!"
"What are you two on about now?" Wearily grumbles Ximena.
"Fine!" Bakugo snaps back, roughly gripping the length of the rope while holding the small girl under his arm. You better not slow me down!"
"Awh, rack off already, will ya'?" Groans Mickey, stretching one leg over a partially finished second story, and uses the other leg to raise themselves and Ximena up over the house.
"What did you say to me?! Hey! I'm talking to you!" Snaps Bakugo, blasting upwards from the bottoms of his feet and his open palm.
In a turmoil of their own, the four remaining heroes were left with more questions than answers, but standing idle in disbelief would only further them from the truth.
Estelle, in a fit of frustration, throws her hands up, "Fout tonè- now what are we supposed to do?!"
"U-Uh, um," Midoriya stammers. "S-Surely, they're just locked inside this house, right? All we have to do is go around the corner, and they'll be walking out the front door, right?!"
"I- don't think so."
"Javier, what are you doing?" Todoroki asks.
As the question passed Todoroki's lips, Javier was already elbow-deep in a pile of trash bags, "Isn't this where Ximena was looking? I thought something didn't seem right."
"I agree." Adds Estelle.
"Me too." Midoriya continues.
Todoroki further inquires, "You think we were tricked again?"
"No," Estelle answers, resting her hands on her hips, "If that were the case, they wouldn't have to go through the trouble of getting rid of Ximena."
Javier nods, "She's right. We're the only ones who can't see them, so when we got too close, they had to split us up."
"That's another thing," begins Midoriya, "When someone becomes invisible, they're not suddenly able to go through objects or walls, and you can still hear them when they make a noise. From what Ximena told us, the criminal we're after is smaller than Endeavor and bigger than Javier; by that description alone, we should've been able to find them by now!"
"Can we be sure about that?" Politely interjects Todoroki, "I'm sorry, but I remember Estelle, Mickey, and Ximena telling us that Rock Lock, Mangle, and the Wild, Wild Pussycats disappeared into the ground, then Endeavor, and now Bakugo, Mickey, and Ximena disappear behind a wall? Doesn't that seem a bit convenient?"
"He does have a point." Grumbles Estelle.
"So if we go by Todoroki's point," Javier wonders, pressing his palm against the brick wall in front of him, "Then the criminal is on the other side of this wall?"
"But the stores are still open. There's no way they'd be able to sneak out without getting caught!"
"Then they're back underground, waiting for our next move." Todoroki cautions.
As the heroes remain anxiously congregating near the residential and commercial garbage, one of the bags Javier previously moved slumps down onto the street with a few pieces of trash tumbling through the closure. Midoriya takes a couple steps forward and bends at the waist to prop the bag back up, and with one hand holding up the opening he uses the other hand to pick up the pieces. Only, as he goes to pick up a banana peel, he could swear the discarded fruit skin just moved. Maybe he was seeing things, but when he looked back to see if anyone else had noticed then back at the trash, the banana peel was farther away! He was sure of it! Midoriya looked at his companions once more; they continued to propose ideas for their next move, then at the peel, and again, the banana wasn't in the same place as before! This back-and-forth persists a few more times until he successfully fakes out the suspicious garbage. Then, in a panic, the banana peel zooms around the corner!
"Everyone! The criminal disguised himself as a banana peel! That's why we couldn't find them!" Midoriya shouts, rallying the three of them together as they immediately spring into action following his lead.
"This better not be another one of their dirty tricks!" Growls Estelle.
With the four heroes now hot on the criminal's tail, the banana peel scuttles across the cement with haste, but even with their focus entirely on the pursuit, they remain oblivious to the true potential of the criminal's quirk.
Midoriya haphazardly stomps his foot forward. His boot descends into cement onto a hidden switch and launches a block of spikes in their direction. The sharp metal narrowly misses Midoriya's face, the tip of the spike coming within millimeters of piercing the cartilage of his nose; Todoroki trips forward and hastily encases the block in a thick layer of ice before any of them can endure serious injuries.
"Shoto!" Estelle yells, crawling underneath the erected trap.
"I'm on it!" Todoroki affirms as he follows her lead.
The disguised criminal shuffles along the wall ahead of them in a seemingly failed attempt to scale the structure, sliding away their rotting peels and hopping forward to gain momentum. Estelle slaps her hands on the brick wall and lacquers the back of the commercial building in diamond. Todoroki, meanwhile, slams both of his hands on the ground and shrouds the streets in a layer of ice as the banana peel stumbles to avoid being frozen. Midoriya and Javier jump ahead of Estelle and Todoroki and slide against the ice on their feet, but as the team returns into formation, Estelle's ankle snags a thin wire going across their path. The four heroes brace for impact from their left side and below, only to discover too late the next trap pouring down on them; seconds after becoming coated in a thick liquid, they slip onto the ice and on top of each other. Their arms and legs fly and collide with one another, heads dropping onto chins and chins plunging into stomachs as they struggle to get up.
