《When Paths Converge: A MHA Fanfic》23. Caustic
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'Today would be like any other day.' Was the thought that went through Yui’s head. Fresh from their 'grounding’ the two of them were racing along the rooftops after Eraserhead, who was now rocking a fresh new comm peeking out from his shaggy hair with flashes of yellow in his ear.
Izuku had sunk his teeth into hacking to break the tedium of being confined to the house. Finding the gang's affiliation hadn't been easy, with two run ins though there was little doubt they'd find it, with her support he pulled it off without her needing to step in.
"Why is Ultraviolet expanding into Japan, Eraser?" Izuku couldn't help but ask as they made their way over to the stake out point.
Eraserhead grunted as he wound up for a leap, responding as he rolled to disperse the force and continue on his stride, "There were probably underlying plans Null, but with the reduction of native gang members they probably either saw an opportunity to entrench themselves before anyone could react, or simply thought the Heroes had caught on were readying for a sting. This is our chance to catch them off guard."
Izuku's eyes were shining, "You mean me and Nee-chan got mistaken for heroes?!"
Eraserhead groaned, and Yui couldn't help but chuckle, “I mean, villains thinking we’re heroes, we’re stepping up in the world.”
"Anyway....Caustic is a branch manager who's being given the chance to spread his wings outside of where Ultraviolet can easily look over his shoulder. As the name says, he has a quirk that has a lot of potential for damage. Avoid contact whenever he's out of my view. Ultimately we want to follow him to their base of operations but you never know what might happen."
The pair of them nodded, eager to get back into the swing of things, and wary of Eraser's no-nonsense gaze pinning them to the roof as they came to their stop. Through Eraserhead and Tsukauchi's collaboration they'd manage to pin down Caustic's haunts and they had him at this club, likely to leave roaring drunk.
The time passed as the three of them let the life of the city flow before their eyes, till finally the man of the hour burst through the doors. Caustic was a big man, stumbling, even now taking pulls from the bottle in his hand. His entourage clearly used to it as they followed in his wake.
The trio moved silently through the shadows to the accompaniment of a cool fall breeze. None of them knew what tipped them off, but several streets down a woman with rounded black ears and feline features jerked her gaze in their direction before launching herself towards Yui as she called out a warning, "We've got tails!"
"Get him! I can handle her!" She called out, and Eraser and Null jumped down to confront him as Caustic's entourage ran forward to take them out.
'Today would be like any other day'
Caustic had let out a roar before he ran at them, his hands glowing yellow-green before it was stopped by a red eyed glare, but the man barely noticed as he swung punches. Null weaved his way through the goons, most falling to well-placed strikes against pressure points or the jab from the tasered end of his staff.
He launched himself at Caustic, but when the fight had started, it was like the man hadn’t even been drinking, he was sure on his feet and even without his Quirk, his punches had enough force to break a bone or two. He batted the staff away so hard it was ripped out of his hand, forcing him to try to get in close.
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Then those large hands had gripped Izuku’s arm above his right elbow and the left side of his waist and lifted him off the ground; at the same time a woman with spider monkey mutation launched herself at Eraser’s face, covering his line of sight.
Izuku screamed as Caustic’s Quirk ate away at his clothes and the protective suit underneath and slowly ate away at his flesh. He thrashed as blood flowed from the wounds, dripping down onto the sidewalk as his skin slowly dissolved.
Then something, no someone, was thrown at the larger man’s head and he dropped the boy as he stumbled back. He growled as he looked down at the unconscious form of the panther woman. He looked back up to see glowing red eyes before the pro’s foot had connected with his temple and the villain had collapsed.
Yui dropped to the ground and bolted to Izuku’s side, yanking off her shredded hoodie to press into the wound on his side, trying to stop the bleeding. “Null? Null, talk to me, stay awake. You can't sleep.”
The younger vigilante whimpered, his breathing coming in pants and grunts. “Yui…” his voice was weak, as his body trembled. Above his right elbow was missing a chunk of skin, she could see the muscle twitching underneath the blood that flowed out of the wound.
“Yui, we need to get him to a hospital.” Eraser’s gruff voice was next to her as he wrapped his capture weapon around his arm to stem the flow of blood. She nodded quickly, her hands shaking as she tried to keep her breathing steady.
“No! No hospital…” Izuku growled out at them, his good hand gripping her wrist. “Can’t…arrested.”
