The next day Kia and Bakugou headed to the agency early to get in a good workout. Kia started out running on a treadmill and could see Bakugou lifting weights on one of the benches in front of her. She couldn't help but think about the conversation she had with the others the night before.
"How do you feel about Bakugou?" Toru asked.
"He's a really good hero. I've never had a partner like him," Kia answered.
"No, Sweetie, she means how does he make you feel?" Mina said.
"I'm not sure what you mean," Kia replied confused.
"Well… do you find him attractive?" Ochaco asked.
Kia paused for a moment while she thought about the question. "I'm not blind," she muttered before taking a drink from her cup.
"So what would you think about dating him?" Mina asked and the others leaned in towards Kia.
"I don't think it is a good idea to date your partner," Kia answered, scowling slightly.
"You've never even thought about it?" Kyoka inquired.
"I really want to focus on working as a hero while I'm here. Why do you want to know if I would date Bakugou?" Kia asked while she grabbed another slice of pizza and took a big bite.
"I've never seen him with anyone before. He seems to really like you," Momo replied as she took a sip from her own cup.
"Yeah right, I'm pretty sure he mostly tolerates me," Kia laughed.
"I don't know about that," Mina grinned, grabbing a slice of pizza.
"And why is that?" Kia asked, raising a brow at the pink hero.
"He didn't kick you out of his apartment."
Kia watched as Bakugou hefted the bar off its holder. His biceps strained as he started to bench press the heavy weight and Kia realized she was staring. Flustered, she turned off the treadmill she was using and switched to one that faced the other direction. She grabbed her earbuds and hit shuffle on her favorite playlist, cranking the volume up loud so the music would drown out everything around her.
Bakugou finished his reps and sat up. He noticed that Kia had moved to a different treadmill. She was running at a fast pace and seemed to be completely zoned out. Bakugou kept lifting while stealing glances over at his partner every so often. He then moved towards the punching bags and wondered why Kia was still running. From where he stood he could see her clearly, and it seemed that something was definitely on her mind.
How long has she been running like that? He wondered checking the time. Kia's shirt was soaked with sweat and she showed no sign of slowing down. He stopped what he was doing and made his way over to her.
"Hey, Sunshine," he called out. As he got closer he could hear her music playing. She didn't even notice as he walked up beside her. He walked around in front of the treadmill and even then it took a couple seconds for her to notice him. Kia blinked as her eyes met his and reached out to slow down the machine.
"What's up?" she asked as she removed her earbuds.
"I was going to ask you that,"
"What do you mean?"
"You're the moron literally running on autopilot," he growled
Kia slowed down the machine some more. "I just have a lot on my mind is all," she replied looking away from him.
"Tch, well that much is obvious," He shook his head. He scowled at her, waiting for her to elaborate.
"I've just been thinking about those kidnapping cases," Kia said. Which was true, she had been thinking about the kidnappings…among other things.
"Yeah, they've been on my mind too." Bakugou relaxed and Kia was relieved that he took the bait.
"I'm still stuck on just a theory. With everything that has been going on I haven't had time to put a lot of focus into them," Kia sighed. She slowed down the treadmill so that she could cool down at a walk.
"Hmm," Bakugou agreed.
"I'm waiting for more info from Derek as well," Kia continued. Her breathing started to slow down and she grabbed the front of her shirt and used it to wipe the sweat off her face.
Bakugou leaned up against the machine. "Come over tonight and we can work on them," he suggested.
"Alright, do you want me to make something for dinner then?" Kia smiled.
"I'll cook," he said as he walked away.
Kia watched as he walked back over to the punching bags. She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She couldn't believe she was letting some stupid questions get to her like that. So what if she found Bakugou attractive? Most females would. Kia took a deep breath and Bakugou's natural scent filled her nose. She cursed her heightened senses and animal instincts as her body reacted. The smell of his quirk alone made her mouth water. What the hell is wrong with me? She wondered as her skin tingled and she bit back a growl. Turning away she headed to the opposite side of the gym to finish her workout.
A while later, they met back at their office, showered and dressed in their hero costumes. Bakugou noticed the awkwardness hanging in the air between them and how Kia seemed to be keeping her distance from him. She had hardly even looked him in the eyes that morning and it was starting to irritate him for some reason.
