185"This is taking too long," Ibara uncharacteristically complained while waiting for another boat to arrive. The government and other heroes can only offer so much right now. Tatsumaki spent all her energy flying all the way back to the mainland and was still resting. Yosetsu and Mineta were sitting beside her as they waited for the next ride. Yosetsu already let Momo and the others ride first. Lots of them were other interns from UA and other hero schools. Even a few from Shiketsu came along like Kenshi.
"Calm down. Bakugou will be fine." Mineta did what he could to ease her worry. He had enough faith in his best friend that he'll be fine. Yosetsu was more worried about this being a waste of time. Did those heroes really need the reinforcements?
"I can't wait for this." Ibara said one last time before her hair starts growing, much to the surprise of everyone there.
"Hey, what are you doing?" The hero she was working with, Kamui Woods, asked her. She let the vines touch the sea water first before answering.
"A moving floatation device. I can get us there in time." Ibara explained to her direct superior. Kamui glanced at what she's doing before extending his own quirk. She was right. There isn't time to wait.
"That won't float without good wood. Let me give you a hand." Kamui said. Mineta joined in, using his quirk to keep things from falling apart. The contraption was already big enough to hold at least half the heroes and interns present. "I doubt you could move it without expending your own energy."
"LET ME BE OF ASSISTANCE! ALL I NEED IS A SAIL!" Inasa stepped up to the challenge.
"My hair will suffice." Nagamasa said, extending his hair into the same shape as a sail. Kamui Woods touched his Shiketsu intern's shoulders in acknowledgement.
"ALL RIGHT! EVERYONE, HOLD ON!" With one swift movement from his arm, Inasa used the winds to move the makeshift ark.
The ark moved faster than any boat could ever hope to. The lack of even footing made it difficult for everyone to stay standing while Kamui, the Botany Club, and Nagamasa struggled to keep everything intact.
"You're not that panicky anymore, huh?" Yosetsu commented on Mineta, who was nervous but not freaking out. The shorter boy responded with a grim smile.
"This isn't the day I die."
"I never should have let you near my books. Come on, man." Yosetsu was a bit exasperated by Mineta saying that. He was serious about it, too. "You're not Sanguinius."
"Yeah, I'm Mineta. Don't worry, I'll tell you if it is the day."
"Dude, that clown is stuck in Tartarus. That day won't come."
"Sometimes you simply can't stop the flow of fate." Mineta looked down at his hands. He couldn't see the black strings, but Cruz could. Still, it didn't matter what his ending was. What matters now are the things he does in the middle.
"Whatever. You're still making it til third year, though."
"Sure."
With Camie and the others…
"Well, this seems to be a hideout of the CRC." The Shaman said while he and his interns alongside Himiko were in front of a butcher's shop. Typically, these types of shops were used, since smuggling weapons in the corpses of would-be food is an expert idea. Up until everyone caught up to that trick. There may be people guarding it, so the Shaman told his interns to proceed with caution. Nothing inside here seemed capable of killing him, according to what his Misfortune Sight revealed - strangely, absolutely nothing. The Shaman would have been less worried if his quirk showed him an ambush or a hidden trap, but the butcher's shop is completely without it. He opened the door, seeing nothing out of the ordinary.
The hero, his interns, and Himiko looked around. There were no weapons at the front, obviously, but they can't count for their opponents to be intelligent enough for that. They entered the back, where the meat was stored. Nothing out of the ordinary as well. They checked the meat. Nothing was stored in it.
"This might be a false lead, boss." Itsuka said, which Ojiro and The Shaman would be inclined to agree to. Himiko would beg to differ. She noticed a smell. Something too familiar. A smell that she would rather not be used to knowing the scent of. Camie was the first to see her sniffing the air.
"Is there something wrong, Miko-baby?" Camie asked. Despite being in a cold storage, she could see her friend sweating nervously. That does not bode well for anyone.
"I smell blood."
