Disclaimer:
My Hero Academia was created by Kohei Horikoshi. Shin Megami Tensei was created by Atlus. This story uses plot elements and characters from them.
The Quirk War
By: RB3
Demonic Crisis Ch 4: Invasion
At the Foundation Domain, a Star Spawn reported to Abel and the Spade Mercs at the central ziggurat. "Lord Abel, a demonic army has appeared on the north and west sides of Mustafar. The northern force is moving towards the clinic while the western one is moving towards the park," reported the Star Spawn.
Concern filled Abel's face. "It's happening and sooner than I expected," remarked Abel.
"They were bound to hit back after we trashed their Atma factory and their Perpetual Reactor," said Atsuro.
"What do we do? Everyone's going to notice hundreds of demons fighting around the city!" asked Yuzu.
"I don't think we can prevent that, nor should we try. All we can do is repel the demons," admitted Atsuro.
"Prepare defences," commanded Abel.
"Yes my lord," replied the Star Spawn.
At the north side of Mustafar, a hundred demons soared through the sky on a southward path. They were a force of Chaos demons such as Murmur and Gagyson who were capable of flight. The aerial forces of the Spade Mercs departed from hidden Domain entrances and met the enemy halfway. The defenders consisted of Legion, Rocs, and Fairy demons among others. One of the Rocs met with a Murmur and began shooting spikes at it. The Murmur quickly put up a barrier of violet light to block the attack.
"BOOM! BOOM!" went the sky as explosions resounded through the air from the battle of the demons.
A Spade Merc Roc got set on fire and plummeted into the centre of an intersection filled with cars and people. The impact punched a crater into the asphalt with the shock waves shattering glass and flipping cars upside down. The Roc perished and broke apart into motes of Magatsuhi. Above, a Legion came behind a Murmur and sprayed poisonous violet gas. Murmur accidentally inhaled and gagged on it. His vision started to blur and dizziness took hold. He fell off of his Griffin and crashed next to the crater, where he broke apart into motes of Magatsuhi himself.
The Foundation's demon hunters appeared on the street next to the clinic, then charged northward into battle. On the other side, a horde of demonic foot soldiers marched towards the clinic. Altered Beast Werewolf bounded from roof to roof until he saw the first group of demons enter a busy intersection. Dozens of panicking people fled the area in the wake of their advance. Beast pounced onto a Leonard in the back of the formation. After a few quick, Lunar Claw swipes, he had slain the goat-like demon.
"Over there!" cried a Decarabia, pointing to Beast.
The other demons turned to attack him, forcing Beast to leap away to evade their shots. Metal Gear landed on a roof overlooking the pack, then sprayed their ranks with magnesium powder. The powder burst into flame and emitted bright light which blinded and staggered the demons momentarily. Plant Zombie made vines sprout from the ground. They lashed out and snatched members of the pack, holding them helpless for his allies. Beast surged forward in a Lunar Kick which pierced through an Ose and a second Leonard fatally.
In the air, one of the Murmur slipped past the Spade Merc line and made a beeline for the clinic. Ball lightning crackled forward from his hand and tore through the clinic roof down to the ground floor, where it exploded. The clinic collapsed instantly resulting in the destruction of its Domain entrance. "YEAH!" cheered the demons of Chaos.
"Our clinic is gone!" cried Yuzu, mouth agape witnessing the event from a screen in the ziggurat.
West of Mustafar Park, the demons advanced on the Spade Mercenary headquarters. An army of Spade Merc demons ranging from Star Spawn to Fairy demons met the second horde at the centre of an intersection. Bolts of energy and elements flew back and forth as the factions exchanged fire. Further west, behind the Chaos line, a squadron of helicopters awash in golden flame stopped over a set of roofs. Ropes came out the open sides and dozens of similarly glowing, Airborne troops rappelled onto the buildings.
The soldiers took positions near the edge, where they could see the enemy demons just below. Their guns banged and flashed repeatedly as they unloaded into the demons' vulnerable rear. In three seconds, dozens of demons had fallen to their fire, before any of their surviving comrades realized what had happened. "They're on the roof!" cried an Ose, pointing in the direction of the Airborne troops.
