etcelsior | ON MY WAY

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ON MY WAY

T E S T D R I V E M E M E

Considering apping into MASK OR MENACE? Want to dip your toes into the setting and get a feel of whether your character will fit into it? Or maybe you're just cruising and want to play around? Then you've come to the right place!

Pick any of the following scenarios below or feel free to make up your own, but don't be afraid to throw yourself at someone else's thread, either!

And remember there's only one rule in Test Drive Meme Club: HAVE FUN ON THE TEST DRIVE MEME!

01.The city of Heropa is what one might expect from a small, bright and cheery place, where locals are friendly enough and local shop owners might offer a free drink to welcome you to their fair city.

WOOF WOOF! This Friday is National Take Your Dog to Work Day, and everyone seems to be out with their pooch, enjoying the summer sun! (At least until they start to sweat and have to make a beeline for someplace with air conditioning.) However, the thing about superheroes is that their work can take them anywhere, and with the Top ImPort contest leading the news, EVERY imPort is a hero in the minds of the public!

Got a costume on? Here's a corgi. In line for an iced coffee? Come kiss this old lady's schnauzer. Allergic to dogs? Have a Claritin...and then brace yourself as this Great Dane tries to sit on you. And be sure to smile! Can you imagine how many likes a pic of the coolest new imPort cuddling man's best friend will get?

02. De Chima, Virginia, is a large city with a healthy economy, with large numbers of citizens waiting to be awed by your very presence. Look at you! Organic wonder! Synthetic wonder! Whatever you might be, those words have meaning here. Science and technology are the lifeblood of this city, so you're likely to come across a good many locals taking your picture with the newest of devices. The imPort craze remains high here, and you may find yourself cornered by overzealous imPort fans, media wannabes and opportunists alike, shoving cameras in your face.

Today, a company that manufactures tech-based educational toys—"Where Science Meets Fun!"—is running a demo of its latest project, Quincy the QuizBot. Filled with information taken from the curricula of many grade levels, Quincy is whirring through the streets to conduct pop quizzes! Answer a question right, win a prize, ranging from a coupon for a free soda at the local fast food joint to a $100 gift card, based on difficulty!

Except...something's gone wrong with Quincy's programming. An hour or two into the demo session, he starts to approach passersby and demand answers. "WHAT IS THE SQUARE ROOT OF 47284? CAN YOU LIST THE PHARAOHS OF EGYPT IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER? ANSWER-ANSWER-ANSWER-ANSWER!"

03. Maurtia Falls, Pennsylvania has carried a reputation for ups and downs ever since imPorts began reappearing again, just those few years prior. Several imPort heroes have put focused efforts into cleaning up the streets of this somewhat infamous city, while a handful of others had swooped in to help the criminal industry thrive. More so here than the streets of any other imPort city, the battle between good and evil looks more like a war of escalation than a heroic tale. Everything from the classic bank heist to brutal bloodbaths can happen around the corner. You have to keep your eyes open and your mind sharp when you live in Maurtia Falls, and hostility against imPorts can spike. The emergence of locals with superpowers is hardly helping...

Despite the lack of gratitude that's in it for you, you may want to step in once you see a very, very sad supervillain wandering Maurtia Falls' streets. Dressed in a cape that appears to be a large swath of fabric purchased from a nearby sewing store, galaxy-themed leggings and no shirt is a man who runs right into your vicinity before striking a pose and yelling, "Everyone, stop before me and my wrath! I am Mister Mars, and provided you give me what I ask for, nobody needs to get hurt!"

At which point Mister Mars snatches an old woman's purse, loudly laughs in her face, and begins to float upwards. By the time he reaches the height of the tallest building in the area, he's beginning to look slightly panicked as he fails to really be able to move anywhere but up. Meanwhile, the old woman has begun shaking her cane at him and screaming quite an assortment of alarming expletives.

Maybe you should help one or the other out? If not, just lean back and enjoy the show.