He was just about to call her out on it when his phone rang. Picking it up, he answered. "Ground Zero,"
"It's Jeanist, would you and Miss Hales meet me in my office, please?"
Bakugou hung up the phone and turned to Kia. "Oi, Sunshine, Jeanist wants to see us,"
Kia nodded without looking up at him and headed towards the door. Bakugou beat her there and opened it. He stood in the doorway so she would have to squeeze by him to get out.
"What are you waiting for?" Kia asked, standing back.
Bakugou scowled when she still didn't look at him. He huffed and let the door close behind him as he started walking down the hall. Kia stayed behind him and said nothing as they headed to the elevator.
Bakugou was practically fuming when he reached the elevator. He stood glaring at the button and waited for Kia to push it. She pressed the button and stepped into the elevator. Bakugou got on and stood next to her but she moved to the other side as the doors closed. He gritted his teeth and moved to stand next to her. Again, Kia moved to the other side of the elevator. His temper was dangerously close to blowing. He was about to yell at her when he noticed she was holding her breath. That confused him enough to stifle his anger.
"What the hell is wrong with you?" Bakugou asked. He knew she had a sensitive nose but she acted like he smelled bad. He had just taken a shower and his costume was clean. Plus he used the same shampoo and body wash that he always had and it never seemed to bother her before.
"I think I might just be hungry," Kia answered.
"Hungry? Then why the hell are you holding your breath?" He looked at her funny.
"You just smell delicious and it's making my mouth water," Kia blatantly answered.
"Wait…what?" Bakugou asked as the elevator doors opened. He stood there in shock, wondering if he had heard her right.
"Your quirk, it smells really good and it's making me hungry."
"Then go fucking eat something!" Bakugou snapped as he stomped out of the elevator. He could feel his face heating up. For a second I thought… Bakugou mentally slapped himself as he barged into Jeanist's office.
"Ah, Ground Zero, I've got a police report that I wanted you and Wildside to look over," Jeanist started. He paused when he looked up and saw the two red faced heroes standing before him. He and Nina exchanged confused looks. "Is everything alright with you two?" he asked with concern.
"Yeah, Sunshine just needs someone to shove a cookie in her face," Bakugou huffed, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"Sorry, I guess I just haven't eaten enough," Kia replied.
"Why does that have you two blushing?" Nina asked.
"I'm not blushing!" Bakugou snapped.
"I may have told him he smells delicious," Kia admitted, biting her lip and blushing a little harder. She realized how it sounded after she said it.
Nina's eyes lit up. "You think he smells delicious?"
"It's his quirk," Kia replied quickly. "It smells sweet… kinda like brown sugar."
"I've heard that nitroglycerin has a sweet smell," Jeanist said. "I've never really noticed it before, but I bet with your heightened senses you probably would pick up on that."
Nina walked around the desk and up to Bakugou, who tensed up as she sniffed him. "You know I think he does have a slight sweet smell," Nina said.
"Really?" Jeanist said walking around the desk to give Bakugou a sniff. "You're right, he does smell a little like brown sugar," the older hero said.
"Maybe a little like caramel!" Nina exclaimed.
"I know right?" Kia grinned.
"ENOUGH! I don't remember telling any of you that you could fucking smell me!" Bakugou yelled and took a couple steps back.
"Aww come on B, maybe since you smell like candy little kids won't be so afraid of you," Kia teased.
"You can go to hell!" Bakugou yelled at his partner. "Did you call us up here to look at a police report or what?" he snapped at Jeanist.
"Yes, I did," Jeanist cleared his throat. "This came across my desk this morning. The local hospitals and police have been coming across cases of a new drug that boosts one's quirk. So far they have a dozen cases of people who have all presented the same symptoms. All the victims have exhibited increased aggression, a boost in quirk capabilities, heightened senses and an unawareness of what they are doing. As of now no one has gotten hurt and the damage has been minimal. The drug also only seems to last for about an hour and none of the victims remember taking anything. Another thing is the diversity of the victims… young, old, men, women, different kinds of quirks. All of the hero agencies have been asked to help out with these cases."
"Sounds like someone is testing out this new drug to see how it affects different people," Bakugou said as he took the file from Jeanist.
"Exactly, the main problem they are having is that there is hardly any trace of the drug in the victims' systems so doctors haven't been able to pinpoint what is causing the reactions," Jeanist added.
