Chapter 16

"So, how long has it been" began Tomoro with a smirk "thirty years? Forty?"

"There about" Bang replied.

"Fifty for me" Bomb spoke.

"Oof, age has not done you any wonders" Tomoro gestured to Bomb's prominently balding head.

The older looking martial artist though unbothered by the observation frowned "and you don't look to have aged a day."

"Jealous?"

"Hardly."

Tomoro chuckled good naturedly and Bang lost some of the tension in his shoulders "we thought you died."

"Well clearly the rumors of my demise were greatly exaggerated" he mocked "I hope you didn't think I got done in by some scrub at least."

"If someone did manage to defeat you there wouldn't be a single person who wouldn't have known."

"Unless they died in the attempt and didn't leave a witness" Tomoro retorted "but what are the chances of that?"

Bang glanced over to his two fellow S-Class heroes "what is your relationship with One-Punch Man and Demon Cyborg? Are they your disciples?"

"Friends actually" the old hero raised an eyebrow "hey don't give me that look. It's been half a century, is it farfetched to think that I'd have a life?"

"…you've changed."

Tomoro stared for a moment before looking away "not as much as you'd think" then a bright purple orb in his palm. Immediately the two old grandmasters tensed in high alert however he was quick placate them "relax this isn't what you think" he slowly held it out and allowed it float upwards a bit "I figured you two old timers would want a pick me up after your battle."

As the purple rays shined upon on them the two noticed the change almost immediately. A rush of energy entered their bodies rejuvenating their stamina. The aches, pains and bruises that they gained from their brief battle with Elder Centipede and had been ignoring through sheer will were fading.

"How you feeling?" Tomoro questioned "I can't do anything for your scars but it should get rid of any preexisting medical condition that isn't terminal."

Bang watched as the acid burn on his shoulder completely healed leaving only the familiar faded scars of decades past. Yet it didn't stop there as even the chronic pains gained from old age were also fixed.

"The pain in my knee is gone" Bomb observed while doing some experimental kicks.

"And I can't feel the strain in my lower back anymore" spoke Bomb as he began to stretch and work out the kinks he thought would stay with him for the rest of his life.

"That's good" Tomoro nodded then turned his gaze over to the unconscious heroes.

Bang caught his stare and spoke "won't you do the same for them?"

Tomoro looked to Genos and Saitama who have both taken notice of his feat and shrugged "sure, why not."

With a casual flick of his hand he sent a larger purple orb hovering over the heroes.

"Whoa that's a neat trick" Saitama spoke up pointing at the ball.

"Don't poke it" Tomoro deadpanned.

Saitama dropped his hand a bit too hastily "I wasn't going to."

"Yes you were."

As the two started bickering back and forth like siblings Bang couldn't help but think back to the time when he first met the man and how, just like him, Bang was a completely different person. His reminiscent thoughts were interrupted as the heroes began to stir awake. Tomoro walked up to two in particular as they pulled themselves up.

"Hello Snek, Max" he greeted.

The A-Class heroes blinked away the grogginess with Snek being the first to speak "Tomoro? How-" he trailed off as he caught sight of the trio of S-Class heroes and sighed "then my SOS went through."

"You sent out that SOS?"

Snek "yes, once I saw that we would not win I sent out an emergency signal."

"Guess that explains why Genos was here" Tomoro scratched his chin "but why are you and Max here?"

"Death Gatling, he assembled a group to take down the Hero Hunter and we were offered a place."

As he turned to said hero he saw that he was now missing his minigun leaving only his bandaged stump of an arm. He was also being confronted by Silver Fang.

"You should have told us you found Garou's location."

Death Gatling's expression was stone "we didn't need your help."

"By that do you mean the S-Class?"

"…"

Bang sighed "Garou was my former disciple but you already know this" he received a stiff nod "years ago I had the opportunity to end his rampage before it ever truly began however I chose to let him go instead."

"Are you saying that this is your fault?" Death Gatling accused as he stood up towering over the elder hero.

This in turn caused Stinger to get in close "h-hey now-" only for Bang to raise his hand.

"What I am saying is that because of my hesitance at the time I allowed a dangerous individual to escape and now he has returned far more dangerous than before and wreaking havoc. As his former master he is my responsibility to stop."

For a long moment Death Gatling stared down the older hero before he spoke in a measured "this has become much bigger than your personal grievance. Garou is going after heroes and that cannot stand."

"You cannot defeat him" Bang informed not maliciously.

At that Death Gatling glanced to his bandaged stump "I know but that doesn't mean I-we won't stop trying" he paused with a look of consideration for a moment "if…we manage to find a lead on his location we will be sure to inform you Silver Fang."

"Thank you."

With that done Death Gatling surveyed the area "what happened after Garou defeated us?"

Bang gave a rough summary of events and by the time he was finished all the heroes were fully healed and conscious. They all heard the story and most of them had varying expressions of disbelief. Some like Gun Gun even cursed as it would appear that Garou was allied with the Monster Association considering he was saved by them.

"I don't understand, Garou claimed that he wasn't in league with the Monster Association" Smile Man noted.

Bang looked to the A-Class hero "Garou said this?"

