The afternoon had arrived much too soon for Ren's liking. His hands were buried deep in his pockets as he walked through the residential streets on his way back home.
Damn it, he thought with frustration. Toru's parents had to show up right when things were getting interesting.
He remembered Toru saying a hurried goodbye at her front door; her parents had returned early from their business trip. They had planned to spend the afternoon together, but fate had other plans.
Though I guess it's fine, he admitted internally with a sigh. It's good for her to spend time with her family. It can't be perverted activities twenty-four hours a day.
He passed a small convenience store, barely registering it as his thoughts wandered toward the upcoming sports festival. Group training would start tomorrow. He'd have to start taking things more seriously if he wanted to impress the pro heroes—though, with Nemuri giving him private tutoring, that might not be as necessary.
Professor X mentioned I've become stronger, he reflected. But so far, all I've done is use my powers for completely inappropriate things. I should practice real combat applications before...
"GIVE ME ALL THE MONEY NOW!"
Ren stopped dead in his tracks, snapping his head toward the source of the sound. About twenty yards away, inside a small family-owned shop, he could see violent movement through the windows.
His heart immediately began to race.
A robbery?
He approached cautiously, hugging the wall of the adjacent building. From his new vantage point, he could see clearly through the store's front window.
Three figures dominated the interior of the small shop. The first was impossible to ignore: a massive crocodile-man, easily eight feet tall, with dark green scaly skin and over-bulging muscles. His reptilian eyes gleamed with cold cruelty as he slammed a claw large enough to crush a skull onto the counter.
The second villain was thinner but no less threatening. Blue electricity crackled between his fingers, jumping from knuckle to knuckle in visible arcs of energy. He had a nervous smirk on his face as he aimed casually at the terrified clerk behind the counter.
The third had something deeply disturbing about his appearance. His mouth was grotesquely large, taking up nearly the bottom half of his face, with sharp teeth visible even when closed. Small wisps of smoke drifted from his nostrils.
Shit, Ren thought, feeling the adrenaline begin to flood his system. This is real. A real robbery.
He looked around quickly, hoping to see the comforting figure of a pro hero rushing toward the scene. But the streets were strangely empty; there were only common civilians who were quickly backing away from the area after noticing the commotion.
Now what?
His brain split into two completely opposing voices.
Rational Voice: Call the police. Wait for the pros. You're a first-year student. This isn't your job.
Stupid and Brave Voice: How long has it been since the robbery started? How long will it take for heroes to get here? What if they hurt the clerk while you're waiting?
The crocodile-man slammed the counter again, making the entire structure shake.
"I SAID NOW!"
God damn it.
Ren felt the sudden realization that he had been training at UA precisely for moments like this.
Professor X said telekinesis is versatile, he remembered. I've been using my powers to lift skirts and do all kinds of perverted crap. Why can't I use them for something useful for once?
His eyes landed on a nearby trash can. Inside was a crumpled paper bag, probably from a burger someone had eaten earlier. He pulled it out quickly, ignoring the grease stain on one side.
I'm not going to risk the police detaining me for illegal Quirk use, he thought as he poked two quick eye holes through the paper with his fingers. Besides, the best heroes started with makeshift masks, right?
He pulled the bag over his head, adjusting it so the holes lined up with his eyes.
Here goes nothing.
He pushed the store door open with more force than necessary. The bell above the entrance rang with a cheerful chime, completely inappropriate for the situation.
The three villains turned toward him simultaneously.
"What the hell...?" the electricity guy muttered, looking Ren up and down with confusion.
The crocodile-man narrowed his reptilian eyes.
"Who the hell are you?" he growled. "We perfectly studied the patrols of the hero assigned to this zone. There shouldn't be any hero nearby for at least thirty minutes."
"Besides," the big-mouthed one added with a slightly hissing voice, "we would have heard about some stupid hero with a paper bag on his head."
Stupid hero with a bag, Ren repeated mentally, feeling a sting of offense. My hero mask has character.
