Chapter 61: 61: Toon Force
Aiden sprinted through the chaos, his sharp eyes scanning the battlefield for his classmates. He moved swiftly yet methodically, appearing at critical moments to lend a hand when someone was overwhelmed.
Kirishima was locked in a fierce brawl with a brute twice his size, and while his Hardening quirk was impressive, he was being pushed back. Aiden stepped in just as the villain raised a massive fist, catching the blow mid-swing. The shockwave cracked the ground beneath them.
"Hold this," Aiden said with a grin, shoving the brute backward and giving Kirishima a nod. "Finish what you started."
With Sero, who had been webbed down by a quick-moving opponent, Aiden simply flicked his fingers, untying the restraints before disappearing again, leaving Sero to handle the rest.
He repeated this with others—only stepping in briefly, ensuring they could manage their battles, and moving on.
When he reached the simulated flood zone, he spotted Celeste. She was holding her own against three aquatic-themed villains, using her Absolute Reflection quirk to redirect water attacks and strike back.
Aiden paused for a moment, smirking as she handled them with calculated efficiency. "She's got this," he muttered, heading toward the central plaza.
As Aiden neared the plaza, the thunderous sounds of battle drew his focus. He skidded to a stop, eyes locking on Aizawa. The pro hero was bloody and battered but still standing, his scarf a blur as he expertly incapacitated yet another villain.
But the Nomu loomed large, relentless in its assault. Each step it took shook the ground, and its grotesque strength overwhelmed even Aizawa's best efforts.
Tomura Shigaraki watched with glee, his unsettling grin widening.
Aiden's presence was like a bolt of lightning. He didn't hesitate, dashing forward with incredible speed and landing a punch directly on the Nomu's torso. The impact sent a shockwave through the plaza, cracking the ground and sending the monstrous creature flying backward into a wall.
"Stay down, Teach," Aiden said over his shoulder, his tone casual yet resolute. "I've got this."
Aizawa staggered slightly but nodded, taking the opportunity to catch his breath. "Be careful. That thing's more than it looks."
"Good," Aiden replied with a grin. "So am I."
The Nomu roared as it stood, the force of its cry shaking the air. It charged at Aiden with ferocious speed, its fist raised to crush him. Aiden didn't move until the last second, sidestepping the blow with a smirk.
"Slow," he taunted, driving his own fist into the creature's ribs. The Nomu barely flinched, swinging a counterattack that Aiden ducked under.
The fight became a dance of raw power and precision. Aiden's punches were devastating, each one generating shockwaves that rattled the plaza. The Nomu, with its unnatural durability, absorbed the hits and retaliated with equal ferocity.
Despite the intensity, Aiden restrained his quirk, relying almost entirely on his fists. He wanted to test himself, to push his combat skills against a foe built to withstand punishment.
The Nomu lunged, aiming to grab him, but Aiden seized the moment. He sidestepped and landed a punishing uppercut to its jaw, lifting the massive creature off the ground. Before it could recover, Aiden leapt after it, delivering a mid-air spin kick that sent it crashing back to the ground.
Tomura's grin faltered slightly. "What... what is this kid?"
The Nomu roared again, recovering with unnatural speed. It swiped at Aiden, its claws tearing through the air.
This time, Aiden stood his ground. He raised his forearm, blocking the strike with a sickening crack that echoed through the plaza.
"Not bad," Aiden muttered, shaking out his arm. "But I've dealt with worse."
He drove forward, grabbing the Nomu by its grotesque arm and using its own momentum to slam it into the ground. The impact created a crater, sending debris flying.
The Nomu retaliated, its other arm swinging wildly. Aiden dodged and countered, landing blow after blow. With each strike, he adjusted his technique, testing angles and leverage, refining his movements in real time.
At one point, the Nomu managed to land a glancing hit, sending Aiden skidding backward. He wiped a bit of blood from his lip and smirked. "Alright, big guy. Let's turn it up."
Aiden's fists began to glow faintly with golden energy—not his full power, just enough to amplify his strikes. He dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of punches that left the Nomu visibly staggered.
The plaza shook as the two clashed again and again, their battle a spectacle of brute strength and determination. Aiden's grin never faded, even as sweat dripped down his face.
Finally, with a roar of his own, Aiden delivered a devastating combination: a crushing knee to the Nomu's midsection, followed by a spinning backfist that sent it hurtling into a nearby column. The structure collapsed on impact, burying the creature in rubble.
Breathing heavily, Aiden turned to Aizawa, his grin returning. "See? Told you I've got this."
But the rubble shifted, and the Nomu began to rise again. Aiden cracked his knuckles, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.
"This is going to be fun."
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Aiden planted his feet firmly as the Nomu began to claw its way out of the rubble, its grotesque form glowing faintly with regeneration. He rolled his neck, a mischievous grin spreading across his face.
