Grab life by the horn[Mia]

Mia had been up on the nearby rooftops practicing the use of the strength in her legs. Ever since she'd been watching the super hero moves way back from the twenty ten years, she had been wanting to move like a very specific green skinned hero. Now of course, she wasn't THAT strong, and even she'd never pretend to be, but she still wanted to push herself. Rushing to the edge of another rooftop, she pushed her toes and the front of her feet. The surface beneath her lightly cracked at the force she pushed downward, her body bulking up as it often did when she called on her demonic strength, and while the distance was short, she soon found herself flying across the gap between the roof she'd started on and the next.

This was however one of the first times she'd even managed to succeed however, her legs stumbling under her as she forced herself forward, catching her breath. It was weird outputting the force through her legs rather than her arms, not much of a person for kicks or acts of acrobatics...she was sure if she could balance the output right she could pump herself from building to buildings, imbedding herself in the hard brick before leaping to the next surface. She just needed to work on it. Afterall, she was always strong, but she needed to learn how to use it before she could truly put up a fight, even back in her days as a vigilante before the Japanese recruited her.

"Just gotta work on it..."

Flecking her fingers as she mentally pictured the way the green titan stuck himself into such hard surfaces, he wandered up to the other side of the roof, about to line up another, faintly more daring jump, but as she looked down the alley below to judge the potential fall, her eyes narrowed at the site beneath her...couple of punks talking to a kid in the alley? From here she could only pick up bits of what was being said, but the sickening sound of that sly punch across the poor guy's jaw...Mia's horn grew an inch or so from that alone, her body tensing as her muscles formed.

Mia should have made some heroic entrance, her brain even told her to. It was a natural part of her core being, but right now, watching such one sided villainy from the hands of people so young, her red eyes went from a burning pair of suns to blood red orbs, kicking off the edge of the building and slamming her feet down against the opposing wall inside the alley. It wasn't trained, but she forced herself to kick off, aimed for the other wall, her feet landed on a fire escape leading down the inside wall of the alley, her weight and strength bending the metal railing under her even with the metallic supports in place. With a final kick, she landed with a heavy thud between the thugs and the UA student (though Mia didn't know this.)

Her body landed low, her knees bent, and her devilish red eyes piercing through the shade of the alley. By the time she'd reached the bottom the thugs had backed off, curious to the banging sounds above their head, and leaving Mia with plenty of room to divide the two sets. As she slowly rose, somehow things only seemed to get darker, her titanic body eclipsing the setting sun at the other end of the alley, and her bright red horn and deep red eyes seeming to be an eery source of light. The silence the thugs created was punctuated by a slam of her fist into her palm, and a low growl from her throat.

"And what do you boys think yer doin' in my turf?"

Mia heard the words of the boy behind her, and very briefly glanced over her shoulder, but more as a symbolic motion as she didn't even turn her head enough to see him through her own hair. Besides, before she could even think to address if he was alright himself as any good hero should do, she felt the thud of a closed fist against her abs. The thug infront of her rapidly realizing that despite the bagginess of her shirt, Mia's body was as tight throughout as the heavily toned arms she was wielding declared. Despite the punch however, she remained still, turning her eyes back down on the thug, and folding her arms as her piercing gaze tore through him, tipping her chin at him as she spoke clearly.

"Go on. I wasn't ready. Try me again."

The Thug was briefly shocked she hadn't even moved, but he punched again as anger filled him instead, and again, and again. Mia rolled her neck, soft cracking sounds coming from it as she took it on the journey from one shoulder to the other. About 7 punches in and she reared her own fist up, cracking a punch down on the top of the poor thug's head so hard his chin would have hit the floor if Mia hadn't purposely positioned her foot to soften the impact. Sure she winced a bit as the force of her punch transferred through his head and into her own foot, but she wasn't about to be known as the hero who sent some kid home with a broken jaw.

"Now you boys? You next?" She weakly gestured to them, the vile acts they'd performed while she watched not putting her in the mood to play. One of the boys moved forward, claws akin to the old comic book her wolverine jutting out from his knuckles. He leapt at the spiky haired blonde. Heroes still being relatively a new concept he had yet to learn them all, but he'd know Red Horn soon enough as the woman shot her hands out, grasping his rists as he leapt at her, catching them in midair and easily holding him high enough that his feet didn't touch the floor.

"Mad bitch! Put me down!"

"Sure." She smirked a little, rearing her head back. "Red-!" She slammed her head forward, knocking the second of the thugs out as she purposely angled her head so the blunt underside of her horn his the boy's head, slamming down on him and releasing his wrists so he soon hit the ground. "BUTT!"