“Kid, you need to get medical attention for this!” Eraser’s usual indifferent façade had fallen away, his voice raised as he snapped back at him.
“Izu, please. You need a doctor, I won't lose you to stubbornness!” Yui’s voice cracked as her hands trembled, sirens started up and quickly came closer.
“No! Yui…they’d arrest you…You can’t go to Tartarus…” He grit out, his grip on her wrist tightening.
Eraser growled as he pulled out his phone, “Chiyo, I’m going to be sending you my location, I need you to get here as soon as you can…. Null is bleeding out and he won’t let take him to a hospital…yes the vigilante. Thank you, Chiyo.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket, “Recovery Girl is on her way, just stay awake kid.”
“Police?” He whimpered out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make sure they look the other way. Tsukauchi will be with them too. They’ll just take the villains.” He grunted as the police cars skidded to a stop, a transport vehicle pulling up to them. “Control, stay with him, I’ll handle this.” He squeezed their shoulders before he went to meet them.
“Null, tell me about Recovery Girl again?” She prompted, trying to ignore the wetness that made her gloved fingers slip against the material.
“She…She’s amazing. She’s one of the longest active heroes, and she has extensive medical knowledge and experience….Her Quirk is called Heal and she can boost a person’s healing by draining stamina. Or using the stamina to heal naturally but faster? But healing Quirks are so rare there’s not much known about them. Did you know there was a guy who could heal someone by taking the pain of the person’s injuries? He…he gave up his life when his daughter was in a car crash and she was crushed…but he healed her and she didn’t have any injuries…he wasn’t a hero…at least not licensed but he was a hero to the people he healed…” He rambled off, his voice shaking and soft but he kept talking as the police gathered up the villains and gave them a wide berth as the minutes passed.
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“Eraserhead! Where is he?!” Yui had to blink tears from her eyes at shout. She looked up to see a small elderly lady hobbling as fast as she could, wearing a fuzzy pink robe and her hair thrown into a messy bun, she still had on her house slippers.
'Today would be like any other day'
“Over here! Please!” her voice boomed out of her, waving with one hand frantically as the youthful heroine rushed over. “He was hit by a Quirk that acts like acid, it ate away at his skin on his side right under his ribs and above his elbow.”
“Okay dearie, pull that away and let me see.” She felt the blood leave her face at the slight squelching noise her hoodie made as it was pulled away. Just like his arm, layers of skin and muscle was visible, and a spot around the size of a finger was deeper and she could see his insides…
The woman’s lips extended to press on Izuku’s forehead and his eyes drooped as a soft green light enveloped his wounds, the blood stopping as the skin started to fill in. She pulled back when the wounds were bright pink and looked like they were about to be scars.
“I stopped so I wouldn’t take all his stamina, but he needs rest and to not do any strenuous activity for at least a week. The wound in his side had punctured his intestine a bit and while it’s healed, I still recommend a soft diet for a few days.” She put on an ointment from a plain jar before she wrapped the wounds in bandages. “This is just a special blend I make up, it helps with the healing process and helps the scars not to get too tight.” She put the jar in her hands, along with a baggy of gummy bears. “Make sure he eats these when he wakes up.”
“Thank you so much!” she bowed her head, unable to fight the tears that fell from her eyes. Her shoulders started to shake as she bit down on her lip so she wouldn’t make a sound.
'Today would be like any other-’
A warm hand patted the top of her hair, “It's no trouble, dearie. Just take care of him and yourself. I’d tell you to stop this but I know you won’t listen. Just try to be better prepared for next time.” Yui let out a sniffle as she nodded.
“Come on Control, you two problem children are coming home with me. Mic can fret over him.” Eraser grumbled as he gently lifted Izuku up in his arms in a princess carry, being careful of his arm and side.
She nodded as she bowed again to the heroine, “Again, thank you so much. He means the world to me…”
“You’re welcome, now get going or the grump will leave without you.” She smiled before she hobbled over to a certain plain looking detective, “Masa, walk me to my car, would you? These old bones aren’t getting any younger and I left my cane at home.”
“Of course, ma'am,” he smiled softly at the vigilante, nodding before he walked off with the heroine. Yui ran after Eraser, knowing they’d have to face a certain cockatoo’s henpecking.
“What the fuck happened?!”
Yui and Izuku winced at Yamada’s question, Aizawa gently put Izuku down on the couch. “Calm down, Hizashi. Recovery Girl healed him up, he’s only here so we can keep an eye on him and make him take it easy.”
