Mizuki and Satoru weren't sure what they expected. Saitama had described the House of Evolution's members as human-animal hybrids. Such an image ranged from a girl with cat ears and a tail to an alligator that walked on its hind legs. How far did these non-humans go into either side of the spectrum?
Well, as the duo discovered, it was the animal side. Although most of the group was bipedal like humans, they were still a collective of highly intelligent beasts. That wasn't an insult or unfavorable opinion formed by Mitsuki and Satoru. How else were you supposed to refer to an anthropomorphic lion that possessed the musculature needed to flatten you like a tin can being stomped?
However, to the duo's surprise, the non-humans seemed just as nervous as them. As the S-Class heroes finished getting things ready for the day, Mizuki, Satoru, and the House of Evolution relaxed in the lobby of the apartment building. The idea was to get introductions and greetings out of the way so there wouldn't be any awkwardness. Yet, as of now, no one had made the first move.
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SMACK
Satoru and the House of Evolution were startled. With no warning, Mizuki slapped herself with both hands.
"What're we doing?!" Mizuki questioned, now looking at everyone with FIERCE determination. "Who knows how much time we have with all of S-Class working together! We need to huddle up now!" She exclaimed.
"Huh, she makes a good point..." Carnage Kabuto muttered before pointing at himself with his thumb. "Since I'm both the strongest AND the best-looking of the group, I'll go-"
"Snrkt."
That was the sound of someone stifling a laugh. The beetle-man snapped his neck in the direction it came from, to which he found a certain mole covering his mouth.
"Shi-" Groud Dragon couldn't even finish his curse. A pair of brown hands clamped onto the burrower's neck and started shaking him.
"Ignore that..." Armored Gorilla sighed as Beast King and Kamakyuri intervened. "It's pretty typical for Kabuto to let his anger get the better of him, but he only acts that way with us." He explained.
"It's fine! Really!" Mizuki assured him. "I've been around a few braggarts within the Association, so I've seen what happens when a short fuse gets lit," She said, clapping her hands afterward. "Anyway, let's start with you, then. What's your name?" She asked.
"Armored Gorilla. However, before you think to comment, you should know that before One Punch Man became, well, that, we were originally intended to be weapons. As such, our creator didn't give us normal names then. We were simply referred to by what we are. But now that we're becoming heroes and are encouraged to grow as people by our creator, we've been considering our options. Armored Gorilla will become my hero name." Armored Gorilla answered.
"Ooo!" Mizuki reacted with wide eyes. She'd never interacted with non-humans before, so everything about this interaction was incredible to her. "Satoru, are you writing all this down?" She inquired while looking toward her partner.
"Already done," Satoru proudly replied with a quick click of his pen. There was a small notebook with a black cover in his left hand.
"Excellent! We're already top-notch reporters!" Mizuki proclaimed with a grin. "So, if Armored Gorilla is going to become your hero name, have you decided what will replace it as your actual name?" She asked, returning to the interview.
"Yes. I can't speak for the others on whether they've decided or not, but I've selected Atomu as my new regular name." Armored Gorilla answered.
"Atomu. Got it." Satoru said, scribbling the name down.
"Hey, guys, are you done?" Atomu inquired, looking over his shoulder at the rest of the group.
"Hmph, that depends on the peanut gallery," Carnage Kabuto grunted with his arms crossed. Ground Dragon was busy rubbing his neck while Beast King stood between the two.
"Don't give me such easy setups then!" Ground Dragon exclaimed, feeling no fear are any further violence to his colorful comments.
"Guys, we're on limited time..." Atomu reminded them.
"Allow me," Kamakyuri requested, taking the initiative by stepping forward. "I am Kamakyuri. I'm the sole member of our organization who was given an actual name rather than a cool-sounding moniker. I've not been able to choose what my hero name will be. I might leave that up to the Association." He informed them.
"Eh, I'd be careful," Mizuki warned as Satoru wrote. "Sometimes you get what you wanted, like the two of us. But there are instances where heroes receive a name that they either get used to or try to get changed. If it's the latter, then it's a whole process that involves what rank you are and a LOT of other details. In short, it's a hassle." She told him.
"Hmm, I'll keep that in mind," Kamakyuri responded, appreciative of the advice.
"I'm Frog Man. I'm pretty happy with that, so I won't change it for when I'm an official hero. As for my new real name, I've decided on Fujiro." The amphibious ninja informed them, keeping the momentum going.
"Ground Dragon for the hero name, Genjiro for the other one," The wise-cracking mole chimed in. "And that ugly prick's Carnage Kabuto. Like Kamakyuri, he hasn't settled on a name yet." He added while pointing at the beetle-man.
