Quirks of Change: Big and Explosive Personalities

Emiko let out a groggy moan as she woke up, twisting in the bed sheets as she tried her best to slip back into the warm embrace of sleep. Unfortunately, it wasn't to be. In her squirming, her hand slid across a wet patch in her sheets, and she immediately pulled it back with a grimace before slowly opening her eyes.

She was laying in her bed obviously, and judging by the morning light drifting leisurely through her bedroom window, she had been doing it for a while. It was probably six or seven by now, making her extremely glad that she didn’t have school today.

Sitting up, Emiko extended her limbs as far as she could, stretching out her unused muscles with a groan, only to pause at the odd lack of warmth that she knew should be next to her. Frowning lightly, the shapeshifter looked over to the other side of the bed, expecting to see a familiar black bob of hair snoozing next to her only to be met with… nothing. Jiro was gone.

“She just left?” Emiko asked aloud as she stared at the indent in the bed where her friend had fallen asleep. She felt a pang of disappointment at her friend’s missing nude form, “Did she… not like it?”

‘Don't be so disappointed.’ The resident voice in her head reassured her calmly, ‘I can assure you that she enjoyed every second of your activities. You may be a novice, Emiko, but your quirk and my talents gave Jiro a night she won't soon forget, I promise.’

The words came with images and sensations in her mind, the smell of Jiro's sweat and the taste of her juices, the feeling of her friend's thighs clenched around her ears and her body writhing in bliss as her moans filled the room, only making Emiko want to hear the more.

As the images faded back into her mind, Emiko shook her head, her cheeks feeling slightly hot, “So why did she leave if it was so good?”

Violet tsked, ‘Don’t be clingy. You must remember, Emiko, this was just casual sex. A bit of fooling around among friends. She knew this and likely assumed you did as well, meaning she would have no reason to stick around after the fact. She probably had things to do this morning and didn't want to wake you up.’

Emiko nodded slowly, “I guess that makes sense… Jiro knows I don't like being woken up early.” She muttered as she threw the sheets off of her and climbed out of bed. As she stood, the aches in her body made themselves known. Her fingers, skin, and even her pussy feel tender, pulsing with a light, throbbing pain, and she winces slightly as her bare feet hit the floor.

“Damn, we must have really gone at it.” Emiko muttered.

‘You certainly did. I believe it took around three hours for you both to calm down enough to sleep.’ Violet commented, surprising her. She didn’t think it had been that long. ‘Do you not remember?’

Emiko shrugged as she slowly padded her way to the bathroom, not bothering to stop and grab her clothes on the way. It wasn’t like anyone was going to see, “I remember most of it but I didn’t think we were going that hard. Or for that long.”

‘Things often get lost in the heat of the moment. It was your first time so it’s to be expected that you are unused to the… after effects.’

Emiko nodded slowly. It wasn't all bad, honestly. Underneath the ache was a pleasant buzz that she normally got after masturbating. It wasn't strong, but it was there, and thankfully took some of the edge off of the pain that she was feeling.

The memories of the event also helped. The phantom sensations of Jiro's hands and lips roaming over her body made her shiver just as much as the cool air of her bathroom, and she could even feel herself getting horny just off of the memories of what they had done.

Was all sex going to be like that? Because if so, Emiko could definitely get used to it.

“So anyway, how did I do?” She asked the resident voice in her head as she flushed the toilet.

Violet made a thinking noise, ‘You performed… adequately. You still have much to learn, that much is for certain, but for your first time, you did quite well. Both parties were thoroughly satisfied and I have worthy material to keep me company while I slowly fade into oblivion. Well done.”

Emiko's face burned scarlet but she ignored the reminder of the woman's blatant voyeuristic tendencies as she grabbed her toothbrush, “That’s great. So…? Our deal?”

‘Yes, yes, you lived up to your side of the bargain so I shall live up to mine.’ Violet said, causing Emiko to grin as she squirted toothpaste on her brush, ‘Since it is a Saturday, we'll begin your training immediately. When you pick out your clothes, make sure you get something breathable.’

