Hero Trainer: Choke Me With Those Thighs!-Chapter 133: Motherly Might! Macro Four and the End of the Blue Flame
The silence lasted barely three seconds.
Dabi twisted his mouth into a tense grimace. "Alright. The games are over." He raised both hands.
"Everyone back!" Izuku’s voice came out raspy through his respirator. "Mom, frontal shield now!"
The world turned blue. A tidal wave of fire erupted from Dabi’s palms. The heat was so intense that the air vibrated with a high-pitched hum. The flames advanced in a solid wall, devouring oxygen and hurtling toward the defensive line.
"MOM!"
Inko struck the air with her palms extended. The green glow surrounding her became blinding. Her repulsion vector collided with the front of the inferno. The fire stopped dead against the invisible force and began to split. The blue flames parted, leaving a safe space right in the center where the team remained huddled. To the sides, the redirected fire raked the earth, turning rocks into liquid glass.
"Dammit!" Kirishima shouted. He raised his hardened arms to cover himself. "It’s too hot! I feel like my skin is peeling off despite the Hardening!"
"Don’t move from behind Inko!" Ragdoll ordered. Her voice could barely be heard over the roar of the combustion. "Maintain formation!"
Dabi didn’t relent; he continued to blast wave after wave without stopping. Inko grit her teeth so hard her jaw trembled from the effort. Sweat poured down her temples, evaporating before it even touched the ground.
"How annoying," Dabi said. His voice came through clearly despite the din. He didn’t seem tired. "Mothers should stay at home weeping for their losses."
"You don't know fear," Inko responded with a deep growl, "until you touch my son, you bastard."
"Touching words." Dabi pushed harder. The blue of the flames shifted to a whitish hue. "Let’s see how long your conviction lasts."
The heat became unbearable. The ground beneath Inko’s feet began to crack and glow with a dull red light.
"She’s not going to hold much longer," Momo said, her voice cracking with nerves. "Izuku, she’s going to..."
"I know!" Izuku ignored the stabbing pain in his ankle and fixed his gaze on Dabi through the corridor of fire.
He noticed a detail. Dabi’s coat was smoking at the shoulders. The skin on his neck was rapidly breaking out in blisters. New burns were overlapping his old scars.
He’s burning himself,
Izuku whispered. Then he yelled, "He’s overheating! We can use that to our advantage!"
"Use what?!" Bakugo bellowed from the left flank while dispersing the last of Twice’s clones. "We’re getting cooked out here!"
"His own Quirk is damaging him!" Izuku pushed himself up, leaning against a remnant of a wall. "If we force him to use more power, he’ll burn up before he breaks the shield!"
"It’s a good plan!" Ochako exclaimed. "But we’ll be ash before he is!"
"Not if we cool the area down all at once." Izuku looked at his teammate. "Momo! Macro Four! Now!"
Momo nodded immediately. She understood the order. Several metallic spheres the size of handballs emerged from her palms. A layer of frost covered them instantly. It was compressed liquid nitrogen.
"Ochako!" Izuku called out. "Make them fly!"
Ochako touched each sphere as Momo released them. "Released!"
The projectiles floated and rose above the corridor of fire, staying out of Dabi’s direct line of sight.
"What are you trying?" Dabi looked up with disdain. "That won't do you any good."
"Mom!" Izuku screamed. "Attraction! Bring the sky down on him!"
Inko turned her head toward the spheres. She pulled one of her hands away from the shield, though the other began to shake violently under the pressure of the flames. The green glow pulsed with power. The nitrogen spheres shot down at high speed, sucked by Inko’s force directly toward Dabi’s position.
Dabi took a step back, and his firepower flickered for a moment. The spheres impacted the ground at his feet. The explosion made no sound, but the liquid nitrogen expanded upon contact with the scorching air. A dense cloud of frigid vapor exploded in every direction, clashing against the blue fire.
The resulting steam was so thick it covered the entire battlefield in a matter of seconds. The corridor of flames disappeared behind a white curtain.
"I can't see anything!" Kirishima yelled.
"Perfect!" Izuku replied. "Neither can they!"
Todoroki slid through the mist on a trail of ice and reached Izuku’s side. He knelt without a word.
"Your ankle," Todoroki said. "Don't move."
Ice sprouted from his hand and encased Izuku’s joint, creating a rigid boot that immediately relieved the inflammation.
"Thanks." Izuku put his foot down to test the stability. "Now get back to the..."
"Look out!"
