The Suit
While Bang, Bomb, and Genos battle Centichoro, Phoenix Man is soaring above the clouds, carrying Garou with his claws. Phoenix Man is relieved that he managed to get Garou out of there before the heroes could kill him. However, he is curious as to how Garou managed to turn into a monster already in such a short amount of time since their last encounter. Little did he know that Garou’s new look wasn’t a form of monster fication.
As Phoenix Man continues to fly, Garou’s surge form starts to revert back to its original state. The horns return to his normal hair style, the white veins reappear, and his height goes back to normal. However, even though his adrenaline isn’t as high as it was before, it didn’t stop Garou from being furious at the flying monster. Garou begins to shake himself, trying to free himself from Phoenix Man’s grip.
“Tsk! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! I didn’t ask for you to butt in MY fight!” Garou yelled.
Phoenix Man notices that Garou is back to normal and says, “Good. You’ve finally calmed down. And don’t worry about the heroes because Centichoro will deal with them.”
“Centichoro is a living catastrophe, a being who can destroy everything in his path. That kind of destruction is something I admire.” Phoenix Man said.
“I must admit, however, I am impressed that you were able to complete your monster fication in such a short amount of time. Yet, you still didn’t kill the heroes when you had the chance.” Phoenix Man said.
“Well, Centichoro will fix your mistake and will make sure that they will not survive this fight.” Phoenix Man said.
“Tsk! You and your Monster Association can go to hell! Those are my prey!” Garou yells as he fights harder to free himself.
“Will you stop struggling?” Phoenix Man asked.
“Shut up! Put me down!” Garou yelled in defiance.
“Why are you upset? It’s your own fault for not finishing them.” Says Phoenix Man. Garou freezes before his anger skyrockets to incredible highs. This damn bird dares to insult me?! Garou thinks to himself.
“Kill. Him.”
His anger begins to grow more and more as the suit reacts to his aggression. “I said...”
“Kill.”
Garou grabs Phoenix Man’s leg tightly, causing Phoenix Man to yelp in pain. “Put…”
“Kill.”
The suit starts to grow little tendrils. “Me…”
“Kill.”
“DOWN!!!!” Garou screams out as multiple large tendrils shoot from Garou’s body and make him look like a ball of spikes. The symbiote blast hits Phoenix Man and makes him drop Garou. Garou realizes what he has done as he begins to free fall in midair. Garou tries to figure something that will stop his fall. However, Phoenix Man recovers and flies toward Garou, but this gives Garou an idea.
“So, you won’t come quietly, huh?! Fine! I’ll just deliver you to Gyoro Gyoro as a body!” Phoenix Man yelled.
“Then come and get me, chicken shit!” Garou yelled, taunting the monster.
Phoenix Man flies at Garou at high speeds, but he doesn’t notice Garou growing tendrils behind his back. Once Phoenix Man reaches Garou, Garou smirks before shooting out the tendrils from his back and wrapping them around Phoenix Man. Phoenix Man is caught off guard as the tendrils wrap around him before Garou uses them to get onto his back. Phoenix Man begins to lose altitude at a rapid pace as Garou continues to ride his back.
“What are you doing?! You’re going to kill us both!” Phoenix Man yelled.
“No, just you! I’ll survive… with your wings!” Says Garou as he grips Phoenix Man’s wings and begins to pull them.
“Argh! You can’t kill me, Garou! I’ll come back stronger than before!” Phoenix Man yelled.
“Really?! Well, guess I have to make sure you stay dead for good!” Garou yelled.
Phoenix Man is confused until he feels tendrils wrap around his upper and lower jaw and forcibly open his mouth. “When you tried to recruit me earlier today, I noticed your human hand coming from inside you, and figured out that you must have a human body under there! You say you can’t die, but let's see if you come back from having your human body destroyed!” Garou yelled.
“No! Don’t–” Phoenix Man is cut off as Garou uses his tendrils to go inside of Phoenix Man’s human mouth. Phoenix Man begins to choke as he tries to fight off Garou, but to no avail. Phoenix Man movements begin to come to a stop before he and Garou plummet to the ground. Before Garou jumps off Phoenix Man, Garou uses the tendrils inside of Phoenix to make him burst from the inside while holding onto the wings. What is left of Phoenix Man falls to the ground while Garou falls while holding Phoenix Man’s wings.
“Okay! Let’s see if this works!” Garou yelled. He has a theory that the suit could possibly absorb Phoenix Man’s wings and make them his own. Garou places the ripped wings on his back as the suit begins to cover the wings. Once the wings are fully covered, the suit spits out what bones were left in the wings before taking their own shape. The wings grow larger as they take up the appearance of a demon’s wings with the inside of the wings having a bright red color to them.