“You've already thought of a regimen?” Emiko asked as she begins brushing her teeth

‘Somewhat. Your power makes it somewhat difficult to come up with a solid plan, but I believe I have the beginnings of something at the very least.’ Violet said, ‘For now, continue cleaning up. We have a long day ahead of us, and we aren't going anywhere until you wash the taste of that girl out of your mouth and off your skin.’

Grumbling lightly as her cheeks heat up, Emiko moved to do just that.

~~~

The sun was just beginning to climb to its normal place high in the sky as Emiko jogged down the street outside of her apartment at a steady pace. The few people on the sidewalk moved out of the way automatically as she ran by them, more than used to things like this from other aspiring heroes, but some of them did give her appraising looks as she passed by. Whether they were checking her out or were just impressed by how long she had been doing was a mystery. She was pretty sure she’d passed a few of them at least three or four times by now,

Emiko ignored them just as she always did, focusing on her stride and breathing and the feeling of her feet slapping against the pavement. If her stride wasn’t perfect, she was going to-

The shapeshifter winced as a searing pain shot through her calf, nearly tripping over herself as she pulled something in the muscle. This was the fifth time that had happened so far and she immediately did what she had done the other two times, shifting her internal mass and repairing the muscle so that the next time her foot hit the ground, it was without any pain or loss of momentum. She did a quick check of how much mass she had lost in that quick repair, happy to see that it was just as negligible as it had been every time so far.

‘Well done. You did that rather quickly this time.’ Violet said approvingly inside of her head.

Emiko’s eye twitched, ‘Yeah well, when you’ve been running in a mile-long circle for THREE STRAIGHT HOURS, you kind of start mentally preparing for the next time your body says nuh-uh and completely wrecks your shit. I’m honestly surprised my heart hasn’t stopped yet.’

‘Stop whining. This is necessary.’ Violet chided and Emiko rolled her eyes, stepping around a mother who somehow couldn’t hear her approaching and the stroller she was slowly rolling around.

‘How is making me do nothing but run for three hours necessary?’

‘I need to test the upper limits of your body. If you’ve been constantly using your quirk since you were a child, there are doubtlessly things that you have been doing subconsciously. Your lung capacity, for instance, is around three times as much as any normal human.’

‘That wasn’t subconscious, I did that when I took swimming class a few years ago.’ Emiko said as she turned a corner.

‘And you just forgot to change it back?’ She asked rhetorically, making Emiko pause, ‘I find it hard to believe that you have done full body shifts before and always remembered to factor in that change from your childhood.’

…No, she didn't remember to change it every time. As a matter of fact, she barely remembered the changes she made to herself last week, much less several years ago.

So did that mean her power had a baseline of the changes she had already made? Did her mind just subconsciously save the modifications and automatically add it in any time she changed her body? She had shifted her entire form more times than she could count since middle school so there was no reason her lungs should still be like she had made them back then!

As Emiko’s mind raced, Violet radiated a mix of smugness and approval, ‘Now you’re thinking like me. Who knows what sorts of things you have done to yourself on a whim and just forgot about? On top of that, who’s to say some of those things might not have been harmful to you in the long run if you were a normal human? Yet despite that, you seem just as healthy as any girl your age. Perhaps your quirk actively protects you from decisions that might harm you or resets them retroactively? There’s so much more we need to figure out apart from how far you can extend your arms or what color you can make your hair.’

Emiko had a speculative look on her face, ‘...You’re right. I probably should have been asking those questions a long time ago, huh?’

‘It’s not you’re fault entirely. You simply got comfortable with a power you have possessed nearly your entire life and didn’t think to ask questions about the more detailed aspects of it. A bit of an oversight, but not an unexpected one.’

‘I guess so. It just irks me that I didn’t know so much about my quirk. I’ve spent basically my entire life using it every which way to try to figure out what I can and can’t do, that I can’t believe I missed such an obvious line of thinking.’

‘Once again, you are not to blame. Most would have done the same in your position. The fact that you are actually angered by it does you credit.’ The woman assured her and Emiko smiled a bit at her words. ‘Look out, by the way.’

“Huh-oof!”

Emiko hadn't been paying attention to the world around her as she talked to Violet and as such hadn't been able to register that she was about to run straight into someone on the sidewalk until it was too late. Thanks to her immense weight compared to her side, Emiko bowled straight over the poor person, sending them to the ground as the poor woman made a noise of pain.

Emiko winced and immediately turned around to help them up, an apology already on her lips only to freeze at what she was met with.