"Blood tests haven't revealed anything?" Kia asked, looking at the file in Bakugou's hands.
"No toxins or anything odd has been found," Jeanist answered.
"Have they tested different hormone levels?" Kia asked.
"The files don't include the all the test results but I'm sure I could get them for you if you would like?" Jeanist sat down in his chair while Nina pulled out a paper for him to look at.
"If you wouldn't mind. How long ago was the last victim afflicted?" Kia asked.
"Two days ago, and all the victims are being monitored for any irregularities."
"Are the names of the victims being released?" Bakugou asked.
"Not yet," Nina answered.
"That is all we know so far. The number of the officer in charge is in that file if you want to contact him with any more questions," Jeanist said.
"Alright, we will take it back to our office and look it over," Kia said as Bakugou closed the case file in his hands.
"Please keep me informed of your findings," Jeanist said.
"Yes, sir," Kia replied as she turned to follow Bakugou out of the office.
The door closed behind them and Nina turned to Jeanist with a big grin across her face. "So she thinks he smells delicious?"
"How did I know you were going to want to talk about that?" Jeanist sighed.
%%%%%
The two heroes got back to their office and Bakugou immediately took the file to his desk and sat down. Kia hesitated before grabbing her chair and moving it over to his desk. I'm being ridiculous, she thought.
She sat down across from him and glanced at his face. He was completely absorbed in reading the case file on his desk. His eyebrows were slightly furrowed in his usual scowl and his lips were set in a small frown. He must have felt her gaze on him because he looked up at her. His fierce gaze was still set in a scowl and Kia once again admired the color of his irises.
"So, you are gonna fucking look at me now?" he remarked.
The challenge in his eyes made Kia's skin prickle and her chest tighten. She could feel her dragon side stir, excited for the thrill of a strong opponent. She smiled, "Well I guess if I have to, I can suffer through that scowl."
Bakugou scoffed and rolled his eyes before turning back to the file. "It doesn't look like the police have been able to find any connections between the victims. They have hardly any evidence at all!" he growled.
"What are the victim's symptoms again?" Kia asked.
"Aggression, increased physical abilities, increased quirk abilities, out of control behavior, and the victims couldn't recall anything after the drug left their system."
"Sounds like a typical enhancer drug," Kia said. "I've seen many different kinds back in the states. It can be hard to differentiate one from another which makes it even harder to find the source."
"Ever seen one like this?" Bakugou asked.
"Yeah, but not one that doesn't leave a trace in the user's system. A lot of the ones I've seen have used some kind of toxin or hormone in large quantities and leaves a definite trace." Kia folded her hands behind her head and leaned back in her chair as she thought. There where all kinds of enhancement drugs in the U.S. and her old agency dealt with users on a pretty regular basis. "We are going to have to wait for Jeanist to get a hold of the blood work report before we can brainstorm anymore," she sighed.
"Tch, more damn waiting," Bakugou growled.
"I know it is a pain, but we will have to do what we can until we can get more info. We will just keep a closer eye out for anything similar to these cases while we are out on patrol."
"Tch, let's just get out and patrol. It won't do us any good sitting around here waiting." Bakugou put the file in his desk drawer and stood up.
Kia smiled at him. She understood his frustration. It was driving her crazy not being able to get anywhere with the cases, they had been given. Derek was doing everything he could to get her more info on the kidnapping cases and the people behind it seemed to be hiding out since they busted one of their store houses… that or they were being even more careful. Kia had been checking to see if there were any reports of missing people but none had been reported. Now with so little information on the drug cases, she was starting to feel like they had reached a wall. It sucked waiting for something to happen.
Kia put her chair back behind her desk and followed Bakugou to the garage. "Hey, maybe we should split up today," she said as they reached his bike.
"Huh?" Bakugou turned, giving her a look.
"We will cover more ground that way," Kia offered.
Bakugou didn't say anything as he glared at his motorcycle. "You're right," he grumbled. "I will patrol on my bike."
"And I will take to the sky, we can plan our routes so we can easily get to each other," Kia said.
They stood there and decided which routes they would take and where and when they would meet up during the day. Bakugou opened the garage door and started up his bike. Kia moved outside the door and transformed, stretching out her wings.
