The Hero and the Genie

Chapter 5: Attack of the Mermaids

Midoriya had changed into his hero costume. Even though he had no idea how Shantae had fixed his costume in such a short time, he was very thankful for her fixing it up. Now taking on the identity of Deku, he came outside of Shantae's house. Shantae saw him and smiled.

"Are you ready?" She asked.

Deku nodded. "I am here and ready to fight the villain."

Shantae smiled brightly. "Great! I'm Ret-2-go!"

"Huh?" Asked Deku.

"That's my catchphrase," Shantae said with a grin.

"Oh, okay," said Deku. "So, where to now?"

"Follow me," said Shantae before running off with Deku behind her.

*****

"Whoa!" Exclaimed Sky as she saw Deku. "You're that hero from the other day! Oh, my gosh! I'm such a huge fan! What's your name?"

Deku shook off his blush from underneath his mask before answering her: "My name is Deku!"

"Deku, huh?" Sky asked before giggling. "That is such an adorable name! I like it!"

"Th-thanks," said Deku as he blushed under his mask.

"So, where are you guys heading?" Asked Sky.

Shantae shook away the small tinge of jealousy from Sky's little flirt and said, "We need to find the mermaids and Hypno Baron."

Sky thought for a moment and said, "I heard that the Mermaids were taken to Hypno Baron's castle. I'll take you both there."

"Um...how?" Asked Deku curiously.

Shantae and Sky smiled at each other. "Just watch," said Shantae.

Sky lifted Wrench on her arm and fed him a tiny pill. "WRENCH METAMORPHOSIS!"

Before Deku's eyes, Wrench grew into a giant bird! Deku was speechless with wide eyes and his mouth agape.

Shantae giggled. "I know. It threw me off guard too. With Wrench this big, we'll be able to go just about anywhere."

"THAT'S SO AMAZING," exclaimed Deku.

"Well, now that we got that out of the way, are you guys ready to lift off?" Asked Sky.

The two heroes nodded in confirmation before climbing onto Wrench. As soon as the trio was ready to go, Wrench took to the sky.

Deku was scared at first. But as the large hawk continued to fly, he admired the scenery. He noticed a tall tower in a desert, a set of beautiful waterfalls, and...a racing track?

What kind of races do they have here? He wondered. Magic carpet races perhaps? Considering that Shantae is half genie, and therefore magical, I wouldn't be surprised.

"All right you two," said Sky, shaking the green hero out of his thoughts. "We're here."

Deku looked and saw a very creepy-looking castle that made him shudder in fear.

Shantae shuddered too. "I can't believe we're here at this creepy place," she said. "But, Hypno Baron has to be stopped."

Deku nodded in agreement. "Are you ready for this?" He asked.

"Ret-2-go!" Shantae said boldly.

"All right," said Deku with a smile. "Let's do this!"

With that, the two heroes entered the creepy castle.

*****