As soon as he pointed them out, a bullet struck him in the head and felled him. More demons fell to the Airborne troops' fire, but the demons began hurling elemental blasts and bolts back at the roof. The enemy's attacks soared by, spooking some of the soldiers into ducking behind the edge's parapet for cover. When it was safe, they emerged to resume shooting. "Keep firing men! We've got them on the ropes!" cried the Airborne squad commander.
At police stations all around Mustafar City, the phones of dispatchers rang endlessly with calls from terrified citizens reporting on the demonic war. Sirens rang out through the streets as police and emergency services rushed to provide aid wherever they could. Tsukauchi was in one of these cars, driving along with a partner when he noticed a Decarabia gathering flame into a ball on the top of a wrecked car.
The Decarabia was aiming for them! "GET OUT OF THE CAR!" cried Tsukauchi.
Tsukauchi and his partner hastily dove out of the still moving vehicle just moments before the fireball burst through the windshield. Their car exploded in a loud boom as it flipped into the air. Tsukauchi and his partner remained on the ground, covering their heads as the flaming wreckage of their car landed on the road. The Decarabia left, satisfied at the destruction it had wrought.
"Crap!" cursed Tsukauchi as he looked up and saw the flaming wreckage of his car billow smoke into the air.
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At the west side of Mustafar, pro heroes had arrived on the scene to quell the vicious battles on the streets of the city. The first on the scene were the Lurkers, which consisted of Mt. Lady, Kamui Woods, and the ninja-like Edgeshot as the experienced heroes. They were accompanied by Denki Kaminari, Minoru Mineta, and Hanta Sero, all students of Class 1A of UA High.
The next to reach the scene was the Flame Hero, Endeavour, who was joined by his son, Shoto Todoroki, and by Katsuki Bakugo, both students of Class 1A. After them came Ryukyu in the form of a dragon wearing a burgundy cheongsam. She was accompanied by Ochako Uraraka, the frog-like Tsuyu Asui, and the bubbly Nejire Hado. The pro heroes and their sidekicks approached a squad of Spade Mercenary demons consisting of Star Spawn, various Fairies, and Legion who were firing at demons from the Chaos faction.
Bakugo looked over the creatures fighting and wondered if there was something wrong with his eyes. "What the hell are those things?" asked Bakugo.
"EW! Those ones with all the faces look gross!" remarked Hado in reference to the Legion.
"Some of them look like cute little fairies!" chirped Uraraka upon seeing the Pixies and other fairies.
"Even so, don't underestimate them just because they're cute," warned Asui.
All of the people with ranged attacks from Hado to Endeavour and Kamui Woods hurled their Quirks at the distracted demons. To their surprise, their attacks simply passed through, but had the unfortunate effect of drawing the attention of the demons to them. One of them, a Star Spawn, lashed its tentacle-like right arm at the group, forcing them to scatter to avoid being struck.
Uraraka sneaked to the Star Spawn's rear and attempted to touch it and trigger her Quirk, but her hand just passed through the creature's right leg like it was air! "I missed?" she asked incredulously.
"They're just like Togata! There's no way we can touch them," warned Hado.
"Then how do we beat them then?" asked Uraraka, perplexed by the failure of their attacks.
"I don't know," replied Hado, at a loss for how to affect the demons.
At the Foundation Domain, the Spade Mercs watched with mouths agape at the events which played out on a holographic screen at the ziggurat. "Pro heroes? They're attacking our demons!" reported Yuzu.
Abel, who was with her, shook his head as he lowered it. "I'm heading out to send them packing," said Abel.
"Don't hurt 'em too much. They're just trying to protect people!" warned Midori.
Abel vanished in a flicker of blue light and reappeared on the streets of Mustafar. Rosa the Alraune approached him. She was a demon who resembled a naked, redheaded woman who jutted out from the centre of a giant rose. "Lord Abel, pro heroes are randomly attacking our forces and the enemy! They aren't doing us any harm, but they're bogging us down," reported Rosa.
"Don't worry about them. I'll send them packing. Focus on the Chaos demons," said Abel.
Rosa bowed. "It will be done my lord," replied Rosa, who left to relay the orders of the King of Bel.