"Screamed it at the top of his lungs more like" Gun Gun spat.

While mulled over this new information the group was alerted to various black trucks converging on their position all bearing the logo of the Hero Association.

"And that's my cue" Bang heard Tomoro mutter before pointing at Snek and Max "you two let's not meet under the same circumstances again. Saitama I'm going to see about finding a rental truck. When you're done pick up stuff for the hot pot."

"Why do I have to do it?"

"You can afford to" he retorted as he jogged over to the young woman who was kneeling insensate near where Saitama had killed Elder Centipede "and don't skimp on the quality we're going to have a bunch of guests over."

"Tch" Bang wasn't the only one a bit put off by the annoyed expression on the bald hero's face.

"Oh," Tomoro spoke as he held the young woman in a bridal carry "bring the two old guys with you."

"Why?"

"Let's just say it's in their best interest" he spoke before disappearing.

"Who is that man?" Shooter asked having kept quiet during the entire exchange.

"A powerful martial artist" Max answered.

"And dangerous" Bomb added.

Bang looked to the two martial arts heroes "how did the two of you meet him?"

"He was a participant in the Super Fight Tournament."

At his answer Bomb let out a light scoff before looking to his younger brother "weren't you given an offer to judge this year Bang?"

His younger brother sighed "I was."

Given how fruitless his search had been that day maybe it would have been better to have taken the offer.

'…on second thought I made the best choice.'

After all while he may not have found Garou that day he still assisted in places where the Monster Association attacked.

~O~

Later…

The Hero Association Headquarters was on total lockdown with only certain personnel allowed to enter or leave the premises. All S-Class heroes were being recalled with several already present in the building acting as both security as well as on standby for deployment for the rescue operation that will be underway as soon as the Monster Association Headquarters was found. As for communication nothing leaves the building and especially the meeting room for the executives who were all gathered.

Because of Solaria's actions there were a number of empty seats in the room not that it mattered as the only one that was missed was Solaria Nova herself. With her taken hostage by the Monster Association leadership fell to Sitch as per her orders in the event that anything happens to her.

Currently Sitch was briefing the other executives on the recent incident in City R where a group of A-Class and B-Class heroes confronted the Hero Hunter Garou only to be defeated but were saved by the timely arrival of Silver Fang, his brother and Demon Cyborg however before they could finish him off the Monster Association intervened with Elder Centipede making another appearance. In the end Garou escaped but Elder Centipede was thankfully defeated by One-Punch Man.

While Garou defeating a group of A-Class and B-Class heroes was par for the course at this point him fending off Silver Fang was deeply troubling to Sitch. Most troubling of all however was the fact that Garou was assisted by the Monster Association who facilitated his escape. It meant that the theory of the Hero Hunter being in league with the Monster Association was no longer just a theory.

Unfortunately the other executives did not share Sitch's concerns of this particular turn of events.

"Elder Centipede was completely obliterated…"

"I thought we would lose another city when that creature showed up again."

"To think he had enough power to completely destroy Elder Centipede…"

"Truly it is fortunate that we have One-Punch Man on our side."

'These guys…' Sitch felt his eyebrow twitch.

"You're all focusing on the wrong thing here!" Sitch finally snapped getting the others' attention "Garou is still at large, worse we now have conclusive evidence that he is in league with the Monster Association!"

Sitch didn't believe that Garou was a member of the Monster Association otherwise he would have already become an actual monster. The attacks at the Smelly Lid Prison and the Super Fight Tournament have showed that the Monster Association was fully capable of turning humans into monsters.

"You are right as always Sitch" spoke one of the executives with a dire expression "on the subject of the Hero Hunter we gave Silver Fang full authority to deal with him as he saw fit but he failed. How do you plan to deal with this?"

"First I propose we change Garou's classification to monster and place him at Disaster Level Dragon. The next time he appears we send an appropriate team of heroes to deal with him."

His proposal was met with unsure mutterings.

"Disaster level Dragon?"

"Isn't that a bit too much?"

"He's still only human after all…"

"Aren't you just trying to save face because of the incident from before?"

Sitch's eyes narrowed at the one who mentioned that incident. Sitch has had a lot of time to think on it and in hindsight he admitted that he jumped the gun on that one. Inviting a bunch of dangerous criminals into the Hero Association Headquarters with only a few A-Class heroes as protection was folly. He thought the heroes present would be enough to protect him and subdue the crowd. He was proven wrong and through Garou's actions he realized that the heroes were not as infallible as he would like to believe against other humans.

The anxiety over this revelation would only continue to pile on in the coming week as he received daily reports of Garou's defeat of the heroes. It was something they were all aware of this stage which made the next statement from one of his fellow executives particularly triggering for him.

"I just can't imagine another human out there that can rival our S-Class heroes."

It's statements like this which makes Sitch believe that Solaria wasn't quite as thorough with her vetting as he would like. Disregarding the fact that even at this stage they were treating the heroes like commodities to be used but the statement itself held such ignorance that it was astounding this person was even able to survive Solaria's overhaul.

It was such a stupid take that even some of the other executives looked at him as if her daft.

"If there is anything this past week has proven it is that not even the S-Class heroes are safe!" snapped Exma the only female executive present.