"Obviously. I mean, we're in a butcher's shop. If you're currently running low on your intake, we can probably pay for it after-" Ojiro was interrupted by Himiko, who raised her hand and stopped him from talking. He could notice the ever-subtle shaking of it.
"Human blood." Himiko grimly said. Everyone inhaled sharply at the sentence. They looked around. The meat was all from cows and pigs and chickens. Himiko sniffed the air and followed the scent of it towards a wall. The Shaman knocked on a wall far from it with his staff. Then, he walked over to Himiko and knocked on the wall. It sounded hollow. They could hear Camie audibly gulping.
"Ojiro. Break this wall down." The Shaman ordered his intern. Ojiro did so without a word. With a single strike from his tail, the wall came down easily. What everyone present saw was a horror beyond their imagination. Heteromorphs with animal features. They were all dead. Butchered. Missing limbs, heads, and even organs. They were human beings with quirks, and yet the CRC failed to see that. Only ever seen as livestock or monsters. Some were hung by hooks, like the meat in the cold storage. Others looked like they were sawed in half. Nobody trusted the sausages hanging nearby were from animals.
"Bastards. All of 'em." The Shaman's grip on his staff was tighter than before. Ojiro could only look in disgust. Itsuka punched a nearby wall in rage. Himiko looked away, not wanting to see any of it. Camie, as much as she wanted to vomit right now, went over to her friend to comfort her. The Shaman reached into his pocket and got the communicator that Hawks gave everyone. Hawks, the butcher's shop, were not hiding weapons."
It didn't take long for Hawks to respond.*Oh, that's good. Nothing to be worried-*
"The CRC were hiding people with mutant quirks. Animal-like features. The CRC wereeatingthem." Based on what seemed to be a sharp inhale and sudden silence, they all knew Hawks himself was disgusted. "You already know we can't let them win, no matter what."
*I know. I'll tell you when Tsukuyomi and I reach their base. Hawks out.*
"This is wrong. This is incredibly wrong." Himiko's eyes were shut, refusing to even look at it. Izuku would give her a bit of his blood from time to time because he consented to it. Because he knew she needed it. It was a part of her. The CRC did not need to do this, but they have. It made her afraid of what she would have been. What she could become.
"Miko-baby. Don't worry. I'm here. I'm here." Camie held her close, making sure to comfort her friend. Himiko had been through enough. She did not need to see this. Ojiro and Itsuka approached them.
"Don't worry, we'll get those guys yet." Ojiro said what he could to ease her worries.
"They won't get away with this," Itsuka said.
"You did well, Himiko. Without your help, we wouldn't know, and the bastards would have gotten a lighter sentence than what they actually deserved. We couldn't save those people, but we can, at the very least, avenge them." The Shaman reassured the girl. "The rest will patrol the town for more of these shops. We'll move out to the forest and wipe them out alongside Mirko and her interns."
With Murry, Rappa, Riku, and Uwabami
All four of them got out of the way as a giant human boulder rolled past them. It wasn't a nice enough ambush, but it's quite bearable. The CRC are coming out of the sewers this time, even speaking in other languages.
"You gotta be kidding me. You heroes actually let terrorist foreigners get into the country?!" Even Rappa was in disbelief with how many CRC members there are in this specific set. He wondered why they wanted to kill mutants anyway. Those guys are pretty strong and hella fun to fight, so why kill 'em? It didn't matter as he grabbed one by the neck and chokeslammed him into the manhole, covering the exit for a good while. He turned around to see Uwabami and Riku holding their own. Those snakes on the hero's head weren't just for show as they sprayed venom in three directions.
"Well excuse me, this one is supposed to be border security's job!"
"But you're heroes!"
"Okay, listen up everyone while we are fighting, I'll tell you the bitter truth." Uwabami said as she grabbed another cult member by the face and let the snake on her hair bite the cult member. "Not all of us are All Might. Most heroes are nothing more than celebrity cops with special licenses. That's what most of us are."