"I'm new," Ren said. His voice sounded slightly muffled through the paper. "And you guys are making a very big mistake."
The crocodile-man let out a deep laugh.
"A student?" His eyes lit up with cruelty. "Perfect. It'll be fun to break some young bones."
He lunged forward with surprising speed for someone his size. The floor shook under his heavy footsteps as he closed the distance in two massive strides. His claw rose, preparing for a devastating downward strike.
Shit, he's fast.
Ren activated his telekinesis instinctively, pushing himself sideways with force. His body glided through the air as if skating on ice, dodging the blow by inches. The crocodile's claw tore through the empty space where his head had been a second ago and slammed into the linoleum floor with an audible crack.
"What...?" the villain grunted, confused.
Damn it, Ren thought, landing in a crouched position. I can't touch him directly. He's too big and strong.
The crocodile-man turned with terrifying speed, his eyes searching for Ren. But the student was no longer where he expected.
"Up here, lizard."
The crocodile snapped his head up just in time to see Ren's fist approaching. The punch connected with his temple with a dull thud.
THUD.
The crocodile-man blinked, dazed. Ren probably weighed a fraction of what he did, but something was wrong.
Very wrong.
His head exploded with pain from the inside. It was as if the blow had completely ignored his reinforced scaly skin and impacted his brain directly. Blurred vision. Sudden nausea. Total disorientation.
"GAHH!" he roared, staggering back and clutching his head with his claws.
What was that? he thought in a panic. My Quirk gives me nearly impenetrable skin. That punch shouldn't have done anything. But I feel like...
"Crocodile!" the electricity villain shouted. The blue arcs in his hands intensified as he aimed at Ren. "Get away from him!"
He fired a bolt of electricity directly at the masked student.
Ren saw it coming. He used his telekinesis to launch himself again, this time toward the ceiling. The bolt passed under him and hit a shelf of products, causing cans and boxes to explode in every direction.
Too slow, Ren thought as he propelled himself from the ceiling toward the electric villain.
The guy barely had time to raise his hands defensively before Ren landed in front of him. The student planted his foot on the ground and spun, connecting a low sweep that caught the villain's legs.
But as he performed the sweep, Ren applied telekinesis: he pulled the villain's ankles upward while pushing his shoulders down.
The effect was devastating. The villain flipped completely in the air before slamming into the floor back-first.
CRASH.
"ARGH!" he howled, electricity scattering uncontrollably from his body in uncoordinated spasms.
The third villain, the one with the big mouth, stepped back with wide eyes.
"What the hell are you?" he whispered.
Ren straightened up slowly; the paper bag crinkled slightly as he moved his head to look directly at him.
This is easier than I thought, he admitted internally. Either I'm better than I realized, or these guys are weaker than they looked.
"Your turn," Ren said, pointing at the big-mouthed villain.
The guy reacted instinctively. His mouth opened wide and a torrent of bright orange fire exploded forward, filling the entire aisle with roaring flames.
WHOOOOSH!
Ren felt the scorching heat even before the flames reached him. He raised a telekinetic barrier in front of him, compressing the air into an invisible wall dense enough to deflect the fire.
The flames split around the barrier. The heat was intense, making sweat break out immediately under his paper bag.
I can't keep this up for long, he thought, feeling the mental strain of holding the barrier.
But then he had a better idea.
While the villain was still spewing fire, Ren extended his mental powers toward the attacker's mind.
Your partner is behind you.
The big-mouthed villain blinked; confusion crossed his face for a fraction of a second. His eyes involuntarily flicked to the side.
And in that moment of distraction, his control over the direction of the fire wavered.
The torrent of flames swerved sharply, cutting horizontally across the store and directly toward where the crocodile-man was trying to recover from his daze.
"WHAT?!" the crocodile roared, throwing his arms up just in time to shield his face as the fire engulfed him.
The flames hit his scaly skin with full force. Though his Quirk gave him some resistance, he wasn't immune to fire. The scales began to blacken, and the smell of burnt flesh filled the air.
