"Wow, so pretty." Seeing Tohka like this, Miku Izayoi almost lunged at her. But one look from Tohka stopped her, and she reluctantly froze in place.
"By the way, what are you planning to do?" Pushing aside her little schemes, Miku Izayoi's brain came back online. She looked curiously at Tohka, wondering why she hadn't put the armor away.
"Mm, don't rush. There's a sword here—I want to check it out." Tohka drew the katana-shaped weapon and examined it carefully.
She didn't know exactly what material it was made of, but it was probably Chitauri tech. Then she poured her power into it, and a blue glow shone around the blade.
"….."
Tohka had the distinct feeling some sort of malicious intent was drifting her way. She wondered if one day she'd meet that centipede girl and get mistaken for the real one. Hanabi… Their characters were supposed to be different, right?
"Mm, Tohka, you really look like a samurai." Watching Tohka rest the sword across her back, Miku Izayoi felt she looked especially like a warrior—though maybe a slightly futuristic one. After all, for a Japanese person, the first image that came to mind was naturally a samurai.
"Of course I'm going out to test this armor. Besides, now that New York has relaxed security a bit, a bunch of petty crooks have been making trouble. Perfect for me to try this gear on them." Satisfied with how she looked, Tohka turned to Miku Izayoi with a grin.
"Uh… fine, go on then." Miku Izayoi didn't try to stop her. Testing new equipment right away was childish, but on Tohka it somehow didn't feel out of place.
"OK—I'm heading out." Without further delay, Tohka jumped out of the room. She flipped several times in midair and landed steadily on the street—though she did leave another crater in the pavement. Oh well, there were bigger holes everywhere. One more didn't matter—eventually, the whole road would have to be repaved anyway.
"Wow—this armor feels amazing." Tohka took off running. She could feel all her physical stats enhanced. And that was just with her own strength plus a bit of spirit power. The feeling of racing along rooftops like the wind was completely different from flying wrapped in energy.
"Whoa—is that the Stark heiress? Looks like the Stark family has another suit of armor. Wonder how it compares to Tony's." Tohka hadn't hidden herself. She didn't even have her helmet on. Even in daylight, troublemakers were everywhere—especially after the army had started pulling out a couple days ago. New York was still chaotic. So, it didn't take long for her to spot a mugging. She dropped from the sky and kicked one thug flying. The other two barely had time to react before she knocked them down. The victim shouted a quick thanks and ran off.
"Lady—money or your life!" But just then, a gun pressed against the back of her head, and an annoyingly familiar voice made her roll her eyes.
She dodged the barrel with a quick sidestep, drew her sword, and swung without hesitation. This guy couldn't die anyway, so who cared?
"Whoa whoa, Missy, you're really out for blood." Deadpool blocked the strike with his twin katanas, but his mouth never stopped running. "How about it, folks in front of your screens? Did you miss me? Look at this bastard author—ran out of ideas and dragged me in to pad the word count. Should I just shoot him? I mean, come on—nothing to write, so he pulls me out to—" (SPLAT—flattened.)
"Deadpool—why are you back in New York again? You didn't show up for the big battle, but now, during this sensitive period, you show your face?" After clashing once, they separated, and Tohka looked at him suspiciously.
"Oh! —so it's the young lady." Deadpool finally recognized her. But then, of course, his mouth ran off again. "Seriously, I thought you were another newbie. I was going to mentor you as a veteran. Tsk tsk—turns out it's you. Gotta say, this armor is way better than that clunky tin can you wore before. Speaking of which—where'd the old suit go? That thing was worth at least ten million dollars. Tsk—you rich people really know how to have fun…"
Before Tohka could respond, a web shot down from above, yanked Deadpool into the air, and left him dangling upside down. Then a figure in red-and-blue spandex landed in front of her.
"Wow—your armor looks incredible." Spider-Man didn't even glance at the suspended Deadpool. He just circled Tohka admiringly. Before, she'd dressed conservatively. But this more revealing suit was much more eye-catching—especially to Western eyes, who found it exponentially more appealing.
"Hey—bug-boy over there! What's this? See a pretty girl and forget about me? Look at us—we're practically dressed the same. How can you ignore your best friend—Deadpool? Also, put me down already! I swear, when I get down, I'm going to chop you up for abandoning me…" Deadpool, arms crossed, ranted furiously.