"Make sure your radio works before you take off," Bakugou said as he pulled up next to her.
"Yes, sir," Kia said sarcastically while he put on his helmet. "Can you hear me ok?" she asked, turning on her radio. Bakugou nodded before revving up his engine and taking off down the alley. Kia took off and with a couple strokes of her wings she rose high into the sky. She could see Bakugou making his way down the street as she turned in the opposite direction.
Kia moved through the air with ease, the muscles of her back and shoulders stretched in a pleasing way as her wings carried her through the sky. They planned on reaching certain places in the city before meeting up around noon.
Kia glided along her patrol route, sweeping low every now and then to get a closer look at something. She took extra care to check out known problem areas as well as keeping a close eye out for anything odd in other areas. The day was proving to be a regular day. Bakugou stopped a couple of purse snatchers and Kia was able to save a small boy who ran out into traffic. Nothing appeared out of the norm as they met up for lunch.
They were sitting outside a small restaurant eating when a few kids came running up to their table.
"Ground Zero and Wildside! So cool!" A young boy exclaimed. He looked to be about middle school age and with him were a younger girl and an even younger boy.
"I'm so sorry to bother you but they really wanted to meet you," their mother apologized with a bow.
"It's ok," Kia smiled as she turned in her seat. "We always have time for fans!" The two younger kids crowded around her and started asking her a million questions.
Bakugou leaned back in his chair and watched as his partner entertained the youngsters. He glanced over at the older boy who stood a little straighter. "Hey, kid, you make sure to help your mom keep an eye on your siblings."
"Yes, Ground Zero, sir!" the boy said standing even straighter.
A smile crossed his mom's face. "Such a considerate hero, do you like kids?" she purred.
Kia snorted and Bakugou glared over at her. She had transformed and one of the younger kids had a hold of one of her curved horns while the other marveled at the scales on her arm. Kia had rolled up her sleeve and Bakugou could see the bracelet her father sent her, hiding the scars on her wrists.
They answered the kids' questions while their mother made eyes at Bakugou. Once they left Kia was trying to smother a laugh as she turned to face her partner. "Do you like kids?" she giggled.
"Tch," Bakugou huffed while looking away.
"Seriously, now I'm curious, do you like kids?" Kia asked honestly.
"Other people's snot-nosed brats? Most of them are annoying and whine too damn much. You obviously like the little brats. Do you want kids?" Bakugou asked.
Kia looked at him in surprise. "You're asking if I want to have kids?"
Bakugou blushed slightly when he realized that was indeed what he had asked her. "You don't have to answer," he growled.
"No, its ok, I'm just surprised. I didn't think that was something you would ask," Kia admitted. "I like kids, but I'm not sure if I can have kids."
"What do you mean you can't?"
"When I was younger… I got hurt… bad and the doctors don't know exactly how much internal damage was done so…"
Kia stared off into the crowd but Bakugou could see the sadness in her eyes. "How did you get hurt?" he asked, and the look in Kia's eye's hardened into something else. Anger, maybe even fear, Bakugou wasn't sure.
"I wasn't doing what I was told, so I was punished," Kia replied. Her whole body went rigid and she had a far-away look in her eyes, like she was caught in a memory. "Anyway…It's not a big deal." She shook her head and smiled at him. "I'd have to find a mate first, and I'm too busy with work right now to even think about dating."
Her answer wasn't what Bakugou had expected. She was punished? Obviously it happened when she was captured by villains but as usual she didn't give any specifics. What the hell happened to her? Bakugou thought. "You said you have scarring, did you mean internal?"
"Uh, yeah, everything seems to be working correctly and I don't have any health issues in that regard. My doctor said it looked like I was really lucky. The external scar I have makes it look worse," she said.
"External scar?" Bakugou asked, hoping she would share more.
"It's an ugly one. It starts here and curves around my back." She pointed to a spot below her belly button. "Anyway, this talk is making my lunch taste bad. How about we get back to work?" Kia changed the subject.
"Yeah," Bakugou muttered.
Kia walked over to pay for their meal while Bakugou threw away their garbage. She then met him next to where he had parked his bike.
"So, unless I run into any trouble, I will call you in a couple hours, kay?" Kia said as she transformed. People walking by stopped to admire the glitter of her feathers and scales.