Garou smirks as uses the wings to stop his descent and flies in the air. Garou can’t fly well at first, but then he manages to balance himself out before flying in a stationary position. Garou looks at his new wings and smiles under the mask.
“This suit really can do anything.” Garou said. Then Garou looks back at the battle with Bang and Centichoro before saying, “I have to get out of here. More heroes will surely come, and I’m not prepared to face them all.”
Garou is prepared to leave, but then he feels something he hasn’t felt for so long. He felt… worried, but not for himself. He somehow feels worried for the life of his former master, but he doesn’t know why.
“Tsk! Why am I even thinking of him? He shouldn’t matter to me at all.” Garou said.
“... *sigh* He’ll be fine. He always is—”
BOOM!!!
“What the?!” Garou looks back to the battle, but he sees the centipede monster get obliterated into nothing.
“W… What… I… What the hell just happened?!” Garou yelled. Though he is utterly dumbfounded, Garou refocuses on getting out of the area. He begins to fly away before his side starts to suddenly feel sore. He feels like whoever just killed the centipede monster is somehow the one who bruised his side. He tries to ignore it, but he feels like it is going to come back to bite him in the ass.
Garou flies through the city as he flies past buildings and towers with ease. Thinking he’s put enough distance between himself and the heroes. Garou lands in a secluded alleyway and takes a much-needed long breath. The last few hours have been wild for Garou, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t like all the attention that is on him. And it is all thanks to this mysterious suit that he is wearing.
Garou looks at his new wings and admits that they fit him quite well. The suit is something Garou never expected to have helped him, but he is glad it was with him when he needed it. Without it, he may have died to the heroes, or he may have been taken to the Monster Association. Speaking of which, now that both Hero and Monster Associations know of Garou’s abilities they will hunt him down.
“Heh. Let them come.” Garou said. He isn’t afraid of either Associations and he will glady face both of them head on. But as of now, Garou needs to find a new home and some food since he is so hungry. Garou walks to the entrance of the alley and sees there are a lot of people, and that isn’t good for Garou. The suit will give him away if he doesn’t take it off, which is also a problem since he never found out how to take it off.
“I need to get this suit off, but what can I–” Garou is cut off when he sees the suit starting to change. The suit recedes from Garou’s hands and face while the white veins and armor disappear. The rest of the suit turns into a black shirt and pants that fit perfectly on Garou. The wings disappear as well into his back. The suit has finished turning itself into a new pair of clothes for Garou, and Garou is shocked.
“It can morph into clothes?! How sweet is this?!” Garou said as he walks out of the alleyway and into the crowd. How did I ever live without this thing? First it gives me new abilities, then it creates wings for me, and now it can change into clothes. I think, for the first time in my life, I’m in love. Garou thinks to himself. Those words carry a lot of baggage than he thought.
Later in the afternoon. Garou is searching around the city for a place to stay and eat, but he remembers that he doesn’t have any money. He could dine and dash, but that would draw the hero’s attention and Garou has had enough heroes for one day. Then, Garou sees an ATM machine and thinks to himself, I could, but then I probably get compared to the low life criminals. Garou looks around and sees that no one is around.
“Fuck it.” Garou said as he kicks the ATM machine and has the suit carry as much money as he needs before he walks away. It wasn’t a lot, but it would be enough to find a home and get food. Garou begins to ponder on where he should live until he notices an old shabby apartment building next to him. He sees that the lights are still on and that there are people in it.
“… At least the heroes won’t think to look for me in this place.” Garou says. Garou walks through the door of the building and looks around. The lobby is all dusty with the couches having tears in them, and some of the light bulbs were broken. The place is clearly old, but it’s good enough for a person to live there for a while. However, before Garou can do anything else, he needs to know who owns this building so that he can discuss getting a room.
“Uh? Excuse me. Do you need something?” The voice of a girl asked from behind Garou.
Garou turns around to see a girl around his age before Garou says, “Sorry for not knocking, but do you know the guy who owns this place?”
“Yeah. He’s my dad actually. Do you need a place to stay?” The girl asked.
“Just for a little while. My last home got destroyed by he–monsters.” Garou said.
“Oh! I’m sorry to hear that.” The girl said.
“It’s not that big of a deal. Anway, can you take me to your dad?” Garou asked.
“Of course. Follow me.” The girl says.
Garou follows the girl as she leads him upstairs. As they walk up the stairs, Garou can see the girl is a little nervous being around. He figures it’s because she doesn’t talk to a lot of people and probably is socially awkward. They then arrive at a door as the girl knocks on the door, then an old man opens the door with a grumpy expression.
