Author's Notes: Chapter edited and corrected by Vongrak.
"You did it... you really did it." Vista murmured incredulously. She had moved from the building where she was standing and appeared beside me as I stared at Lung. I, too, stared in disbelief at the result, unable to truly believe that Lung was unconscious.
"We did it, you helped too, and Miss Militia did as well." I corrected her as I caught my breath. Vista jumped and looked at me, surprised, almost confused, as if she hadn't expected me to give her credit.
"Miss Militia!" shouted a pair of heroes as they approached. They had been watching the fight from the sidelines, almost trembling, but only when Vista drew near did they join them. "Lung... was she really defeated?" the heroine asked. Miss Militia had the same look as the rest of us, staring at Lung almost in disbelief before shaking off the shock.
"Console, this is Miss Militia, Lung down, I repeat, Lung down. Lung is unconscious and secured, I request transport immediately, over." Miss Militia said quickly.
"R-received, Miss Militia. Confirm, t-target content? Over." the clerk asked tremulously in my ear, almost incredulously.
"Affirmative, Lung unconscious, no injuries on our side, over." Miss Militia sighed as she looked at Vista and me. Vista nodded immediately, and I did the same.
"Copy. PRT transport en route. ETA five minutes. Maintain perimeter security. Over." The woman said quickly.
"Received. We'll hold the perimeter. Miss Militia out." Miss Militia said with a tired sigh. Then she looked up at the two heroines who had approached. "You heard them, hold the perimeter, coordinate with the agents in the area and the other heroines, relay the orders, keep civilians away, put out any fires or wait for the firefighters. Lung's fire doesn't spread, so just stay away from them."
"If you see any ABB members, be prepared. They might try to rescue Lung. Your priority is the civilians, and be especially alert for any sightings of Oni Lee or Bakuda," Miss Militia ordered tensely.
"Understood!" they said at the same time and both started running, but not before looking at me in surprise.
"You two, rest. I'll be on guard." Miss Militia said tensely. I shook my head.
"I still-"
"You used a lot of Haki and your aura has dropped significantly, I can tell. You've done a lot, rest." Miss Militia interrupted me gently. I could see her smile with her eyes, although she was much more tense, especially since she seemed tired of everything. Even so, her face hardened and she began to move and take a guard position near Lung.
I breathed shakily, and let myself fall to the ground before taking off my mask. I was sweating profusely and my mask certainly wasn't helping. Miss Militia was right, Lung's fire had eaten more aura than I expected, but the exhaustion from using Haki at that level was even more tiring.
Luckily, I still had my full swarm. My range was decreasing now that the situation wasn't as tense, but it was enough to keep me on my guard. I watched as the enormous cocoon was no longer needed, stopped using my Haki, and summoned a small swarm to my left hand to cut through all the cobwebs attached to it.
Then I took off the torn part of my haori and looked at it ruefully, sighing wearily. I really liked it. I'll have to order a replacement.
"So... a hectic first night?" Vista said awkwardly as she sat down next to me. I looked at her for a few seconds before bursting out laughing. Even Vista chuckled slightly. Honestly, fighting Lung was the last thing I expected on this first night, but... seeing Lung on the ground felt really good. I blinked a few times.
"Don't even mention it." I sighed wearily.
"By the way, your swarm is absolutely terrifying. Seeing a swarm of insects emerge all over the city? Just... no." Vista grunted as she shuddered slightly. I chuckled.
"Thanks for the help, you're good using your quirk, it's the first time my range has been that large," I said playfully. "The largest of my swarm is still up in the sky, I'll have to put them back where they belong," I hummed.
"Is it necessary? I'm sure everyone will be grateful not to have insects," Vista said dryly. I shrugged.
"I mean, it's not necessary, it's not like it's going to break or disrupt the local ecosystem and all that, I mean, insects recolonize very quickly, it would only take days, possibly a week or two for the city to return to its normal insect densities, so it really wouldn't matter."
"But well, I have to leave my swarm somewhere. I don't think anyone wants me to leave a swarm somewhere random and create an uncontrolled overpopulation of insects in this area," I said dryly. Vista shuddered.
"Yeah, no, I speak for everyone, we don't want that," Vista said dryly, making me laugh. "By the way, speaking of your insects, I didn't know you could do that with your insects' webs," Vista said, sounding impressed. I hummed softly as I raised my hand, and several dragonflies brought some of the leftover webs.
"Me neither." I said honestly with a tired smile, Vista's head swiveled sharply to look at me incredulously.
"Wait, you didn't know that would work?! Did you try something new against Lung?! " Vista asked incredulously, and I chuckled.
"Not really, I didn't know if it would work, but Izumi said that if I can't take down an enemy with my normal tactics, I should trust my instincts and ideas and not be afraid to try new things. Necessity is the mother of invention, and even if it doesn't work, I might learn something," I said affectionately. Vista groaned loudly.