"Yeah, yeah," Bakugou muttered as he started his bike. Kia flew up into the air as he turned onto the street.
Bakugou watched as she flew out of sight. He weaved his way through traffic, keeping an eye out for anything but his thoughts kept going back to his partner. She was on his mind a lot lately and he found himself getting flustered over it. "Tch." He sped up, trying to distract himself.
%%%%%
The afternoon dragged on as they spent the whole day patrolling the city. Bakugou was pulled over in a busy part of town checking in with Kia when he heard a familiar voice call out to him.
"Hey, Ground Zero!"
Bakugou turned around to see Kirishima and Kaminari walking towards him.
"What are you two idiots doing here?"
"Patrolling just like you are," Kirishima said. "Did you guys get informed about the new enhancer drug on the street?"
"Yeah," Bakugou replied.
"Hey, where is Kia?" Kaminari asked.
"We split up for today, figured we could cover more ground," Bakugou said as he put the kickstand down on his bike.
"Aww, man, I was hoping we would get to see her," Kaminari whined.
"You two get any leads on the enhancer drug?" Bakugou changed the subject.
"So far, no," Kirishima frowned, crossing his arms. "We haven't seen any evidence of it at all."
"Maybe whoever was testing it out decided to give up," Kaminari said enthusiastically.
"Not likely," Kirishima frowned.
"I bet things are going to escalate from here," Bakugou said looking across the crowded street.
"What do you mean?" Kaminari asked.
"Just think about it. If they dose someone with a dangerous quirk in a crowded area like this, people might get hurt, or worse," Kirishima pointed out.
"That would be bad," Kaminari frowned.
"No shit, Dunce Face," Bakugou snapped. "We gotta keep on the lookout and catch this guy before he gets anymore ideas."
A scream sounded from the crowd and the three of them spun around to see what had happened. A woman stood pointing and screaming at a man that was knelt on the ground.
"Someone, please, help my husband! He's been shot!" she yelled.
Bakugou bolted from his bike and headed to the man, closely followed by Kirishima and Kaminari.
"Sunshine," Bakugou called over his radio.
"What's up?" Kia answered. Bakugou gave her his location and told her to head over. "I will be there as fast as I can," she said.
Bakugou made it to the man who was writhing on the ground.
"Sir, where have you been hit?" Kaminari asked as they approached him. As the electric hero reached out to touch the man, he lunged upward, flailing and hit Kaminari, knocking him across the street.
Bakugou and Kirishima jumped away from the man.
"Chargebolt!" Kirishima called out to his partner.
"I'm ok," Kaminari answered as he stood up from where he had fallen.
"Look alive you two," Bakugou snapped as he focused on the man.
The civilian was breathing hard as he got to his feet.
"Sweetheart?" the woman called out as she took a step towards her husband.
"Get back!" Kirishima called out and the woman stopped.
The man stood up and they could clearly see a small dart sticking out of his chest. The man grabbed it and flung it into the crowd before screaming at the top of his lungs and running straight towards the heroes.
Kirishima rushed forward to stop the civilian while Bakugou blasted over to his wife and got her to safety.
"Everyone clear the area!" Bakugou ordered to those who stood by watching the incident. Kaminari was doing the same thing on the other side of the street. As spectators turned to leave there was the sound of something whistling through the air and four more civilians hit the ground as darts struck them.
"Shit," Bakugou said as he headed back to where Kirishima was fending off the first victim.
"We need to find out where the shots came from," Bakugou called out.
The man Kirishima was trying to hold back began to swell in size, quickly growing much larger than the red hero. The man's features began to change as his nose lengthened in to a trunk and tusks sprouted from his mouth and his skin turned gray and thick. The man used his trunk to pick Kirishima up and throw him across the street. Bakugou looked around at the other victims to see they were changing too. The man closest to him swelled as he turned into a blue blob that proceeded to ooze its why towards the crowd. Another dropped on all fours, his dog like features becoming more prominent as he howled angrily. Wind whipped around another like a tornado while the fourth sprouted thorn like protrusions from her fingers.
The elephant man trumpeted before charging towards Kirishima. Bakugou rushed towards him, firing off a blast to try and keep him from trampling his friend.