Javier brings one hand up to his nose and sniffs, "Cooking oil?!"
"New plan!" Estelle shouts, forming a diamond boot around her foot and striking the ice.
When the ice shatters under the weight of her downward blow, everyone slides off the remaining ice and onto the cement, stumbling to regain their footing while dripping in oil. Despite their mishap, the criminal is within their sights and continues on their path to lose them.
"We're going to have to take things from above!" Asserts Midoriya.
Midoriya, now taking the reigns, cautiously takes a few steps ahead to gain the necessary leverage to reach the rooftop, yet as everyone shuffles behind him, Javier takes one step too many. From beneath the street, the jaws of a bear trap clasp around Javier's leg, the inward spikes excruciatingly dredging into his flesh; though his pain was swift, the shock causes him to gasp and then clasp both his hands over his mouth.
"El Volcán Niño!" Frets Todoroki, rushing to his aide.
"Shoto, wait!" Midoriya shouts.
But he was too late. Although his heart was in the right place, Todoroki's efforts would be rendered void as the next trap came barreling towards him, but Javier wouldn't remain bound and allow that to happen. By sacrificing his leg to the bear trap, he leaps towards Todoroki on one leg and hastily slams his helmet on his head before the log could crush his skull, yet his leg wasn't the only victim to the brutish booby trap; his fingers became a buffer between the log and his helmet, cushioning Todoroki's head further.
For a moment, Midoriya was stunned. The chain of events he witnessed just a few feet away from him was horrifying. With his mind preoccupied by the previous visuals, his body moves without thinking and drops to the ground, but his hesitation delays his reaction time a few seconds too late. Yet, the log misses him entirely, and his body lies flat on the ground, so why did the center of his chest feel tight? He looks down past the log and sees Estelle's hand firmly gripping his hero costume.
"You're lucky my family really likes limbo," Estelle grunts through gritted teeth.
He shifts his focus to Estelle, his eyes wide and mouth agape. Her body angles centimeters from the ground, her ankles lying flat against the cement, her knees bent, and her legs facing outwards.
Javier, diligently navigating a disoriented Todoroki around the log hurdles with the assistance of his quirk, loudly reassures, "Deku! Diamant Noir! We're okay! Don't let them get away!"
"I don't know about you," she breathlessly deduces with a grin, her torso grazing the log above her with every breath, "but I'm tired of playing these games."
After furrowing his brows and giving her an affirming nod, Estelle releases her hand from Midoriya's chest and slides both of her hands to her chest with her palms facing up; she inhales deeply and pushes her hands upwards as she launches a column of diamond, snapping a quarter of the wooden labyrinth in half. Midoriya quickly rolls over to her side and Estelle swings her body over him, forming a ridged shield over them while large pieces of log fall onto them.
"I'll take care of the traps. You go trash that banana." Murmurs Estelle.
"Got it," Midoriya mutters.
Estelle swivels off of Midoriya, both heroes leaping to their feet as he uses black whip to lariat one of the remaining lower logs and launches himself forward while she pivots the blades of her leather boots from her heel to her soles; she digs her cutters into the wood and maneuvers the obstacle before jumping over to the other side. Estelle vigorously raises both arms over her head, then strikes them down between her open legs, creating a solid wave of diamonds that glazes the multiplicity of buildings and side streets. The large crystal structure begins to form stalactites and stalagmites at her will, creating her own unbreakable maze of spikes for Midoriya to weave and leap from. Under the sheer weight of pure carbon allotrope, the booby traps set within the cement and brick infrastructure snap and break, scrapping and folding against her solid guard.
The criminal, merely a few feet from reaching the main street, makes a mad dash for his seamless escape with Midoriya swinging in from above. He relinquishes black whip from his hands and dives onto the street with his arms out, snatching up the banana peel with both of his oily hands.
"Huh?!" Midoriya yelps.
To his surprise, a large, young boy in a middle school uniform clumsily flops forward after metamorphosing from the peel to continue the pursuit on foot. He was already so close that all he needed to do was find some debris on the sidewalk or in the street, and he'd be able to blend in with the environment; even someone's bag or purse would grant him a successful escape. That was until Estelle dropped in from the backline and double kicks his upper back, knocked him down onto the sidewalk without resistance, and then encased him in a full sleeve of diamonds.
"Go ahead, just try and use my diamonds to escape. I dare you." Growls Estelle.
