MHA: I Am Homelander

Alright, I'll be honest, we were like a few powerstones short of hitting our goal for a bonus chapter, so...fiiine, I guess you guys get a bonus chapter in a few hours.

But lets try our best last week's record, eh?

As usual, bonus chapter at 100 powerstones, that shouldn't be too hard, eh?

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Loid didn't have time to assess his injury.

Muscular lunged again, roaring with excitement. The air cracked as his fist came down.

But this time—

WHOOSH!

Loid blitzed past the attack, gritting his teeth, eyes sharp with burning focus. With a clean pivot, he dodged and returned fire, launching his own punch toward Muscular's head.

BANG!

The impact struck—not skin, but something hard and fibrous. Muscle. Thick cords of it had shifted at the last second, intercepting Loid's punch. Muscular grinned.

"You're strong," he cackled. "But—"

"—Hey," Loid cut him off.

Muscular paused, blinking.

"I'm going to kill you."

His voice was low. His eyes, dark.

For a moment, Muscular was surprised.

Then he howled with laughter. "That's the spirit!"

He swung again. And again—

but Loid ducked, sliding low beneath the blow, his eyes shadowed by the crimson glow of the overhead lights.

He came up with a sharp jab, only for it to meet that same wall of shifting fibers—Muscular's cheek flexing unnaturally as the cords of muscle thickened again to intercept.

"You're strong," Muscular began to cackle, but Loid slammed another punch, cutting the villain off mid-sentence. Again, the hit was cushioned by muscle. Again, Loid's fist found no purchase.

Muscular's grin widened.

Loid danced around the blows, his body weaving between them, only countering when he could—his working arm snapping out with fierce jabs. The other hung limp at his side, bruised and throbbing.

Still, he managed to dodge, outmaneuvering Muscular's powerful but predictable swings.

From the sidelines, Kazuo leaned forward, heart pounding.

"He's fast enough, but..."

Why isn't it working?

Loid's punches were landing, but Muscular didn't even flinch. The layers of muscle absorbed each strike like it was a raindrop on pavement.

Kazuo clenched his fist. He knew Loid couldn't use his heat vision here—it was too distinctive. Too risky. That paired with the immense strength could easily be used to be traced back to him later.

"So if the punches aren't doing anything…"

He furrowed his brow.

Loid couldn't win this way.

Muscular snorted. "You're fast. I'll give you that. But you're running more than you're doing damage. Let's spice this up."

SCHLK—SHLK—KRHK!

More muscle erupted from his arms, shoulders, neck—twisting, wrapping, doubling in density. His form expanded like a grotesque balloon of raw power. The ground trembled under his weight.

Kazuo's eyes widened.

Loid's room to maneuver was shrinking.

He was cornered.

Muscular charged, the feral grin on his face never lessening as he swung with a body part that was unknown due to the copious muscle.

Loid gritted his teeth and met him head-on.

BAAAAAANG!

Their fists collided. The shockwave cracked the foundation beneath them. Loid's feet slid back an inch, his arm flung back—but Muscular didn't budge.

"More!" the villain howled, swinging again.

Loid pulled back his arm and struck once more.

BANG! BANG!

A flurry of strikes. Each louder than the last.

Then Muscular raised his other fist.

"I said more!"

Loid mirrored him.

With his broken arm.

The two launched a barrage. Rapid punches clashed mid-air. Blood flew. Bones cracked.

CRACK.

Loid's arms turned a gut wrenching shade of purple, cuts running along them like snakes and spewing blood back onto the boy's face with every blow.

But he didn't stop.

His eyes rolled back. His body screamed. But he kept swinging.

"He isn't in his right mind..." Kazuo thought, seeing the berserker-like expression plastered on Loid's face.

The crowd erupted.

The commentator lost his mind. "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN—THIS IS INSANITY! LOOK AT THEM GO!"

Then he motioned for someone.

"Let's put it in perspective—here's our fight club medic!"

A woman in a white coat stepped forward.

"The Division 4 champion is fighting with both arms broken. The discoloration alone shows deep internal damage. Bones, muscle, ligaments, enough to damage his arms permanently. If he keeps this up…"

She paused grimly.

"He might never be able to use them again."

Kazuo's heart dropped.