Being an instructor who specializes in training weak heroes she of all people was aware of the heroes' shortcomings.

'It's a shame the other executives aren't like Exma' or himself.

A majority of the executives here were composed mostly of corporate sponsors with no noteworthy military service or combat experience. At best they worked as 'advisors' but haven't actually seen any action and didn't partake in any battles.

His thoughts were broken by another who was at least taking this more seriously "it's time to bring Blast into the fold, he's been inactive for far too long."

"No!" Sitch immediately shot down "we cannot order Blast around."

"This is ridiculous" the executive pressed "he's the top ranked hero but we know next to nothing about him save for his name!"

Sitch understood their frustration truly he did but at the same time "Blast will not participate in any Hero activity unless he has complete freedom."

The problem was that these executives believe that they have complete authority over the heroes and to a certain extent they do particularly for most of the heroes ranked in class A through C. As for the S-Class however the Hero Association only had as much authority over them as the heroes themselves would allow. Metal Bat and Tatsumaki require more finesse to deal with due to their tempers while Blast, Metal Knight, Drive Knight and Watchdog Man are completely autonomous.

Sitch would have explained how this delicate balance worked to the other executives however he knew that wouldn't accomplish anything save for making them even more anxious than they already are dealing with the S-Class. Their misconceptions actually worked in his favor because at least with this they wouldn't attempt to assert their nonexistent dominance over them.

It was best that he dissuade them from pressing the issue of Blast.

"He refuses to be ordered around and is very cognizant of his privacy which is why he does not disclose his personal information" he took a breath leveling a glare at all present though lingering on the executive pressing for Blast's involvement "I believe he is valuable enough to be allowed these privileges."

Said executive bristled but kept his cool enough not to make an outburst so much as he gave Sitch a narrow eyed look.

"Out of everyone present you are the only one of us who has had contact with Blast Sitch. In fact I seem to remember you having a very close friendship with him from your time as part of the Monster Suppression Squad. Is there a reason you refuse to call on him now in this time of crisis?"

Sitch wouldn't exactly call what he and Blast have as a 'friendship.' In fact the reason for their encounter and him being a contact for the hero was due to convenience. Years ago before the Hero Association was formed Sitch happened to be present during that infamous first sighting of Elder Centipede. At the time he was leader of the government's military Monster Suppression Squad. His team was ill prepared to deal with Elder Centipede and they almost got wiped out in the attempt but luckily they were saved by Blast's arrival.

Unlike the rest of his team Sitch wasn't satisfied with just being saved by him. At this point Blast was the most recognized active 'hero' in the world and so the government kept track of him. It was a popular topic of discussion in Sitch's circle that Blast had a habit of showing up late. As in he would only show up if he was either already in the area or if the situation was being extensively covered by news outlets.

With that in mind Sitch made the attempt to establishing a connection with the hero as a means of getting him to cooperate with the government. Blast to his surprise agreed but with stipulations. First Sitch would be his only liaison and he will only cooperate in so far as they (through Sitch) would give him information about suspicious activities and he would sort out the problem. It was a mutually beneficial relationship as through Sitch Blast was able to deal with disasters in a timely manner and through Blast Sitch was able to elevate his position in the government and affect worthwhile changes for the security of the world.

His relationship with Blast became something of an open secret in the government branch and Sitch suspected someone started selling information to media because they would inexplicable be present when he made an appearance. Despite not doing any interviews or even sticking around to talk to the cameras the media would sensationalize Blast and soon he was being hailed as the greatest and most prolific hero in the world.

With Blast's increase in fame it was only natural that Sitch being his only point of contact would also become famous. Sitch was not fond of this as it seemed like his only contributions to world security was being related to the strongest hero. So when Argoni came to him with the prospect of the Hero Association while recognizing his worth as someone who could contribute meaningfully to the organization outside of being a point of reference for Blast it was an easy decision to leave the government and join.

Blast himself wasn't so much as sold on the idea of the Hero Association but he trusted Sitch enough to go along with any decision he made. So Sitch hashed out a compromise on Blast's behalf similar to what he did when he was with the government. The difference between now and then was that with so many other powerful heroes Sitch didn't need to call on Blast as he once did.

At the same time Blast's contact with him became more and more scarce until one day Blast gave him a cryptic message that he was going to be "going away" for some time. How long and for what reason were never given but Blast gave him an assurance and it was that same assurance that Sitch gave the executive.

With his eyes closed Sitch recited "when humanity is in true danger Blast will definitely show up to defend us" his eyes opened "until then there is no need to call on him."

It was clear that his answer did not sit well with the people in the room however before anymore could be said their meeting was interrupted when the door to the room opened revealing three S-Class heroes.

"He's right you know. There's no need to bother Blast with something like this when I could just go in and deal with it myself."

Tatsumaki, the Tornado of Terror strutted into the room flanked by Super Alloy Darkshine and Pig God. She had both hands on her cocked hip, her voice confident, her demeanor arrogant and her gaze sweeping across the room of executives as if they were beneath her. Not a single one voiced a complaint at the heroes' entrance though in response to her words Sekingar stepped forward.

