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CHAPTER START---
SHAMBLES!
Horizon appears, Sunder -His new sword- in hand, on the sidewalk of Glasgow, the small town in Kentucky.
The few cars driving through this street, the main street of the town, come to a screeching halt.
Fortunately, they miraculously stop before all crashing into each other as everyone looks at him in surprise.
Horizon gives a short wave to some of the people on the street before he begins walking deeper into town, toward a nearby diner.
As he gets closer a small crowd begins to form, staring at him from a distance.
People who were walking this street on their way to work took small detours and raised their phones to take pictures and record videos of him as he entered the diner.Stepping into the classic American diner, Horizon sees the people he came for.
An older, lanky woman, with bright green hair tied in one long and thick braid, which was draped around her shoulders twice.
Her eyes glowed green even as she casually ate her breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, and black coffee.
She was in casual clothing, a pair of sweat pants and a matching hoodie, but beneath it, Horizon could sense her Hero Costume already on.
As she ate, her friend had a pile of waffles, 13 layers high and drenched in syrup. She was just over 7ft tall, but a hair shorter than All Might's former height of 7ft2, in his muscular form.
And while she didn't sport the same build, her blocky body was arguably more intimidating, seeing as it was entirely metal.
Chrome gray and smooth with sharp edges where muscle separation would be. Even her eyes were solid organic metal.
Horizon glanced at the chair she was on, and wasn't surprised to see it was specially made for her and heavily reinforced.
'So they really are regulars here. Well it makes sense that the public doesn't know these two are involved, we kept it like that on purpose,' he thinks while walking up and sitting opposite them.
And neither woman bothers to glance at him, they simply continue eating.
"Glasgow Kentucky," Horizon says. "What a place to be sent this early in the morning. Honestly, I was confused as to why your government was sending me to Scotland, but then they told me this place exists."
"There's a small town called London less than 200km that way," the large metal woman nods to the East.
"Yeah, I learned that this morning too, as if one London wasn't enough," Horizon relaxes into his seat.
The metal woman chuckles and gets up from the table, walking over to the counter to refill her coffee.
Horizon's eyes lock onto the other woman, "So, Distortion, anything you want to tell me?"
"Nope," the woman says.
"Not even about who contacted Sentinel to give him help...the kind of help to hack into a nuclear football."
"I wasn't that trusted within the organization," she says, taking a sip of her coffee.
"We managed to rip a lot of his mind you know, before it collapsed," Horizon says as the other woman returns to her seat at the table. "Like the fact that you and Steel Golem here were trusted more than most, and the fact that Sentinel had you bent over in his bed on most nights..."
Distortion stops eating and stares down at her food.
"Is he dead?" Steel Golem asks.
"No, well, not physically, mentally...probably."
"But you can fix him," Distortion says.
"If it was worth it, but he's already outlived his usefulness, unlike you two."
Distortion sets her fork down and leans back, folding her arms across her chest, but Steel Golem keeps eating.
"Tech made contact with you, and you made contact with Sentinel, how?"
Distortion raises a brow at this, staring at Horizon with her glowing green eyes, "drones."
"Like this?" he places his left forearm above the table and pulls back his sleeve, revealing the device Mei installed into his body glove that projects a small hologram for them to see.
"Yeah, it looked similar to that, but a lot more advanced," Distortion says. "Happy now? You don't have to let the CIA destroy our minds for your answers."
"I'll let them decide that, but I got what I wanted," Horizon says as he puts the hologram away.
'So the attack on the drone lab in Mexico a few months ago was Tech, the more clues I get the less any of this makes sense, I need to find a motive for them so I can put it all together,' Horizon thinks as a young girl walks up to him.
He looks down to see her no older than Eri, with a phone in hand.
"Hello mister Horizon, can I get a picture with you, please?"
"Sure thing princess," Horizon gets up and picks her up with one hand, handing her Sunder to hold while supporting its weight with Takt.
With the other hand, he makes a peace sign, all while using Takt to hold the phone away from them and take the picture.
"Thank you, sir," she says while returning Sunder to him.
"Anything for a fan," Horizon says. "Now you and your parents should get out of here, things might get messy when I take down these villains," he gestures to the women at the table.
"They will," Distortion says as she continues drinking her coffee. "We aren't going down without a fight."
Hearing this the diner staff and customers quickly leave, putting the town on high alert, while Horizon returns to his seat at the table.
"Damn, I wanted them to make me more waffles," Steel Golem grumbles.
"I'm more concerned with the fact that Mr. Miracle over here didn't bother warning the civilians earlier," Distortion says. "Do you not know who we are?"
"I do, but it doesn't really matter, after all, I'm Horizon."
"You do realize my Quirk counters yours, right?" Distortion asks. "Or did they not include that in the briefing?"
"The briefing said that, yes," Horizon says. "What about it?"
Steel Golem chuckles, "I like this kid, he's fun."
"A privilege you only have when you're the absolute strongest," Distortion says with a newfound hunger in her eyes. "I don't mind younger men, just in case you're wondering."