"Shut up, you bastard! I already have a girlfriend—I don't swing that way!" Under Tohka's skeptical stare, Spider-Man turned and shouted. He was a straight guy, but Deadpool's comments were way too easy to misinterpret. If he didn't clarify, he'd never live it down—especially that damn Nova, who'd mock him forever.
"Oh my God—" Deadpool, bizarrely, reacted even more dramatically. He howled to the sky. "Who? Who is she? I'm going to kill her—no, no, I must kill her. Don't try to stop me—I'll find her right now—"
"Um… you two enjoy your drama. I'm leaving—New York still needs me." Watching their antics turn into a soap opera, Tohka noped right out. She was here to serve justice—uh, to test her new gear—not to watch the Bug and Merc Family Melodrama. She jumped onto a rooftop and vanished. If this turned into some weird love-triangle mess, she'd rather not be there.
"Wait—listen! We're not what you think!" Spider-Man nearly panicked when she disappeared. How was he supposed to explain this? Worse, Tohka knew his identity and knew Mary Jane. If she told her… Even jumping into the Hudson wouldn't wash that away. But before he could chase after her, an arm slung around his shoulder, stopping him—and a familiar annoying voice piped up.
"Ahahaha—let me tell you—women like that—"
"….."
Spider-Man stared at Deadpool for half a second—then punched him square in the face, sending him crashing into a wall in a geyser of blood.
"Uargh—you bastard! Take this—I'm gonna carve you up!" Deadpool climbed down, ignored the blood spurting everywhere, and lunged at Spider-Man. Instantly, a ridiculous acrobatic brawl erupted in the alley.
"Are these two clowns serious? I am not wasting my time here." Far away, Tohka kept running. But it was like today the universe was messing with her. Just as she ditched Spiderpool's drama, another guy showed up.
"Wow—hey there, lovely new lady—wait, you're Miss Tohka? How come your armor looks so different?" A guy with a bucket on his head popped up in front of her, launching into a self-introduction—only to realize halfway through who she was.
"What is wrong with all of you? So, I changed outfits—why are you acting like this?" Tohka glared at the three figures who'd followed: Nova, Iron Fist, and White Tiger. Even with their masks, she could sense their surprise.
"Uh… how to put this…" Nova scratched his head, glancing around helplessly.
"We just didn't expect you, who always wore that old-fashioned tracksuit, to switch to something like this," White Tiger said bluntly.
"Hey—was my old armor really that tacky?" Tohka couldn't believe it. Sure, she usually wore her training gear, but her armor wasn't that bad, right?
"Mm… but how often did you wear it? You were either in that tracksuit or the Iron Man suit. Your own armor—maybe two or three times." White Tiger didn't hesitate to explain, and Tohka realized she'd never thought about it.
"…Fine." She sighed. So, in everyone's eyes, she really was synonymous with outdated fashion.
"Anyway—do you guys have a mission today? I'm out to clean up some criminals. Got any targets I can help with?" She decided to let it go and get to the point.
"You're not just here to test your new gear, are you? Because if so, you'll be disappointed. Apart from Spider-Man's situation, there's nothing going on. Or… you could join Deadpool and Spider-Man's brawl." Her motive was exposed instantly—dealing her another psychological blow.
"….."
"Mm, you're back? Where's your armor? Why'd you put it away?" At lunch, Miku Izayoi watched Tohka slink in, armor stowed, all her earlier swagger gone.
"Oh my god—why is New York so peaceful today? Not a single decent villain—just petty crooks. Catching them doesn't feel satisfying at all. And those guys were doing community service…" Tohka didn't want to say any more. Everyone really was bored lately—and with things still tense, New York had stayed unusually calm. She'd wandered around all morning and never found a single supervillain to test her armor on.
"Let me think… let me think… Next up is Iron Man 3… then Cap 2… Thor 2… That's when the real enemies show up. I just have to be patient—plenty of chances to practice." She started muttering to herself, optimism rekindling. If she waited, she'd definitely find one or two big bads to fight.
"What are you even thinking about? Why do your moods swing so fast?" Miku Izayoi looked at her speechlessly. This must be what it was like to be a total idiot—emotions came and went in the blink of an eye.
Wahaha—nine updates done. All the owed chapters are finally paid off. I can slack off again.