"HEY!" he yelled, fists pounding against the railing. "YOU CAN'T BEAT HIM LIKE THIS!"

No response.

Was Loid even conscious?

"Use your brain, dammit!" Kazuo shouted. "Like you told me to! The same way you helped me!"

But Loid kept punching. And breaking.

"Hahahaha! He can't hear you! Don't you see him?! He's lost in the thrill of the battle!"

Kazuo slammed his hand down in frustration.

The ring was crumbling, shockwaves blasting out like heavy winds as the closest individuals to the ring had no choice but to cover their eyes from time to time.

Loid was vanishing beneath the tower of muscle that bore down on him, until the two pulled back at the same time, a moment of respite looming in the air until...

BAAAAANG!

Another clash, another shockwave as something akin to a final blow landed.

Their fists...well, Loid's fist and what seemed like Muscular's entire body clashed, but it was clear who was being pushed back.

Muscular bellowed, his body now a mountain of writhing flesh, arms indistinguishable from the beast they stemmed from.

He roared, stepping forward—bringing his entire bulk down for one final push. "Let's do this!"

Loid stood, barely, eyes white as his figure was barely visible from the crowd.

His feet didn't move.

But his knees bent.

His body leaned back.

Slowly as his fist failed to push back the mountain that was his opponent.

Kazuo's grip on the railings tightened. "Get up, man, please!"

But Loid didn't respond, his body arched like a limbo dancer nearing collapse.

Kazuo couldn't take it anymore.

He moved—stepping too close to the edge of the cage.

Two burly guards blocked his path.

"No interference," one warned. "Get back."

Kazuo clenched his fists, stepping back.

But he began to stomp.

Each stomp small. Subtle. But charged.

'Come on, come on come on...charge up...'

He was ready to leap, just a little more, taking a step forward as his hair floated until...

"NO!"

Kazuo froze.

The voice came from the ring.

Muscular raised an eyebrow.

Kazuo's eyes locked on the little space he could see.

Loid.

Barely standing..if you could call it that. Bloodied. Bent. Broken, his back inches from the ground yet his feet still somehow planted on the ground.

But alive.

"DO NOT FUCKING INTERFERE!" He roared.

Kazuo's mouth fell open, unsure on how to feel upon hearing this.

But one thought did overpower the rest.

'He's still...fighting.'

This was enough. Kazuo's hair dropped as his eyebrows furrowed.

He didn't move.

Couldn't.

All he could do now—

Was watch.

'Come on...'

And watch he did as Muscular's hulking form loomed over Loid like a twisted colossus, and yet, somehow, Loid remained conscious, his back arched, body trembling, fists and practically disappeared within Muscular.

"You're still not dead?" Muscular scoffed. "I gotta admit…you're way better than the rest of these weaklings. But—"

He stopped.

His grin faltered.

A shudder ran through him as something snapped. Then another. And another.

Crack—Snap—Snap—SNAP!

Loid's voice was rising. Low at first, a mumble beneath his breath.

"...bastard… bastard…"

Then louder.

"You fucking insect...You think you can touch me? I'M A GOD COMPARED TO YOU!"

His body straightened, inch by inch, rising off the ground as he began to push back, like a corpse refusing to die as all eyes watched, wide.

Blood dripped from his mouth, his eyes wide and bloodshot, sharp with fury.

This pain, this feeling of being backed into a corner and being overpowered was never one he'd felt, even when he didn't have his powers.

But now? With the way he was and what he could do?

All he could think at the moment was to kill. Kill whoever pushed him this far. Kill whoever had the gall to sully his face with blood.

And as his eyes burned red under what was left of his mask and he clenched his teeth so hard they almost cracked...

"Mark my words...I promise you...I'll kill you...you hear me? I said I'll ram straight through your guts and bathe in your fucking blood! I'll turn this whole arena into your grave—you won't live to see the next fucking sunrise!"

SNAP!

Muscular stumbled back, eyes widening as he looked down.

His muscle fibers—his prized Quirk-born flesh—were unraveling. One by one, the cords of muscle snapped violently as Loid, clothes torn and his mirrored mask practically destroyed, only a minor cover left on his face, stood before him.

"What the hell is this?!"

