tornado of terror.

“I’m not wrong,” he says, firmly. “It was clearly a threat, and you shouldn’t threaten people.”

“I’m sorry,” he says again. “I don’t mean to upset you, and I’m thankful to you for standing up for me. But threatening to hurt people or destroy things is wrong, whether or not you have powers.”

With an aggravated groan, Tatsumaki pinched the bridge of her nose. Other heroes could often (and in her opinion, usually deserved to) deal with her scoldings, but a citizen? She had to draw the line somewhere, even if she was being so terribly annoyed by the boy.

“I would like to see you say that sort of stuff to a villain hellbent on causing destruction.”

“You can’t always just talk and hug things out. That sort of thing only happens on television shows and manga.”

“Yes.”

It’s a surprisingly simple, flatly stated answer, coming from Mob.

“You used your power to threaten that woman. And you use your powers to hurt other people. You should never use your powers that way.”

“I’m sorry,” he says. “But that’s what I believe.”

His flat response surprised her once again, and the unexpected blow to her pride necessitated a moment of recovery. That moment was brief, however, and Tatsumaki was soon to begin raising her voice once it had passed.

“Wh-what?!”

“I did no such thing! All I did was levitate earlier!”

She could have done a lot worse, given that her definition of the word ‘threaten’ was different than his. Tatsumaki huffed, looking more like an annoyed child than a hero, much less an adult.

“…Can’t say you are wrong there.” Battler raises an arm in admittance of defeat. Of course, Tatsumaki doesn’t need to know that, for witches, ‘boredom’ is much more dangerous than it sounds to humans. It’s not something he enjoys dwelling about it general.

He is simply pleased to see that she is considering her offer. “Excellent! If you decide to follow along with the idea, my contact info should be on the paper. I’ll answer to phone calls, phone messaging, e-mails or even a personal visit!”

I mean, a personal visit is essential to finish the deal, but details. “Well then, is there anything else you want to know about the city, or can I go my merry way?”

Well, at least he was honest about it. Most of the type weren’t, so, Tatsumaki could clearly see that he was somewhat different.

“I’ll contact you when I make up my mind,” she simply responds, folding up the flier and putting it in her pocket. How her dress had pockets was a secret, but that was a story for another time.

Floating upward, Tatsumaki continued to speak. “I think I’ve learned quite enough from you today. I appreciate the information. So, until we speak again.”

( ☠ ) What a poor way of thinking. Finishing up in bandaging the man’s jaw, she is finally able to give a solid look towards the girl who done nothing but make her job difficult. Staring at them now, her face had a frown to match theirs. “Have you never made a mistake?” Tripped and fell maybe? Or bumped into something? “Everyone is sick in some way.” It wouldn’t stop her from trying, even if seemly wrong. No, as long as she is helping people there was no way she was wrong.

“You too. Let me evaluate you.” 

Tatsumaki visibly cringed, leaning away from the other woman as she did so. The esper rarely made mistakes, but it had happened. Though, she was not one to admit her own faults, and would never do so in front of a stranger.

“No.”

Tatsumaki rarely participated in holidays, if only because she did not have others to enjoy them with. So, to suddenly be presented with a gift from an acquaintance caused the esper to hesitate. 

“I… Er… thanks.”

“I appreciate it.”

He raises his arms in a shrugging act. “I just feel like helping others. Besides, it’s a good way of alleviating boredom. As I told you, I’ve been on this sort of setting for years now. It gets to a point where, to be fully entertained by yourself, one starts considering using violent means, and I’m not one to abide for that. I’d rather provide novelty to my life by facilitating others’ lives.”

With a flick of his hand, Battler materializes an ad on his hand. “I even have a whole thing set up for that, in fact! Check it and feel free to ask me anything about it, if you’re interested. But I can already assure you from the get go that I have no harmful intentions with my offer.”

“I see,” Tatsumaki began. “So, you’re the type to meddle with others’ lives to alleviate your own boredom. Is that it?”

Her tone was serious; she wasn’t telling any sort of joke. Though she could clearly see him as someone with positive intent, her claim still stood. Finally, after a moment, the esper’s expression softened, and she took the magically appearing ad from Battler’s hand.