The young criminal grits his teeth as he struggles, but he is unable to move his body from the shoulders down. His efforts ultimately go to waste, and he accepts his captivity, "Dammit…" He mumbles under his breath.
Estelle places her hands on her hips, "Nice job, Deku." She compliments with a tired smile.
"Me?" Midoriya asks, taking his place next to her, "B-But I almost lost him!"
"You slowed him down, though, didn't you? It's not like you were expecting him to uh- slip away."
He shudders, "I feel like I'm wearing all of Japan on my body." As he speaks, Estelle removes a large clump of congealed dirt from Midoriya's hair.
"Oh god," the criminal cringes. Can't you two wait until after I'm gone to start flirting?"
Midoriya and Estelle simultaneously exclaim, their cheeks flushing to varying degrees.
"I-I'm not flirting with him!" Estelle chastises, repeatedly kicking the diamond restraint.
"How could you even think someone like me would have a chance with someone as talented and pretty as her?!" Midoriya loudly splutters, hastily fumbling over his words.
Although their words overlapped, their responses didn't align in length, and Estelle clearly heard Midoriya's self-depicting expression.
"Why would you even say something like that?!" She howls, ceasing her physical objection.
"Because it's true!"
"S-Shut up!" Demands Estelle, gripping his oily hair with both hands and tugging towards her in frustration.
"Sorry!" Whines Midoriya.
While Estelle and Midoriya continue their flustered banter in front of their captured assailant, Jaiver and Todoroki hobble onto the scene, leaning against one another for support.
"Javier, what's going on over there?" Todoroki asks, rubbing his right eye, "I still can't see or hear very well."
"I wouldn't worry too much about it." Jaiver lethargically responds.
"What the hell is with this damn mess?!"
Arriving in the midst of the commotion, Bakugo, Mickey, and Ximena descend over the nearest commercial building to their location with the apprehended girl abiding under Bakugo's arm.
"How hard is it for four heroes to catch one criminal?!" Bakugo further questions.
"A-Airi!" Hollers the boy.
"Hachiro…" Cries the girl.
Bakugo tosses Airi down next to Hachiro Estelle and then attaches her to her larger partner using her quirk. The two middle schoolers appear exhausted and defeated. They're unable to look each other in the eyes indirectly and lack the energy to speak. With the seven of them reunited, they stand mightily yet fatigued over the restrained culprits.
"Alright, ya' brats," Bakugo growls, "what did you do with the Pro Heroes?"
"We don't have to tell you anything!" Hachiro snaps with a click of his tongue.
Estelle rolls her eyes, "Enough with the tough guy act already and just tell us."
"Please don't make things any worse for yourselves." Pleads Midoriya.
"Screw you!"
"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in right now?!" Frets Ximena.
"Don' make me use this!" Drawls Mickey, grabbing Ximena by her waist and tail, then cocks her like a shotgun, sound effects included courtesy of their quirk.
Airi squeals; the notion of once again staring down Ximena's open maw strikes her with visible fear. She recoils as far back as she can and squeezes her eyes shut, cautiously opening them again to reveal her blackened scleras augmenting binary code; the numerical encryption rapidly flashes vertically across her eyeballs until the sequence completes. Appearing between two cars parallel parked against the sidewalk, Endeavor, Rock Lock, the Wild, Wild, Pussycats, and Mangle drop down from an amalgamation of green light and pixels and onto the street in a disheveled pile.
"Ugh, get off me!" Rock Lock groans, "You guys weigh a ton!"
"What did you just say?!" Pixie-Bob yells directly into his ear.
"Are you calling us fat?!" Accuses Mandalay, grabbing onto his hair with her paw gloves and pulling.
"Watch the hair! Watch. The. Hair!"
"Ladies, please!" Whines Tiger, "You're digging your knees into my stomach- Mff!" His mouth suddenly becomes muffled by Mangle's tail.
"This is each and every one of you people's fault! Are you that incompetent as Pro Heroes that you can't apprehend two children?!" Endeavor thunderously condemns.
Mangle, nearly inches from Endeavor's face, opens her loosely articulated jaw wide with a hiss, presenting her orange, serrated teeth and oozing red saliva while rearing closer to his neck and clawing into his chest. Her species, known for their vicious attacks and neurotoxic bites, would kill him in seconds, and he was completely aware of the fact as he hustled to get loose.
"They came back and immediately started arguing..." Javier laments, their arguing continuing next to them.
Todoroki achingly bends towards Airi while gripping Javier's arm, bringing his other hand up to the corner of his mouth away from the Pro Heroes. "Hey, you can take that one back if you want, " he whispers, pointing at Endeavor.