About that time the police showed up and surrounded the area. They were trying to figure out what to do with the blob while a couple armored policemen tried to corner the dog man. Kaminari was facing off against the thorn woman and was so far holding his own.
Kirishima stood up and dusted himself off before running to Bakugou's side.
"Well, what now? Can we really attack them? They are civilians after all," Kirishima said. The elephant man shook his massive head and turned toward the two heroes.
"Do you think you can stop him?" Bakugou asked.
"We're about to find out," Kirishima said as he hardened his body.
Chairs started flying at them from the right and Bakugou blasted them away. The wind user was advancing on them, using their power to throw anything at them that wasn't fixed to the street.
"I'll take this one and you handle the elephant," Bakugou ordered.
"Sounds like a plan," Kirishima agreed.
Bakugou turned to face the wind user whose eyes looked half crazed. Crap, how are we supposed to stop these guys? We can't harm civilians even if they are out of control, he thought. The wind user cackled and shot bursts of wind at Bakugou, who used his AP shot to block them.
The elephant man bellowed and charged at Kirishima, who dodged. The elephant missed and crashed into the side of a building, causing bystanders to scream. The man unburied himself from the building and turned, clearly even angrier than before and he started to grow even larger.
"What the hell!" Kirishima exclaimed. He was now faced with a mad, raging elephant that was four times his size. The elephant man attacked and Kirishima dodged. "How are we supposed to stop these guys?" Kirishima called out, looking at the giant crater where he had just stood.
"Figure it out!" Bakugou yelled. He was having enough trouble with the wind user. Winds blew around him outwardly, making it hard for Bakugou to get close to him. If he wasn't careful, his blasts would be blown away and could start fires or hurt those who hadn't cleared the area.
He let loose a blast as the wind user shot a large gust at him. Where the hell is Sunshine? Just as he had that thought, a purple blur rocketed out of nowhere and punched its way through the winds before tackling the person at the center. Kia's wings flared out wide behind her as she locked the wind user in a binding hold.
"B!" she yelled. Bakugou then realized she was using her wings to buffer the winds, creating a gap where he could get in close.
"Hell yeah!" He grinned as he blasted his way into the gap his partner made for him. Pulling a pair of quirk suppressing cuffs out of his belt, he cuffed the man, immediately cutting down the force of the winds so Kia could take him to the ground.
"Take him, I will help Red Riot," Kia said as Bakugou knelt beside her. Bakugou grabbed hold of the wind user and watched as Kia flew to Kirishima's side.
"Red!" Kia shouted.
Kirishima turned and saw her flying towards him. Nodding he got ready to take the elephant man's attack. Kia landed beside him and braced herself while they each grabbed one of the man's tusks. Barring down, they strained against his strength, trying to hold him in place. Unfortunately they underestimated his strength and with a flick of his head he sent them flying through a window.
Kia emerged first, shaking the glass from her feathers.
"He is strong," Kirishima said as he walked up next to her.
"Are you strong enough to stop him?" Kia asked.
"No, I can stand up against his charges without breaking, but I don't think I will be able to actually stop him," Kirishima answered, preparing for the next charge.
"Tch, I guess I don't have a choice," Kia said.
"You're starting to sound like Bakugou," Kirishima chuckled. "What do you have in mind?"
"Go help the police. I can stop this guy. Just make sure the area is clear," Kia said fixing her eyes on the elephant man.
"Are you crazy?" Kirishima asked.
"Just go," Kia snapped.
The elephant man bellowed and headed towards her. Kia ran forward to meet him.
Bakugou was just turning the wind user over to the police when the elephant man bellowed. He turned to see his partner rushing the elephant. He immediately sank into position to blast his way to her but stopped. As she ran, Kia's body changed. Her limbs lengthened and her claws grew longer and bigger. When she arrived she had only transformed enough to use her wings and tail to fly, but now, she was completely covered in scales, spikes stuck out along her spine and horns adorned her head. She had also gotten bigger and was half the size of the elephant man as she met him head on.
They collided and Kia grabbed the man's tusks with her front claws. The claws on her feet dug into the pavement as she strained to hold the elephant man in place. The man bellowed a reached forward with his trunk to grab Kia but she used her tail to restrain it. The man bellowed again, sinking down to his hands to try and push Kia back but she held strong. The man strained harder, pushing into Kia with everything had, but she pushed back. Kia's teeth were gritted with the effort and Bakugou could see they had lengthened into fangs. It was the most transformed he had ever seen her.
