“What are you supposed to be?”

Tatsumaki scoffed, watching the weird doll-like ornament float. It looked like a monstrous patchwork of yarn and cotton in both appearance and quality. It couldn't even look threatening if it tried yet it didn’t even reach the level of being adorably harmless.The weird rusty nails piercing through its torso really put off any potentiality for adorableness there. A middle ground of boring and uninteresting.

Not that Tatsumaki thought dolls were adorable….

Disaster Level Wolf

Cursed Doll

“I! Will! Haunt! You!”

Befitting of its level it wasn't even intelligent, only speaking in cut off words with a muffled tone. Perhaps this was a nice change of pace from the usual powerful opponents.

“Be crushed.”

So, Tatsumaki clenched her fist. 

As if obeying her command, the doll simply became compressed into one tiny bit. Into the size of a small tennis ball. Whatever she wills, the area around her opponent will follow. Telekinesis was simply just that overwhelming for many, having dispatched many enemies without even breaking a sweat nor a scratch. This was going to be just like any other monster with its warbled cries before its demise.

“Curse! You!”

So she didn’t expect to have a similar fate.

A strange purple glow covered her. 

“Hm?”

Tatsumaki was already curious when the doll was still able to speak. Then again one can chalk it up to vocal cords being an unnecessary tool for a monster as they already ignore the laws of physics much like most of her ability and inability to become taller. Yet she was in for another surprise as she felt an odd sensation around her body. It was a telekinetic force much like her own. For a moment she was on alert, but lowered her own readiness as any kind of direct attack even with a supernatural force like hers failed against her barrier.

“GHWAK!” 

The thing is? It wasn’t against her barrier. The force was directly on her body. It was her misjudgement, having never fought such an enemy before. But the force was applied past her shields and into her. So she squealed as she was crushed with great force, body squashing together almost like a fleshy ball. Unlike her target, she had ended up much larger than a tennis ball but still just as spherical. 

Coincidentally, just like her target, she wasn’t injured or anything. The immense power just forced her to be stuck like a very forceful contortion. Sure she had survived worse but this was the first time she ever had to deal with such a situation like this. Her gasp and utterings were completely muffled to inaudibility, but her scream of fury would not go unheard. Her body and mind was in such a disarray that she lost her control of power and was thus unable to see the monster freeing itself.

By the time Tatsumaki realized it, the monster was looming over her. Its body unharmed yet scarily big for the sper’s current size. 

‘This!! This monster! To make a fool out of me!’

Strangely she mirrored the monster in that brief transformation. But the short esper did not revert to her original form. It wasn’t harmful but rather seriously uncomfortable. She could feel her hips pressed against her face and her hands wedged tightly against where she thought her butt would be. She did not want to be kissing her hips this way either anytime she tried to talk and she can barely see past them. Was that because of her current pose or had she been eating too much sweets? Scarily, even as she tried to use telekinesis on herself, it was near impossible to even budge herself. Actually in general she can barely apply more than a fraction of her power with how unfocused she is. All as she’s in a very vulnerable and easy to grab tennis ball size.

“Hihihihihi!”

But its obnoxious laughter set her to high alert. Even as nothing more than a sphere, Tatsumaki can see the creature beginning to reach towards her. Sweat glistened around her body as she tried to think of what this monster would do to her. She didn’t have to worry too long. For the monster procured a weapon, pulling out a hammer from its back and a nail from its leg. She was not so keen on having that impale her.

“Curse! You!”

She was also not keen on hearing its annoying voice any further.

“Sdiiaaaaeeehaawwaaaaeeh!!”

Can’t even properly vocalize a “stay away”. Her whole voice, albeit heavily muffled, reverberated throughout her body. Eyes still filled with determination as she mustered as much telekinetic strength as she could to grab the nearest thing in the area. Even the monster paused as it realized the shadow looming over it. When it looked up, it even let out an intelligible answer that gave out it knew it screwed up. 

“Mercy-”

SLAM!!!

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP!!

Tatsumaki sighed, or at least the equivalent of sighing as a small meatball esper, at a job well done. Even at her incredibly weakened state, she managed to pick up a car and bring it down onto the enemy. The car’s crash was enough to send a shockwave to blow her away right onto an alley grate. But she didn’t mind. She had managed to avoid any more damage and is farther from the monster. 

More importantly, even if the monster cannot be killed by what she just did, she had at least pacified it. With it being pinned down by a car, it would no doubt be trapped and unable to move. Blowing a tuft of green hair that got on her way, Tatsumaki gazed forward and nodded. The monster did not stir. It was her success.

The purple glow around her form interrupted her joy.

In that second Tatsumaki was able to convey a wide array of emotions with just her eyes. An annoyed confused look at the slight illumination. Shock at the discovery of its ability about to trigger. Dread and panic, alongside attempted escapes to squirm and roll away as the purple glow began to cover her entirely. Side note? It failed. She was stuck on the grate. Finally, a defeated expression as she felt a pressure come from one side of her body.

SLAM!!!

There wasn’t even a sound as Tatsumaki bounced before landing. Like a coin that just fell on the floor, Tatsumaki spun around in a near hypnotic way. Her eyes were spirals from the sheer concussive force she just took. It was as harmful as the previous attack, aka not harmful at all. But it was enough to completely blow her mind away, leaving her in a very dazed state. She couldn’t be wider than a coin after all and from afar she didn’t look like a person at all. Merely a black coin with some white bits that you might think are indentations of hips and a face. There was only a green pattern that covered the top side, which blotted out half of her face. Actually only one eye would be aware and peek out to the world around them.

She was just as defeated as the enemy she had just dispatched.

Awareness began to return to Tatsumaki as she just realized how disorienting and flat she felt. Yet her worries were not to end as she noticed her current state as her rotation began to slow. Her eyes widened once more as her body precariously balanced, ready to fall into the grate.

“Nnhhh!” 

That outcry wasn’t even heard. No sound escaped her current state anymore. To add on to this imminent defeat, that cry of unhappiness is her own undoing. Because of that her whole body shook, and the esper fell onto her side. This earned her a descent towards the hole. Not a single bit of telekinetic power applied, as if it had been crushed out of her, while her journey commenced. The idea of falling into grime was so horrifying that Tatsumaki closed her eyes and-

“Gotcha.”

Tatsumaki opened her eyes slightly.

“Huh. Weird coin,”

Her savior greeted her with a confused look as he held up the now coin sized Tatsumaki. It was that damn baldy! That damn bastard is the one who saved her? She fumed and already fired out insults and demands to be let go. It took her a full minute of that to 1) realize that no sound or even motion escaped her body anymore. 2) He didn’t even seem to process she’s a person. After all, she’s as flat as a coin. Still she tried to blink at him. To try and get his awareness. It would be shameful to be known to be defeated this way. Yet this might be the only way to get turned back to normal-”

“Guess I’m keeping this for now.”

And she got pocketed inside his wallet.

“Damnit.”

She can only hope that Fubuki would harass this man and realize this is her.

Or her powers would come back soon…