[Name: Muscular]

[Quirk: Muscle Augmentation]

[Description: Muscular's Quirk allows him to amplify and manipulate his muscle layers beyond their natural limits. These enhanced muscles dramatically increase his strength, speed, and durability. However…]

More fibers snapped. Dozens.

Loid yanked his bruised arm free from the mass of muscle encasing it. He gritted his teeth and pulled back his fist—both arms now limp and purple, his muscles torn and seeping blood.

Kazuo watched, everyone did, frozen, as the snapping accelerated.

[…If Muscular takes too much damage, his augmented muscles deplete energy and begin to fail, significantly weakening his body.]

In his simplicity, Muscular had only built over the broken fibers. The endless barrage from Loid, seemingly useless punches, had added up, damaging and fatiguing, destroying the base muscle structure slowly, invisibly as his chest now lay with thin muscle fibers stretched across it.

A normal opponent wouldn't have seen it.

But someone with x-ray vision—someone who could cut precisely with searing lasers—

Kazuo's eyes widened.

"The burns on his muscles…" he whispered, seeing the burst endings on Muscular's muscles. "Loid… he's been conscious this whole time. He was planning this!"

The crowd had fallen silent.

The commentator stood, mouth open, eyes wide.

Even the Spectator leaned forward.

And then—

BAAANNNGGGGGGG!!!

Loid's fist slammed into Muscular's chest with a thunderous crack, the sheer force of it so immense the outline of his hand bulged out of Muscular's back.

The titan spit a mouthful of blood as his eyes rolled back, crashing into the floor of the ring as it shattered beneath him, Loid's fist tearing through whatever little muscle was protecting his chest.

Dust billowed.

When the smoke cleared—

Loid stood, both arms limp, his mask cracked and barely hanging on. His chest heaved. Torn clothes revealed bruised skin, welts, and dried blood.

Silence reigned.

Then—

The crowd erupted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have our new Division 5 champion!"

Roars of triumph. Of disbelief. Of awe.

Kazuo rushed in, vaulting what was left of the cage to catch Loid before he collapsed.

He gently leaned him against a fractured steel beam, staring down at him as Loid panted, barely holding on.

"Loid…how're you feeling?"

Loid didn't answer. Not right away.

Kazuo's expression darkened. His gaze lowered.

Loid's arms were a mess—discolored, broken in multiple places. Unusable.

"Shit..."

Kazuo looked up, pausing as Loid turned to him.

"I feel like shit. How else am I supposed to feel." 

Kazuo stared for a second, then a soft smile crept onto his face as he chuckled.

"Well, buddy, guess what...you won."

However, Kazuo wasn't given a reply or even a reaction as Loid's eyes fluttered shut.

Then snapped open.

He jolted upright, scanning the building.

"What's wrong..."

"...Heroes," he rasped. "A lot of them. They're surrounding this place."

Kazuo tensed, his heart dropping as the life disappeared from his eyes. "What?"

Loid's mind kicked into gear, whispering to Kazuo. His mouth moved fast, urgently.

Kazuo's eyes widened as he listened.

His face fell.

"Wait wait wait, what are you talking about? What plan? We need to get out of here now..."

"Do it..."

Loid's eyes widened as turned, all time seemingly slowed as he heard this whisper come from a figure far from him, sitting on a chair with a hunched back and a tophat.

And as he, the Spectator, raised his head, revealing a partially wrinkled face with a bushy mustache that covered his mouth and large goggles like glasses, the cloaked figure beside him raised his hand, snapping his fingers.

Then—

VWOOOOP!

A dark portal erupted beneath the ruined stage, ready to swallow it whole. The remains of the ring, Muscular's body, and both boys were sucked into the abyss.

VWOOP

VWOOP

VWOOP

Across the club, similar portals opened. Dozens of fighters within Division 5 screamed as they were pulled in.

Loid and Kazuo locked eyes as they began to descend.

In one last moment of clarity, his mind rapidly shifting, Loid used the last of his strength—

—and kicked Kazuo in the chest.

Kazuo was launched clear of the portal, his breath knocked out of him, rolling across the ground as it began to close.

Their eyes met one last time as Loid mouthed a few words...

"Stick to the plan."

Then he was gone.

The portal closed.

Blackness.

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Alright, I'll be honest, we were like a few powerstones short of hitting our goal for a bonus chapter, so