"No need to get cynical on us, lady!" Murry said while ducking from an attack and slashing the attacker with his sword. Hawks technically gave them permission to kill, but he's not interested in doing that anymore. Rappa was having fun caving their skulls in, though. Riku jumped over him in a somersault and landed perfectly while releasing the electricity she gathered. Unfortunately, a cult member was able to pull off her blindfold. She looked around, her face red. She covered it as the members surrounded her.
"Starlight!" Uwabami exclaimed as she jumped into the crowd. More snakes grew out of her head as they all bite the cultists surrounding her intern. "Medusa's Bite!"
"Whoa. That's actually cool." Rappa poked one of the snakes as it hissed at him. As it turns out, Uwabami's hair could turn into snakes. Only the original three aren't hair.
"Starlight, you need to get up. We talked about this." Uwabami tried to motivate her intern. "You need to face the crowd. You need to stop caring."
"I appreciate you giving my friend a pep talk, lady, but we're still getting flooded with bodies here! Ah crap!" Murry deflected five shurikens that were thrown at him. He then blocked a sword strike from the air. The figure had a different outfit from the cultists. The person in question was wearing a ninja outfit. "Who the hell are you?"
"Who is me? I'm Super Ninja Man! Assassin for hire! These unpleasant people offered me five million dollars to help them succeed."
"Super Ninja- what?!" Murry was confused. He looked to the side and saw Uwabami successfully motivating Riku enough to make her stand and fight. One thing to be concerned about is that Riku is still keeping her eyes closed. "I don't got time for-"
"But you do,samurai."
"I'm not a samurai! I'm an ex-yakuza!"
"Same thing, just more modern! Only this time, I shall prove that the way of the ninja is superior!"
"Rappa, some backup?"
"Ha! Hell nah, when a man challenges you to a duel, you better accept it!" Rappa said while punching about 10 people at the same time. Uwabami and Riku were too busy with their side. "I got you covered though! You can duel in peace."
"Oh come on!" Murry complained as he pushed Super Ninja Man back. He took out another cigarette pack and smoked it all at once, recharging himself. "Fine!"
He turned to smoke as Super Ninja Man prepared himself. Murry turned back into human at the last second, only to see Super Ninja Man unsheathing his blade faster than he expected. Had he not turned his arm to smoke, it would have been sliced off. Super Ninja Man struck again with his sword as Murry blocked it with his own. "I see, you deny your weapon its purpose."
"My katana?" Murry asked him. He pulled out his uzi, only for Super Ninja Man to vanish and appear above Murry. "Teleportation?"
"I've seen the way you fight, Murry. You deny the sword its rightful meal." Super Ninja Man points out the people Murry had taken down. None of them were dead. "Not even your other weapon is capable of killing."
"Well, I never liked that shit anyway, so I gave it up the first chance I could," Murry said while parrying Super Ninja Man's strike. The ninja teleported behind him. He turned to smoke and let the sword pass through him. Murry turned back into his normal form and slashed, only for Super Ninja Man to vanish again. Murry turned around, expecting another attack from behind, only to see nothing there.
"I can also teleport to the same spot." He heard Super Ninja Man say. He turned to smoke again as Super Ninja Man sheathed his sword. "Those who do not let their sword taste death as not worthy to be called a samurai."
"I'm not a samurai!" Murry turned back into his human form to slash Super Ninja Man again. It was only this time that Super Ninja Man stayed in his place. It was probably the way he moved fast, or it could be that he perfected his timing against Murry. Either way, Murry's left arm is no longer attached to his body. "GAH!"
"MURRY!" Rappa turned around to see his ward with a missing arm. He clotheslined the rest of the cultists before running towards him. "Hey! Get off the kid!"
"You have potential, Murry. I quite enjoyed meeting you. I will not kill you today, and you will not have this arm for a while. I'll keep it fresh for you." His left arm disappeared from Super Ninja Man's hand. "Until we meet again, although I should take care of your current problem. Five million is not worth helping these monsters win, now that I think about it."
Super Ninja Man vanished from thin air before reappearing in front of the CRC members. He slashed once and five bodies were missing their heads. He kept teleporting and killing more and more members of the CRC. When he was finished, the only ones left alive were the ones the heroes fought. Super Ninja Man looked at Murry one last time before vanishing again.
