Chapter 4
Fallout
The students had returned from training, except for Paul Brand and Avana Hughes. Those two students had sustained injuries that required additional treatment from the school nurse, Zina Greco. Paul needed more time to have his broken jaw set properly, and Avana was finishing a detoxifying treatment to ensure her internal organs were clear of any poison. Arthur Harring was standing outside of the classroom, and the students could hear Dakshi Basu shouting him down about the botched training session they had just completed.
Yoshitoki sat quietly, looking at the empty seat next to him where Avana would be seated. He glanced up to the front of the class, where Clint Rocksteady sat with his head in his hands. He was shaking from guilt, he was the reason Paul was injured. Yoshitoki looked to Willow Rhodes, who was also shaking, her hands clenched around her crossed arms. Julian and Ash had been completely healed by the nurse, but they only had bruises to take care of. Yoshitoki realized, outside of those four students, no one else had been hurt. Yoshitoki was glad he hadn't caused any of the problems, there was enough tension in the room for everyone.
Preceding a sigh, Arthur Harring finally stepped into the room, "...First, I want to apologize. That doesn't excuse you all from your actions, but as your teacher, I should have been more aware of the possibility of this happening. Secondly, there will be some form of discipline handed down for those students who went beyond the limitations of the training," Arthur inhaled deeply, "but, there were only two serious injuries, and two minor. Personally, that means more of you completed training efficiently and without causing harm. I am proud of you as a class, but we need to always remember we're classmates, not enemies." The tension in the classroom started to dissipate, Arthur's reassurance helped them calm down. Several seconds later, however, the door flew open, and Avana stomped in.
She went straight for Willow Rhodes, throwing a violent right hook into her face. "YOU BITCH, YOU ALMOST KILLED ME. WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!"
Willow kicked her seat out, standing quickly as a red mark lit up her cheek, "YOU? WHAT ABOUT LUKE? THAT ASSHOLE ALMOST BLEW ME TO PIECES. YOU WANT TO PLAY THE VICTIM?" Willow shoved Avana hard, before moving her desk out of the way. Arthur Harring stood quickly, clapping his hands sharply as he put himself between the girls. Two brown, wooden doors materialized behind Willow and Avana, opening instantly. Arthur shoved them both into the doors before they closed and vanished, almost as soon as they appeared. Yoshitoki looked around to see where the two girls had gone.
Brian Kiley swept his long hair out of his face, and tapped Yoshitoki on the shoulder, "It's Detention, Mr. Harring's Quirk. None of us know where they go, but those two won't come back until Mr. Harring says so. Our teacher's one of the top Pro Heroes when it comes to capture missions. They say he's never failed to bring a villain in." Yoshitoki nodded, that was a terrific Quirk. He was also surprised Mr. Harring moved as fast as he did, he was a rather large man. Looks can be deceiving, Yoshitoki thought to himself as a brief look of anger crossed his teacher's face. Arthur Harring stood up, checking the rest of the room to ensure no other students would be swept up in the fervor, but everyone else stayed in their seats, clearly uncomfortable with what had just happened. Arthur wouldn't leave them in his Quirk for long, but he needed his class to be calm before they could reflect on the training.
Avana Hughes didn't realize she'd been caught in Mr. Harring's Quirk until after the door had already been shut. She had seen the Quirk used before, but never really wondered what was inside. She turned around to see a small room, about twelve feet across, maybe ten feet wide. There was no ceiling that she could see, but the room was still well-lit. Avana imagined Willow was seeing something similar. In the middle of the room there was a single orange, plastic chair. The walls were solid wood, possibly oak, and the floor was a dull, grey cement. Avana walked cautiously to the chair, sat down, and waited.
"Alright, I...while we wait for Ms. Rhodes and Ms. Hughes to relax, I want the rest of the class that's present to talk about the training. We had some mishaps, but I want to discuss the parts that went well, so we can learn together." Arthur Harring was flustered, but he needed the class to take away more than negative experiences from this. There was no growth if you only saw failure.
Yoshitoki went to stand, then quickly sat down, this wasn't American culture, "We work well together. Paul and Reed were good partners, all help in situation. Sam, Clint, and Brian all had good idea for dispatch of villain. It was well fought, even if Paul was hurt," Clint winced at the mention of Paul, "and...I would like future training to be monitored close." Arthur nodded as Yoshitoki finished, they would definitely watch this class more vigilantly.
Julian spoke next, "It's a good idea to have training like this, even when it goes wrong. There's always a good chance some of us end up being sidekicks in the same place, maybe under the same Pro Heroes for a while. It's smart for us to learn what works and doesn't work, at least between classmates at this point."
A soft voice, Isabel Benton, lilted across the room, "Corinna, Chichi, and I were the team of victims for rescuing. The second team didn't even attempt to rescue us, but chose to fully attack the enemy in an effort to beat them before saving us. I understand their intent, but if we had all succumbed to our injuries while they fought, what was the point? The only person at ALL that looked for us was Dave, and he was remarkable. If the focus is to build our rescue skills, perhaps it would help us all to do things in phases, to give us the proper building blocks before putting it all together."
Arthur Harring took in all the advice from the class, before smiling at them, "All wonderful suggestions, and you're all correct. I wanted to see how everyone would do in an advanced exercise, but too much of a good thing, right? I promise to all of you that this won't happen again. We will monitor more closely, and we will deconstruct our advanced lessons until we're ready to put it all together. As your teacher, you are my responsibility, and I care for the safety of all of you." Arthur clapped sharply, and the two wooden doors returned. Willow and Avana stepped out, glanced quickly at each other, and sat down in their seats. Yoshitoki looked next to him, Avana seemed much calmer now. That was good, hopefully the girls would have time to talk it out later, and this wouldn't hurt the class for much longer.
At the center of the city, a man sat alone in his apartment. Dishes cluttered the sink, trash had collected in the corners. Issac Lacasse stared at his television, watching the same news segments on repeat. The League of Villains, who opposed All Might and attacked UA. A man known as 'Stain', who wanted to rid the world of 'false heroes'. Issac grinned, his eyes wide with manic desire. If a League of Villains existed...he would be part of it...or he would make his own. Issac stared at his hands, a laugh escaping his chapped lips. His Quirk was unbeatable, and he would make the world see what villains could do, so he could show the League he was worthy.