"Child Emperor is working as hard as he can to locate the Monster Association Headquarters"

Her eyes narrowed at the news "still? Tch, whatever, I already know where it is."

"You do?" Sekingar raised a skeptical eyebrow at that.

"It's in the abandoned part of City Z" the diminutive esper answered "pretty obvious when you think about it."

It does obvious however "that was the first place Child Emperor checked however his sensors have not-"

"Tell Child Emperor to fix his sensors and check again" Tatsumaki interrupted then added "they're underground."

For a while Sekingar stared only to nod "I will inform him-"

"Do it now" she further demanded folding her arm with an impatient look "well?"

Sekingar not wanting to argue did just that and communicated the esper's instructions.

~O~

Meanwhile…

"She wants me to what?"

Child Emperor was currently at a different part of the facility having commandeered the satellite and telecommunications stations to lead the hunt for the Monster Association directly.

He got Sekingar's call as well as the esper's instructions however "I've already checked the ghost town, in fact I'm still checking." He added as among the various screens

"Miss Tatsumaki is rather insistent on-"

Suddenly he is interrupted by an irate and very familiar voice "is that him on the line right now?"

"Uh-oh" Child Emperor gulped.

There was the sound of the microphone getting muffled before said voice came through clearer.

"Isamu."

'Oh boy.'

"I can hear you Miss Tatsumaki."

"Drop the 'Miss' and are you searching the abandoned part of City Z like I asked?"

Child Emperor, Isamu was clacking away at the keyboard as he answered "I'm doing that but I'm not picking up anything on the surface."

"That's because they're underground."

'It's not like I didn't take that into consideration'

"They are dug in really deep" Tatsumaki insisted and it was that insistence that made the young hero reconsider that the esper's words weren't just a bullheaded flight of fancy.

Then a thought occurred 'most of these sensors available at the Hero Association wouldn't be able to detect them if they dug themselves deep enough.'

It's the same reason why they weren't able to detect or track Elder Centipede despite its size until it breached the surface. And since Elder Centipede was part of the Monster Association…

Child Emperor smacked his face in exasperation "this is what happens when you pull all nighters Isamu."

"What was that?" came Tatsumaki's voice through the speakers.

"Nothing I just-I'm going to try something different to find them. I'll call back if it works."

"Good and Isamu?"

"Yes?" he answered not taking his eyes off the monitors.

"Check your E-Mail later today."

The request got his attention "huh? Why?" he asked however she disconnected the line.

'Check my E-Mail?'

Isamu had a weird relationship with Tatsumaki wherein he appeared to be the only hero or person rather that she was actually nice to. Or at the very least she did not act as abrasive towards him as she would others. They were even on a first name basis with each other which was great don't get him wrong, he definitely preferred not to be on the business end of an irate Tatsumaki. It was just a bit off putting being aware that she's nicer to him than everyone else despite not being particularly close or working together often.

Still the awkwardness of his feelings aside Child Emperor trusted her judgment as a fellow hero and will endeavor to follow her suggestions.

'I'll just redirect a few of the scouting robots I sent in Elder Centipede's tunnels to City Z and see what I can find.'

"It'll be fine" he muttered to himself discarding a lollipop stick to get another before turning to one of the other workers "I still have three days right?"

"We have two days now."

"Ugh, no sleep for me then" he cringed sticking the lollipop in his mouth and getting back to it.

~O~

Sekingar caught the earpiece Tatsumaki telekinetically tossed to him with an inquisitive gaze "why do you believe the Monster Association is in that particular area of City Z?"

"I have my ways" the esper waved off "you can thank me later."

Obviously that wasn't a satisfactory answer however clearly Tatsumaki didn't want to further discuss this and Sekingar knew better than to push his luck.

"Very well."

"Now why did you call us here? Clearly there wasn't any new development in finding their base."

"There has been a development. In truth you were not the first to suspect City Z's 'Ghost Town' as the Monster Association's headquarters" Sekingar's cybernetic eye projected a hologram of Drive Knight "yesterday Drive Knight went on to investigate the area by himself against our advisement."

"Why did he go alone?" Darkshine spoke up.

"Hubris" Sekingar stated dispassionately "he has never been defeated so he underestimated them or so it appears. Several hours later we lost the signal from his transmitter. We assume that Drive Knight was defeated."

Sekingar looked to the heroes for their reaction. Darkshine looked to be the most expressively shocked of them all, Pig God had lessened his intake of another sub at the news but the most peculiar reaction of them all was Tatsumaki whose expression was carved from stone giving nothing away however Sekingar could almost see something behind the veil. Her emerald green eyes hid an emotion that was not quite shock as she stared at the hologram of her fellow S-Class hero.

Then those eyes shifted back to meet his "if that's the case then all the more reason to assemble this team. Who are we waiting on anyway?"

As he replied the hologram shut off "we still have two days to prepare and we want to ensure that we make no mistake during this rescue operation."

Based on his previous experience with her Sekingar expected Tatsumaki to make a fuss about this decision. Mostly he expected her to berate his method of approach and suggest she go in and destroy the base herself. Tatsumaki was arrogant, abrasive and impatient which was more or less her response to any issue needing time to figure out a proper solution.