"Sorry, my physiology makes romance...logistically difficult," he taps his visor a few times.
"It's alright, I'm flexible, for powerful people," Distortion leans forward, licking her lips. "And there isn't anyone as powerful as you."
"For the next month or two, Star' is stronger."
"I'm not interested in women," Distortion says.
"Well I'm sure she'll be relieved to hear that, but for now, how about I just apprehend you two and we'll pretend you didn't just try to get fucked by a 17-year-old hero while being a villain."
"You should learn to enjoy the liberty that comes with your position and power," Steel Golem says.
"I do, but this doesn't interest me," Horizon says as he gets up. "So?"
"Let me finish my food," Steel Golem says as she only has three more waffles and some bacon left.
"We'll be out in a few minutes," Distortion continues sipping her coffee as Horizon exits the diner.
They look through the large windows in front of the diner and see Horizon standing in the middle of the now-abandoned main street as the sound of news helicopters and drones begin closing in.
"You should go to the bathroom before we get out there," Steel Golem rolls her eyes at Distortion. "Go dry off."
"Why bother, I'll just get drenched the moment we start."
"You need help, like a therapist, or religion," Steel Golem grumbles.
"You wouldn't understand," Distortion stares at him through the window, seeing him as a nearly blinding blue beacon of power before she deactivates that secondary aspect of her Quirk. "Sentinel was a drop of water compared to Star', who is like a bucket of water. But this one...oh, the things I would do to feel his power stretching my p---"
"---Focus."
"Oh, right," Distortion shakes her head and finishes her coffee in one big gulp. "If Sentinel was a drop of water, and Star' is a bucket, he's like an Olympic pool, and that's just what I can see. His raw energy is, impossible, but his Quirk, it takes so much, and yet even then I can't see his limit."
"Trying to scare me?" Steel Golem asks.
"No, just stick to the plan and we'll be fine," Distortion says. "Horizon has taken damage before, he's not invulnerable, which means he can die, and my Quirk will give us the perfect opening to land a lethal blow."
"Then let's go," Steel Golem says as she gets up, having finished her food.
Distortion follows her out to the door, and as she steps outside her casual clothes bend and twist before falling apart on her body, revealing the all-green, skin-tight Hero Costume below with a whirlpool symbol in the middle of her chest.
She lifts one finger and the air around her seems to bend and twist in a visible way, and her long braid is raised over her head and draped behind her, hovering above the road.
"We really don't have to do this, you can just surrender," Horizon says, looking up at the news drones and the one local helicopter above.
"If you want to lock me in a box forever, you need to earn it," Steel Golem says.
"Damn right, now show me what you can do with all that energy," Distortion says.
Horizon warps Sunder into his hand, blade drawn, and aims at Distortion.
"So boring," she says. "Is hiding behind that fancy sword all you do, can you even fight without it?"
Horizon raises a brow beneath his visor, and warps Sunder and the sheath away.
"It's been a while since I've had a chance to really enjoy a fight, and it looks like you're volunteering," Horizon flexes his fingers to get in the zone. "But don't think for a second that I don't know what you're trying to do."
"You're supposed to stand at the very top in all aspects of being a Pro Hero, or at least in fighting villains," Steel Golem says as she rushes forward, trying to close the 30m space between them. "Let's test that!"
Horizon sees her massive fist coming and can't help but compare her to Deku.
'Stronger than Deku, but not as fast or agile, she'll never hit me, even if I don't warp around,' he says while sidestepping her first swing.
He casually leans back to dodge the second, then into her large frame to avoid the third cross.
He then places a hand on her metal body and releases a large electrical attack.
"Counter Shock," a massive arc of current flows through her body, but instead of hurting her, she instantly speeds up.
Horizon barely raises a hand and creates a Curtain fast enough to block the onslaught of attacks launched at him.
"You think I've never been hit with that before?!" Steel Golem asks. "After decades of fighting, I turned my most obvious weakness into a strength!"
As she continues to wail away at him, the temporary boost begins to wear off, allowing Horizon to once again physically react to her speed.
He dodges her attacks while striking with his own.
BOOSTER SHOT!
His reinforced gloves crash into her metal body, unable to leave a single dent.
Even as the blow shakes the entire street and breaks all the windows in the area, Steel Golem is unphased as she continues pushing forward.
'Ouch,' Horizon thinks as the bones in his hand are quickly healed.
Seeing that she'd need more time to be taken down, he simply intercepts a straight jab to his face and wraps his hand around her wrist.
TAKT!
The ground beneath Steel Golem rockets into the air, lifting her feet up.
BOOSTER SHOT!
Horizon pulls her arm forward, shoulder throwing her in an arc through the air.
She soars through the air and lands nearly a hundred meters away, down the main street of this small town, cratered into the road.
He turns around just in time, however, to erect another shield blocking the powerful wind from slamming into him.
While Steel Golem was still pulling herself out of the street a hundred meters behind him, constantly being pelted with rubble and debris by Takt, Distortion was pelting Horizon with ranged attacks.