"HEY! YOU RUINED MY INTRODUCTION!" Carnage Kabuto yelled, lunging at Genjiro. Fortunately, there was a wall of beefy feline between the two.
"My names are Beast King and Bunji. I want to be a hero that makes my creator proud and shows the world what the House of Evolution is capable of. Sadly, I think I'll be too busy working as a babysitter." Beast King introduced himself, ending with a sigh. Genjiro and Carnage Kabuto devolved once more into a verbal joust while he acted as the referee.
Excluding the bickering between the mole and the beetle, an unexpected silence took the air. Mizuki and Satoru looked at the last member who was present, but he didn't seem to want to speak.
"...Oh!" Atomu exclaimed, realizing what was happening. "Slugerous can't speak verbally. He's an Esper, so he communicates telepathically. If you're not hearing him right now, he's probably staying quiet to avoid scaring you." He revealed.
"Wow! That's amazing! I've never had the opportunity to be around an Esper before!" Mizuki replied. Her eyes were sparkling, and she stared at Slugerous with the same gaze that a child would when looking at Santa.
"Well then, I'm honored to be the first. I hope my appearance doesn't unsettle you." Slugerous spoke, making her gasp.
"AH! YOU'RE SO COOL!" Mizuki shouted, unable to stop herself from running over. "Also, you're not scary at all! Surprising, sure, but you have really pretty colors and these eye-catching spines on your back. You'll be a BIG hit with children." She carried on.
"You...think so?..." Slugerous questioned, finding that hard to believe.
"Absolutely! Children love heroes who are wilder than others. Honestly, the entire House of Evolution is going to hit the ground running!" Mizuki promised.
"Whoa, let's calm down," Satoru interjected, stepping forward. "We still need to conduct proper interviews with you guys after we get footage from your training today. The best method to ensure there's as little hesitation as possible when you're revealed is by providing the fullest picture of yourselves that you can." He stated.
"On that, we're agreed." Atomu joined in. "However, you'll need to wait until later for our other two members. Their names are Mosquito Girl and Kombu Infinity. They had to stay at our base alongside their mentor, Zombieman, due to urgent business." He informed them.
"Oh? Is everything okay?" Mizuki asked. The sincerity of her concern was surprising but appreciated.
"As far as we know, yes. Doctor Genus, our creator, assured us that it wasn't anything important. The urgency of the issue was solely about Mosquito Girl and Kombu Infinity. Likely, it had to do with Mosquito Girl's probation, which I'm afraid I can't get into as that's a sizable story in itself." Atomus answered.
"Gotcha. It sounds personal, so we won't pry," Mizuki responded.
"Hey!"
A sudden exclamation came from the entrance. When the group looked to find the source, they saw the S-Class hero Metal Bat standing there.
"We're all set to go. The others finished making the adjustments they felt were necessary." Bad announced.
"Hell yeah! Let's get to it!" Carnage Kabuto cheered, raring to show his stuff while also impressing Superalloy Darkshine.
"Hold on, cool your jets." Bad instructed before pointing at Mizuki and Satoru. "You two, come out here, there's one more face you gotta meet," He told them.
"Oh? Who is it?" Satoru inquired as the duo approached.
Metal Bat didn't say anything as the two heroes went outside. Immediately, the pair came to a stop as a colossal canine confronted them.
"This here's Pochi. He's Saitama's new dog." Bad said, acting as though this weren't insane.
Mizuki and Satoru were temporarily stunned. As each of them stared at Pochi, he stared back with six glowing red eyes. Weirdly enough, you could discern that he was trying to say hello with his gaze.
A Few Minutes Later, At The Heart Of Ghost Town...
After the shockwave of seeing a Kaiju dog subsided, everyone headed to where the tasks for today would begin. During the trek, Mizuki swiftly came to love Pochi in a manner not too dissimilar from when Mosquito Girl had done the same while her head was in the clouds. If Satoru hadn't stopped her, the Olympic athlete might've vaulted onto Pochi's back for a short ride. Alas, that would need to wait for now.
When the destination was reached, the group discovered a more ceremonial scene than they had anticipated. There was an actual starting line for the participants to line up at. Several of Metal Knight's drones were ready to act as cameramen to record the efforts on display. Obviously, the collected footage would be given to Mizuki and Satoru later for tomorrow's broadcast.
"Ngh, man..." Mizuki whined when they stopped walking. "Seeing this gets my competitor's spirit going. Could I join in, maybe?" She requested.
"Sorry, but no," King replied. Since he was the temporary leader, he felt as though he should handle things like this so as not to appear slacking. "We're conducting today's activities to assess the progress of the trainees." He told her.
"Right, yeah..." Mizuki sighed. She wasn't really upset or bothered at all. She was just a natural-born sports fanatic. So, whenever there was something that resembled that, no matter how microscopically, she wanted to be included.