"I understand! I've experimented with my quirk too, but I'm not crazy enough to try something like that against Lung! " Vista said incredulously. I shrugged with a small smile.
"It worked, I won't complain, and now I have a new tool." I said smiling, I grabbed the cobwebs between my fingers and imbued them with Haki while smiling, a fine silk thread was so fragile, but now, wrapped in Haki, it was stronger than ever and the best part, it was still invisible to the eye.
It might not be tough enough to stop a punch or anything, but it could definitely trip someone up when they're off guard, and many of them could be used as a capture weapon, as the fight against Lung showed. I could already start thinking of various uses for this, before pausing for a few seconds and groaning loudly.
"Damn it!!" I yelled at the sky, attracting even Miss Militia's attention, but I didn't care; just thinking about it made me shudder with annoyance. "That conceited idiot is going to be right! Again!!" I growled, almost desperate. "Ohhh, I can already see his stupid, smug grin! " I snarled irritably as I tried to strangle someone imaginary.
"Uh... who, or what are you talking about?" Vista asked, confused, very surprised, and looking at me almost as if I were crazy.
"My husband!" I exclaimed angrily. Vista blinked several times, her expression deepening.
"Ryuma's grandson?" Vista asked, even more confused.
"Yes! That idiot! When he's right, he's unbearable! And the worst part is that he's right very often! That arrogant, mocking, and petulant smile makes me want to punch him in the face!" I snarled in annoyance, growling with irritation. "He won't let me forget it for weeks; it's going to be exasperatingly irritating." I pouted.
"Um... I really need some context." Vista said, extremely confused. I snorted and rolled my eyes.
"I'm sure the PRT gave you a talk about me, right? " I asked easily.
"What?! Noooo, of course not," Vista said nervously. I raised an eyebrow playfully in her direction. "Yes, they did," Vista pouted. I snorted.
"I don't mind, but I assume you're aware of the USJ, the I-Island incident, the camp incident, and Kamino, right? " I asked. Vista nodded. "Well, Izumi, my husband, jokingly told me not to get into trouble on my first day of my internship."
"I scoffed, saying no, I wouldn't do it. I'd have a very boring internship without any problems, since he was the one who attracted problems to us." I said with a pout.
"And you got into trouble on the first day." Vista said, finally understanding the conversation, while letting out a laugh.
"And I got into trouble on the first day." I groaned. Vista just shook her head and smiled.
"You really... get along well with him, don't you? " Vista asked gently. I smiled broadly while huffing.
"Yes, as unbearable as he can be when he wants to be, he... he's truly amazing, he's … everything." I smiled gently. "The fact that he's handsome and good in bed also helps." I said with a wide grin. Vista's eyes widened and he blushed slightly.
"Skitter!" Vista squealed, blushing. I smiled shamelessly as I looked at her.
"What? I'm just being honest. Don't tell me you didn't think the same about Gallant? " I asked playfully, Vista choking on her saliva.
"Don't say it so loud!" Vista exclaimed sheepishly.
"There's nobody here." I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"Console is listening to us!" Vista shrieked. I stopped stiffly. My eyes widened.
"Wait, this is always on?" I asked incredulously, pointing it at my ear.
"Console here, yes, it's always is, Over." I heard the employee's mocking voice, I could feel my cheeks flush.
"Is there a chance this isn't being recorded?" I practically begged, aloud. I heard several amused snorts from the employee, Vista, and even Miss Militia, who was listening to everything.
"Console here, no," the employee said petulantly. "All conversations during patrol must be recorded and kept for later review during an emergency, over." The employee said mockingly, and I groaned in embarrassment.
"Great." I complained with a pout. Vista laughed beside me. "Someone kill me." I groaned, embarrassed. At least I guess the kids are safe now.
….
My eyes opened wide.
"The children!" I said, almost panicking. Vista stopped before she could freeze and open her mouth too. Just then, the sound of a motorcycle began. I quickly saw Armsmistress approaching at high speed. In a few seconds, she was here. She slammed on the brakes and jumped off immediately.
I stood up immediately, followed by Vista.
She didn't even look at the scene around her; she just stared at Lung, who was halfway through reverting to her human form. Armsmistress didn't even look at us; she grabbed her halberd and approached Lung, then plunged it into Lung's shoulder and injected some kind of drug. Then she came over to us.
"A powerful sedative will keep someone like Lung unconscious for hours," Armsmistress explained as she approached— or rather, explained to me. Miss Militia and Vista seemed to already know, so I just nodded. "Good work, you three," Armsmistress said, nodding. "Miss Militia, a quick recap. Skitter, Vista, rest," Armsmistress ordered as she began to move. We all nodded.
"Armsmistress, Miss Militia! The children the ABB was following-" Armsmistress raised her hand to stop me and shook her head.