"Hey, we need some help over here!" a police man called out.
Bakugou looked over to see they were struggling with the blob and the dog man. Kirishima had gone over to help Kaminari with the thorn woman and they were now starting to overpower her.
"Tch," Bakugou turned away from his partner, leaving her to fight alone.
The blob seemed to be unstoppable as it just moved over anything that was in its way. One of the policemen got too close and the blob reached out, pulling him into its body. The man struggled as he slowly moved through the gelatinous mass. The blob then pushed him out and he fell to the ground, alive, but it seemed that he was paralyzed.
I've got to figure out a way to immobilize this thing, Bakugou thought. He moved in as close as he dared and shot a blast at the blob. The blob stopped as part of its body was basted apart but as soon as the pieces hit the ground they moved right back to the main mass.
"Shit," Katsuki cursed out loud. "Do we have anything we could use to contain it or suck it up?" he turned to the nearest policeman.
"No, sir, we have been trying everything but we haven't been able to stop or contain it."
Katsuki watched the blob as it moved slowly towards them. How can I immobilize it? He racked his brain to find out a way. Then it hit him, maybe they could freeze it. He glanced back to where his partner battled the elephant. She had her hands full keeping the elephant from destroying the whole area.
Can I get it closer to her? "Everybody get back!" he yelled, motioning for the police to get out of the way. He ran to the other side of the blob so it was between him and Kia before blasting it with an explosion. It split apart, splattering all over the road between them. Slowly, the blob started pulling itself together. Kia and the elephant were still locked in a battle of strength.
Getting impatient, Bakugou started blasting the individual pieces towards each other and closer to Kia, trying to keep the blast low enough that it didn't splatter the blob but still move it closer to her.
Kia and the elephant man broke apart, both of them panting with the effort of pushing against one another. The elephant man then went down on all fours, swinging his head and trumpeting before charging Kia once again. Kia also went to all fours and let loose a roar before meeting the elephant head on once again.
Bakugou gave the blob one last blast, moving it as close to Kia as he dared. The blob was slowly pulling itself back together and Bakugou turned to Kia. She wasn't budging as she held the elephant man in place.
"Sunshine!" Bakugou yelled as he blasted over to her. Kia looked at him and their eyes met. He gestured at the blob behind him and Kia nodded. With a roar, she pushed with her back legs, lifting the front of her opponent off the ground. Surprised, the elephant man didn't expect it when Kia lashed out with her tail, wrapping it around his back leg and pulling it out from under him, successfully flipping him onto his back. She then let go and headed to the blob while Bakugou landed to face the elephant man, who was getting to his feet.
Kia was still walking on all fours. Once she reached the blob she opened her mouth, drawing in a deep breath before unleashing a freezing attack at the blob. Slowly the blob stopped moving until it was completely covered in ice. She could still see it moving within its icy prison.
She turned back to see Bakugou blasting through the air while aiming small blasts at the elephant man. He was able to keep him in one place by distracting him with small blasts and darting around the massive brute while the elephant tried to catch him.
Kia stood up and roared a challenge at the elephant man, tearing his attention away from her partner. Once again it charged and Kia stood her ground. This time instead of catching the elephant in a locking hold she crouched, using its momentum, she was able to flip him over and slam him into the pavement. There was an ear splitting crack as one of the elephant man's tusk broke in half. The dust cleared to reveal that he was knocked out cold. Kia threw her head back and roared her triumph to the sky while Bakugou landed next to her and looked up at his partner.
Her eyes were wild as she stood there panting. "Hey, Sunshine," Bakugou called out and her green eyes immediately found him. She closed her eyes and shook her head as though trying to rid herself of something, then sat down and began to take calming breaths. Bakugou watched as she began to shrink and her scales and other dragon features began to disappear. Soon his partner sat at his feet smiling up at him.
"Thanks for the assist," she grinned.
"I should be saying that to you," he said as he held out a hand to her.
She accepted his hand and let him pull her to her feet.
"That guy is going to have a hell of a headache when he wakes up," she said looking at the elephant man, who had already begun to shrink. "Did we get them all?" she asked, looking across the street.
