I know life took us far away, but I still dream 'bout the good old days when we took care of each other. We were livin' for each other. But I start to wonder if I'm slipping under. Would you rescue me? Would you get my back? Would you take my call when I start to crack? Would you rescue me?-One Republic
Another two hours passed and they arrived at their destination.
"We're here." said the driver. "Once you change into your hero gear I'll take you to the agency to receive your orders."
The hotel was nice, not the nicest but not the worst. It was a small town, after all. The heroes exited the car, retrieved their belongings, and went inside. Their silence continued until Bakugo addressed the concierge at the front desk for check-in. He handed the second room key to Uraraka after holding onto his own.
She took it from him, carefully keeping her hand from brushing against his as she did so and they boarded the elevator in silence.
The elevator stopped at the third floor and they exited, each glancing at the number on their room key and heading down the hall in search of the doors bearing the same numbers. They came to a halt halfway down the hallway at two doors directly across from each other.
Ochako glanced at the key card in her hand and back at the door number one more time just to be sure she hadn't made a mistake, but she hadn't. She frowned as she inserted the key into the lock and it clicked open before she entered with her floating luggage in tow. She wasn't sure how she was going to survive this trip.
Bakugo slid his key in the door knob and pushed it open. He turned as it shut, watching the back of Uraraka and her things disappear behind her own. He exhaled and growled with agitation. "Damn woman! I don't understand!" he angrily hissed and tossed his case onto the bed. The room was simple, with one window over the air conditioning unit, a television, and one end table with a lamp. Pretty normal place.
He sighed and started changing into his hero costume. After assembling his gauntlets and putting them on, he slipped his room key and phone into his pocket and exited to stand in the hall to wait for Uraraka.
A moment later, the door to her room swung open and she stepped into the hallway, her face immediately settling back into that blank expression she'd been wearing anytime she was around him lately when she saw him.
He growled, throwing his hands up. "WHAT Round-face? We fucking work together and you kinda have to see me because of it. I don't know what the hell this guy did to you to make you suddenly hate ALL men, but get over it and quit giving me that fucking look!" He huffed and stormed away from her to head back to the lobby, knowing she'd follow eventually.
Uraraka knew she was being ridiculous. He hadn't deliberately done anything to her and he was perfectly within his rights to date whomever he damn well pleased, but it didn't make it hurt any less and it was easier to just put up a wall to keep herself from getting hurt anymore. She followed him silently into the elevator, thinking things would have been so much less complicated if she could have gone back in time and erased everything that happened the summer of their graduation. She'd have to get her emotions under control eventually, she knew, but right now it was just hard to look at him and to feel what she felt and know with absolute certainty that it was too late for them.
The car ride to the agency was another silent one. Bakugo literally had no idea what to do with her at this point and he was not about to apologize for some other asshole's mistakes.
They arrived at the station within fifteen minutes and upon arrival were escorted to the briefing room, where many other heroes and officers gathered to talk amongst themselves before the brief officially began. He recognized a couple of heroes from home and others from different parts of Japan that he'd heard of and seen on TV.
"Oh my gosh! Bakugo! Ochako!" Came a high-pitched voice.
Bakugo jumped slightly, his eyes searching for the source of the voice, but no one was looking at them. "The fuck?"
Uraraka's head whipped around as well. She was certain she knew that voice but she couldn't place it until she felt a hand on her shoulder though it appeared no one was there. "Toru!" she exclaimed, turning in the direction the hand had come from. Her face split into a grin for the first time that day. "It's so good to see you! Er, well, not see you, I guess, but you know what I mean!"
Oh, thought Bakugo. Great.
"I thought I heard your name! How's it been, Bakugo?" came a man's voice. Bakugo turned to look. He grimaced.
"Soy Sauce."
"I haven't heard that in a while!" Sero said, laughing as he approached. "So you got recruited too, eh? Oh, and Uraraka's here, too? Man I haven't seen either of you since Todoroki's engagement thing."
"Of course I got recruited!" yelled Bakugo. "They need me with extras like you running the show!"