"So, what's up first?" Bunji asked as the House of Evolution got into place. Genos, who was also being assessed, was already in position.
"Your first activity is a hero test. However, that's not to imply it's like the hero exams we conduct when people enlist. You'll be racing through all of Ghost Town with your guiding posts being more drones with easily seen holographic signs. At designated locations, you'll run into situations that you need to resolve. There will be enough of these scenarios at the locations for you to handle them independently. No one is permitted to work together, even if you share a mentor. The objectives you need to complete will be self-explanatory by the situations presented. However, you ARE being evaluated on multiple criteria that will not be disclosed until the end. We have not set a time limit for the completion of this activity since we know all of you will finish within two hours, maybe sooner. As a final note, although I used the term racing to describe your pace, do NOT treat this as a contest. If you're able to resolve the problems we've given you efficiently, then that is commendable. But speed, although acknowledged, is not among the most important things we're paying attention to." King answered. Within the safety of his mind, he expressed amazement that he managed to remember all that without any issues. "Are there any questions?" He inquired.
The House of Evolution shook their heads, as did Mizuki and Satoru. A few more seconds were spent ensuring that everyone was ready and everything was prepared. As for Pochi, he sat beside Mizuki, which she loved.
"Metal Knight, whenever you're ready," King said. A moment later, a drone moved itself to be in the participants' view.
"On your mark..." Metal Knight began, making his drone's optic turn red. "Get set..." He continued as the optic turned yellow.
FWOOSH
A terrifyingly powerful blast of wind assaulted everyone from above. Arms were raised to shield the faces as hair and clothes were blown wildly. The gale was strong enough to make the buildings crack, and any glass within the impact radius shatter. Reactively, Pochi moved to shield Mizuki and Satoru with his body as shards rained from above.
Before anyone said anything, everybody looked to the sky to see what had happened. Since the wind had come from above, some of the S-Class heroes considered the unexpected arrival of the Skyfolk. I mean, crazier things HAVE happened. So, if it were the Skyfolk, then it wouldn't be-
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From the group's perspective, the world and all within it became frozen. Nothing about today had been ominous in the slightest. The sky was a beautiful blue with very few clouds in sight. Even the most paranoid and superstitious souls wouldn't have felt a disturbance.
Yet, a disturbance did come. Instantly, as though it had been teleported here, a meteor now hovered above City Z. Yes, hovered was the right descriptor. The titanic rock didn't move at all. It just...floated.
Everyone's hearts were racing. Simultaneously, their minds were momentarily blank from the shock. Even the most confident or composed among S-Class had no idea what was going on or what the first reaction should be. Say something. Do something. Look at the others. Etc.
But then, as if to encourage the group to move, the meteor started plummeting. The descent was normal, which was the only thing in this situation that was. The size of the rock was enough to destroy all of City Z. The destruction that would result from the impact was much worse.
"EVERYONE!" King yelled at the top of his lungs, his voice breaking the others free from their stasis. "WE CAN'T JUST STAND HERE! WE NEED TO DO SOMETHING!" He ordered.
Yeah! King was right! Hearing a rallying cry from their leader got S-Class back in order. Of course, that included everyone's attitudes.
"Don't worry, I've got this," Tatsuamki said, gracefully lifting herself into the air. "A big rock isn't anything to worry about. Where do you want me to put it, King?" She inquired.
"Uh...I guess...near the mountains..." King decided, a bit unprepared for the world's most powerful Esper to handle this by herself, even if that was logical. "Is that okay, Silver Fang?" He asked, now looking at the martial arts master.
"Of course, so long as it's not near my dojo." Bang answered.
"Gotcha. Steer clear of Gramp's dojo." Tatsumaki noted before flying higher.
Man, the Tornado of Terror was a blessing. Although everyone was still panicked from the suddenness of the meteor's appearance, they felt a wave of calm wash over them. Even the most stubborn members of S-Class, like Metal Bat or Flashy Flash, couldn't deny how nice it was to have Tatsumaki on their team. Who else could handle a meteor as though it were nothing?
Once she was ready, Tatsumaki stopped flying and focused on the meteor. Without exerting any effort, the rock was encased in a grew light. Now, all she needed to do was-
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The green light was gone. Did Tatsumaki lose her grip? No, that's stupid. Likely, she just underestimated the full size of this thing. So, with a correction made, she-
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"Hey!" King called from below. "Is everything alright? The meteor is still falling." He mentioned.
Tatsumaki did respond. Her eyes remained fixed on the meteor. A second later, she raised her left arm and opened her hand. Enough was enough.