Kirishima and Kaminari where handing over the thorn woman, who was in suppressor cuffs but still trying to fight. Down the street a little ways, some of the police officers had the dog man surrounded but held back as he barred his fangs at them. Suddenly the dog man lunged at one of the policemen, grabbing him by the arm and knocking him down before running down the street on all fours towards Kia and Bakugou.
"They seriously can't take care of a dog?" Bakugou snapped as he blasted his way towards the man. He reached out to grab the dog man by the scruff and was surprised when it jumped up and licked him. There was a puff of yellow smoke as Bakugou and the dog man tumbled into a pile. The dog man jumped up and kept running right past Kia, who was staring at her partner, or, at least what had been her partner. Sitting in the street surrounded by Ground Zero's costume and wearing his shirt and mask, was a large ashy blonde colored dog.
"B?" Kia asked as she met the canine's familiar red eyes. The dog growled before letting out a loud bark and running off after the dog man. Kia looked at the bewildered policemen who had come over to help. "You, pick up Ground Zero's costume. I'm going after them," Kia ordered before heading after her partner.
For a second she was worried she might have lost them until she heard barking. She turned the corner to find Bakugou had the dog man cornered and was barking and growling at him. Kia stood there, not believing what she was seeing. Her partner had been turned into a dog and chased down and cornered the one that had changed him. A couple of policemen pulled up behind her in a patrol car and got out to stand beside her.
"Wildside, is that dog really Ground Zero?" one of them asked pointing to the dog that still had Ground Zero's shirt on.
"I'm pretty sure," Kia said as she approached the pissed off dog. "B?"
The dog spun around, saw her and started barking at her while pacing back and forth. The policemen moved in and cuffed the dog man and took him away.
Kia crouched down so she was eye level with her dog/partner. "B," she called out again but the dog kept barking and growling. "B!" she yelled and the dog stopped and looked at her. "B, I don't speak dog," Bakugou began growling. "Easy boy," Kia said calmly has she held out her hand to him.
Bakugou looked at her outstretched had with confusion. He had no idea why she was acting like she was.
"B, can you understand me?" Kia asked as she eased closer to her partner.
She can't hear what I'm saying, Bakugou thought to himself as he looked at her.
"Easy boy," Kia said again as she got closer. "B, can you understand what I'm saying?"
Bakugou stared at her unsure of how to communicate.
"B, come here boy," Kia said sweetly. Bakugou walked forwards until he reached her outstretched hand. "Good boy!" she praised him and Bakugou growled. "Its ok, easy boy," Kia said as she reached out and stroked the fur on top of his head.
Bakugou froze. Kia was petting his head and scratching his ears and it felt so good. He found himself closing his eyes and leaning into her touch.
"Hey, B," Kia said as she took his face between her hands and looked him in the eyes. "I need to know if you can understand me. How about bark for 'yes' and growl for 'no'?"
Bakugou rolled his eyes before barking once.
"You can understand me! That will make this so much easier," Kia sighed. Looking him over, she ran a hand over the fur on his back. "I don't know how this happened but we will get you changed back, ok? Here, let me help you out." She grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it over his head so he could step out of it. Once Kia had removed it Bakugou stood up a shook himself. "Wait, you still have you mask on," Kia said as she reached toward him.
Bakugou tilted his head and sure enough his mask was hanging around his neck. Kia started to remove it but stopped and looked at him thoughtfully. "What are the leash laws in Japan?" she asked one of the police officers.
"All dogs are supposed to have collars and ID tags," the officer replied.
Kia then grabbed Bakugou's mask and retied it around his neck. "Do you think that will do for now?" Kia asked.
"Uhm, sure," the police officer replied.
"Well, come on, B, we better get back and figure out what to do next," Kia said as she stood up and headed back with Bakugou following after her.
I apologize for the long wait. Between getting a new job and completely changing my life around and all the deaths we have had in the family this year, I have been busy.
I really spend a lot of time thinking and developing this chapter. I pour my heart and soul into every word. I do hope you all love this chapter and I will do my best to update as soon as I can. I love all of you and appreciate the time you take to read and review. Thank you all!
Megan Burch: I'm so sorry that I haven't been updating regularly. I'm so glad you like my fic! It really means a lot to me!
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DoctorBoo24: I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while. I really put a lot of thought and time into chapter 35.
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