"Murry!" Rappa was at Murry's side, trying to stop the bleeding. Uwabami was already performing first aid while Riku sat by his side.
"...Sorry." Riku told him.
"Sorry for what?" Murry groaned as the pain of his left arm getting sliced off was a bit much. "Don't worry about it. I ain't blaming you."
Rappa looked at his ward before standing up in frustration. He took out his communicator and fiddled with it. "Mainland. Mainland! Where the hell are the reinforcements? One of our guys lost an arm, dammit! We need a medic. NOW!"
Nobody was answering him. Uwabami was doing the best she could, but Murry was effectively out of this fight. "Would the girl in your care-"
"No." Murry and Rappa said at the same time. "I don't want to put more weight on her shoulders, lady."
"Understood. Riku, do what you can to stop the bleeding."
"If only the asshole didn't take my arm…" Murry grumbled, knowing how easy it would have been to reattach a part of himself using his quirk.
"You're probably going to meet him again, given what he said." Riku said it, much to Murry's surprise. She's not a good talker, but she's a surprisingly good listener.
"You could be right."
With Chifu and Vlad King…
When they got to the harbour, Chifu expected some sort of attack to happen. Given that the CRC knew that the only way reinforcements could come was via the sea. What she did not expect was more CRC members than they thought were possible. Just how many of them were there?
"Ah crap." Chifu grabbed the man's arm before he could stab her with a knife. She then lifted him up and used him as a weapon to hit the other cultists. Vlad King was busy dealing with a group from afar. She sidestepped a man throwing a boulder at her. He threw another boulder once more, which she effortlessly grabbed and threw back at him.
"HOW STRONG IS THIS FREAK?! KILL HER!" One of the cultists yelled. Chifu was used to it. Prepared for it, even. It still hurts to be called a freak, though. She bit into her fingers to unleash her blood, grabbing multiple cultists at once before throwing them into a building. It was odd that most humans have now adapted to this level of abuse on their bodies with the rise of quirks. Back then, it would have killed them. "SEE WHAT THESE MONSTERS ARE CAPABLE OF, BROTHERS AND SISTERS?!"
"Motherfuck, that's just foul," Chifu commented on what she heard before punching three cultists at once. She picked another one up and threw the cultist away. "Vlad King, heads up!"
"Gotcha!" Vlad King's quirk, if anything, is a weaker version than Chifu's. The main difference is that he had better control of it and it cost less of his blood to use. He grabbed the cultist mid-air with his quirk before slamming the person into the ground.
"Maybe I should use Blood Miles…"
"That'll destroy the entire town, Hokus Pokus! Don't panic yet!"
"Yes, sir!" Chifu said before looking up. It was some cultist with a strength quirk using a road roller on her.
"I'M GOING TO ROLL ALL OVER YOU!" The cultist yelled. Chifu stared blankly before stepping aside, completely avoiding the attack. She and the cultist looked at each other awkwardly before Chifu reached out and grabbed him by the neck. "Wait! We can talk about this, mutant!"
Chifu did not dignify that with a verbal response. Instead, she opted to spin around really fast and chucked him into the horizon. All the cultists paused for a moment to watch their fellow member effortlessly sail through the air without any hint of arcing. It didn't take long before he wasn't even visible anymore. "Ah shit. I think I threw him too far."
"Ya think?!" Everyone in that area yelled at her.
With Katsuki, Trish, Mirko, and Gentle…
"Do be careful now!" Gentle said while softening the air enough to make the giant fist bounce off. While he was glad that he's finally doing something similar to hero work, he certainly wasn't expecting this to be his first assignment. Mirko jumped and kicked the giant on the head, causing him to stagger.
"AH! YOU MUTANT BITCH!"
"Watch what yer sayin!" Trish yelled at him while bouncing on Gentle's air platforms. She shot arrows at the giant cultist, although it seems he was merely annoyed by them rather than angry. Katsuki flew past her and hit him with a colossal explosion. Trish took this as an opportunity to shoot him again with her bow and arrow. "FINISH HIM OFF, ALREADY WILL YA?!"