A woman with bright blonde hair was slowly rubbing her head as she got into a sitting position. Her body was slender and shapely, hugged tightly by a cream colored bodysuit with purple and orange accents that conformed to her every curve. She was wearing a similarly purple mask on her face that progressed into horns that popped out of the top of her head, peeking through her hairline. Grimacing, she glared up at Emiko, allowing the shape shifter to get a peek at her purple eyes.

‘Oh my. That suit is much tighter than I remember it being. Not that I’m complaining, of course.’ Emiko ignored the woman in her head in favor of staring at the twenty-third highest ranked hero in the country. The hero that she had just knocked over like a runaway truck.

‘Well shit.’ She gulped as the hero gave her a glare.

“Hey, kid, don't you think you should watch where you’re going!?” Mt. Lady asked irately as she slowly stood up, eying Emiko as she did so. Her face was twisted in pain instead of irritation, which Emiko was glad to see, “If I was someone else, I could have been hurt!”

Mt. Lady leaned down, getting in her face slightly, “And what do you think you’re doing running around like that anyway? Don’t you know that unlicensed quirk usage is illegal? I should take you down to the station and have them deal with you.”

Emiko bowed low, sweating nervously at the prospect of being arrested, “I-I’m sorry! I was just training and got lost in my head. I didn’t mean to run into you of all people.”

She was left shocked as Mt. Lady’s eyes narrowed dangerously, her lips thinning at what Emiko had said, “And just what do you mean by that, young lady?”

Emiko was shocked by the woman’s anger, ‘What? What the hell did I say to piss her off!?’

‘Mt. Lady’s ego is as large as her quirk, I’m afraid. She’s a true hero at heart, don’t get me wrong, but she worries about fame and public image more than most. She probably feels more than a bit embarrassed that some high schooler knocked her on her ass without even trying so she’s overcorrecting. Try playing it up a bit. Stroke her ego.’ Violet suggested.

Plastering a nervous smile on her face, Emiko proceeded to do just that, “I mean that I didn’t think that such a popular hero would be patrolling this part of town of all places! It’s pretty boring over here, I thought you’d be out catching tons of villains or something, that’s all!”

It was actually shocking how quickly the woman’s expression did a one-eighty. Mt. Lady went from borderline scowling at her to all smiles and sunshine in practically an instant, “Oh! Why thank you! I’m glad to see that my fans know just how much work I put in!”

“Well, you did become the twenty-third ranked pro hero in only a few months so of course you’re putting in tons of work!” Emiko continued to lay it on thick, happy to see the woman preen at her praise, “I wouldn't be surprised if in just a year or two you were in the top five! I mean, you definitely have the looks and popularity to crack the polls.”

Mt. Lady’s eyes gleamed and she gave Emiko a massive grin, “That’s the plan! No way I’m gonna lose the momentum I’ve got so far! I’m going straight to the top, baby!”

Her smile dimmed a bit but didn’t waver as she gave Emiko a curious look, “You said you’re training? Are you planning to go to U.A in the future, or some other hero school?”

Emiko nodded, happy to see that the topic had shifted away from her knocking the woman over, “Yep, U.A's the place I’m shooting for! I graduate in a few months so I’ve got to crank up my training to maximum to get a shot at the entrance exam.”

Mt. Lady gave her an appraising look, “Is that so? What’s your quirk? Some kind of speed or strength enhancement? It actually kind of hurt when you knocked me down and I’ll have you know that’s not easy to do.”

Emiko shook her head, “No, it’s nothing like that. I actually have a shapeshifting quirk. It’s called Sculpt, it lets me change my body however I see fit as long as the changes are biological and I have the mass for it.”

Mt. Lady’s eyes widened, “Really? That’s pretty impressive. Would you mind giving a demonstration?”

Not seeing any harm in humoring the woman, Emiko shrugged before activating her quirk, beginning to morph her body into something much more different than she had shown Violet.

Dark red fur sprouted out of her skin almost instantly while her skull twisted and lengthened, losing it’s human shape for one much more lupine as she gained a muzzle filled with razor-sharp teeth. Her ears migrated to the top of her head, becoming long and pointed and her spine shifted as well, giving her a slight hunch as her arms lengthened to compensate for the shift in her center of gravity. To top it all off, claws sprouted at the ends of her fingers and toes, ready to tear into anything she directed them at.

When all was said and done, Mt. Lady was left staring at what looked like a werewolf ripped straight out of some PG-13 horror movie. Her clothes stretched slightly on her, but that was the entire reason she normally wore baggy clothes when out and about.

Emiko licked her muzzle, unused to even having one in the first place, before extending her arms in show, “See? I can change into practically anything I want as long as I keep the same amount of mass and don’t go too big or too small. I stay the same weight though, which is why I knocked you down earlier even though I’m not that big. I think I weigh about four or five hundred pounds right now.”

“F-FIVE HUNDRED!?” Mt. Lady’s eyes practically bulged out of her skull as she looked Emiko up and down, “Where does all of it go!?”