“ Pfft, you’re telling me. Then again I guess that’s practically a given when you have a city full of people from all walks of life, able to do whatever the hell they please whenever. There’s no telling how many of ‘em are like the people you go after. ”

Which made things all the more concerning given what the Boss’s plans happened to be. Anything was possible in this city, and the last thing he would want is to come into crosshair of someone capable of not only wiping him out but his gang as well in a matter of seconds.

“ Well I don’t want to take up any more of your time, so I think I’ll be heading on back to doing my usual then. That is unless you had anything else you wanted to talk about. ”

“Exactly. There’s quite a bit of cleaning up to do.”

Tatsumaki spoke with far too much confidence for a hero who did not know she was conversing with a (sort of) villain; that was probably what others would consider irony.

“Then begone. If you need a hero, you know who to contact.”

Mob has to think for a moment before responding. He’s used to being called naive, or worse. He’s used to people not taking him seriously. And he’s used to powerful espers who think themselves above the rest of the world.

“Even heroes who fight villains shouldn’t hurt others,” he says. It’s still in the same tone of voice, but there’s a slight edge to it that suggests he’s completely serious. “Having psychic powers doesn’t make you better than anyone else. It’s just another gift, like running fast, or being good at school. You can choose not to use your gift to hurt people.”

“Life isn’t a manga.”

Tatsumaki was too used to being treated differently due to her abilities, whether it be positively or negatively; so, the boy’s response completely catches her off-guard. She paused in mid air, blinking at Shigeo as his words finally processed in her mind.

“... Huh?”

“Do you think I go around abusing my power?”

She did, but, Tatsumaki did not consider herself to actually do so.

“I only use it against villains, the sort that actually hurt others!” That wasn’t entirely true, but, once again Tatsumaki believed that it was. “Listen to what I’m actually saying!”

She was annoyed, and looked more akin to a grumbling child than a heroic figure. Of course, most of that was due to her own fault, even if she refused to acknowledge such facts.

( ☠ ) Tongue would be of better use evaluating and explaining their surroundings than this. The scowl fixated on the nurse’s face would only add to the stare she gives them, as gloves are put on. “Don’t you care to save lives?”

Thumbs would be placed into the man’s mouth, hands grabbing jaw applying force till- pop. Small but she feels it, as attention turns back to the girl still hanging around. “I saw you trying to help someone before. What stops you from helping these people too? They are sick too, and they deserve help.”

Answering a question with another question-- how rude; Tatsumaki thought, and her scowl on her expression conveyed such thoughts.

“I was trying to help the victim here,” she gestured to one of the men, not looking as the other woman popped the other man’s jaw back into place. “I don’t care much about the lives of criminals.”

“ Strongest esper? Damn, that’s a mighty big title. ‘s pretty cool though. Never thought I’d ever come across someone who could use psychokinesis. I’m sure you’ve done loads of crazy stuff with it. Fought lots of strong super villains too, huh? ”

There’s a part of him that’s genuinely finding this whole concept both fascinating and exciting. I mean how couldn’t he? An honest-to-god superhero was right in front of him! Whatever part of the man’s inner child that’s still left intact (after that one little incident) was having an absolute blast with this.

But of course we can’t forget that other side of him. You know, the one that tends to put on an act for his own benefit. Kind of like a liar.

“ Honestly I’m glad t’ know someone like you is around now. With all the shit that goes on in this city, we definitely need all the help we can get to deal with it. Pretty sure you’ll wind up making a name for yourself again just like ya did back home. ”

“Of course I have. I wouldn’t have a title like mine if I didn’t.”

Despite how long she’d stayed on the island, Tatsumaki was still unused to what she percieved as ignorance. Logically, she could not expect people from different universes to be familiar with her own, but she couldn’t help but expect a certain amount of common sense... even where she shouldn’t.

So, at the man’s reaction, she practically rolled her eyes. People unfamiliar with superheroes and the like could be so childish, she thought.

“I will,” she began; that is, once she got her powers back, but, he did not need to know about that.

“No. It’s true for everyone,” Mob says in an unusually firm voice. He’s stopped blushing, and he’s staring directly at Tatsumaki. “You should never attack another human being.”