Two thugs down, Mia wasn't even trying, playfully brushing some dust off her shoulder, looking to the third who was now shaking in his boots, and to drive the point home of how scared he was, she didn't even try as she simply shrugged at him and muttered. "Boo."

he ran soon enough.

Finally turning her eyes to the kid, he could watch her muscles slowly deflate, still a bit tense, and so holding the muscular tone of a toned woman, but no longer the near male bodybuilder levels she'd had a moment ago. She let out a slow sligh and stepped to him, dusting off his jacket and gently fixing his hair. "Y'okay kid? Didn't rough ya up too bad did they?"

His words reached her ears, and she pulled back, giving a playful scoff as she folded her arms and lifted her chin up. "Ah twas nuttin!~ Kids like them just need to be shown their place now and then." Her eyes flashed to his and she smiled more strongly. "Hero course eh? Been hearin' some things about that. 'parently you guys got some wild cards in there. How's it been treatin' ya?" She glanced to the thugs, then back to him with a half smile. "Guess er...the training's a bit lax?"

Mia folded her arms with a light chuckle as Eli tried to shrug off the scrape he’d just gotten himself into, she wouldn’t make a big deal of it though. Even if he hadn’t managed to fight back it was clear that he had the strength to shrug it off, and she wouldn’t hurt his pride by suggesting otherwise. At worst she just reached over and gave his hair a rough ruffle before pulling back, listening to his description of the class’ wild cards, her brow quirking at Yumi, but with Darren…

“Ooooh right. Is he that…smiling guy? Laughing hero? I don’t remember, I watched that youtube video a long while ago, but hey he seemed pretty chill. Definitely got some hero material to him even if fighting there was definitely some illegal shit.” She gave a shrug, tightening her arms around herself again and listening to the rest that was said, snickering a little about the strict teacher, knowing she’d endured teachers like that herself in the past and leaning her weight against the side wall of the alley. “Yeeeeah just keep your nose clean and throw a whoopie cushion on her seat now and then, you’ll be fine.”

Her eyes widened up again at the question of asking her a few things. She didn’t really have anywhere to be since she’d told herself she’d put this day towards training this new skill, but hey, this kid was a hero in training. She wouldn’t just brush him off cause she was learning to jump like an old movie super hero. She turned about to stand by his side and gave his back a heavy thwack that would be no more than a playful shove from anyone smaller than her. “Sure thing! I’m starving though so mind if we find somewhere to eat while we talk?~”

“Ah right, yeah I can get that. I’ll go by kinetic activity if I ever meet the kid. I know how it can be with that crap. I mean my vigilante name back in America used to be Demon child. Was never a big fan of it if I’m honest. Some even called me hell girl as a play on that old comic book?” She shrugged. “Basically, glad ya could tell me that incase I ever go to UA and run into him. Never good to get a shitty hero name that sticks…though as they go I can’t say grinning hero is too bad. Sounds more like a tagline though…Kinetic activity, the grinning hero…or…whatever it was they were calling him.”

She snickered at the talk about something better than a whoopie cushion being planned but she didn’t push for details, walking alongside the kid as he described a pretty nice place, drooling a little at the idea of getting some good American food in her, especially since, somehow, foreign places always tended to serve home food better than home actually did. Like Chinese resteraunts served better food than you’d find in china, and American food in japan usually felt a lot…more refined? She couldn’t place it but it was definitely fucking tasty.

At the question though… “BAHHAHAHA!” There was a moment of pause before her outburst, but she wrapped a strong arm around the back of his neck and ruffled his hair with the other hand, mussing up his hair something fierce before shoving him away playfully. “Sorry kid. One. Too scrawny for me, two. Into chicks. Nice try though, you’re still buying me my lunch after that.~” She gave a big toothy grin, actually intending to pay for herself, but she could easily tease about this.

Muscle enhancer quirk was a possibility for sure, but even if that was the case Mia still felt she could hold more pride in her own quirk. In fact, she took a sharp breath through her nose to oxygenate herself up, throwing out her right arm and slowly pulling her hand into a first as she flexed it out infront of her, the relatively slender arm slowly bulking up to the size of a titanic body builders, her short sleeve pinching around the muscle, and her left hand slamming down onto the rock hard slab of muscle in her bicep. “Yeeeah whatever quirk you got, I think I still get the right to call ya scrawny, least compared to me.~” She gave a playful wink before reaching over and mussing up his hair, thankful that he was paying, but she’d still make sure she paid herself, though at least for now she’d let him think he was paying…probably order the most expensive shit too just to get him shaking about the concept of it.~

“Cool shit making diamonds though? They like, real diamonds? Super hard? Or you working on that? I mean I ain’t gonna pretend I know the science behind our little freaky mutations but I bet making one of the hardest things on the planet ain’t exactly easy huh?” A part of her brain was also tempted to ask him to pull up like, a diamond shield or something just to see if she could smash it, but she wouldn’t push her luck and potentially smash her hand in infront of him right now.