Abel teleported to where the pro heroes were and saw Endeavour jetting flame at a Star Spawn, who had been surrounded by pro heroes and their sidekicks. "Leave them to me and focus on the Chaos forces. I'll remove the pro heroes," Abel told the Star Spawn.
"Aye my lord," replied the Star Spawn.
Bakugo smiled to finally have found the leader of the demons. "So these monsters have a master and you're him," remarked Bakugo from behind.
Abel turned to face Bakugo. "Ah! Katsuki Bakugo... I know you. I saw you at the Sports Festival," said Abel.
"These monsters may be invincible, but if I take you down, these monsters won't have a leader anymore!" proclaimed Bakugo.
"You say that as if I'll be a cakewalk. Aren't you underestimating me just a little? Remember, I was the one who killed All For One. You're nothing compared to him," warned Abel.
Bakugo scowled at Abel before detonating a massive explosion his way. It kicked up a great volume of smoke, but when it cleared, Abel was still there and apparently unharmed. Abel retorted by thrusting a tsunami his way. Bakugo got bowled over and swept away by the massive torrent of water. Bakugo attempted to generate another explosion to bounce away, but found that the water diluted his sweat and reduced its power to barely a spark. Abel thrust another tsunami his way, and though Bakugo got swept back, he quickly grabbed the side of a window to avoid being dragged further down the street.
"Don't rush in! That's the Immortal Stranger! He killed the villain at Kamino!" warned Endeavour.
Suddenly, a mass of ice froze the Stranger solid! Soon after, he absorbed it into his being. Abel turned to the source, seeing Todoroki arriving at the intersection with other heroes. Abel twirled his finger, churning a massive watery maelstrom into being. The waters swept around Todoroki until he managed to grab a parked car and hold on. Ryukyu managed to ascend to avoid the whirlpool, but Mao suddenly pounced onto her back and chopped her with his sign. As he leapt off, Ryukyu fell into the maelstrom, getting caught in its churning currents.
Asui had also been caught in the waters, but managed to swim out through the bottom, despite the swirling water making progress slow and difficult. Abel noticed her emerge and promptly sprayed her with freezing water, which solidified into an imprisoning block of ice around her. Its chill touch sapped the heat from her and caused her to fade into a state of hibernation. Endeavour shot fire at him from above, but Abel sidestepped and lashed a vine around his neck. As Endeavour struggled to remove the vine, it forked and caught Kamui Woods, Hado, and Kaminari as they came over to assist. He then flung all of them into the maelstrom.
Bakugo returned to challenge Abel, but Scarlet suddenly appeared out of nowhere and blasted him with flame! Bakugo quickly stepped back, but Abel's vine caught his legs and yanked him down. After a quick flick, Abel had tossed him into the maelstrom. Abel produced more vines and caught the remaining pro heroes, then tossed all of them into the maelstrom. Lightning crackled out of Mao's paw to the churning water, jumping from person to person and to object. Abel then froze the water, trapping everyone in place.
Sensing danger from above, Abel quickly put his hand up, catching someone's foot as it came down on his head for an axe kick. That foot belonged to Mirko the Rabbit Hero, the sixth highest ranked hero according to the current Japanese Billboard Chart. After a quick yank, he had pulled her onto the ground. His ice let out a breathy howl as it encased Mirko's leg and spread up to her torso, then to the rest of her limbs until she was completely covered. Abel then tossed the helpless Mirko aside.
At that moment, a new hero arrived, landing on the street with a massive thud. "I am here to stop you, villain!" said the new pro hero, All Might himself, the highest ranked on the Japanese Hero Billboard Chart.
"So you are," replied Abel upon turning to confront him.
"You are causing bedlam with your creatures' battles in the city. I will bring you to justice!" said All Might, pointing to Abel.
"If you think I'm here to wreck the city, you're sadly mistaken. We are only defending our territory from invaders. Please leave immediately," warned Abel.
"I can't do that, not after seeing this. If you won't come quietly, then we'll do this the hard way," said All Might, cracking his knuckles.
Abel was unfazed. "Have you forgotten that I was the one who felled your nemesis, All For One? I can fell you just as easily, but we have no quarrel with you, All Might, or the city. This is your last chance to walk away. If you refuse, I will remove you by force," warned Abel.