"All right, big guy," he said, cracking his knuckles dramatically. "Let's see how you handle the real me."
In an instant, reality around him bent and shifted like it was a mere suggestion. He summoned an oversized mallet, larger than even the Nomu, and swung it in a wide arc. The weight was so absurdly disproportionate that it would've been impossible to hold up in any normal circumstance. But Aiden didn't care about physics or logic—he could change those at will. The mallet connected with the Nomu's chest, sending it flying back, spinning through the air like a ragdoll.
The creature slammed into the ground with enough force to leave a crater in the concrete, but Aiden didn't stop there. He didn't just let the fight unfold in the same tired manner. As the Nomu struggled to rise, Aiden conjured a giant spring beneath the creature's feet, bouncing it upward into the air like a ball.
The Nomu's roar echoed through the plaza, but Aiden wasn't done yet. As the villain began falling back down, Aiden flicked his wrist and summoned a massive boxing glove—bright red and cartoonish.
It appeared from nowhere, as if it was drawn from a slapstick cartoon.
He slammed the glove into the Nomu's stomach with a resounding wham, sending it rocketing across the plaza, careening off several buildings before crashing into the ground.
The sheer absurdity of the attack was unlike anything anyone had seen. The Nomu was powerful, yes—but it was starting to look more and more like a punching bag for Aiden's reality-warping antics.
"Are you really going to make me do this all day?" Aiden teased the villain as he summoned yet another surreal object—a giant pair of boxing gloves that inflated like balloons.
With a smirk, he reached up to his own ears, as if adjusting a pair of headphones. The reality around him rippled, and out of thin air came several giant inflatable mallets, each one more ridiculous than the last.
As the Nomu began rising again, Aiden swung one of the inflatable mallets with a comically exaggerated wind-up. The impact was so powerful that it sent the Nomu flying across the entire plaza, leaving a trail of sparks in the air before crashing into a nearby building.
The building crumbled, but the Nomu wasn't down for the count just yet.
"Okay, I think it's time for the grand finale," Aiden said, his grin growing wider. He wasn't just fighting anymore; he was having fun.
With a dramatic flick of his wrist, he conjured an entire carnival ride—brightly coloured, with spinning wheels and flashing lights—and it appeared out of nowhere in front of him.
The Nomu barely had a moment to react as Aiden shoved the villain directly into the ride, launching it at full speed around the plaza.
The Nomu was spinning and flailing inside the ride, its limbs tangled in the wheels and straps as it went around and around in a circle. For a moment, the Nomu looked less like a terrifying monster and more like an unfortunate amusement park attendee.
"Whoo!" Aiden shouted, pumping a fist in the air. "This is more fun than I thought!"
The villains were nothing more than playthings in his hands now.
The Nomu's roar grew louder, and Aiden's grin widened. He stopped the ride with a flick of his finger and, in an instant, all the carnival equipment vanished, replaced by a massive cannon that appeared behind him. Aiden pointed the cannon straight at the villain.
The barrel was enormous, the size of a small house, and it was ridiculous—definitely not meant to exist in this world at all.
"Hope you like fireworks," Aiden said nonchalantly.
He fired the cannon, and out of the barrel came a massive explosion of confetti and fireworks. It exploded around the Nomu, temporarily blinding it, and sending it spiraling into the air as if it were a ragdoll being tossed around.
The impact sent the Nomu careening into a building, shaking the entire area as it crashed into the concrete.
Just as the Nomu was about to rise once more, Aiden pulled his last trick. With a snap of his fingers, the Nomu's body froze mid-air. The villain's movements were locked in place as Aiden conjured a giant neon sign that appeared above the Nomu, flashing: "GAME OVER!" with bright, garish lights.
There was a brief silence, then the Nomu collapsed to the ground, twitching slightly, defeated not by force, but by sheer absurdity.
Aiden stood there, catching his breath, sweat glistening on his brow, but his grin never faltered. He'd held back enough to get some training in, but this—this was fun.
"Okay, I think we're done here," Aiden said as he made a final flick of his hand. The massive reality-bending objects vanished into thin air, leaving only the echo of their chaotic destruction.
He summoned a golden anvil high above the Nomu. It hovered for a split second, gleaming in the sunlight, before crashing down with immense force. The ground shook, and a cloud of dust rose as the anvil pinned the Nomu firmly to the ground.
When the dust cleared, Aiden stood over the creature, his fists glowing faintly with golden energy. He crouched down, meeting its glowing eyes with his own.
"Stay down, buddy," he said with a smirk. "You're tough, but I'm tougher. And way more fun."
The Nomu growled, struggling beneath the weight of the anvil. Aiden glanced at Aizawa, who was staring at him with an unreadable expression.
"What?" Aiden said, shrugging innocently. "I'm just getting warmed up."
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