The old man sees Garou and asks, “Ursula, who is this man?”
“Hi, Dad. This is… uh… what’s your name?” The girl, named Ursula, asked.
“... Eddie Brock.” Garou said, lying about his name.
“Ok. Mr. Brock here was wondering if we have a room for him.” Ursula said.
“Hm. Why do you need a room?” The old man asked, suspicious of Garou.
“I just need a place to stay for a while so that I can get back on my feet. It won’t be for long.” Garou said.
“... We have a room open right behind you.” The old man said.
Garou turns to see the door of the room and says, “Thanks, old man.”
“My name is not ‘old man.’ It’s Mr. Ditkovich.” Mr. Ditkovich said.
“Also, here are the keys to your room.” Mr. Ditkovich said, holding the keys to Garou.
Garou takes the keys and goes to the door when Mr. Ditkovich says, “You’ll have to pay for rent if you want to stay in that room. I expect payment at the end of every week.”
WHAT?! I barely got enough money to last two weeks from that ATM machine! Garou thought to himself.
“... Sure thing.” Garou says through gritted teeth.
Garou unlocks his door and enters his new room before shutting the door and turning on the lights and sees the room. What… the fuck… is this? Garou thinks to himself. The room is very small, the bed looks like it’s barely holding together, there are brown stains on the wall, and the bathroom… Garou doesn’t want to think about the bathroom. Garou walks to the bed and sits on it only to hear a loud creak.
“Maybe this was a bad idea.” Garou said. Garou then begins to think about where he can eat until he hears a knock from his door. Garou gets up and opens the door to see Ursula.
“Hi, Mr. Brock. I’m sorry if I was interrupting something, but… I figured since you’re technically my new neighbor that I should bring you something.” Ursula said.
Ursula shows Garou a plate of cookies as she says, “I’m sorry if my dad didn’t seem friendly. He can be suspicious of people most of the time.”
“It’s fine.” Garou said.
He looks at the plate and hesitantly takes it as he says, “Thanks for the cookies.”
“You’re welcome. See you tomorrow.” Ursula said with a smile before she goes back to her room.
“... She’s way too friendly.” Garou said before he goes back into his room.
Garou sits back down on the bed and looks at the plate of cookies. They look mediocre, but at this point Garou will eat anything. Garou picks up a cookie and hesitantly takes one bite of it, but then his eyes open wide. Despite looking mediocre, the cookie tastes very delicious.
That girl got some talent. Garou thinks to himself. Garou continues to eat before setting the plate on the nightstand and lying flat on his back on the bed. Garou looks at his hand and he knows that these next few days are going to be wild and dangerous. And Garou wouldn’t have any other way.
The next day at the Hero Association. Bang has called for an emergency meeting with the other S-Class heroes to discuss the new threat that Garou poses. Genos is with him, but he is still a little banged up from their fight with Centichoro yesterday. Bang is injured a little, but it’s nothing he hasn’t recovered from before. Besides, all Bang can think about is Garou’s new abilities and the mysterious suit he is wearing.
After a while, all the S-Class heroes arrive at the meeting room with Sitch with them. Sitch is the Minister Office of Justice and helps run the Hero Association. He’s a decent man but is a little corrupt like the rest of the Hero Association.
“Thank you all for coming on short notice.” Bang said.
“Why did you call this meeting anyway? We already have to deal with the Monster Association right now, and we can’t let them get any upper hand.” Child Emperor said.
“I assure you that this is a matter that needs to be discussed. It involves my former pupil, Garou.” Bang said.
“Garou? Did you manage to defeat him?” Sitch asked in a hopeful tone.
Sitch had a short encounter with Garou a few days ago when he attempted to recruit villains into one day facing the ominous threat when it came. However, that same day, he witnessed Garou hospitalize multiple heroes and villains. After that, he ordered Bang to hunt Garou down and put an end to him. So of course, he is very glad that Bang may have defeated Garou.
“Unfortunately, no. But Demon Cyborg and I have something to share.” Bang said.
Bang looks at Genos and says, “Show them.”
Genos nods before his eyes glow as holographic images of Garou wearing the suit appear along with Garou using his abilities.
“When Bang and I encountered Garou, his appearance had changed, and he gained new abilities.” Genos said.
“Is this a form of monster fication?” Flashy Flash asked.
“I thought it was until I scanned Garou. His DNA was still human, which means that his new appearance isn’t a form of monster fication.” Genos said.
Metal Bat sees Garou’s surge form and says, “Damn. That’s a freaky look.”