She was simultaneously distorting the atmosphere around her to lift her and move her around, simulating flight while visibly bending the air around her, causing an effect similar to heat mirages all around her.
She then extends one hand forward and snaps her finger, and in front of her a massive distortion forms where air bends and folds into itself, creating a super high-pressure air bubble.
And in the next moment, the bubble is released, and the air around it is distorted to create a tunnel, like the barrel of a gun, aimed directly at Horizon.
He raises another shield, and this time the road around him is stripped away, meters below and around him are easily carved out, similar to All For One's Air Cannon Quirk which he used against Horizon and All Might.
Horizon remains in place, using his Faux-flight to hover above the gap in the road and move forward.
He gets his feet back on the asphalt and sprints toward her, all the while using Takt to lift chunks of the road that she tore apart and launch them at her.
With ease she constantly snaps her fingers, destroying them all while launching almost a dozen more attacks at Horizon.
But instead of stopping to stand his ground, he uses Antibacterial Curtain like a tower shield on his shoulder and bashes through them all.
He is no longer limited to standing in place while using this ability after his months of training.
With the shield on his left shoulder, he sees an opening while closing in, and twists his body to throw his right hand forward.
COUNTER SHOCK: Ranged Bolt!
He throws a small electric bolt at her, startling the woman as it's mixed in with the other projectiles being simultaneously launched via Takt.
Seeing this she puts all of her focus into defending against it, and warps space itself around her.
This causes her to drop to the road once again as the electric bolt curves around her and it sent back toward Horizon.
As it's almost about to hit him.
SHAMBLES: Flicker!
His entire body flickered, as if he glitched or lagged in real life and appeared in a different stance, this time catching the small bolt and crushing it in his hand.
The current scattered across his body harmlessly and dissipated in the air.
"NO!" Distortion yells as she thrusts both hands forward, and the space all around her twists and bends, making the entire area look like a funhouse mirror.
Horizon stops, and tilts his head slightly, "warping space, making it unstable to I can't warp in there."
"I told you, I'm a natural counter for spacial Quirks like yours," Distortion boasts as she sees Steel Golem closing in behind Horizon.
Horizon doesn't pay any mind to the heavy footfalls behind him and simply shakes his head.
"Mystery Class: Quirks beyond human comprehension," Horizon says. "Yet you think you understand it, really?"
Distortion narrows her eyes at him, sweat pouring down her forehead as she focuses on maintaining this area, then extends it to surround him, "you're trapped."
Horizon sighs, "In this world, there are people with abilities with power and applications that you cannot fathom, even if most of them aren't necessarily Mystery Class."
Horizon raises his right hand, as if reaching out to grab her.
"And above all of them---"
SHAMBLES!
He suddenly appears in the warped space in front of her, his outstretched hand perfectly arriving around her throat and squeezing it.
"---is me."
With a sickening crunch, he pushes his thumb against her windpipe and shatters it, causing immense pain that forces her to deactivate her Quirk.
She drops to her knees, looking down to the floor while raising her hands to her throat, feeling the inside of the windpipe and her lungs burning as she slowly drowns in her own blood.
"You...lied..." she struggles to say, looking up at him through teary eyes.
"Not necessarily lied," Horizon says as he turns his back to her, now facing Steel Golem who was twenty meters away. "I just simplified how my Quirk works for the masses, otherwise you'd never understand what it really does, for example..."
As Steel Golem gets within arms reach of him and raises both her arms to slam down onto Horizon, he stands there with both hands in his pockets and stares at her.
And at the last moment.
LASIK!
Two bright blue energy beams are released from his eyes, breaking his visor, and slamming directly into Steel Golem, pushing her back as her feet carve trenches into the road.
"This little trick I learned from studying Sentinel's eyes, see, how am I supposed to explain that with enough time and resources, I can do damn near anything," Horizon laughs as he feels the intoxicating power flow through him.
To Distortion and Steel Golem's horror, he begins taking careful steps forward while raising the intensity and width of the energy beams, until they both merge after leaving his eye sockets and begins pushing Steel Golem into the road.
The street cracks and shakes apart as he pushes her deeper and deeper underground, as the asphalt begins to melt and flow into the hole he is making.
And a few seconds later when his eyes begin to burn, he finally stops.
And everyone sees the car-sized hole he punched and melted into the street with molten asphalt flowing into it, and at the bottom, a half-melted Steel Golem, with a hole punched through her chest.
"Damn, I overdid it, oh well," was all Horizon said before turning back to Distortion.
She looked up, on the verge of completely drowning, to see the two broken holes in his visor releasing seemingly boundless energy mist into the air.
And in this moment, her fear, excitement, and infatuation hit heights she'd never be able to match with anyone else.
So she smiles, with blood pouring out of her mouth, she smiles, even as Horizon grabs her by the hair and lifts her to his eye level, she smiles.
"Now, I've got some questions for you," he says before they both warp away...
END CHAPTER---