"Don't worry," Armsmistress said with a sigh. "Another group of heroines already took care of it. They captured the ABB members who were with Lung and interrogated them. It turns out the 'kids' were the villain group ' Undersiders.' Apparently, they robbed an ABB-affiliated casino, and Lung certainly wasn't amused." Armsmistress said, and my eyes widened.
"Wait! We're facing Lung, because of some villains?!" Vista asked incredulously, sounding totally indignant. I felt the same way. Armsmistress stared at us.
"Villains or not, Lung was going to hurt them, probably kill them. You did the right thing stopping her. We're heroines; it's our duty to help people, no matter who they are," Armsmistress said firmly. Miss Militia was smiling broadly beside her. My eyes sparkled slightly as I looked at Armsmistress.
"Yes, Armsmistress!" Vista and I said at the same time. Armsmistress nodded.
"Now, rest, the PRT van should be here in 2 minutes. Once Lung is fully secured and contained, you will help escort her," Armsmistress said, and we both nodded immediately.
After that, Armsmistress walked away while Miss Militia followed, leaving Vista and me completely alone. I looked around. The buildings were completely destroyed, the street was unrecognizable, there was fire everywhere, still burning even on the concrete, there were burned and melted structures.
"Armsmistress is so cool." I leaned in to whisper to Vista, being completely honest. She snorted and straightened up, almost strutting.
"Of course," Vista said proudly. I laughed mischievously and looked at Vista.
"You know, I have some panties with her logo and her head on them," I said playfully. Vista tripped, and she wasn't the only one, over my insects. I could see Armsmistress stop mid-step. Vista looked at me incredulously before bursting into laughter.
"Oh, goddess, tell me that's true." Vista pleaded happily, and I chuckled.
"Of course it is, my mother bought them for me years ago, when I was a child, they should still be in perfect condition," I said, laughing. "Do you think she'd sign them for me?" I asked with a knowing smile.
"If you can get her to do it, I will kneel before you," Vista said with all the seriousness in the world.
"Vista, Skitter." Armsmistress said coldly. We stopped before turning to see her staring at us. Miss Militia stood beside her, stifling a laugh. "Looks like you're rested enough to joke around. Start clearing the debris around you," she said curtly before turning and continuing on her way.
I looked at Vista, who looked back at me. We smiled broadly at each other, and I pushed my fist in her direction.
"It was worth it." I said brazenly.
"Definitely." Vista said with the same smile on her face, bumping her fist against mine.
"Now!" Armsmistress barked without even looking at us, we laughed once more before we started to move.
"Do you think they'll let me keep one of Lung's arms? My husband likes collecting souvenirs from villains and monsters he's defeated." I hummed. Vista gave me a strange look before snorting and shrugging. Well, I had nothing to lose by asking, right?
Despite struggling with Lung… it wasn't a bad way to start the internship. I smiled slightly, though what followed was actually extremely tedious.
Lung's transport was fairly uneventful, though a bit tense. Luckily, we arrived at our destination without encountering any other ABB members. Then followed a lot of talking and paperwork—enough to keep me at headquarters for the rest of my shift.
Luckily they couldn't keep me any longer without making Strider wait, which they wouldn't do; delaying Strider came with an extra charge that the PRT definitely wouldn't want to pay, so luckily, I got out of it pretty well.
"Taylor?" Miss Militia called me before I left. I already had everything equipped and stored away. In fact, I was heading to meet Strider.
"Yes?" I asked, confused. Miss Militia grimaced.
"We know your stance regarding... your parents, but I just wanted to let you know, they've been calling the PRT lines trying to get in touch with you for the last half hour, and they've been... very persistent." Miss Militia said carefully, and I frowned.
"I guess Lung's thing is news already?" I asked, surprised. I mean, it should be 6:30 a.m., way too early in the morning, especially for someone to be awake? Or not, my brow deepened as I tried to remember my parents' schedule.
I… couldn't remember. My mother worked at the university; I knew she had classes at different times, but I couldn't recall if she had any early enough to have been awake at this hour.
"Can you ignore them?" I asked simply, Miss Militia nodded.
"They already do, or well, to a certain extent, they answer and repeat the same thing about not being able to get in touch with you, but your mother, I mean, Annette, has been the most insistent so far. You don't have to contact her, I just wanted to let you know." Miss Militia said, and I just nodded.
"Thank you for the heads-up, but... I'd prefer to remain out of contact if possible." I said gently, and Miss Militia just nodded.
"Don't worry, we'll take care of it. I just wanted to mention it. Now go on, Strider is waiting." Miss Militia said easily. I simply nodded, gave a final bow, and left. It was time to return to Japan. I pushed aside my thoughts about my parents.
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Author's Notes: And to those celebrating, Happy Easter!!