04. Nonah, North Carolina, is the liveliest of all cities; loud, busy and there's always some kind of energy in the air that gets everyone buzzing with excitement.

Welcome, everyone, to the sugar fueled festivity that is National Hot Fudge Sundae Day. The celebration is taking place on two closed down city blocks, with a market in between them selling all the pun filled souvenir shirts and stuffed ice cream cone toys, fudge bottle body pillows, and every kind of craft fair knickknack in between, that you can imagine. The powers that be in Nonah have clearly tried to divide the celebrations up into the ice cream and ‘normal’ food sides, but this is America. They can’t tell you what to do. Go try those meat and potato ‘fudge sundae’ monstrosities or cover your ice cream in wine from an adult beverage cart. Dip your deep-fried cheese in hot fudge. Disgusting food choices are in the constitution (somewhere).

But on the pure ice cream side, there are certainly enough choices to make ‘real’ food not super necessary. In addition to your normal food flavors that range from the tame you’d see in any ice cream parlor, or the slightly more hipster flavors like ‘lavender’ or ‘bacon maple,’ there are existential flavors. Yes, inspired by some previous imPorts, these flavors induce a specific emotion in the person while they eat it, which lasts up to about 10 minutes after the dessert has been consumed. These range all over, from ‘full cell phone battery’ to ‘the bitter-sweet satisfaction of vengeance against your sworn enemy.’ Maybe try a ‘puppy love’ and ‘first day of autumn’ twist covered in fudge for a true moment of contentment. It’s all in your hands. Careful though, things like ‘moment you first realized your parents were only human’ or ‘pain of failure’ are also available, though obviously not as popular. Hopefully, you don’t create an emotionally devastating mix out of curiosity (or a prank on another imPort).

In addition to ice cream, there are all kinds of family fun activities to pick from. Traditional carnival themed games have been set up, with the normal employees yelling at the crowd to attract attention. Throw a ball in a milk can, get a goldfish in a an (empty glass) ice cream cup! Pop balloons with dulled darts, get a sprinkles themed pair of sunglasses. This is Nonah, though, which means hard work deserves a reward. The bigger prizes for big point getters are a little insane: genetically modified fish that can breathe air, stuffed animals the size of a minivan, a free years worth of ice cream (to be taken home all at once now). There are also some bounce houses and slides that kids and adults alike can enjoy, just no ice cream allowed inside the rides

05. Jeopardy, Nevada by all rights shouldn't exist. A glowing neon city smack in the middle of the desert, the only reason it's still here is that the central nuclear power plant has tapped half a mile down into a subterranean lake for its water supply. So though the desert around it may be barren, the occupants of this small city are happily self sufficient. Those weird figures you see out of the corner of your eyes? Don't worry too much. Probably just weird radiation after effects. Jeopardy has a lot of those.

Welcome to the Church of the Ancient Webmistress' annual cookie sale! To raise money for a variety of community organizations, card tables line the street where the church is located, and boy, do these baked goods look delicious! Cookies, brownies, pies and more are all for sale for very reasonable prices--and to help out such a good cause, you're definitely going to buy some. Right, hero? The watching crowds certainly expect you to set a good example (when they're not busy purchasing tasty treats themselves.)

It seems there's been a mistake, though--mixed in with the cookies frosted to look like spiders are, er, a tray of someone's special brownies. Edibles, as it were (though everything here is edible--and delicious!) Just try to keep it together, okay? After all, there are kids here, and you're a role model! Or possibly not, but if you end up feeling the need to stare at your own hand for an hour, maybe find a side street. Or at least purchase some extra munchies to support any number of charities.

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"Tch..."

So the hand was made of sturdier stuff than he anticipated. Whatever, he was close enough to AP Shot it and Shigaraki's dry face in one going and call it a d-

Except before he could back away, he felt something cold and clammy against his wrist. The cloud of rage muddling his mind cleared, just enough for him to hesitate and narrow his eyes at Shigaraki. He knew what he was doing.

