— 3rd POV —
Ryo and Ren walked down the street together, chatting lightly, unaware of the shadow creeping along the walls behind them.
The sludge villain watched their movements carefully, his form sliding silently through the cracks of the alley ahead.
Two children.
No adults.
No heroes nearby.
Perfect.
He pooled into a dark corner and waited.
As the brothers passed the alley
A wet, disgusting sound echoed.
Splshh—
Ryo felt something was wrong before his mind even processed it.
He pushed Ren behind him.
"Stay back!"
A massive wave of sludge lunged out of the alley like a living net. Ryo swung his right arm, trying to transform it, but it twitched uncontrollably, jerking at the wrong angles.
The sludge villain laughed.
"Oooh… this one has fight in him… good… good…"
Ryo gritted his teeth, slashing his transformed claw through the air, but it barely carved a dent into the slippery mass.
He was being pushed back and was losing ground fast.
Every movement of his right arm was erratic, unstable
Exactly like before.
Ren watched from behind, trembling.
His big brother… fighting alone again.
Always taking everything on his shoulders.
Ren's chest tightened.
He didn't want to be protected all the time.
He wanted to help.
"Ren! Run!" Ryo shouted. "Don't come near me! Just go!"
But instead of running, Ren charged forward.
His legs shifted and hardened into dark blue, glossy armored exoskeleton boots.
He leapt and kicked directly at the sludge villain.
"Get away from my brother!"
WHAM!
But instead of sending the villain flying, Ren's legs became stuck in the sludge, and his legs were swallowed halfway into the sludge's body.
"AHAHA! Perfect," the villain sneered. "If I take over the small one… the big one will hesitate… hesitate and lose!"
Ren screamed as the sludge began to tug him inside.
Ryo's heart dropped.
"REN!"
Without thinking, he extended his right arm
It shot forward like a crimson whip, grabbing Ren's ankle.
"LET HIM GO!"
The sludge hissed.
"You shouldn't turn your back."
It shifted—releasing Ren and lunging for Ryo instead.
Sludge wrapped around Ryo's torso, soaking into his clothes, pulling him in.
Ryo's lungs squeezed.
His vision darkened.
But he wasn't backing down
Ryo forced his unruly arm to stretch again
SWOOSHH!
A wild, uncontrolled swing of his arm as it extends
And... he missed the ground completely!
But Ren saw it.
He grabbed Ryo's extended claw and shoved it into the pavement, anchoring it like a stake.
"Got you!"
Ryo took a shaking breath.
Then-
He SHRANK his arm back to normal length.
The recoil yanked him straight out of the sludge's grasp like a slingshot.
Both brothers tumbled across the sidewalk, coughing and gasping.
The villain screeched with frustration.
"You little BRATS—!"
But it was too late.
A loud alarm blared nearby.
Residents were shouting.
Windows opened.
And several low-ranking heroes sprinted toward the scene.
"What's going on!?"
"Where's the villain!?"
The sludge villain froze.
He hadn't expected this.
Two boys should've been easy prey.
Tch.
"I've caused too much noise… they're onto me…"
He dissolved into a stream of bubbling filth and slipped into a sewer grate, fleeing into the darkness.
—~—~—~—~—~—~—~—~
Ryo and Ren stumbled toward the approaching heroes, still breathless, their legs shaking.
"He—he's in the sewers!" Ryo shouted.
"He tried to take us!"
Ren clung to Ryo's shirt, crying.
The heroes immediately moved into action, contacting backup and scanning the area for movement.
The brothers were safe…
For now.
—~—~—~—~—~—~—~—~
— 3rd POV —
Deep beneath the streets, the villain surged through the tunnels, boiling with anger.
"Damn it… now they'll increase surveillance… heroes everywhere… this city is a trap!"
He shot out another sewer pipe, rising like a foul tide.
"I need a new host… fast... someone alone… easy…"
He turned.
And spotted a kid in an arcade, furiously shaking a claw machine because he couldn't get a plushie out. "GOD DAMMMIT, GRAB THE FUCKING PLUSHIEE!!"
Alone.
Focused on the machine.
Frustrated.
The sludge grinned wickedly.
"Hehehe… this one is perfect…"
He melted toward the arcade entrance, whispering like wet mud sliding across concrete:
"Let me borrow your body…"
—~—~—~—~—~—~—~—~
Name: Ryo Takatsuki
Quirk: Living Gauntlet (Jabberwocky) - It has been called "living gauntlet" because it's like a gauntlet that has its own mind. This arm can extend up to 2 Meters
Fun fact: Ryo likes to use a living gauntlet more defensively than offensively