Ochako flushed slightly at the mention of the engagement party. It was the last thing she wanted to think about right now.
"Hey, Sero!" Toru greeted him as he joined them, announcing her own presence since she knew he couldn't see her.
"Oh, hey, Hagakure!" he waved in the general direction her voice had come from, completely disregarding Bakugo's 'extras' comment. It wasn't the first time he'd heard it and he knew it wouldn't be the last. "How are Deku, Iida, and the others? You're all at the Todoroki agency now, right?"
"We are," Uraraka nodded. "Everyone's great. Kirishima, Tsuyu, and obviously Momo are all there, too."
"I see. So what, are you two partners or something?" asked Toru.
Bakugo cut his eyes at Uraraka. He was still annoyed with her attitude and he was reluctant to admit anything. He simply nodded. "For patrols."
"Guess it makes sense. Your quirks are pretty compatible. Bet you could do some wild combo attacks!" Said Soy Sauce.
Bakugo snarled. "This ain't a video game!"
Uraraka was spared the necessity of answering by the arrival of the Magome police chief. Silence fell as those standing moved to take seats and she found herself seated between Bakugo and Toru, who had to announce her presence several times as people attempted to sit in the seat she was occupying, thinking that it was vacant. Sero sat on Bakugo's other side.
The chief was a large and physically intimidating man by the name of Kobayashi. He stood at the front of the room with a laptop and a screen that reflected what he did in it on the wall behind him.
"I want to thank all of you for coming to Magome's aid," he said as a map of the town appeared on the screen, three large Xs marking parts of it. "Here you will see the three locations known to be associated with the Red Lotus gang. It's unclear which of these may be their primary headquarters. Our goal is to divide into three groups and stage a raid at all three potential locations simultaneously early tomorrow morning. By doing this we hope to detain as many members as possible without allowing them time to earn members who may be at the other locations. We've spent the morning dividing the teams as evenly as possible according to your quirks and the abilities of our officers. You'll see those teams here." He pressed a key on the laptop and the screen changed to show three columns of names.
Uraraka quickly located her name in the center column, then scanned back up to the top of that list to see who she'd be working with. Kobayashi himself was at the top of the list followed by a few names she assumed were Magome police officers. Further down the list, she found Cellophane, Invisible Girl, and because luck was not on her side, Ground Zero. Two other heroes she'd heard of but wasn't very familiar with were also on the list.
Bakugo came up behind her to read the list. No surprise that they were kept together. "Whatever this attitude is, you better leave it here." He said quietly to her. "It's time to go to work."
They were all given copies of the files pertaining to the investigation that gave them a run down on what the force had gathered about some of the gang member's abilities as well as the crimes committed. After this, they were allowed to return to their respective hotels or homes to rest before the mission the following morning.
Back in his hotel room, Bakugo scowled at one file in particular. This man murdered an innocent child in cold blood. If there were any kind of villain Bakugo despised more than others, it was the one who hurt children. Children couldn't even defend themselves. His brows scrunched together, forming a worry line in his forehead as he continued reading. "Fucking bastards...you'll all pay. I'll make sure of that."
He glanced up at his doorway. Uraraka was teamed up with him as well as their old classmates. She'd remained cold toward him during the meeting and was silent again on their ride back to their hotel. At this point, he was getting really tired of even giving a fuck. Maybe it was better. At least this way it made it harder to like her. He sighed, ruffled his hair, then went back to reading the files.
Across the hall, Uraraka sat cross legged on her hotel bed, files spread around her as she reviewed them. There was no way of knowing which members they may encounter at any of the three locations and it was important to be familiar with all of them and their quirks for that reason.
She understood why the Magome police department had chosen everyone in her group. They had a stealth hero, Invisible Girl, who would be able to do reconnaissance and look through all of the windows without being seen so they knew who was in the house and where in advance. Uraraka would be able to float her to the upper story windows. Sero's tape was perfect for detaining anyone they found while the other three heroes were all there for their fighting ability: Bakugo with his explosions, Boulder who had a hardening quirk that only affected his fists, making them quite lethal, and Willow, whose fingers could turn into vines like a willow tree and functioned much like Sero's tape quirk so she would be helpful for restraining villains. They also functioned as whips to deal damage to an enemy.