At the question of what she wanted though…oooh she hadn’t had American food in a while. Whether she did end up paying or not she was gonna get something big, meaty and juicy. Licking her lips with a rather gross slurping sound. “Mmmm…I’m gonna get like…a triple decker burger…I hope they have that ‘big tasty’ sauce. Ya ever had a big tasty? Its like a mcdonalds burger, only do it every so often but damn is that sauce good. No salady crap though…ooooh maybe some bacon strips if they do that. Gotta make it a supersize meal too…dunno if I want a milkshake or soda but I’m gonna chug that shit without a straw.~” She giggled at herself, remembering once she’d ripped off the lid of a drink cup and choked on some ice soon after, but still fully enjoyed the idea of doing it all over again, playfully nudging the kid beside her with her elbow. “How ‘bout you? What you thinkin’ of orderin?”

Mia could kinda feel the tired sensation in his voice, and she offered a weak smile in return. It wasn’t a tone she didn’t recognize, especially since so many people could ask her similarly repeated questions. In her own case, she often got asked if her bulking muscles ever hurt, if she ever stretched her skin, if the scar on her horn hurt, if it hurt when her horn got bigger…and it was disgustingly common how many people asked if she’d ever let someone ‘ride’ her horn. She recognized the tired tone but with a soft puff through her nostrils she ruffled the young kid’s hair. “Thanks kid. Sorry I just had’a ask. Easy thing to get curious about ya know? Like seeing someone who’s triple jointed and asking what it feels like. Plus heck, if anything I just wanted to be impressed! You can create feckin’ diamonds! If they were as strong as the real thing you’d be the ultimate defensive hero, no one could break through to ya!” She gave him a light pat on the back with a wide grin, focusing on the journey forward from there.

When they got close to the resteraunt, Mia was glad her big order hadn’t intimidated the kid. She heard him say he’d get a chicken nugget meal and Mia rolled her eyes. She didn’t knock chicken nuggets for taste, but 10 piece or not, that was a tiny meal in her opinion. “OH come on. Go big. Get a chicken strip box at the least, get some real meat in ya! You’re a growing boy!” She stuck her tongue out cheekily before moving into the resteraunt, ducking her head so her horn didn’t catch the door-frame on the way in, though it did knock against the small bell that signalled customers coming in, snickering at herself for the mistake and heading up to the counter, looking back to Eli with a wide grin. “Oh I’m ready.~” Looking to the man behind the counter, Mia lifted up her hand to get their attention and gave their order. The look in the serving person’s eye showed they recognized her, but the lack of words made Mia assume they couldn’t place it. Like when you see a star on TV, and you know you’ve seen them before, but not exactly sure what else they’ve been in. She then ordered for herself and Eli, though she’d still let the kid pay, leaning her elbow on the counter as she looked back to the UA student. “Thanks kid. I can really pay for myself if ya want.”


WC 432

“Eeeeh. I guess I can understand that.” Rubbing the back of her neck she supposed her questions were kinda obvious, humming a little to herself as she thought on how to make it better in the future, but instead her mind just drifted to similar questions she could be addressed with. “Guess I get similar shit. People asking me how much I can lift, what’s the toughest thing I’ve ever broken through. What’s the worst I’ve done to someone with a punch? Ya know, obvious shit. Guess it might be more interesting if they asked stuff like how it feels to take a hard punch with my tougher skin, or maybe ask me about how my quirk developed as a I grew…” She snickered a little at any old memory as she walked with the kid, resting her face in her hand and letting out a laugh filled sigh. “Ah fuck ya shoulda seen the look on a doctor’s face once. My Ma’ was so worried about how my quirk was developing, and this doctor nearly spat out his tea as my Ma’ lifted my shirt and showed the doc an 11 year old with fucking abs. Guy was so fucking stunned and, if I’m honest, probably a little jealous.~ Turns out I was fine I just had to learn to relax a bit more and they faded away…could summon ‘em back whenever someone needed a beating though.~ These days they’re pretty constant though.”

Good to hear that the kid was working on offense, the idea of some hero names was good. Diamond knight definitely worked and Mia was quick to offer advice. “Best way to come up with a hero name? Make it obvious, but impactful. When I came to Japan I was still learning the language so I didn’t think to keep my old name, especially since it didn’t translate well, and the marketing people said it probably wasn’t best to keep my vigilante name even in a new country. I used to be ‘The Demon From Dallas’ (Spoken in English) as it goes. Bit of a mouthful I know.” Getting off track she quickly pulled herself back. “But anyway, RedHorn works, people quickly recognize me, and it has a punch to it. Quick, snappy, impactful. Diamond Knight certainly has that. People recognize you well enough with a name like that, and while it ain’t exactly super unique for your quirk, no one’s gonna forget it exactly because of that.~” She offered a strong smile, and nodded. “Definitely a good name kid. I say stick with it.”