"Not a chance! You must be brought to justice!" replied All Might.
Abel sighed. "So be it, Symbol of Peace," he replied.
"Carolina Smash!" announced All Might, who dashed forward to perform a cross chop against Abel. To his surprise, he had passed through Abel like he was air and caused no noticeable harm with the move.
Abel turned around and retorted by thrusting a tsunami at All Might. Washed backward, All Might righted himself and dug into the ground to stop his backward motion. "Nebraska Smash!" announced All Might. He made a fist and spun it in a circle rapidly, creating a massive tornado through the motion. Instead of being blown away, Abel gathered all of the wind into a ball between his cupped hands. As he reared back, Abel added his own power to it, then thrust the Nebraska Smash back at All Might, flinging him far into the horizon.
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Back at the Domain, members of the Foundation who were not full demon hunters yet waited in the training centre, which was being guarded by Girimehkala and a few other Spade Mercenary demons. "Don't worry kids. The Spade Mercenaries and demon hunters are on the scene. They'll take care of the bad demons," assured Girimehkala.
"I hope this is over soon. I don't want to be trapped here all night," said Sho.
Girimehkala detected a hostile presence approaching the training centre. "Demons coming here. I'm going out to stop them," said Girimehkala.
He went outside and transformed into his full elephantine form. He charged ahead and came upon a Murmur who had slipped into the Domain, past the battle lines outside. The Murmur hurled wind at Girimehkala, who braced for the impact and took it without flinching. The one-eyed elephant emitted a curse as dark ripples from his eye. The Murmur lost sensation in his limbs and body. Girimehkala charged into the paralyzed Murmur and trampled him underfoot.
Back at the training centre, Eri saw masses of pixelated light emerge from the ground and gasped. They took on the form of Gagyson and started to hurl ball lightning at the civilians. "EEE!" screamed Inko as she fled the attacks, letting them burst on impact with the ground behind her.
The Fairy Titania, a barefooted elven woman in a green dress, put barriers over the people to protect them. Wind swooshed from Titania towards the Gagyson, shredding it in a single attack. Another Gagyson fired upon Eri, who raised a golden barrier to protect herself. She retorted with a holy beam through the Gagyson and killed it. "I got him! I beat a demon!" cheered Eri, thrusting her little fists into the air.
"Keep your wits about you. They're still coming!" warned Titania.
Sho became the Darkening Cloud and hurled a blast of ice at another Gagyson, which froze instantly upon being struck. It fell out of the sky and shattered upon hitting the ground. Momentarily safe from the fighting, Inko looked back and saw that Sho and Eri had both defeated demons on their own. "The kids are fighting too and here I am running around like a chicken without its head. I'm supposed to be the adult here!" she remarked.
Now finally calm, Inko became the Space Harrier hawk and went back to join the fight. A ball lightning came at her, which she promptly evaded. She flew above the Gagyson and riddled it with holes from her shots. The demon gave out and collapsed on the ground. A Wild Hunt and Gear of War unloaded ammunition from their weapons and tore through the rest of the Gagyson, saving the group from further attack. "That was close," said one of the hunter ghosts of the Wild Hunt.
"Is everyone okay?" asked Gear of War.
"Yeah. Everyone seems fine," replied Eri.
Outside, the Spade Merc demons had gained the upper hand as the Chaos demons dwindled in number. Abel blasted a Murmur with water, which crackled as it froze into a block of ice around his body. The Murmur toppled over and shattered into countless pieces. After enough losses, the rest of the Chaos demons decided to flee. The Spade Mercs' demons returned to their Domain in the park to recover and rebuild from this devastating attack.
"What is our current status? How much damage did we sustain?" Abel asked his demons through a telepathic link as he walked to the colosseum.
"We lost about 200 demons in our forces, but we caused three times that in losses to the enemy. We also lost our clinic in East Mustafar," reported Rosa through the link. "Most of the damage from that attack had been taken by the city itself. About three dozen city blocks in Mustafar had sustained damage from the fighting."
Midori let out a sigh of relief. "It was rough, but we made it," said Midori.
The Foundation's demon hunters all arrived at the colosseum. Though all looked quite fatigued and had some minor scratches, they were largely fine. Yuzu started healing them with magic, casting bright white light over their wounds. "It got hectic, but we drove the demons away," said Manami.