To his surprise however the woman turned with a huff and started floating away "call me when it's time to raid the base. I'm leaving."

"Leaving" Sekingar spoke with no small amount of shock "where are you going?"

"Out" was her only response before the automatic doors shut behind her.

~O~

He couldn't remember his real name. It was lost to the annals of time, torture and various mental manipulations along with his very humanity. In that place he was known as 'experiment #66' however right now he goes by the name 'Zombieman' the 8th ranked S-Class professional hero and currently he stood before his 'creator.'

This meeting was several years in the making. Whenever Zombieman wasn't dealing with hero work he devoted all his spare time to tracking down the facility that created him, the House of Evolution.

Zombieman had been almost single-minded in his pursuit of the organization that took his life away from him. Not even the current crisis with the Monster Association would deter him. In fact he had already deduced that this 'Monster Association' was either just a guise or an offshoot of the House of Evolution. What tipped him off to this was the existence of the so-called 'monster cells' enabling humans to turn into monsters. The mad doctor always had an obsession with eliminating humanity and replacing them with his abominations.

It seems he's finally found a way but they made a mistake some weeks ago and went after One-Punch Man who after decimating one of their facilities with Demon Cyborg called in the Hero Association. They found a great many things in that underground facility but mostly it was destruction and death. There were dozens of corpses bearing the same face and DNA found and all information from the servers seemed to have been corrupted to the point that neither Child Emperor nor Metal Knight was able to discern anything from the hard drives.

In the end the House of Evolution was deemed 'defunct' but Zombieman was skeptical. He conducted his own investigations and discovered a trail that he has been following for several weeks now and it lead him to a nondescript Takoyaki stand. His fellow S-Class heroes must have dealt a great blow to their resources for this new 'base of operations' was such a poor disguise that the doctor had to use one of his mutants to man the damn place.

'It's time to deliver the finishing blow'

"Your run ends today!"

"Oh, a customer, give us a minute we're still getting ready" The gorilla who had his back turned responded.

Undeterred Zombieman continued "don't bother trying to trick me, I already know your true face House Of Evolution!"

That got the gorillas attention as he turned away from what he was doing only to come face to muzzle with the business end of the hero's custom Desert Eagle pistol "I now go by the name 'Zombieman' but I'm sure experiment #66 sounds more familiar."

By the dramatic widening of his eyes the gorilla seems to understand as his expression turned neutral though before he could respond another familiar voice spoke up.

"What is going on Armored Gorilla? Why aren't you setting up?"

A moment later a deceptively young and rather handsome bespectacled man entered into view.

"Ah, doctor Genus" the gorilla spoke.

His appearance caused Zombieman to grit his teeth. The urge to pull the trigger right there and then was palpable however he held himself back 'calm down, this is obviously another clone' there were dozens of them in the facility One-Punch Man found so it wouldn't be farfetched to say that this was another one 'I need to know where the original is.'

"What is going on here" the doctor spoke in a calm voice.

"It seems the S-Class hero 'Zombieman' is here to destroy the House of Evolution" the gorilla answered.

"I see" the man adjusted his glasses "unfortunately the House of Evolution was already annihilated."

Despite himself Zombieman couldn't help but lower his weapon "what?"

Instead of further explaining Genus instead looked around "we should have this conversation in private."

Reluctantly Zombieman went along with him into the nearby apartment. None of the tenants seemed bothered with his appearance considering there was a talking gorilla walking about. Once inside the rather average looking apartment Genus made himself busy by preparing tea.

"I'm surprised" he spoke as he placed down the cup of tea on the low table "to think that the famous S-Class hero 'Zombieman' would be a former test subject of the House of Evolution" he paused to think for a bit "you said you were subject #66, I remember you. Quite the impression you left as the only success of the 'immortal series' but escaped and destroyed the lab on your way out. I was never able to find you despite my best efforts."

In response Zombieman surged to his feet stomping one foot on the table spilling the tea and whipping out an axe while going for an overhead swing.

"I thought you might come for revenge" spoke Genus in a deceptively calm tone though despite this it was clear he was worried "it's been ten years but I figured no amount of time would diminish your hatred towards me for what I've done."

"That's right" Zombieman snarled "how could I ever forget or forgive you for what you did to me."

"Of course and add to that you're a hero now so it's your duty to eliminate 'evil' right?" he snorted a bit but smiled "it's still surprising to see you've transformed yourself in such a way, truly I never expected this."

'What's going on?'

Zombieman had imagined his confrontation with Genus to go a number of ways based on what he remembered of the man but never did he think he would ever see him so…resigned.

"…I heard that One-Punch Man paid a visit to one of your facilities. What happened?"

Genus gave a wry chuckle "what happened is that man undid decades of my life's work in a single afternoon. The facility is in ruins, all of my research is destroyed, my grand designs have been thwarted, I have no purpose nor do I wish for immortality" he looked Zombieman dead in the eye "if you want to kill me then go ahead otherwise leave me to the rest of my current and only life."

He wanted to, god did he wanted to acquiesce to his wishes and end him right then and there but he was a hero and he needed to do his due diligence.