"I'M ON IT!" Katsuki yelled back before accumulating a lot of sweat and then unleashing it all on the giant quirk user's face. "HOWITZER IMPACT!"
"You think that's enough to knock me do- GAAAAHHH!" One of Trish's arrows hit him in the eye. Mirko took advantage of the distraction and slammed her foot onto his forehead, causing him to stagger even more. Trish followed up, this time with an arrow into the mouth and sticking on the tongue. The giant didn't seem to notice until Trish pressed a button. It was an explosive arrow that blew up his tongue.
"WHAT CAN YA DO NOW, WANKER?! FINISH HIM OFF, BURST DAMAGE!"
"Gentle, give me a boost!" Katsuki said as Gentle created more air platforms he can bounce off on. He generated enough momentum and accumulated more sweat for a bigger explosion. He hit the giant with the biggest explosion he can make. "POMPEII'S REQUIEM!"
The explosion finally knocked down the giant quirk user and knocked him out. This part of the forest seems clear enough. Mirko, her interns, and Gentle regrouped on the ground. "Great support, Gentle."
"Thank you, Mirko."
"I hope we get another big guy to hunt."
"Hell to the no. I'm not spending that much time with another giant." Katsuki complained while massaging his wrists. That big explosion caused him a lot of strain. "That said, I need to tone it down for a bit or I'm done before we get to the big fight."
"Wuss." Mirko said quietly, thinking it was out of earshot. He scoffed at her but didn't say anything. Reinforcements are probably coming soon anyway, but he'll leave them to the cleanup.
*Hello… Is this on? Anyone respond.*He was slightly relieved to hear the familiar voice from his communicator. Reinforcements were definitely near.
"Dolorosa, it's Burst Damage. Mirko, Lady Rage, Gentle, and I are heading towards their main base. Hawks and Tsukuyomi went ahead of us to scout their airbase. These bastards are prepared for an all out war here."
*Ka- Burst Damage! A relief to hear from you, thank God. Yes, my boss has heard you. ETA in about 1 hour. That's all we need. Just hold for 1 hour.*
"One hour. Too much time for these cultists to escape. We're going ahead." Mirko took the communicator from Katsuki and responded to Ibara's message. "And don't worry about your boyfriend. He's taking it easy."
"Hey!"
*Kamui Woods speaking here. You better not do anything stupid, Mirko. Your interns' lives could be at stake here.*
"They can handle it." Mirko waved him off. "Besides, I personally toughened them up. You have nothing to worry about."
*I'm serious. You're outnumbered and you're-*
Mirko turned off the communicator before Kamui could finish what he was about to tell her. Not that it was any important to her. They just took out a bunch of 'em. The thought of these cultists having guns doesn't worry her that much. Although, only Trish seems to be the least durable out of the four of them right now.
Trish suddenly looked to the right and shot at the trees. A cultist fell off with an arrow sticking out of his chest. The shot was non-lethal, but it was close enough to have Katsuki sweating. They were in the forest, which was Trish's natural environment. Her instincts were at an all-time high here.
"Good shot." Mirko said while patting Trish. It was a funny sight to look at since that rabbit heroine herself was barely taller than Trish in the first place.
With Izuku, Tatsumaki, and the rest of the Nighteye Agency…
"We're almost there." Izuku said while looking through the binoculars. Tatsumaki was flying all of them to the location. It was still far enough that Tatsumaki needed to rest again after they landed. Not that it matters. With the number of reinforcements coming, Tatsumaki won't be needed. "Sir, what's the plan."
"For now, we follow Hawks'. Let them flush out the threat. The rest of us will stay here and foil any attempt to escape." Nighteye said. He briefly paused and quickly turned to the Midoriya siblings. "Spiderstorm, and Tornado, stop that tsunami quickly!"