Katsuki used his free hand to throw another explosion with as much force as he could at Shigaraki's hand, ignoring the risk he posed on himself. A broken wrist was a hell of a lot better than a missing one.

The hand and his jaw as it seemed. A jaw that had seen fiercer punches, but still stung with the impact that he knew held force behind that swing. It was satisfying, seeing the realization on Bakugo's face and it was second only to having the opportunity that he did. He could have closed that distance. Sadly, all for not as the second hand came up to aid its brother and Shigaraki let go, not unscathed himself by the high heat but not entirely worried about it either. He could heal himself and he had against worse and hotter flames.

Gaining distance again after dragging his hand over the floor to re-secure his father to the grip of his opposite hand, he realized he could use this to his advantage. "Ahhh, Katsukiii-kuuun! You're being impulsive— You don't have to be scared of me. I'm not going to hurt you." There was no doubt in Shigaraki's mind that Bakugo wasn't scared of him, not conventionally and he also knew that throwing out large quirks would be no fun. This was fun. He licked his bottom lip and it did nothing for the parched look of it, if only that he was waiting for the right time to strike without lifting any of the fingers in his possession. His frame was in the ready position, as though he was ready for the attack knees slightly bent and arms at his sides, but barely.

Shut the hell up.

He wanted to snarl, flying back and biting back a wince at the impact his blast made on his arm. He could stand his own flames, but the force of it would definitely leave a bruise.

"You think I'm afraid of a loser like you who barely leaves the basement?" Katsuki snorted, and if this weren't a life-or-death situation, he probably would have laughed. "You're nothing and you're outnumbered. None of your spineless little friends are here." It was a lie, but he didn't feel guilty about it. Not after everything.

But just because Katsuki was pissed didn't mean he was stupid. He couldn't use the buildings to his advantage, that would just put civilians at risk, but getting close to Shigaraki was a bad idea too. Taking to the air, he started propelling himself with each explosion, his body spinning not unlike a tornado as he shot back down to try and collide with Shigaraki with his most powerful move, Howitzer Impact.

This was exactly what he was hoping to goad out. Bakugo's anger was just as bad as his own and Shigraki loved every second of it knowing that he was falling directly and squarely into the web. Perfectly so. "I think you are afraid, yes." He managed out just before watched the young man rocket into the sky.

There were moments where he had to contemplate if this was the best move and the answer was undoubtedly yes. As in fact, regardless of what would or wouldn't happen to him, his abilities would take care of not letting it kill him. He stood still, watching and studying as the torrent of wind and explosion came his way. There was no fighting back, he didn't make a grab, he had other plans that came of this.

The only thing he did was brace himself for the impact with the cross of his arms over his father's hand and let the incredible force knock him back and roll him over onto the cement.

On hands and knees he crawled over, retrieving Hana to his wrist where one of her had fallen from. He wasn't badly hurt, but he wasn't unscathed, "Is that all?" He asked, looking up from his position on his hands and knees, coughing lightly where the smoke and dust had picked up.

"Is that all?"

No. Katsuki stepped back, the shock sobering him up. His hands trembled and his eyes were wide as he struggled to make sense with what he was seeing. He hadn't expected to go down easy...but this?

No. Fuck that. He lifted both palms up, firing at the ground around Shigaraki without so much as stopping, putting his all into each explosion. He had to kill Shigaraki, he had to stop him, not just for himself but for this entire city.

There were few things in life that Shigaraki loved and those things were usually twisted as was what he loved right then. The thing that he loved right then were hot-headed children giving him exactly what he wanted. Being attacked by a "hero" the moment he stepped foot out into the open without a single provocation to the world around them. This suited his needs and his smile only widened while he adjusted Hana during Katsuki's momentary shock.