"You say all that but how do I know you're not just a clone? How do I know the original Genus isn't out there plotting? As long as one of you remains the House of Evolution can be rebuilt and this 'Monster Association' seems like your M.O after all."

"Monster Association, I've heard of them" now the doctor looked thoughtful "I take it you believe I am responsible for their ability to turn humans into monsters?"

"Of course."

"I can assure you I have nothing to do with them although…"

"What?"

"It doesn't matter" as he said this Zombieman's axe found its way to his neck and looking up at his former test subject looming over him he could only see his haunting red eyes.

"Tell me what you know."

Genus gulped, he may have been resigned to whatever faith befell him but that did not mean he wasn't afraid of death, after all he spent his entire life in pursuit of immortality.

"I remember being approached by a curious young woman a few years ago. Not only was she able to find me but she was also able to overcome the defenses of my facility at the time with her psychic abilities.

"A psychic?"

"Yes and not only was she a powerful one she was also a brilliant scientist. Though not on the same level as myself"

Zombieman scoffed seeing that despite being humbled by his colleague some of his old personality still persisted.

He ignored Zombieman's scoff to continue "she too acknowledged that humanity was a failed species and shared my vision for replacing them with a superior race. She proposed a collaboration and I was intrigued enough to oblige her. We worked well for a time however it became clear that our methods differed. While I wanted to created the perfect sentient race to replace humanity she wanted to destroy them and allow monsters to take their place."

"That's…"

"Madness" Genus completed with a scowl.

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

"Do not mistake my intentions with the House of Evolution Zombieman" he said with surprising amount passion a sneer on his face "you may not have approved my methods but my intention was always to benefit humanity. Even you…"

Genus cut himself off realizing that the hero still had his axe to his neck "I'd be careful with your next words."

At this Genus calmed down with a breath "well needless to say following this realization we parted ways but not before witnessing the partial fruits of our shared labor" at this he adjusted his glasses with a grim look "monster cells she called them and once ingested it would enable humans with enough resilience to transform into monsters themselves."

Zombieman removed his axe from the doctor's neck "I'm surprised you allowed such competition to go without any"

"What she was planning was madness and ran counter to my vision but I was not foolish enough to challenge her right then. Not only was she a powerful psychic but she also had a pet monster of immense power. I needed to shore up my defenses and in time I would have decimated her with my own army" as he spoke he gripped his hand "I was desperate and in my desperation I overreached. Eventually I was made aware of One-Punch Man's presence in the abandoned section of City Z after he destroyed one of my experiments."

"One-Punch Man in City Z?"

Genus scoffed "I couldn't believe it, the world's 'strongest man' living alone in an apartment complex in the isolated part of the city, it was too good to be true. I thought I had found worthwhile genetic material to create the perfect mutant and sent a capture team."

"But instead you pissed him off and he destroyed you."

"More like inconvenienced him."

Zombieman couldn't help but smirk 'yeah that sounds like him.'

While in his thoughts Genus continued "it's ridiculous to think that my entire life's work could be upended by a single man with near unfathomable strength. Yet even more ridiculous was his explanation for how he even gained such strength!"

"Let me guess: 100 push-ups, 100 sit-ups, 100 squats and a 10km run every day?"

"Ridiculous!" Genus reiterated.

Yeah Saitama revealed that when he got into a spat with Tatsumaki during one of the rare S-Class meetings. He didn't remember what the fight was about but he remembered the strongest man explaining how he attained his strength and none of them actually believed him. Even Darkshine who admired the man could not believe such a 'mundane' exercise routine would give someone god-like strength.

"To think that he would discover such a mundane means of removing his limiter!"

"What? What do you mean 'remove his limiter'?"

Adjusting his glasses again Genus entered his 'lecture mode' as he explained how all living beings have an intrinsic limit to their growth. Too much power would overwhelm the host and turn them into a rampaging monster and so the 'limiter' exists as a mechanism to control their growth so the host does not exceed themselves and lose all purpose.

Zombieman reminded him of the 'hero' a human able to exceed their limits without turning into a monster. Genus counters this point by explaining that the intrinsic limit of one's growth is not uniform and that heroes especially those of the S-Class variety are those special individuals who have attained a higher strength through training, cybernetic augmentation, experimentation or natural born gifts.

"One-Punch Man I feel is different" Genus continued "as far as I know he did not have any special circumstances nor did he have any particular noteworthy lineage, his parents are completely normal individuals. An ordinary man with an ordinary birth was able to pry open the doors of his limits and break his limiter with nothing but his own effort and stubborn determination."

Zombieman was seated now and as interested as he was in what the doctor was saying "I think we're straying from the point of this conversation."

The doctor seemed to also catch himself reaching a shaky hand to take a sip of his own tea given to him by Armored Gorilla was keeping his vigil during this conversation. The only reason why he hadn't intervened during Zombieman's hostility was due to Genus giving him a subtle signal to stay his hand.

"Apologies for that, now what is it that you want to know?"

"Tell me everything you know about this esper and what you two were working on."

At that Genus chuckled "where do I even begin?"

"You can start with a name."