"Good work, guys! We all need a rest after that," said Midori.
Outside on the streets of Mustafar, the authorities had taken control. The police had shattered the large mass of ice created in the intersection by Abel and extracted the pro heroes and student sidekicks trapped within. They were all cold and suffering from the sniffles because of it. The paramedics wrapped them in blankets and sat them by heaters to warm them up. Another served them cups of hot drinks such as coffee, tea, and hot chocolate.
A bit later on, the faculty of UA held a meeting to discuss the latest outbreak of violence by the strange supernatural creatures. "That was the worst incident we've ever seen. There was fighting all over the city, some of it dangerously close to UA's campus. The damage was comparable to Kamino," said Midnight.
"I've been hearing rumours, including from our students, that those creatures are demons," reported Aizawa.
"Demons?" asked Snipe in surprise.
"Are you kidding me?" asked Present Mic, eyebrows raised in disbelief.
"No, I heard the same rumours. One of my former students, Ibara Shiozaki, has remained in contact with her friends in my class via text. She always referred to these creatures as demons. According to her, they are indeed supernatural and are entering our world in great numbers," replied Kan.
"Are you positive about that? How do we know they aren't the product of some Quirk gone out of control or created by a villain group like the Nomu were?" asked Snipe, skeptical at what Ibara had told everyone.
"Shiozaki certainly believes they are supernatural and honestly, I believe she is right," said Kan.
"I've met the leader of at least one group of these demons. He's the same man who killed All For One," said All Might.
"You mean the Immortal Stranger?" asked Midnight, shocked to hear that.
All Might nodded. "It was near Mustafar Park. He called some of those demons his followers and that they were defending their territory from invasion," he replied.
"So the demons are at war with each other? That explains all the fighting we've seen here in Mustafar, at I-Island, and out in western Japan," remarked Snipe. "What else did Shiozaki say about them?"
"Not directly about the demons, but she told her friends that she is learning a martial art called the Luminance over at Nagasaki. She said it had been created by God to fight Quirks and demons," replied Kan.
"This martial art can harm demons?" asked Midnight in disbelief.
"Yes," replied Kan.
"Can't we get Luminance dojos and instructors set up here to teach us the art? We really need them badly," asked Midnight.
"It's not that they can't send people. Learning the Luminance has a price. It results in the forfeiture of your Quirks," replied Kan.
"What?" asked Midnight, mouth agape at this revelation.
"You heard me. You forfeit your Quirks. The Luminance burns out your Quirk factors as you use it. Eventually, you'll lose your Quirk entirely," replied Kan.
"What kind of martial art is that?" asked Present Mic, appalled at how warped it was to strip people of their Quirks just to learn a martial art.
"The kind meant to fight Quirks. Notice I said 'Quirks,' not villains. The angels who occupy Nagasaki see Quirks themselves as the enemy, not just villains," replied Kan.
"That's such an extremist view!" remarked Midnight.
"Maybe, but that's how they see it. They're doing what they feel must be done to prevent the Singularity from destroying humanity," said Kan.
"Hold on. They introduced this martial art to prevent the Quirk Singularity?" asked Present Mic, shocked to learn the angels' goals.
"That's right. Eliminating Quirks is the most straightforward solution, but its flaws are very apparent," replied Kan.
Aizawa sighed. "So we're at an impasse," remarked Aizawa.
"Let's get back to the demons. Based on All Might's information, it's safe to say that there are factions among the demons. They are not a unified front. We know that one group follows the Immortal Stranger, but another is against them," said Snipe.
"Don't forget the angels at Nagasaki. They're another faction, one that is against the other two based on reports I've seen. Still, that doesn't make them our friends," reported Nezu.
"These creatures disrupt electronics wherever they go. That will make gathering information on them very difficult," said Snipe.
"What else do we know about the Immortal Stranger? What's his role in all this? All Might, you've met him before. What's your take on him?" asked Midnight.
"He's difficult to pin down. Each time I met him, neither he nor his underlings tried to kill me, even though they had every opportunity to do so. In each case, they just ejected me from the battle to get me out of the way," replied All Might.