"GAHHHH!" he wailed, rolling on the floor frantically to put out the flames.
The big-mouthed villain cut off his attack abruptly, horrified.
"I'm sorry! I didn't... I didn't mean to...!"
Ren didn't give him time to explain. He lunged forward, closing the distance in an instant. He connected a direct punch to the villain's solar plexus, but again applied telekinesis: instead of just the physical impact, he telekinetically pushed the air out of the guy's lungs as he struck.
The villain folded instantly, breathless, his enormous mouth open in a silent scream as he collapsed to his knees.
Three against one, Ren thought, stepping back to assess the situation. And I'm tearing them apart.
The electric villain had scrambled back up.
"You... what kind of Quirk do you have?" he asked with a trembling voice.
Ren tilted his head slightly.
"The versatile kind," he replied simply.
The electricity guy looked at his two companions: one still rolling on the floor with visible burns, the other on the ground unable to breathe. Realization crossed his face.
We're screwed.
He raised both hands, electricity crackling violently as he prepared his strongest attack. Blue arcs jumped between his fingers, growing in intensity until his entire body glowed with energy.
"IF I'M GOING DOWN, I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME!"
He fired everything at once: a massive bolt of electricity that lit up the entire store with a blinding blue light.
Ren reacted on pure instinct. He raised both hands and telekinetically grabbed one of the heavy metal shelves to his left. He ripped it from the floor with a screech of twisting metal and threw it directly into the incoming bolt.
The metal shelf acted as a perfect lightning rod. The electricity hit the metal and dispersed instantly in a thousand different directions, discharging into the floor, the walls, the ceiling... everywhere except toward Ren.
KZZZZZT!
The store lights flickered violently before exploding in a rain of sparks and shattered glass.
Darkness fell over the interior, broken only by the lingering glow of scattered electricity and the small flames still burning on some spilled products.
The electric villain stood there panting, completely exhausted from discharging all his energy at once.
"No... it can't be..." he muttered.
Ren walked toward him slowly through the gloom.
"Are you done yet?" he asked in a calm voice.
The villain backed away, stumbling over debris.
"Wait... wait a second..."
Ren didn't wait. He launched forward with telekinesis, closing the distance instantly. He connected a direct punch to the villain's jaw, again applying additional telekinetic pressure at the moment of impact.
The guy's head snapped violently to the side. His eyes rolled back, and he slumped over, completely unconscious.
Ren stood in the middle of the wrecked store, his chest heaving with heavy breaths. The paper bag was slightly torn now, and he could feel sweat running down his back.
I did it, he thought with satisfaction. I actually did it.
A pitiful whimper came from behind the counter. The store clerk was curled up there, shaking violently, his wide eyes staring at Ren.
Ren raised a hand in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture.
"Hey, kid, don't be afraid," he started to say. "I am the..."
WEEEEOOO WEEEEOOO WEEEEOOO.
The sound of police sirens echoed, approaching rapidly.
Shit.
The three villains groaned simultaneously from their positions on the floor. The crocodile-man, still with visible burns on his skin, weakly raised a claw.
"Thank God," he rasped. "The police are here... this psychopath with a paper bag is a monster..."
Ren felt a surge of panic. He had defeated three villains, but he had used his Quirk openly in public without a license. Technically, that was illegal. The police would have questions.
I'm not staying here to explain this after all that crap.
He ran toward the back of the store, his eyes frantically searching for an exit. Unfortunately, there was no back door.
I need to make my own exit.
He stepped up to the concrete wall, placing both hands against the cold surface. He closed his eyes, concentrating on his telekinesis.
Come on, he thought, applying massive pressure from all angles at once. BREAK!
The wall resisted for three seconds.
CRAAAAAASH!
An entire section of the wall exploded outward in a burst of concrete dust, bricks, and debris. An irregular hole about six feet wide appeared where the solid wall had been moments before.
Ren wasted no time. He ran through the newly created hole, entering the back alley.