Mr. Compress emerged from the fog with a broken mask and blood trickling from his nose. His elegant demeanor had completely vanished.
"You... you damn brat..." Compress wheezed, reaching a hand toward Izuku. "I'm going to lock you in..."
He stopped dead. He clutched his throat, unable to draw breath. Inko was a few meters away, her hand extended toward him. She had a cold expression. She was using her attraction ability on the oxygen around the villain’s head, creating a local vacuum that prevented him from breathing.
Compress’s eyes bulged as he fell to his knees.
"Mom, wait! Don't kill him!" Izuku pleaded.
"I won't," Inko replied with a flat voice that made skin crawl, "but he’s going to wish I had."
She clenched her fist and then released the tension. Mr. Compress collapsed against the dirt, coughing and desperately trying to catch his breath.
"Compress!" Spinner’s voice echoed from somewhere in the vapor. "Where are you?"
"Let's go!" Dabi sounded irritated. "Retreat, now!"
"What?!" Spinner yelled. "We almost have them!"
"Use your head!" Dabi snapped. "We can't see a thing and reinforcements are coming. It’s over."
Distant shouts began to echo from the forest. They were familiar voices.
"Mandalay!" Ragdoll smiled with relief. "It’s them!"
"Dammit." Dabi’s silhouette blurred into the fog. "Twice! Make clones and give us cover!"
"On it! / No way, I'm outta here! / Covering the escape! / We're all gonna die!"
Several of Twice’s clones ran toward Izuku’s team, throwing dirt and debris to increase the confusion while the original villains slipped away.
"Spinner! Get your ass to point B!" Dabi ordered.
"This is cowardice!" Spinner protested while dragging his sword. "Stain would never..."
"Stain is locked up!" Dabi cut him off. "Move!"
The villains disappeared among the trees. Bakugo made a move to chase after them. "Get back here, you cowards!"
"Let them go!" Izuku stopped him. "We can't pursue them like this."
Bakugo punched a charred tree trunk in frustration. The vapor began to settle, revealing a desolate landscape. The fortress was in ruins, the ground was a mosaic of ash and frost, and nearby trees still flickered with residual flames.
Dabi’s voice drifted from the thicket, already far away. "Enjoy this moment. Next time, I’ll burn you until there’s nothing left of your Quirks."
Izuku looked at his companions. Momo was trembling from exhaustion. Ochako was pale. His mother kept her hands up, still surrounded by green energy.
"There won't be a next time," Izuku muttered.
Mandalay emerged from the trees and froze at the level of destruction. "Is everyone alright?"
"Contact!" Tiger’s voice came from another direction. "I have Pixie-Bob! She’s alive!"
"We distracted them," Ragdoll said, her voice shaking. "We actually distracted them."
Izuku’s legs gave out. The adrenaline was gone. The pain returned in a wave so intense it clouded his vision.
"Izuku!" Inko caught him before he hit the ground.
"I’m okay," he wheezed. His respirator was fogging up from his heavy breathing. "How is everyone?"
"Kiri and I are fine," Ragdoll said quickly. "Just minor burns and bruises."
"Todoroki?" Izuku looked up.
"Functional," Todoroki said, though ice was climbing up his left side from overuse. "I can still move."
"Ochako?"
"Dizzy," Ochako admitted, sitting down heavily. "But no nausea. I think."
Momo slumped down next to Ochako. "I need water. Or food. Whichever comes first."
"Both," Izuku said, looking at her. "You created too much."
"The nitrogen spheres emptied me out," Momo admitted. Her voice was trembling. "I’ve never made so much so fast."
"It worked," Kirishima said, walking over. He had light burns on his arms despite the Hardening. "That’s what matters."
"Bakugo?" Izuku searched for the blonde with his eyes.
Bakugo was standing by a carbonized tree, staring at the treeline where the villains had fled. "I'm fine."
"Mom," Izuku looked at her. "Are you really okay?"
Inko’s hands were shaking. The green glow flickered. "I’m fine, honey. Just tired."
"You used too much power," Todoroki said. "Your Quirk has limits like any other."
"I know," Inko replied. "But I wasn't going to let that bastard touch my son."
Mandalay reached them, with Tiger right behind her. Her eyes scanned the group, assessing injuries.
"Medical emergency!" Mandalay was already activating her Telepath Quirk. "We need medics! Multiple injuries! Pixie-Bob is unconscious and..."
"Compress is over there," Izuku interrupted, pointing. "Villain. Probably has a concussion. Secure him first."