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Nothing. Tatsumaki couldn't feel the meteor at all. The cause wasn't her powers failing since she'd be plummeting to Earth if that were the case. Something was blocking her, which had NEVER happened before.
In reaction, Tatsumaki erected a barrier around the city. It was the first thing that came to her mind. Normally, she'd make any barriers transparent as they were cast. But because Tatsumaki was experiencing something completely alien to her, everyone saw the dome of green energy that she manifested.
"What the? Hey!" Bad exclaimed, looking all around them. "What're you doing?! Why'd you raise a shield?!" He inquired.
"...No...it can't be..." Slugerous spoke to everyone's minds except for Tatsumaki's.
"Slugerous? What's going on? Can you sense something since you're an Esper as well?" Atomu guessed as all eyes fell onto the slug.
"Tornado...can't use her powers on the meteor..." Slugerous revealed, worsening everyone's already rattled emotions.
"What?! How?!" Isamu questioned.
"I...I'm not on her level...so...maybe I'm wrong...but...it feels like an even greater power than hers is influencing the meteor...I can sense something coming from it..." Slugerous shared.
"If that's true, then we need to stop standing around!" Bad exclaimed as he pointed his weapon at the descending rock. "That big-ass boulder's going to break apart when it hits Tornado's shield, assuming that it doesn't just pass right through! If we don't stop it, then City Z is getting totaled!" He told them.
Unfortunately, Metal Bad was making perfect sense. If Tatsumaki's powers were ineffective against the meteor for whatever reason, then there was the harrowing possibility that her barrier was worthless. The rest of S-Class needed to-
"STAY PUT." A booming voice roared within the group's minds. It didn't take any amount of thinking to deduce the origin.
"HEY! PINT-SIZED! SUCK IT UP!" Bad spat back at her. "YOU'RE NOT DOING ANYTHING, WE CAN'T JUST-"
"MAKE ONE MOVE, AND I SEND YOU TO THE SOUTH POLE!" Tatsumaki threatened. It wouldn't be hard for her to send the rebellious youth into the ground and make him pop out on the other side.
Before anyone could offer additional protests, the Tornado of Terror showed them why she was respected and feared. The world's greatest Esper surrounded herself with violently surging streams of psychic energy. Essentially, she surrounded herself with a neon green drill. Then, when the energy reached its top speed, she aimed herself at the meteor and took off like a well-aimed bolt fired from a ballista.
Like with anything else, psychic powers had properties. Even if, hypothetically, there was a stronger force of ESP controlling the meteor, that didn't mean Tatsumaki was helpless. All she needed to do was strike a single spot with a greater concentration of energy than that location possessed. Hence, that's what the drill is for.
If there were a sentient entity responsible for this trickery, Tatsumaki would execute her counterattack faster than they could react. From when she took off to when it was over, only a few seconds had gone by. With a satisfied smile, Tatsumaki looked down at her handiwork.
There was a cleanly cut hole straight through the meteor. As she traveled, Tatsumaki forced her power into the rock's body. She banked on there being no obstructions on the inside, and she was right. With but a wave of her hand, this spontaneous disaster was averted.
BOOM
The meteor was detonated from within. Whatever prevented Tatsumaki from influencing it was no more. She easily snagged every fragment, no matter the size, preventing any potential damage to City Z. As you might've predicted, she was very proud of herself.
"HA! WHAT NOW, BAT-FOR-BRAINS?!" Tatsumaki taunted as she looked at the group. "WHAT WERE YOU SAYING, HUH? THAT I COULDN'T DO ANYTHING? THAT WAS IT, WASN'T IT?" She continued.
FWOOSH
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It happened again. From the group's perspective, the world froze like before. Yet, the gust that assaulted the Earth was even more powerful than the last. The only one who didn't know why was Tatsumaki, and that was due to her back facing the sky.
Slowly, the Tornado of Terror turned around to see what the others did. In the atmosphere, pointed at City Z, were multiple meteors. Like the first, they came from nowhere. Additionally, they didn't fall right away as well. But when they did, everyone wished that they hadn't.
When space was created by the meteors' fall, more arrived to take their place. The speed at which these celestial rocks were delivered could not be tracked by normal eyes. Even those that were mechanically enhanced, such as Drive Knight or Genos, struggled to observe the rate at which these things moved. Of course, that wasn't on anyone's mind right now.
Whatever was happening went beyond a natural disaster and the isolated devastation of City Z. If all of these meteors and however many more there were made contact with the planet, it would be cataclysmic. But as those who were on the ground broke free from their shock and sprang into motion, Tatsumaki remained where she was. It was no longer a theory that something prevented her from controlling the first meteor. She could feel something far beyond the Earth and its boundaries. If asked to describe it, she'd say it felt like a black hole.