"…she calls herself Psykos…"

~O~

'I don't know what I was expecting'

After leaving Saitama and the others Tomoro was able to find and rent the perfect truck for their moving needs at a reasonable price. Unfortunately whatever joy could be found from this bargain was ruined by Do-S' dour mood. He's seen that kind of expression before, it was the expression of someone who has had their entire worldview shattered and was utterly despondent as a result. He supposed seeing just a fraction of Saitama's strength was too much for the poor woman.

As much as he would love to give her space he couldn't afford that. She needed to be in good shape for what was about to come so as he parked next the apartment he turned to her. She was still silent, her eyes were still far away and the only thing denoting her still being alive was the subtle rise and fall of her chest.

"I'm sorry"

"…"

"I wanted you to cast away any doubts about your decision to side against the Monster Association with a practical demonstration of Saitama's strength against one of the Monster Association's strongest members."

"…" she gave no response.

"Would you believe me if I said that wasn't even close to a fraction of his full power?"

For a brief moment she glanced at him with eyes filled with disbelief, fear and resignation.

"Is it overwhelming? Realizing that someone so powerful exists?"

The monster woman glanced away but maintained her silence.

"I'll take that as a yes."

"…"

"You disappoint me Do-S. I thought you were stronger than this."

*Clench*

There was no verbal response though her gloved hands clenched with enough force to rend steel.

"What do you want from me?" she finally croaked out bitterly.

"I'd like for you to stop moping about for one."

She scoffed, it was a shaky and feeble thing however he could see her regaining some of her personality.

"I think you're taking the wrong thing away from witnessing Saitama's strength."

"What should I have taken from that?"

"Being reassured you aren't making a mistake by throwing your lot in with us."

"It was either that or dying at your hands."

"Well yes but at the same time it's not as if I'll be able to keep an eye on you all the time. I'd like to think I can trust you not to betray me at the last minute out of fear when faced with your former friends in the Monster Association."

Do-S gave a not so feeble scoff "if not for my strength those in the Monster Association would sooner kill me or worse. And what do you mean by 'betray you'? The deal was for me to give you information on what I know about them in exchange for letting me go."

"Well I am altering the deal. Pray I do not alter it further."

There was a beat of tense silence as Do-S simmered in rage only for the tension to be broken by Tomoro's giggling.

"Sorry, sorry" he waved his hand "I just wanted to say that."

"Was that supposed to be a reference to something" the now unimpressed monster girl deadpanned.

Tomoro gained a wistful look "yeah but in all seriousness I was hoping you would join us in raiding the Monster Association."

"And why would I possibly do that?" she asked wearily.

Tomoro shrugged "relax it's not as if I'm going to implicate you in anything I just thought you would want to ensure that we get everyone so no one thinks to look for you."

"And actually joining you wouldn't implicate me?"

"It would send a message to the heroes that you're a 'friendly' monster."

At that Do-S gave a near inhuman growl "I have no interest in working with the heroes" and before he could speak she continued "I am working with you and you aren't part of the Hero Association."

"Okay point taken" he raised a placating hand "though it would certainly make a favorable impression with Amai Mask~"

Do-S stiffened turning a wide eyed gaze at him "h-how did you…?"

Tomoro rolled his eyes "oh please it would be harder to find a woman who wasn't obsessed with that guy. I just took a shot in the dark and you confirmed the hit."

Do-S' eyes narrowed suspiciously at him "why are you so set on me joining your side?"

To that Tomoro took on a more stern expression "because Do-S, I believe you have the potential to become much more than you currently are and it would be a shame to see that potential wasted."

For a moment Do-S simply stared at him before with a roll of her eyes and a disgusted scoff she left the truck slamming the door on her way out.

"Hey careful! This thing's a rental!" yelled Tomoro as he exited the truck.

Do-S wordlessly flipped him the bird over her shoulder before leaping to the second floor and entering her temporary apartment between his and Saitama. Again the door was slammed shut with more force than necessary causing Tomoro to shake his head.

"Geez, is this what having a teenage daughter is like?"

~O~

'Wasted potential? WASTED POTENTIAL!?'

"Raargh!" Do-S drove her fist through the wall as if it were Styrofoam it was one of several aspects of destruction brought on as a result from her rage.

Do-S felt like a caged animal as she stalked the empty confines of the small apartment. She would destroy the entire damn thing and go on a rampage but knew she could not. At the moment she didn't give a damn about Tomoro which is why the holes in the wall were facing his side but she wasn't angry enough to potentially upset One-Punch Man.

Eventually she fell to the floor with a huff spread eagle. As she looked to the ceiling Do-S couldn't help the memories that came unbidden to her mind of a time long since past. Her needle like teeth gritted as her thoughts inevitably went to him and how in that moment Tomoro's visage was overlapped with his own.

*Scrape*

Her sharpened nails dug grooves into the floor as her fist clench 'who does he think he is!?'

Do-S let her mind stew in these thoughts before suddenly one of the walls disappeared in a brief flash of purple causing Do-S to lift her head. Standing there with his hand outstretched was the object of her rage.

"No reason to keep the wall anymore" the man shrugged.