And then his voice returns to its usual flat, emotionless tone. He sounds, at best, mildly surprised.

“You’re a hero? Like in a manga?”

The esper rolled her eyes. Such words only sounded nice when they came from children, she thought, and that was simply how she viewed the teenager next to her. He must be naive.

“Tell that to the villains I have to deal with.” She ought to have spoken in the past tense, as there were far fewer instances in Spirale that Tatsumaki used her abilities in order to fulfill her duties as a hero. 

She knew that he would inevitably ask about her job, and allowed herself to smirk as she responded.

“It’s better than a manga. Where I’m from, I’m the strongest esper alive.”

“I’m ranked second out of countless heroes, and they all pale in comparison to me.”

“ A’ight, I’ll try not to. ” he replies back, fully knowing that he will in about a day.

“ So you’re a real honest-to-god superhero, huh? How’s that like exactly? ” It’s a question that comes from both a natural sense of curiosity, and a means to figure this woman out. Last thing he wants is to run into her under certain circumstances that would ultimately fuck him over royally.

He’d need to start making some very powerful friends sooner or later.

“ I’m guessing where you’re from people like you are commonplace, yeah? Sorry ‘bout all the questions by the way. Just kinda interested in learning more about where people came from before getting relocated here. ”

Tatsumaki nodded, “Obviously.”

“I suppose it’s like you, or any other civilian, might expect. I fight villains and monsters.”

Her tone was dripping with casual arrogance, and she continued to float in the air just above him, forcing the large man to look up at her.

“There are many heroes where I’m from, but I’m the strongest esper alive.”

Mob is a little overwhelmed by the barrage of questions, but he does his best to answer them - even if, while he does, he continues blushing and staring at the floor.

“Yes, I’m an esper. I’m fourteen. I’m not really that strong, but I’m trying to become stronger.”

Yes, he completely misunderstood the “are you strong” question. At the pacifist question, though, he pauses.

“That’s someone who doesn’t fight, isn’t it? Yes, I guess I’m one of those. My master always told me I shouldn’t use my powers at other people. It’s like knives - you don’t point them at others.”

Tatsumaki quirked an eyebrow-- was this boy unwell? Or, was he perhaps flustered because of that woman from earlier? Teenagers were odd, she thought.

She listened to him carefully, allowing him to speak for the moment. At his words, she gave a soft sigh.

“Your master is correct, in a way.”

“Such a view is only true for civilians so that needless conflict can hopefully be avoided. It’s good that you follow the program, but for heroes like myself, conflict is necessary... sometimes.”

Oh, now that Rantaro was seeing the contents of her bag all over the floor, he felt really bad. She seemed frustrated too – anyone would be frustrated when they were buffeted around to this degree while just trying to do their shopping. Immediately, he went to help her pick up her things, before anyone could really stomp all over them. “Yeah, of course! Excuse me then!” It was at least a little easier to for him to call out and try and get the crowd to move out of their way a bit to try and pick up everything they could. 

Some stuff predictably got kicked out of range or stomped on to the point where Rantaro figured he might as well buy some replacements for her. Handing her back what he could pick up, he was about to offer to do so when the crowd began to pick up again. 

“Sorry, what do you say if we get outta this crowd first and then I’ll help out to see what stuff got lost? I don’t think it’d be good to stay here any longer and I promise I’ll pay for anything you’re missing - nothing more or less, promise!” He didn’t want her to think that he was trying to do anything tricky, it was just a really unfortunate scenario they were in right now. 

Despite the suffocating crowd that was full of individuals that passed the two of them by, picking up the esper’s fallen belongings took little time; though, it seemed that it was due to the assistance of the teenager as opposed to Tatsumaki’s own efforts.

Clicking her tongue in annoyance, Tatsumaki held what she could, inwardly trying to make a note of what was lost due to the crowd’s interference. If only she’d had her powers, she thought for the umpteenth time.

The teenager’s suggestion sounded good enough, she supposed, as the kindness he offered would not be found from anyone else around.

“Fine, I...” Just as she began to agree, another person happened to bump into her without a single care; thankfully, the esper did not drop her things once more, but the action was too much of an annoyance for her to ignore.

“MOVE, DAMN IT!”