"Didn't he speak with you during your latest meeting, if I heard correctly?" asked Midnight.
"He just told me to leave, just like at I-Island. As a pro hero, that wasn't an option since I couldn't ignore their involvement in those incidents," replied All Might.
"So, the Immortal Stranger and his forces showed restraint in dealing with us," remarked Nezu, stroking his chin in contemplation.
"What are the Stranger's capabilities? We should know if we are to confront him," asked Snipe.
"Including what I read in reports, he can create and manipulate water and ice, teleport, and turn his limbs into vines like Kamui Woods. Physical attacks don't seem to affect him. I tried a Carolina Smash and it went right through him," replied All Might. "After my first attack failed, I tried a Nebraska Smash, but he turned it against me and I got blown out of the city."
"According to Shoto Todoroki of Class 1A, he had tried to freeze him, but the Stranger simply absorbed his ice. We also know that he commands many demonic followers. Even that appears to be just the tip of the iceberg, if you'll pardon the pun," replied Nezu.
"The vigilantes who killed the Mustafar Lords can also be counted among his underlings. I know because I saw them together at I-Island," added All Might.
"So, we're dealing with a foe who rivals, possibly exceeds, All For One in both power and influence. He must be so if could command so many demons and defeat so many highly ranked pro heroes by himself, among them you, All Might," remarked Snipe. "It's probably safe to say that the leaders of the other factions are comparable to the Immortal Stranger."
"One All For One was bad enough, but three of them?" asked All Might rhetorically.
"...And these three are fighting each other, with all of the collateral damage that will ensue," reminded Snipe.
Nezu sighed. "We've got our work cut out for us," remarked Nezu.
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At the wreckage of the Foundation's clinic, workers toiled away to clear the rubble left in the wake of the demonic invasion. Bit by bit, the rubble got hauled by trucks and carried off to be disposed of at parts unknown. With the site clear, they started to rebuild the building brick by brick. The basement and ground floor had been completed already with work beginning on the second. The workers cemented each brick into place and gradually, the walls started to rise and form the second floor.
At the Foundation's Domain, its members met before the ziggurat to discuss current events. "Chaos' retaliation against us in Mustafar caused great damage to the city and the loss of our clinic, but reconstruction is progressing smoothly. While it is being restored, we'll step up development of counter measures against the demons," announced Abel. "Dr. Shield, how is progress on the harmonizer coming?"
"Quite well. I just need it tested in real world situations," replied Dr. Shield.
"In that case, Izuku and the other demon hunters will take copies of it. Find demons engaged with pro heroes and use Dr. Shield's technology to enable the heroes to win battles," said Abel.
"Thanks Abel," said Dr. Shield.
Dr. Shield distributed one copy of the harmonizer to each member of the demon hunters and Spade Mercs, enough for everyone to have one. The harmonizer resembled a handheld, dome-like metal object. "How do these devices work?" asked Danjuro.
"They synchronize the physical world with other dimensions over an area, so that non-supernatural attacks like fists and guns can hurt them. Despite that, a demon's resistances still apply. Fight smart, or you're in for a world of hurt," replied Dr. Shield.
Melissa smiled. "This is just what we need!" she remarked.
"It sure is. Without this tech, Hero Society is at the mercy of the demons. Once this project succeeds, that won't be the case," said Atsuro.
"We'll make sure we come back with good data," assured Izuku.
"Thank you. Currently, pro heroes and law enforcement are on the lookout for stragglers from the attack. You should find plenty of battles from which to collect data," said Abel.
The demon hunters left the Domain for the outer world, where night had fallen over the land. Altered Beast and Metal Gear travelled as a pair and came upon the Rabbit Hero, Mirko, confronting a Decarabia in the empty parking lot of the Mustafar Mall. "HIYA!" cried Mirko as she flew at the Decarabia in a flying kick.
Without magical assistance, she simply passed through the creature like it was air. The Decarabia turned around and spewed flame at her, but she quickly bounded away with her strong legs. "That's Mirko! She's fighting a Decarabia!" said Altered Beast.
"Activating harmonizer," reported Metal Gear.