With the question of what inspired her to become a hero as they sat down for their order, Mia rested her cheek on her hand and looked off to the menu, but she was more staring into space as she stared at the wall it hung upon. Snickering a little. “Woah kid, one at a time okay? I’ll answer ‘em all but give me a sec to keep up.” With a soft breath and a cheeky smirk for a moment, her expression softened as she began. “Honestly…I got into being a vigilante because that was just…how I could fight. I liked to fight and I was good at it. I wanted to push myself against people who could push me back. Vigilante work was the best way to do that since the people robbing stores usually had a strong enough quirk to make them confident they could pull it off.” She offered a soft smirk, sighed through her nose, and continued. “As for what made me a hero though…I dunno exactly when it was…but one too many times I took on a fight I didn’t need to. Ones that pushed me a little too far, that put me in too much danger for me to consider it a fun fight anymore…and some fights that were so one sided I didn’t have to try. But they all had one thing in common. Someone needed saving, helping, rescuing, the works. And I put myself forward for it…I became a vigilante to fight…but I became a hero because I couldn’t sit by when people needed me.”

With a hard breath as she let those words hang in the air, she rolled her neck back. “Fucking…sorry, I guess I can get all melodramatic when I go down Memory lane…er…what was the other question?” She waited for a brief refresher before snapping her fingers. “Right. Toughest fight. Dunno about emotions there kid. I ain’t exactly got a tragic backstory of fighting a lived one…but there was this one guy. A mountain of a man. Bigger than my old mentor and trust me that guy is big even compared to me. Turns out as big as he was, his quirk wasn’t strength, but multiplication.” Gesturing as she recounted the tale, clearly getting into it. “Dude was HUGE! I learned later he multiplied his own growth hormones as a teen, and had continued multiplying the muscle fibres under his skin to make himself a fucking beast. Not only was he tough enough that I had a hard time keeping him back, but the fucker multiplied my own wounds. Everytime he threw a punch hard enough to make me bleed, he multiplied that shit and suddenly I had 3 internal ruptures where I shoulda had one!” Despite the danger she would have been in she recounted the tale like a grand legend, and started to smile. “I was at the end of my rope. I was smaller, faster, and he barely got a punch on me compared to the dozens I got on him, but every hit he landed made my body burn. Made me wanna throw in the towel before I breathed my last…but I saw this…kid.”

Mia leaned on the counter, staring far off as she relived the memory, gesturing where the kid woulda been. “He wasn’t in danger…the guy I was fighting wasn’t so much hurting anyone as he was scaring them and throwing his weight around till I got there. Intimidating store owners for protection money, you know the drill. Anyway.” Getting off track again, she shook her head to refocus herself. “By now, my eyes were soaked in my own blood. My vision was blurred, and my ears..fuck I couldn’t hear anything right…but I saw this one kid off to the side, past the rubble of this building I had just been-“ She slapped her hand across the other to make a nice firm slap sound. “THROWN threw. And this kid was just…yelling. Something. Brief flashes of focus I could see he was throwing everything behind whatever the fuck he was saying…and just something in me snapped. Here I was ready to give in, a full grown women with the power to knock down the supports of a fucking car park…and yet this little tyke was still throwing everything he had into words alone just to try and get me to stand the fuck up.”

Pulling back, she patted the table, almost a little disappointed. “Later learned he was the kid of one of the store owners…big fan o’ mine back in Texas so I’m told. After that though I don’t remember nuttin. I….” She snickered and hung her head with a deep sigh. “I woke up in the fucking hospital with my arm snapped. I’m lucky I have a healing factor or they say I probably wouldn’t have been using it again in this lifetime. Still took months to heal though. Apparently I punched the guy so hard he’d ended up flying through a car and another building. Poor guy was eating through a tube for a couple weeks.” She snickered a little, as much as she shouldn’t at the memory of seeing him fill 4 hospital beds in a full body cast. “And when I say he flew THREW the car, I mean it. He didn’t dent and bounce off that fucker, there was a TEAR in that car’s frame where he’d hit it. I dunno…WHAT I did, and I ain’t ever been able to do it since, but hey…I owe it to that kid that I managed to pull it off, whatever it was.”

Reaching for her drink as it came, she started to chug it down a she finished her story, snickering a little again as she lowered her glass. “Sorry…Really got fucking carried away there. Er…what was that last question?”

WC 1401