Emiko chuckled, the sound completely at odds with her rabid form, “Muscle, mostly. Or fat if I feel like being a bit more curvy than usual. I can also just make my bones denser if I need to, but then I need more muscle to lift them and so on and so forth.”

“That’s…” Mt. Lady looked to be at a loss for words and Emiko took the opportunity to shift back into human form. This time, when her transformation was complete, a completely different person stood in front of the pro hero. A slender teenager with tan skin and a mohawk highlighted in purple. Mt. Lady twitched, “Good lord, you can even do highlights? I don't think I've ever been this jealous before. Is there any limit to what you can do?”

Emiko grinned, “Nothing biological.”

Mt. Lady eyed her up and down, clearly thinking about something, before nodding decisively, “Alright, that tears it.”

Emiko blinked as the woman reached into the neckline of her costume, suddenly worried that Violet’s advice hadn’t worked, “Uh.. tears what? Am I in trouble?”

The woman shook her head, pulling a small card out of her costume, before reaching up into her hair and retrieving a… tiny pen? “Not at all. While you shouldn’t have been using your quirk in public, I’m willing to look the other way because nobody was hurt.” She wrote something down on the card, before flipping it over and doing the same on the back.

Emiko flinched as the woman then suddenly extended her arm, holding the card out for her to take, “Here. On this card is the address of a facility downtown that caters to hero students or people who just want to use their quirks without being arrested. It’s kind of expensive to use the full facility, but if you’re serious about being a hero, that shouldn’t really matter.”

Emiko took the card hesitantly, looking over the address written on it, “Thanks?”

Mt. Lady gave her a smirk, putting her pen back into her hair, “No problem. Now do me a favor and flip it over.”

Emiko did so, and was shocked to see what looked like a phone number written on the back, “Wait, is this…?”

“My personal number, yep.” Mt. Lady gave her a wink, “Use that to give me a call when you go pro or just if you want to chat. Someone like you is definitely going to be snatched up by all the top agencies and I want you at mine, so don’t forget about this conversation.”

Emiko gave the woman a shocked look but didn’t hesitate to pocket the card, a smile coming to her face, “I’ll definitely do that! Thank you so much, Mt. Lady!”

“Of course, anything for a fan! Don’t forget what I said, alright?” With another wink and a sly, Mt. Lady walked away. Emiko watched her go, and her eyes were drawn downwards as she noticed that the woman seemed to be deliberately swaying her hips as she walked away.

‘Wait.’ Emiko thought, suddenly realizing something, ‘Was she flirting with me?' She asked blankly, staring after the woman as she walked away.

‘Hmm… hard to say. Mt Lady is known to use her feminine appeal to get what she wants, so it’s not entirely implausible that she was just trying to secure your spot at her future agency. Still, pocket that card and put the number in your phone when you get the chance. You never know how things might work out and she is certainly a fine specimen.’

“...You’re creepy as hell, you know that?” Emiko said, but didn’t hesitate to slide the card into her pocket beside her wallet, making a mental reminder to add the number to her contacts when she wasn’t out in public.

‘In the meantime, why the hell didn’t you tell me you had access to a training facility?’ Violet asked, sounding extremely annoyed.

“Because I don’t.” Emiko said, “I don’t have a membership there.”

‘And why not? I thought you were serious about your hero career.’

“I am but…” Emiko bit her lip, surprised that this hadn’t come up yet, “Look, my quirk freaks people out when I use it to its full potential. I’m honestly surprised Mt. Lady didn’t scream or something because seeing someone’s literal skull invert and shift like that is creepy as hell. I’ve had people throw up on me when I shift without thinking so I kinda try not to go places where I have to do that constantly.”

‘That’s a fear you’re going to have to get over if you want to become a pro hero. A hero who is too scared of people’s reactions to even use your powers isn’t a very useful one.’

“I know.” Emiko sighed, “I’ve just been putting it off for so long that I actually sort of forgot to work on it.”

‘Well no better time to start than the present. Head over to the facility and sign up. A place like that will definitely have the tools we need to truly stress test your quirk.’ She ordered.

“...Alright, if you think it’ll help.” Emiko said as she began to jog towards the location written on the card Mt. Lady had given her. “Hopefully the membership isn’t too expensive.”

‘That reminds me, how exactly do you have the money to live in an apartment like yours? You don’t even have a job.’

“Oh, I had a rich uncle kick it a few years back and he left me on the will. Really weird considering I didn’t even know the guy but it was a good chunk of change. I’m not exactly a multi-millionaire but I probably won’t have to get a job before I graduate U.A as long as I don’t do something stupid with it.”

For some reason, her words seemed to amuse Violet. The woman didn’t expound on the feeling though, leaving her in the dark, ‘Well, that certainly makes things easier. Now pick up the pace. We don’t have all day.’

Emiko sighed, doing as the woman had asked, “Fine. Geez, you’re just like my mom…” She muttered under her breath.

‘I can still hear you.’

“I know.”