Tiger’s eyes widened. "You captured one?"
"My mom did," Izuku said. A slight smile formed on his face despite the pain. "She’s terrifying when she’s angry. Besides, he’s not the only one... Muscular is unconscious too."
"I heard that," Inko murmured, but she was smiling as well.
Tiger walked over to Compress, who lay motionless on the ground. "This one isn't going anywhere for a while."
"I took the air out of his lungs," Inko explained casually. "Just enough to knock him out."
"Remind me not to make you mad," Tiger said, impressed. He pulled out Quirk-suppressing handcuffs. "Where is Muscular?"
"On the other side of the fortress," Ragdoll answered. "Inko knocked him out before this even started."
More heroes emerged from the forest. Eraserhead appeared, his capture weapon already deployed, his eyes searching for threats.
"Villains?" he asked sharply.
"Retreated," Todoroki informed him. "They picked up their wounded and fled when they heard you coming."
Eraserhead observed the battlefield. The scorched earth. The frozen zones. The destroyed trees and the crater where the fortress wall used to be. He looked at the unconscious villain in the corner.
"You stood your ground," he repeated slowly. "Against members of the League of Villains."
"We had a plan," Momo said softly. "Izuku had a plan. We decided to distract them, keep them busy until reinforcements arrived."
"Your mother isn't a pro hero," Eraserhead pointed out. "How did she know what to do?"
"I gave her instructions," Izuku replied. "I knew she could do it. Her Quirk is versatile enough."
"And the liquid nitrogen?" Eraserhead asked, looking at Momo.
"Macro Four," Momo said. "An emergency protocol we designed weeks ago. Compressed nitrogen spheres to cool high-heat zones."
"Weeks?" Eraserhead arched an eyebrow. "You’ve been planning to face fire-type villains?"
"We’ve been planning for all kinds of scenarios," Izuku corrected. "After what happened at the USJ, we decided to be better prepared."
"The Macros are team protocols," Ochako explained. "Specific situations with specific responses. Like Macro Four for extreme fire."
"How many Macros do you have?" Mandalay asked, curious.
"Twelve," Momo answered. "Covering everything from long-range attacks to hostage situations."
Eraserhead remained silent for a moment. "That’s pro-level teamwork... You’re an idiot. But an effective idiot."
"Thank you," Izuku said, without sarcasm.
Tiger returned, dragging Compress. "This one is secured. Where’s the other?"
"I’ll get him," Todoroki said. He stood up and created a path of ice. "I won’t be long."
"Wait," Eraserhead stopped him. "Don't go alone."
"I’m going with him," Bakugo said, pushing off the tree. "Someone has to make sure half-and-half doesn't freeze himself."
The two walked away together. Mandalay sat down next to Momo. "How much energy did you spend on those spheres?"
"Too much," Momo admitted. "Each one required perfect precision. Liquid nitrogen doesn't forgive mistakes."
"Do you feel lightheaded?" Mandalay asked.
"Starving," Momo said. "My stomach is completely empty."
Mandalay pulled a granola bar from her pocket. "Here. It’s not much, but it will help until we get to camp."
Momo accepted it gratefully. "Thank you."
Ochako lay back on the ground. "How much longer until we can move?"
"The medics are on their way," Mandalay said. "Probably ten minutes."
"Ten minutes," Ochako repeated. "I can do that."
"Still dizzy?" Izuku asked.
"A little," Ochako admitted. "I used my Quirk too often. But I'm not going to throw up, so it counts as a win."
Ragdoll laughed. "Your standard for victory is very low."
"My standard is being alive," Ochako replied. "And we all are, so we won."
Kirishima sat down next to them. "That was intense. More intense than the USJ."
"Will they come back?" Momo asked.
"Eventually," Eraserhead replied. "But not soon. You hit them hard. They’ll need time to reorganize."
Inko pulled Izuku closer to her. "Next time, I’ll be better prepared."
Eraserhead watched as Muscular was brought over by Todoroki and Bakugo. "Two captures. Not bad for a group of students."
Tiger secured Muscular with specialized cuffs. "This one is the most dangerous. Better not take any chances."
"How long will he be out?" Izuku asked.
"Hours," Tiger replied. "The hits he took would have killed a normal person."
"Well," Inko said simply, "he isn't a normal person."
The sounds of vehicles reached them from the camp road. The medics had arrived.
"Finally," Ochako said. "I need a bed."
***
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Chapter 133: Motherly Might! Macro Four and the End of the Blue Flame
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