Do-S scowled and dropped her head back on the floor to glare at the ceiling. She ignored the movements of his steps and even when he sat down beside her. She could not however ignore when he pressed a very cold can against the pink heart shaped symbol on forehead. More annoyed and surprised by the act she sat up and whirled around ready to give him a piece of her mind when she came face to face with the can of juice.

"Noticed that you liked this flavor" he offered.

She smacked his hand aside "what is your problem!?"

"Just trying to help you cool your head" he voiced placing the can down.

"You realize you're the reason why I'm annoyed right?"

"Well that can't be helped. I'm the only other person here at the moment."

"What do you want?"

"Just checking up on you."

"Shouldn't you be loading the truck with your things?"

"Already done."

At that Do-S turned to find the room was barren of the boxes and his personal effects 'how long was I in here.'

It hardly felt like any time had passed.

"You see why I had to check up on you right?"

Begrudgingly the monster woman snatched the drink from the floor ripped the top off upended the contents into her monstrous maw before crushing the can and tossing it aside.

"Was that necessary?"

Using her long serpentine tongue to lick some stray juices from her chin she gave him an uncaring look "I'm a monster, deal with it."

Tomoro rolled his eyes "not that" he gestured to the discarded can "being a monster is no excuse for littering."

Do-S gave him a deadpanned look "bite me."

He snorted then fired a purple beam from his fingertip that incinerated the can.

"Seriously though, are you alright?"

"What do you think?" she snapped.

"Okay jeez, just trying to help."

"Well you suck at helping."

"Clearly" he rolled his eyes "look, the deal is still on. You give us information and I let you go. After that whatever happens next is up to you."

He got to his feet and started walking away leaving Do-S alone once more. As he did the monster girl huddled her legs together to rest her folded hands on her knees. After thinking about it for a while Do-S came to a not-so-startling conclusion

"I really hate that guy."

After this revelation Do-S decided that she's had enough with sitting in the apartment and opted to go outside. As she opened the door and stepped outside she was met with a cavalcade of heroes (and old men) who were heading into One-Punch Man's apartment. It was at this point Do-S realized she was no longer wearing her disguise (which she threw off in her fit of rage) and so there was an awkward moment where all the heroes were confronted with a monster who casually just left the apartment next to the one they were heading in.

"Uh…"

Before she could think of something anything to say one of the heroes she recognized as Demon Cyborg despite looking heavily injured and in need of maintenance broke the silent stare down by raising his arm.

"Uh Genos" One-Punch Man attempted to speak only to be drowned out by his fellow S-Class hero's chilling voice.

"Eliminate."

Do-S recoiled taking a step back ready to toss herself off the balcony however her body was enveloped by a bright flash faster than she could even move. Knowing that she would have to take the first hit on the chin but unable to even throw up a hasty cross block she could only pray that her durability would be enough to protect her from the searing heat. Fortunately in the split second before she was scorched a shadow appeared before her and with it a familiar purple light.

After blinking the spots away from eyes caused by the flash of light Do-S could only watch on in shock as the blast was halted by Tomoro's single outstretched hand reaching no further than his back.

"Oi Genos, cut it out!" One-Punch Man exclaimed smacking aside the cyborg's arm and cutting off the blast.

The action allowed everyone to see the blast itself drawn to Tomoro's outstretched hand where it coalesced into a ball of inferno kept inside a transparent purple sphere in the palm of his hand.

"That was close" Tomoro sighed ignoring the rather incredulous looks given to him by everyone save for One-Punch Man "are you okay?"

Do-S looked from him to the fiery ball of death scaled down to fit in the palm of his hand then back again before gathering herself "cutting it close weren't you?"

"In my defense I told him I had guests staying in the apartment next to Saitama's" he turned a frown to "though I suppose I should have told him you weren't human."

"Why are you harboring a monster?" Genos questioned to the point.

"Her name is Do-S and I made a deal with her. She will be giving us information on the inner workings of the Monster Association in exchange for letting her go."

"She is your prisoner?"

"She's my guest and under my protection" he capitalized this by crushing the ball of fire in his hand "I hope that isn't a problem with you all."

He was directing this to the old martial artists with Bomb shrugging "it is none of my business."

Bang nodded along "so long as she isn't being hostile I see no problems."

"Genos?"

The cyborg looked hesitant for a moment before looking to Saitama "master?"

The man as always shrugged "meh, it's fine. Not like she's hurting anyone."

And with that they all filed into his apartment closing the door behind them.

"I'm sorry about that" Tomoro apologized.

Do-S gave him a look but grunted "its fine. It would have taken more than that to kill me anyway."

"That doesn't make it okay."

"Whatever" she looked out into the dilapidated area "and for the record the moment I give you the information I'm leaving."

"If you say so" Tomoro shrugged

She gave him pointed look 'what's that supposed to mean?'

"I'm serious" she pressed.

"Sure."

"I won't stay to participate in your attack on the Monster Association."

"Not forcing you to."

Do-S scowled at him until Saitama popped his head out from the doorway "hey can you help me with this?"

"Sure."

As Tomoro disappeared into the apartment Do-S continued to scowl while reminding herself of the plan.

"I am not helping him any further than this."

She wouldn't…she swore she wouldn't.

~To Be Continued~