~~~

The facility wasn’t that hard to find, a massive building that took up practically half the block with its immense size, and after showing the man at the front desk her school ID followed by a not-so-modest fee, she was inside. And now, only a few minutes later, Emiko walked through the pristine halls of the facility in search of one that would suit her needs, all the while looking around in awe at the rooms she was passing.

This place was absolutely insane with the amount of things that it had! So far she had passed by an obstacle course, an Olympic level swimming pool, and even a room that looked like a freaking garden! Why the hell did a place like this have a garden!? Who was funding it!?

Violet hummed in thought, ‘That's a good question. To my knowledge, this place didn’t exist in the other world. If it had, it would have certainly been utilized.’

“Who cares if it's new! I’m just pissed off that I was too scared to come here! I should have been training here years ago!” She said as she looked into a room that had like seven different rock climbing walls.

‘Well you're here now. We might as well make up for lost time. Find a room with a track and we can get starte-’

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a massive crash and the sound of squealing metal, as if someone had rammed a semi-truck into another semi-truck. Worried that someone had been hurt, Emiko didn't hesitate to turn and began rushing towards where the sound had emanated from, only to nearly pause as another noise followed it.

It sounded like… violent cursing. Emiko strained her ears as she ran and yep. That was definitely cursing. Colorful enough to make a sailor blush if they heard it as well as…

She tilted her head as she approached the door, ‘Are those… firecrackers?’

