*Tomorrow Morning*
The night stretched its shadows over the city, bathed in a bluish glow under the moonlight. Hero X sat on the edge of a rooftop, one leg folded against his chest, the other dangling into the void. Beside him, Fubuki stood with her arms crossed, gazing at the horizon with a distant look. The wind played with the folds of her coat, gently lifting her black hair.
"My sister is probably fighting Queen right now," she murmured, more to herself than to him.
Hero X quirked a half-smile, indifferent. "So what? Heroes should focus on real threats: monsters, criminals… Not these vanity duels."
Fubuki let out a small sigh, an ambiguous smile on her lips. "You always have this way of simplifying everything." She turned her head slightly toward him, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "But tell me… if you helped me, it might be worth it."
He raised an eyebrow, intrigued despite himself. "Oh? And what would I gain from it?"
She let out a soft, almost whispered laugh, before leaning slightly toward him. "Let's just say… you'd be more rewarded."
"I don't need your sponsors."
Hero X held her gaze, studying her enigmatic expression.
"And I wasn't talking about that." Her sly smile widened.
He merely snickered, turning his eyes toward the city lights.
"You're really full of lust, you know."
Fubuki burst into laughter, a clear sound that echoed through the night. "That's why you like me, isn't it?"
He didn't reply, but a slight smile betrayed his amusement.
In the distance, a far-off explosion briefly lit up the horizon—likely the result of Tatsumaki's fight.
...
The buildings trembled under the psychic pressure radiating from downtown. Two uncontrollable powers converged.
A figure floated above the ground, her green hair billowing in a halo of unstable energy.
Tatsumaki.
She narrowed her eyes at her rival. Across from her, a woman in white armor, surrounded by a golden energy field, brandished a crackling lance, her crown and long white braid gleaming.
Queen.
"You think you're the strongest here, dwarf?" Queen growled, her voice dripping with arrogance.
"I'll reduce you to dust before you finish that sentence, cosplayer," Tatsumaki replied coldly, arms crossed.
The ground between them suddenly exploded, swept by a psychic blast.
BOOM.
Queen charged first. Her lance sliced through the air in a spiral of light. Tatsumaki dodged without moving, the wind warping the weapon's trajectory at the last second. Debris flew like dead leaves around them.
"Is that all? I thought you were an S-Class hero in your world," Queen sneered, leaping back.
"You talk too much," Tatsumaki retorted.
She raised a hand. The sky split open.
An enormous concrete block—an entire building—rose, trembling, and shot toward Queen at insane speed.
But Queen slammed her lance into the ground. A hexagonal barrier erupted around her. The building crashed violently against it, exploding into a cloud of dust and glass.
Queen leaped from the dust.
She shot out of the cloud like an arrow. Her fist surrounded by a spiral of energy, she struck Tatsumaki's psychic field directly.
CRASH.
The shockwave pushed back the surrounding buildings. The asphalt cracked.
Tatsumaki stepped back a meter, an eyebrow raised.
"You touched me. Interesting."
Then she raised both arms, and Queen felt gravity shift. Her body was crushed to the ground, as if a mountain had fallen on her.
"Ghhh—!"
But Queen roared. Her cape blazed with a blinding gold. Holographic wings burst from her back.
In a flash, she pierced through the gravitational pressure. Her lance struck Tatsumaki full force. This time, the small heroine was propelled backward, slamming into a building that collapsed behind her.
BOOOM.
Tatsumaki emerged from the cloud, her gaze furious.
"That's the last time you mess up my hair."
She unleashed her full power. The sky turned green. Hundreds of debris—cars, poles, chunks of road—levitated around her.
"TELEKINETIC STORM."
She hurled everything at Queen in a cyclone of destructive objects. Queen flew in zigzags, her lance spinning to slash and block. The air howled, compressed by the power of the two women.
"Want to play that game? Fine!"
Queen positioned herself at the center of the battlefield, planting her lance into the ground.
A column of golden lightning fell from the sky. She was enveloped in a halo, her silhouette becoming blinding. Then she raised her hand and formed a giant lance of light, which she hurled at Tatsumaki.
Tatsumaki screamed and erected a psychic barrier.
The impact shook the entire neighborhood. A giant crater appeared. Sirens wailed in the distance. Spectators, civilians, and heroes stared at the sky, stunned.
Two auras, green and gold, clashed in the sky like mad. Then suddenly...
*FLASH*
A multicolored light fissure tore through the air.
A costumed figure appeared at the center of the battlefield.
"Enough."
The word cracked like thunder. Shockwaves canceled out, the wind calmed, debris fell like pebbles.
"What?!" Queen stepped back.
"Who dares?!" Tatsumaki growled.
The figure was tall, in his twenties, wearing a sleek white costume with golden markings. His gray eyes gleamed behind his glasses.
Hero X.
"Calm down. You're supposed to be heroes, not kindergarteners." He smoothed his hair back with a slight smile.
Tatsumaki gritted her teeth.
Queen raised her lance… but the next instant…
SLAP.
She got a smack on the back of her head.
"Ouch! What—?!"
Hero X had vanished… only to reappear behind Tatsumaki, lifting her like a child, arms crossed and looking annoyed.
"HEY! Put me down!"
"No. You destroyed three buildings. She ruined six. You're even. Collective punishment."
"I can fly on my own!" Tatsumaki shouted, her cheeks red.
"Anyway, if there's more collateral damage, I—"
"You won't get away with this so easily, Hero X," Queen added, her lance still raised.
"Take a lesson from All Might. He protected and inspired. He didn't fight out of ego."
X turned to the crowd.
"Monsters are approaching. The real enemies are here. This world doesn't need fair queens. It needs… heroes and people they can trust."
Dozens of drones filmed him. This was Hero X's first appearance since humiliating All Might two years ago.
A moment of silence.
Queen slowly lowered her lance.
"We'll meet again at the Tournament, Hero X."
"Maybe we will..."
Tatsumaki turned her head, annoyed but silent in X's arms.
"Put me down now... please."
"No. Not until you calm down."
And with one last snap, Hero X vanished with Tatsumaki in his arms, leaving Queen alone in the sky.
The journalists rushing in only had time to interview Queen.