She formed a metal hand, using it to push a button on the device. Some lights on its side turned green as it emitted a faint hum. Mirko evaded a fireball, then closed in for a punt. To her surprise, her blow made contact and the Decarabia felt solid when she hit it. She followed with another power-packed kick which sent the demon to the ground. She then leapt up and came down with an axe kick, slamming the Decarabia into the ground. It vanished in motes of Magatsuhi, leaving Mirko stunned at how she was able to score her very first victory over these creatures.
"It seems to work," remarked Altered Beast.
"Affirmative. We will move to the next target before we are discovered," said Metal Gear.
The two Atma Avatars sneaked away, then continued their journey from roof to roof in search of other incidents where they could provide assistance. They eventually found Gang Orca confronting an ogre-like creature with pink skin. This demon was a Yaksha and wore a garland of skulls around his neck. He was armed with two scimitars. Orca emitted a powerful shrill sound, but the Yaksha appeared unaffected. It charged ahead, swinging its weapons in a maniacal flurry, forcing Orca to retreat.
"I'll test my harmonizer," announced Beast as pushed the button.
In a faint hum, his harmonizer cast its power over the area. After the Yaksha tired from the barrage, Orca saw his chance and emitted a shrill sonic blast. The attack caused the Yaksha to shudder as he covered its ears. Orca was surprised to see that his attack had actually worked, but quickly moved to launch his follow-up. With his first punch dazing his foe, Orca continued the onslaught until the Yaksha could not take any more and broke apart into Magatsuhi motes.
"That looked successful to me. We should move to the next area before we're seen," said Beast.
The pair sank behind the ledge of the roof, then fled from Orca's location. They travelled to another part of Mustafar, the west side, and looked around for pro heroes or remnants of demons left over from the invasion. They found a pair of Preta, child-like demons with violet skin and bulging bellies skulking by the entrance of an alley. A drunk woman in a cocktail dress walked down the street, unaware of the danger she was headed towards in her vulnerable state.
"That woman is heading into trouble and no pros are around to help her. I'll have to intervene," said Beast.
As she approached the alley entrance, the Preta came out and started spitting blobs of darkness at her. Altered Beast transformed into the Rakshasa and got between them and the woman. He took the attack head-on, his power over the dark nullifying the attack, and emerged unharmed. The woman fled down the street and the Preta, seeing how powerful Beast was, fled deeper into the alley. They came to the next intersection, where they ran in different directions to escape him.
At that point, Altered Beast decided to give up the chase and returned to his Werewolf form as Metal Gear joined his side. "Resuming tests. We shall head to the next location," announced Metal Gear.
At that moment, a pro hero leaping through the skies noticed the Preta fleeing from the alley. He looked around and saw Altered Beast and Metal Gear hopping across rooftops. He immediately changed course and landed near them with a thud. "Not now!" said Altered Beast with consternation upon seeing the hero's face.
"Stop, vigilantes!" announced the hero, All Might. "You have taken the law into your own hands and killed those who should be punished by the proper authorities. That is against the law too, so I am here to take you into custody!"
"Negative, Uncle Might. We have a mission to complete. Step aside, or we will open fire," warned Metal Gear.
"Uncle Might?" asked All Might. Despite Metal Gear's monotonous robotic voice, All Might felt a strange familiarity in how she called him "Uncle Might." There was only one person who called him that, and it was not long before he made the connection. "Melissa? Is that you in there?" he asked.
"Oh crap!" thought Metal Gear, having accidentally revealed her identity to All Might.
All Might noted Metal Gear's strange silence and how she was frozen. "It IS you in there, isn't it?" asked All Might, shocked to find out the truth about the vigilante he was trying to apprehend. "How could you? How could you become a vigilante? How did you even get inside this tin can? What would your father say if he could see you?"
"Since you have not responded, we will view that as refusal to comply. We must now use force," replied Metal Gear.
She sprayed magnesium powder and in a flash of bright light, it ignited and momentarily blinded All Might. When he recovered, she and Altered Beast were gone, nowhere to be seen. For All Might, the surprise revelation of Melissa's fall to vigilantism and even villainy left him shocked to his very core. Now, the two of them were on opposing sides of a conflict. That meant he would have to face her, a girl he viewed as family, in battle. This revelation weighed heavily on the Symbol of Peace's mind as he departed from the area.
END OF CHAPTER