This was too much fun. He didn't even have to use Decay, not yet, at least. The barrage of explosions made him move at least a little, dodge at least some, but there was no Eraser Head here to take away his ability to regenerate any time there was a severe landing of a blow. His luck, too, some of those would have killed a normal man, but he wasn't the normal man that Katsuki had insulted in his own home. Not anymore.

He hadn't even broken a sweat.

His clothes were worn and steaming, there were small fires on some of the fabric by the time he patted them out. He looked worse for ware, going ujp against someone like Katsuki couldn't keep him from injury, but his All For One kept him from mortal wounds. Shigaraki, on the other hand, was itching, literally, to get back in the ring, he put on a bit of a show, panting as though the effort had left him winded. "This, Katsuki-kun—" he spat blood from his mouth where the impacts from that tornadoish hell had left him reeling, "Is how your heroes act. Murderous rage. Unrefined hatred even for those who haven't lifted a hand against them. You wonder why I tried to take you in? To save you from their influence and give you a life of freedom."

He took himself up by a near lamp post, holding onto it to draw himself to his feet. "You want me dead so badly and for what?" he opened his arms, and put them forward. "Should I attack in retaliation? Would you like that? Or would you like to continue your one sided attack on an innocent?"

Katsuki didn't give up. He didn't know how to. However it was difficult not to get discouraged when Shigaraki didn't fight back- he just stood there, like this was another fucking normal day. Katsuki expected that he would have to blink back angry tears, yet his eyes remained dry, feeling just the smallest shred of hope when he caught sight of the blood being spat from that disgusting mouth.

So he did bleed.

He said nothing while the villain monologued, nearly snorting. Was that what this was about? Making him look like the villain?

"Yeah, no."

He started firing again, walking toward Shigaraki and getting closer which each attack. Long-distance was helpful and all, but he needed to end this fast.

To Shigaraki this was a normal day. He had been training hard and gone through unspeakable torture to get to where he was. This, very powerful, brat wasn't any match for those things he endured. He tired of this game, however and he knew he had been under attack long enough to know that this place had done something to him. That there was something wrong where his ability to regenerate was concerned.

"Second stage boss it is!" Maybe, just maybe, he could fire a warning shot of his own. Something that he tried to do while he tucked and rolled his way out of the first attack and being shoved back by the next one and its companions. It left him the opportunity to put his hand to the floor and make an even bigger dent than what the young man had himself. Even if Shigaraki had the ability to control it now, if Katsuki wasn't careful, any small bit of that decaying matter in the air was going to spell disaster for whatever it fell on without the benevolence of the man controlling it.

At this point, the underground pipelines and some wiring had been ruptured, creating makeshift water fountains that sparked dangerously with electric currents. Katsuki had no idea what Shigaraki was talking about, but the dent was telling enough for him to pause and catch something out of the corner of his eye-

A nearby bench had been hit by the decay particles, turning dry and gray before it faded into the wind.

"Shit-"

Katsuki noticed movement closer to him, and without thinking smacked off the neckguard as it began to decay too, only for it to spread to his glove and up his bracer. Without hesitation, he used his quirk to launch it off as it decayed into nothing too, leaving his left arm exposed and vulnerable.

Somehow, Shigaraki had powered up significantly since the last time he saw him. And now he was here, in Heropa, where millions of civilians lived, and Katsuki was alone and he couldn't run, he couldn't leave them, he had to fight.

His wide-eyed stare twisted into a scowl as he began running at him again.

The smile worn on his face could only be rivalled by the devil as he watched while parts of the once scenic area were turned to ash. Sure, he wasn't letting it spread as far as he could, only within the radius that they had already taken down, but he could have. He could have and he was restraining himself specifically to show that he could have. Watching that bracer fall to ruin was one of the most satisfying things he could have ever done and the look on the face of his opponent left him in shambles inside that he couldn't fight to his fullest. Not if he wanted to retain some shred of a leg to stand on, so to speak.