“That ‘freaky look’ appeared when Garou went wild, and he nearly defeated Demon Cyborg and I.” Bang said.
“Really?! I’ve known you for a long time, Silver Fang. But I’ve never heard you say that someone came close to defeating you.” Atomic Samurai said.
“Now you know why I called you all. Garou’s power has increased exponentially, making him able to face multiple S-Class heroes at once.” Bang said.
“Which means he poses a threat to all of us.” Genos said.
This makes all the heroes a little nervous, something that they weren’t used to at all. Well, all except one short, green-haired woman.
“Hmph. Speak for yourselves. I doubt that idiot can take me on.” Tatsumaki says.
“Do not underestimate him, Terrible Tornado. He may become powerful enough to even stand against you.” Bang said.
“Tsk. Yeah, right.” Tatsumaki said.
Bang then looks at Sitch, seeing if Sitch had something to add. But then he notices that Sitch’s eyes are locked onto Garou using the suit’s abilities. Bang can also tell by his eyes that Sitch recognizes the suit, and appears nervous. Bang starts to get suspicious.
“Sitch. What’s wrong?” Bang asked.
“Oh?! Nothing.” Sitch said, but Bang can tell he is lying.
“You know something about Garou’s new power, don’t you?” Bang said.
“Uh…” Sitch can’t say a word.
All the S-Class heroes look at him with an intense gaze and he eventually caves in.
“Okay. I know what his new power is.” Sitch said.
“What is it then?” Drive Knight asked.
Sitch takes a deep breath and explains, “You see, ever since we received the message from Shibabawa about the ominous future. The Hero Association has been fearing that the S-Class couldn’t stop this threat. So, we created something to help you fight this future threat.”
Sitch then gets a remote and turns on the board in the meeting room. He then pulls up a picture of a black ooze contained in a glass jar. What is shocking to Bang and Genos is that the black ooze looks similar to the suit Garou wore.
“We call it the V2-52. It’s a protoplasmic suit that is designed to increase the wearer’s strength and power. With this, you would be able to become stronger than ever before. We were in the process of completing it when one of our employees stole the V2-52. He escaped the building before we could stop him.” Sitch explained.
“Wait, what does this have to do with Garou?” Metal Bat asked.
“Well, thanks to the footage from Demon Cyborg, I can confirm that Garou… is in possession of the V2-52.” Sitch said.
This shocked everyone, including Bang. Not only had the Hero Association create something so powerful, but they also didn’t trust their abilities to protect the world.
“How could you create something like this?!” Flashy Flash yelled.
“Yeah! Are we not strong enough for the Hero Association?!” Tank Top Master yelled.
“No no! You are, but we simply wanted to ensure that you were all at your full potential when the ominous future came.” Sitch said.
“Well, now your creation is in the hands of a crazy kid. Way to go with that, boss.” Darkshine said, sarcastically.
“I know you’re all upset, but right now we need to focus on stopping Garou. If he keeps wearing the V2-52, then we will have doomed ourselves.” Sitch said.
“... Fine. But when we find Garou, we will destroy the V2-52.” Bang said.
“No! It must be intact. Mr. McCoy wishes it so.” Sitch said.
Child Emperor sighs, “Then we’ll try to bring it back intact.”
“Thank you. You are all doing the world a service.” Sitch said.
“We will have to inform the other hero classes. Garou could be anywhere and we need all the eyes we can get.” Zombie Man said.
“Agreed. We will report back anything we find.” Flashy Flash said.
“Then this meeting is adjourned.” Sitch said as he and the other S-Class heroes leave.
While Bang leaves, he is not sure if Sitch is fully telling the truth about the V2-52. Bang believes that Sitch is hiding something else about it. Especially after what Bang heard Garou say before he transformed into his surge mode. Garou said ‘us’ before transforming. There wasn’t anyone else there, and Garou isn’t working for the Monster Association. There’s more to this. I know it. Bang thinks to himself.
With Sitch. Sitch is walking to McCoy’s office to discuss what he has learned. A shiver went down Sitch’s spine upon thinking about what the V2-52 can do in the hands of Garou. That much power in Garou’s hands… I don’t even want to think about it. Still, the fact that the V2-52 has already formed a perfect symbiosis with Garou in such short time is disturbing.
Sitch arrives at McCoy's office and, with a quick sigh, knocks on the door. “Enter.” McCoy said from the other side. Sitch enters the room and sees that McCoy is talking to the Hero Association chief scientist, Doctor Curt Conners.
“Am I interrupting something?” Sitch asked.
“No. Dr. Conners was just finishing up the report about the V2-52 escaping.” McCoy said.
“Um. That’s why I’ve come here.” Sitch said.