“That doesn’t answer my question, Sho!” The blonde huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. His hair was down around his shoulders, messed up from waking up when they’d entered and almost tripped over two of the cats as they dashed to the door.
“The villain got in a lucky hit.” The pro hero sighed softly, “Caustic’s Quirk ate away layers of his skin above his elbow and his side. Recovery Girl was able to heal the damage, but there’s scaring and he’s not allowed to do anything strenuous for a week.”
“Then he’s staying here! You hear that, you’re not allowed out of this apartment until Chiyo gives the all clear.” He pointed a finger at the youngest vigilante. Izuku pouted a bit, though it was hard to tell through the mask.
“I’m really okay...just a bit sore...” He said softly, he reached up to pull the mask down. His hands hesitated before he slowly took off the goggles, blinking large green eyes up at them. He pulled the mask off his head, letting his curls spring free. “I-If I’m going to be here a week or so...I don’t really need these on, do I?” He asked softly, his eyes flicking to Yui before going back to the adults.
Yamada’s eyes were wide behind his glasses, his body almost vibrating before he bounced over to Izuku to squish his cheeks, “Kami, you are so cute! I can’t stay mad at that face!”
Yui chuckled softly as she took the mask off, shoving her goggles up to perch on top of her head. “I told you~”
“Sho, I wanna keep him.” Izuku was giggling as he tried to wriggle away from the affection, his face tinting pink.
“Zashi, he’s not a cat,” Aizawa huffed, but he did have a little smile as he looked at the two vigilantes. He couldn’t help but be surprised that they would trust them that much to show them their faces, even if they’ve been sociable for almost a year.
“Yeah, no kidnapping my little brother. I will fight you.” Yui grinned as she sat down on the couch.
“Oh, like I wouldn’t kidnap you too!” Yamada grinned, “So, are you hungry? I can make some miso soup?”
“That sounds great, Zashi,” Aizawa smiled softly, grunting a bit when his husband kissed his cheek on the way to the kitchen and the vigilante duo wolf-whistled after them. Yeah, the week was going to be fun, at least they couldn’t get into any danger while they were staying with them.
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Cheep!?
Charles Monroe survived the disappearance of his parents, did his best to hold things together for himself and his sister. He survived when she, too, vanished, leaving behind nothing but a cryptic note. He was devastated, but he kept moving forward as best he could. Cancer didn’t put him down, and after suffering through several rounds of chemotherapy, Charles Monroe thought that things might finally be looking up. That is, until a virulent strain of ebola swept through the city. With his immune system strained as it is, the odds don’t look good for Charles. Now, on the bridge between life and death, he hears a voice claiming to know where his family went. It claims that it needs his help and that it can give him a second life, one far away from all the pain he’s ever known. So, Charles answers as any reasonable person would. He says no. Charles isn't ready or willing to die yet. But, as with everything else to this point, even his choice to keep fighting is taken from him all too soon. With no other option but the dark oblivion of death, Charles chooses to make a deal with the spirit of a distant world that's seeking a wild card in its battle against the gods, monsters, and mortals that threaten its existence. Someday, he’ll find where his family went. Someday, he’ll uphold his end of the bargain and hunt beings powerful beyond anything he’s ever known. Someday, he might even – hatch? “CHEEP!?” Things to Know: -Cheep!? Will release on a minimum weekly schedule. -After a backlog of chapters, posting will slow, but in the interim you can expect a chapter a day up until roughly 25 chapters. -This story at times will potentially carry some heavy moments, but the tone is intended to be lighter overall. -There are invisible game-like elements in this story, but nothing so concrete as a dedicated gamelit novel. -I personally have some issues with anxiety, so I may or may not interact with the community a lot. I'll try if anyone has questions, but I can't guarantee that it'll be consistent. -MC is a non-human lead, and will never actually become human. Romance will potentially happen between side-characters, but not with the MC. -MC IS NOT THE ONLY VIEW POINT. I have to put that out there because people sometimes hate alternate PoV's in a story. None of them will be filler, and they'll be there only to give a little bit more nuance and meaning to the world that the MC has stepped in, or is about to be imminently important. I'll try to keep them down, but this also helps to prevent me from burning out getting trapped in one view. -Most of all, I hope that this story is enjoyable to you, and that you have a great time reading it! -Written by Michael Adams, Cowritten/Edited by Summer Kent
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