"That's one down-" he called out as the teen ran at him, deciding to meet him half way with an awkward, eerie dash of his own. Even without the massive amount of restraint at having his familial reminders on him, Shigaraki never could do anything normally. That included his run as his hand raised to the air and the other at his side. Just a little bit of fun, as a treat. He wouldn't kill the youth, he wouldn't disintegrate him, just teach him that he shouldn't mess with things beyond his scope. When he perceived he getting close enough, he swept down to try to knock Katsuki's legs out from under him and pin him.

He knew that he couldn't keep going on like this, both of them would be admonished at this rate. There had to be concessions for old friends, didn't there? Depending on his success rate, at least he could play into and out of the hands of fate as he needed to.

There were few moments when Katsuki felt actual terror. This was one of them. Shigaraki had powered up, not just through his quirk, but physical strength as well. No longer was he the scrawny, ill-postured edgy loser with a too-powerful quirk. Now he could hold Katsuki down too.

Katsuki was certain his heart was going to burst free of his ribcage with how fast it was beating now, his eyes wide in terror as he couldn't so much as breathe. There hadn't been time to call for help, and now he was SOL. There hadn't been time-

This was going to hurt, with how he was only working with one bracer now, but he had to try, he had to fight, win, and just kill the son of a bitch.

Just die. Just die-

His palms on the ground, he fired off as powerful an explosion as he could that wouldn't leave a gaping crater in the ground.

Those few moments of terror brought a happy grin to this man's face. It meant that he knew, that he finally knew, that he was outmatched. Even better where he was concerned that he hadn't taken an arm, or a leg, just showed off a small bit of what he could do and didn't on a massive scale. "Katsuki-kun settle d--" Of course he wouldn't stop, or settle down. Shigaraki knew that from before and he knew it now. The bright light of the explosion alone made him shut his eyes, the force of it was enough to blow him back into a particularly hard surface of ground they had uplifted from their back and forth.

Jarring free one of the hands on his neck, he let it hang by the red string connecting them as he coughed and got back up to his knees at least. "If you keep going..." he pushed himself to a shaky slouch.

How silly of Shigaraki. If one of them was here, he would have to keep an eye out for any others. He couldn't and wouldn't be sure, but. "If you're going to kill me, then you'll do it in cold blood." His outfit was ruined and if he wanted to heal, or could, he wasn't. All he was doing was adjusting the hand back at his neck and then lowering his hands. In fact, putting them behind his back. He had a plan and he was going to stick to it and as long as he lived he wouldn't ever forget just how terrified Bakugo was.

Good. He was free. The worst of the the terror clawing at Katsuki's chest eased, but he couldn't exhale just yet. After colliding with the concrete, he got up, coughing from the ashes and dust.

"Stop talking," He grunted, lifting up his palms, bruised and bleeding from the fight, to throw another explosion, only this one wasn't meant as an attack, but to blind Shigaraki's view with light and a smokescreen which he used it to try and get behind him without his noticing and attempt to grab both wrists.

"You're not gonna see the light of day."

There was no stopping a villain from talking. It was just what they did, give away too little, or never enough, or too much. But talk? Yeah he could do that. The bright blast of the explosions threw him off when they were so close to where he was, closing his eyes. It didn't take a genius to realize where he was either when he felt the hands on his wrists and heard the speaking from behind him.

The only thing he could think to do was to attack without using his hands, grabbing his wrists only really meant that he had to force him back onto a surface to crumble him into dust, but really? What fun was that? The logical thing was to throw his head back to try to catch Katsuki off guard enough to cause him to let go

Katsuki still held on as tightly as he could when Shigaraki threw his head back- in fact, he launched his own head forward to headbutt him, hard enough that his vision spotted in and out. But he couldn't hold onto him forever. He needed help. He needed his friends or teachers-

"Someone! Go get the Justice League or whatever superheroes you can!"