McCoy looks at Sitch with his full attention and says, “I’m listening.”
“Yesterday, Silver Fang and Demon Cyborg engaged the Hero Hunter, but they failed to capture him.” Sitch said.
“And what does the Hero Hunter have to do with the V2-52?” McCoy asked.
“… It’s because the V2-52 has bonded with Garou.” Sitch said.
“… What?” McCoy asked with a shocked face.
Dr. Conners then asks in a scared tone, “Are you sure?”
“Yes. I saw the footage of the battle. It’s the V2-52.” Sitch said.
“… Did you tell the S-Class what the V2-52 is?” McCoy asked.
“No, sir. I only told them that it was a suit we made to boost their power.” Sitch said.
“Good. If they knew what the V2-52 really is, they would no doubt turn against us.” McCoy said.
“Sitch, did the suit affect Garou while he was wearing the suit?” Dr. Conners asked.
“Well, he looked like he was in full control of it. So far, he doesn’t show any of the symptoms like with the test subjects.” Sitch said.
“Then perhaps Garou has achieved symbiosis with it. Which only makes it a more dangerous threat than I imagined.” Dr. Conners said.
“Hmph. Or perhaps it has shown us the results we needed.” McCoy said.
“Sir, I’ve told you this before. The V2-52 is too dangerous. We don’t know what it’s fully capable of.” Dr. Conners said.
“So you would doom humanity to destruction?” McCoy asked.
“N… No, sir. That’s not what I’m saying.” Dr. Conners said.
“Really? Because that’s what it sounds like to me.” McCoy said as he gets up from his desk walks to his window.
“You see a threat while I see opportunity. The S-Class, though strong, has limits. The V2-52 will help them overcome their limits and ensure our survival. Remember, we’re doing this for humanity, Doctor.” McCoy said.
“I… I understand.” Dr. Conners said.
“Then there’s nothing else to talk about.” McCoy said as he motions for Sitch and Dr. Conners to leave.
When Conners and Sitch leave the room, Conners says, “We both know he isn’t doing this for humanity, only profit.”
“Yes, but there’s nothing we can do at this point.” Sitch said.
“McCoy hasn’t seen what the V2-52 can do. He hasn’t seen what it did to the test subjects.” Conners said.
“I know, but we must focus on capturing Garou. Who knows what he’ll do if he remains bonded with V2-52.” Sitch said.
“Nothing good.” Conners said.
“Anyway, I have to inform the other hero classes about their new mission. See tomorrow, Conners.” Sitch said as he walks away.
Conners sighs before going to his lab to get his stuff and go home for the day. As he gathers his work, he eyes a machine he built to contain something dangerous. He goes to it and the machine opens to reveal a fragment of a meteorite with a spiral symbol. Conners rubs his stump where his arm used to be before… before the ‘incident’.
Ever since Conners found the V2-52 and the meteorite and began testing. He has always had this feeling that instead of preventing the ominous future from happening, they had inadvertently brought it upon themselves.
“Huh? The Hero Hunter stole a suit from the Hero Association?” Saitama asked.
“Yes, Master. Right now, all heroes have been ordered to find Garou and recover the suit he stole.” Genos said.
Genos has returned to the new home that he acquired after becoming Saitama’s student. Well, that’s what Genos believes because Saitama didn’t actually mean for Genos to learn under him. He just said ‘yes’ when Genos asked to be his student, which he regrets because Saitama doesn’t know how to train a student. But Saitama enjoys Genos’s company, and he has considered Genos a friend.
“The Hero Association is really worried about a suit?” Saitama asked.
“According to Sitch, the V2-52 was meant for us S-Class heroes, but now with it in the hands of Garou things are going to be more dangerous.” Genos said.
“Okay. Look out for yourself out there.” Saitama said.
“I will thanks to your training.” Genos said.
“Uh, yeah. You're welcome for that.” Saitama said in a nervous tone.
“Although, I’m wondering how strong Garou is now. He actually sounds tough.” Saitama said.
“He is strong, but I know that you are stronger.” Genos said.
“Yeah. You’re probably right.” Saitama said in a disappointed tone.
Even though Saitama is the strongest, his life has become so boring. Every opponent he has faced has died to one punch every single time. Saitama recently did have a fight with an alien called Boros and it was a good fight. But it ended after Saitama used a serious punch.
That’s why Saitama is hoping Garou is strong so that he could possibly feel something again. But he won’t get his hopes up until he meets Garou. However, Saitama feels he already met Garou before, but he can’t remember why. Meh. Probably just imagining things. Saitama thought to himself.
He did know one fact. Garou is going to be the talk of the town for a while.