Now I can fly and get away...
He concentrated, trying to apply telekinesis upward on himself the same way he had been doing laterally during the fight.
His body lifted off the ground about a foot and a half.
It's working!
Then, immediately, he lost control of the direction and shot forward uncontrollably.
WHAM.
His face slammed directly into the wall of the opposite building with a painful impact.
"DAMN IT!" he yelled, falling backward onto the alley floor. The paper bag finally tore completely and fell off his head.
He rubbed his aching nose, cursing internally.
Stupid adrenaline, flying is harder than I thought. I definitely need to practice that before trying it again in a real situation.
The sirens were getting closer. He could hear police voices shouting instructions outside the store.
No flying then, he decided, standing up awkwardly. I'll use my feet like a normal person.
He snatched up the remains of the paper bag and tossed them into a nearby dumpster. Then he started running down the alley, using small telekinetic boosts to increase his speed when necessary.
He hopped a fence. He rounded a corner. He cut through a small park. His lungs burned, but he didn't stop until he was at least six blocks away from the scene.
Finally, he slumped against the wall of an apartment building, panting heavily.
I made it, he thought, a smile beginning to form on his face. I took down three villains all by myself.
Adrenaline was still coursing through his veins, making his hands shake slightly. His heart was beating so hard he could hear it in his ears.
This is... this is just as thrilling as giving girls orgasms, he admitted with surprise. Maybe better in some ways.
*****
Back at the store, police officers entered with guns drawn, prepared for an active hostage situation.
What they found was a scene none of them would soon forget.
Three villains lay on the ground in various states of injury and misery. The crocodile-man had severe burns on his scaly skin and was shaking uncontrollably. The electric guy was unconscious with a massive bruise forming on his jaw. The big-mouthed one was curled in a fetal position, still trying to catch his breath.
And behind the counter, the store clerk was sitting in a puddle of his own urine, his pants completely soaked, staring into space with glazed eyes.
"What... what happened here?" the lead officer asked, looking around the wrecked store in disbelief.
The crocodile-man raised a trembling claw, pointing weakly toward the hole in the back wall.
"Paper... bag..." he whispered with a broken voice. "Paper bag... hero..."
The officer exchanged confused looks with his partner.
"Is he delusional?" the second cop asked.
"Probably trauma," the chief replied. "Call the ambulance. And get statements from everyone as soon as possible."
They tried to speak to the store clerk, but the kid could only shake violently and babble incoherent words.
The paramedics arrived fifteen minutes later and had to sedate both the clerk and the big-mouthed villain, both of whom had apparently gone into some kind of traumatic shock.
The detectives who arrived later to investigate the scene found evidence of an extremely violent combat. Whoever had intervened knew exactly how to apply force for maximum effect.
But no camera had captured a clear image of the masked vigilante.
The case would be filed as "Unknown Hero Intervention - Investigation Pending."
******
Ren finally reached his apartment as the sun had set completely. He climbed the stairs slowly, his legs trembling slightly from the combination of intense exercise and adrenaline crash.
He opened his apartment door and locked it behind him. He leaned against the door, letting his head fall back with a long, deep sigh.
His heart was still racing. But the smile on his face was impossible to suppress.
That was incredible, he thought, closing his eyes and reliving every moment of the fight. Completely, absolutely incredible.
He pushed off the door and walked toward his bedroom, starting to strip off his sweaty clothes. He needed a shower.
Maybe I should do this more often, he considered as he flipped on his bedroom light. Combine the perverted training with real hero training. Get the best of both worlds.
He took two steps toward his bathroom when the pain hit him.
It was as if someone had driven an ice pick directly through his skull.
"ARGH!"
His legs gave out instantly. He collapsed forward, barely managing to twist so he landed on his back instead of face-first.
He hit the floor with a dull thud, his vision flickering with black spots.
Damn it, was his last coherent thought before the darkness swallowed him whole. Maybe I overdid it...
******
Author's Note:
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