He screamed, his voice hoarse, at any onlookers brave enough to hover somewhere around the sidelines.

The counter force made him growl and while he stood there, letting his head spin, he contemplated if he wanted Katsuki on the floor, or if he felt like being a good boy to solidify the issue. He chuckled softly, letting his laugh become just a little more prominent. "Call them? For What? An impulsive boy who attacked unprovoked? The same people you're asking to get are... Hm, not going to entirely see your side of manhandling."

This time he leaned back, not to aim for anything. "I could kill you right now, Ka~tsu~ki-kun." He made sure that any time he called him on first name basis, it was to goad him, or to make light that he knew it. The familiarity wasn't because they were friends. "From this position, right here. What have I done to make you so upset here in a city where I've done nothing but be assaulted?" His neck was itchy and his body was tense and he wanted his hands back for those specific reasons, but Katsuki would certainly pay for this, and it likely wouldn't be out of his own back that the pound of flesh would be taken, either.

"You think I care? I'll make 'em see," He hissed, not stepping back or relaxing his grip when Shigaraki leaned back. He refused to show any weakness as long as he could help it.

Despite his resolve, the mocking way the taller man spoke his name cut through his nerves like knives, more than the threat itself. He knew Shigaraki could kill him, but like hell he'd let him. His grip on his wrists tightened, possibly painfully. He hoped it was painful, the son of a bitch. "You're trash. You're a fucking phenomenon because you're living, breathing trash. You shouldn't be alive."

The two of them disagreeing on that point only made Tomura more amused and he shrugged his shoulder dismissively. He was only too amused at the way he could easily bait out a very powerful hero and really today had been a great day. This would be useful in the future and fun to get his payback.

Gritting his teeth a little more, the ~~only slightly~~ taller of the two seemed undisturbed despite the tight grip on his wrists. But he did tilt his head, almost curiously without the curiosity behind it when he spoke of how he shouldn't be alive. "Ahh?" The grin was spreading across his face again, "You're probably right, but I am and you're only holding me here because I'm letting you. You know if you let go, I'd stand here and wait for your heroes to come. Who else would come here? Midoriya? Hmm... if I called loudly enough that you were in danger, who would come running I wonder. Someone else who wouldn't be able to entertain me as much as you did? Someone that to me would be inconsequential maybe?"

He gave a firm jerk of his wrists, "I'd hate to have to be uncivil to you or anyone who cared enough to try to save you. Especially in a new place, with a new start."

It was a small blessing that Tomura couldn't see his expression unless he tried, because the more he talked, the wider and more distant Katsuki's expression became, as he was overwhelmed with what Tomura implied.

He hated Tomura. He didn't think he could take him on his own, not like this, but he was right, getting anyone else involved would put them at risk. Shit, so many innocent people had already been hurt, and it wasn't because of Tomura, but him. He was the fucking weakling.

He had to deal with this himself. It was the only way.

He dug his hands into Tomura's wrists as he jerked them, and in one quick movement, released one hand to attempt and blast him in the back of his head. He needed him unconscious.

Edited 2020-07-30 21:26 (UTC)

There was no need to see an expression when he could feel it just standing there in the stark silence. Just as he planned to, didn't move, not one inch and despite the jerk on his wrists and what he figured was coming, all he did was stand stark still and let it happen.

Besides that, a nap wouldn't be so bad and no matter where he woke up, on the street or anywhere else... He still found this a win. However, when the upset of it hit him and the level to which he had to humble himself to exact his plans hit him, there would be hell to pay. Slow, agonizing hell.

Katsuki stared at Shigaraki's form, eyes wide and shocked that actually worked. After a moment, he observed him to make sure that he wasn't faking it- at least as sure as he could be, and lifted the man's body over his shoulders to drag him away, his stare blank again and ignoring the fearful stared aimed his way.

Aimed at him. Not Shigaraki.

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ON MY WAY

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