Izuku and Tatsumaki were only confused for a second before remembering what Nighteye's quirk was. They both raised their hands and combined their quirks to stop a gigantic wave coming at them.
"Hmm… That'll keep those two in place for a while." A cultist jumped off the wave he was riding. He still had a mask on, but was shirtless. He reached his hand out and pulled out some water from the sea. Shaping it into a lance, he launched the water at high speed. Nighteye already foresaw it, and dodged accordingly. The attack simply phased through Mirio. Centipeder's tough armour was enough for him to tank it effortlessly. Bubble Girl was on the defensive, using her bubbles to intercept the water before any of them could hit the Midoriya siblings, who were both busy trying to keep the massive tidal wave from hitting the entire town.
"King Hydro…" Nighteye recognised the villain immediately. Nighteye turned on his communicator and began talking to every channel. "I've sent my coordinates. Do not come here unless you have something that can handle King Hydro. Nighteye out."
"Bad idea. Those two freaks are dying first." King Hydro pointed to Centipeder and Bubble Girl, who both had obvious mutations on them thanks to their quirks. Nighteye rolled his eyes, silently scolding himself for thinking the villain would be any threat. The major members of the cult are powerful, but they, like the rest of them, were blinded by their hatred.
King Hydro was already spending half his power to keep the tidal wave going. He didn't even bring any backup with him. "This won't take long. Lemillion, stand ready."
"Yes, sir!"
With Chifu and Vlad King…
"This is getting overwhelming." Chifu said as more cult members flood the area. "Just how many of these motherfuckers exist? Like holy shit, do they want us dead that badly?"
"This world would be better off without freaks and miggers like you!"
"Whoa whoa whoa whoa, come on, man. You don't need to create a new motherfucking slur out of thin air like that!" Chifu said while grabbing the man and throwing him into another group of cultists. She was mildly disturbed by everything so far. She was already getting tired. Blood Miles wouldn't be possible as she had run out of Faygo to drink with. All she has left is her strength. Vlad King himself was already tiring out. "Sir!"
"Don't relent! Ensure their attention stays on us, Hokus Pokus! Reinforcements are near! Have faith!"
Chifu was trying her hardest to have faith right now. It's getting harder and harder to move. Not to mention how much she had to hold back instead of killing these cultists outright. It was tempting, it truly was. She would have loved nothing more than to bash their skulls in. Their blood could even help fuel her blood miles. She truly wanted to. However, Chifu was better than that. That was something a monster would have done. She is no monster. Chifu kept punching and kicking and throwing and grabbing. She was squeezing out every ounce of energy she had left.
"THE FREAK IS SLOWING DOWN! KEEP THROWING YOURSELVES AT HER! YOUR BODIES FOR THE CAUSE! DEATH TO THE MUTANT! TO THE UNCLEAN! FOR WE ARE GOD'S CHOSEN PE-" He wasn't able to finish his speech as Chifu grabbed him by the mouth and flung him across the street. He was right, but Chifu wasn't about to go down without a fight. She'd rather not go down without a fight. Her heart was beating like it never had before. There were more killers here than she could count. She's surrounded, and Vlad King is off fighting in the distance. She was afraid.
Chifu was sure she would die here. The clown hero was panting heavily as the prolonged battle took a toll on her. She still raised her fists while apologising to the Grand Priest. "Sorry, dad. You'd have to find someone else…"
She tried to throw another punch, only to stumble and fall. She was down for the count. There were more cultists than she had the energy to fight against. They all raised their weapons, ready to beat her to death with it. The first man swung his nailed bat. Chifu braced for the hit, but it never came. She opened her eyes to see vines wrapping around the cultist surrounding her. Purple balls rained from the sky as many of the cultists were being welded to the ground. Cannonballs from the shore were firing and causing havoc.
"Chifu!" She heard a voice yell out. Chifu sat down and rested her back on the wall. She looked at the one that called out to her. It was Nagamasa. They were finally here. "You did well holding them back. We'll handle them from here on out."
"Heh, thanks… prez…" She allowed herself to drift off to sleep.
End of Act 2 Part 2...