‘Oh no.’ Violet said, confusing her as she pushed the doors open.

The room that she burst into was just as large as all the others Emiko had passed so far, with a full-sized track just like Violet had wanted. It easily fit inside of the wide-open space with more than enough room for an entire other section that seemed to be dedicated to different types of weights for lifting. It was there that the shouts were emanating from.

“Stupid fucking machine can’t even handle two-twenty!? Goddamn piece of garbage, I don’t know why I even come here. Everything’s always breaking and then I have to spend my fucking money on it!”

‘Oh that’s just wonderful.’ Violet moaned, ‘I had been hoping that his existence would be the one thing that was different in this world. Just my luck that he just swapped genders.’

Though her passenger’s angry grumbling confused her, Emiko had long since tuned her out by now, too preoccupied with staring at the spectacle unfolding only a few feet away from her.

The originator of the cursing was plainly obvious to anyone with eyes as she was still doing it. It was a girl around Emiko’s age, with choppy blonde hair and a massive scowl on her face as she screamed at the clearly broken machine that she had just got done using. She was wearing a sweat-soaked tank-top and basketball shorts, which did absolutely nothing to hide her physique.

And what a physique it was. Emiko could have practically any build she wanted thanks to her quirk, but she normally opted for a more slender and lightly muscled build, not really seeing the point in always having massive, bulging muscles if she could just make some that were just as good but didn’t affect her figure.

Now though, she could see the appeal. Holy shit, could she see the appeal. Though the blonde’s muscles weren’t the biggest that she had seen, they were definitely the most defined. Just her arms alone looked like they were chiseled out of granite and shining with sweat, drawing Emiko’s eyes to them like magnets.

And that wasn’t even taking into account the girl’s general disposition which was just as eye-catching. Ruby eyes glittered dangerously as the girl glared at the machine in front of her like she was some sort of wild animal trapped in human skin. She practically exuded a rage so potent that Emiko could feel it from several feet away, raw and dangerous, a feeling that was only exacerbated by the tiny popping of the miniature explosions rolling over her sweaty skin as her quirk reacted to her frustration.

The people around her looked away as the blonde glared at them, “What the hell are you staring at!? Don’t you got better shit to do!?”

Faced with the blonde’s rabid anger, everyone around her immediately looked away, going back to what they were doing before. Everyone except Emiko. Instead, as Emiko stared at her, watching as she huffed and reached down to effortlessly lift the machine she had broken back into place with those beautiful muscles, only one word came to mind.

“Wow.”

The word reverberated in the silent gymnasium and Emiko gulped as the girl straightened before slowly turning and locking gazes with her. Though her spine tingled at the stare, she didn’t look away as the other girl’s eyes drilled into her own, instead staring back as steadily as she could while trying her best to keep her gaze from straying to the rest of her body.

Their silent staring contest lasted maybe three seconds before the blonde’s face twisted into an expression that was equal parts confusion and irritation, “Why the hell are you staring at me!? You wanna fuckin die or something!?”

“Shit, maybe.” Emiko found herself saying without even thinking about it. The blonde blinked, just as baffled by her words as she was and Emiko suddenly found herself with the inexplicable desire to slam her head into the nearest hard object.

That desire wasn’t at all helped by the feeling of disbelief radiating from her passenger, nor the words that came soon after.

‘Really? That’s your type? What, do you just have a thing for abusive lesbian stereotypes or something?’

Emiko twitched, ‘I have a thing for confidence, actually. Just so you know.’

‘Child, that’s not confidence. That’s a bitch who’s angry at the world for literally no reason. If you did try to fuck her, she’d probably throw you out of a window if you kissed her wrong!’

Emiko felt her lips twitch at the image, her body heating up as she imagined the feeling of those strong arms wrapped around her. She bet they’d feel like diamonds pressed up against her skin as they carried her to the window to defenestrate her. She let out a small sigh which caused the blonde’s expression to twitch, obviously expecting her to say something, ‘God, I hope so.’

‘...Excuse me?’