Ochako glanced over at her closed door, thinking it would be easier to review all of this if she and Bakugo worked together as they had on similar missions back home. She knew it was a bad idea, though. Now that he was seeing Kimiko, it was best if she just kept her distance, at least until she could get her emotions under control. She sighed and looked back to the file she was reading, noting that this particular member could emit a poisonous gas that could easily take them all out, but only if he managed to touch the palms of his hands together. If he was one of the members they came across, he would have to be a priority.
The next morning arrived, and the heroes assembled with the Magome police force at their designated locations throughout the city. Everyone was on edge, but determination was evident in their eyes. They'd all done their reading and these villains were some of the worst. They all wanted them brought to justice.
The officer in charge gave his signal to begin infiltration. It was time.
Invisible Girl made her move to begin scouting ahead. The others waited.
Bakugo could feel himself growing restless. He was ready to blow the whole place up and bag the creeps. But that was frowned upon. He also knew that if the good guys knew where the bad guys might be hiding, then the bad guys probably had a good idea that they were coming.
Invisible Girl returned about twenty minutes later, and they only knew by the sound of her voice appearing from nowhere. "I saw Nakamura and Ito. They're one floor up from ground level. They seem to be expecting us. Ito is lurking in the left far corner waiting to catch us off guard with his gas, I'm sure. Cellophane, you'll be needed right away to restrain his hands. I saw another man who I'm not familiar with. I don't think we have his file so I don't know what his quirk is." She paused. "There were two doors in the room. I obviously couldn't open them without being caught, so be careful. More may be hiding there. I'm not sure which one leads up."
Uraraka stepped forward. "Are you ready to fly?" She gave her a smile.
"Yes!"
"Touch my hands when you're ready and I'll float you up as slowly as I can so you can see inside."
Uraraka felt the touch of her friend's hand. She activated her quirk and could feel her as she was lifted. She maintained concentration in order to move her slowly. The building itself was only two stories, but there was also a basement. She pushed her friend up to where she believed she met in line with the second story windows, then moved her to the side.
Bakugo watched her in action. She had come a long way with her quirk. "You can move things now?"
"Something I learned in France...now shut up!" Uraraka hissed, trying to keep her concentration.
Bakugo bristled. "Fucking France."
"Woah." Said Cellophane. "She's like a Jedi now."
"Oh, shut up!" Groaned Bakugo. "You sound like that damn nerd!"
In about another ten minutes, Uraraka gently lowered Invisible Girl to the ground and released her quirk. Hakagure's voice returned. "That floor looks clear, but it would probably be good to double check."
Bakugo moved to stand at the front of the group along with Cellophane. "When we get the all clear, I'll blast down the door and you go in and tie that guy up. We can't risk him using his quirk since it's inside."
"Roger that." Answered Sero, smirking at his friend. They looked at Kobayashi, who gave the signal to proceed.
Bakugo instantly rushed to the door, blowing it to smithereens. Sero rushed through a cloud of smoke, Bakugo giving him immediate flanking from behind. Officers and the other heroes filed in after.
Bakugo and Sero both saw Ito at the same time. "There!" Bakugo yelled. Sero acted immediately, shooting his tape out to restrain the villain's hands.
"Gah! What the-?!" Ito gasped, struggling in the restraints.
Bakugo rushed him and fired an explosion that knocked him out cold instantly. He waved for an officer to come make sure he stayed that way. He turned to look around and found chaos in his wake. More lackeys had filed out of the two doors Invisible Girl had mentioned earlier. A few carried weapons like bats and knives, while others seemed to be using quirks that were hard to pinpoint amongst the activity. He watched Uraraka take down a couple that had the bats utilizing her martial arts skills and quirk once she touched them. He couldn't help but admire her abilities at this moment. She flipped one over her shoulder and pinned him to the ground to wait for someone to come cuff him.
His observation was cut short when a large spike flew past his face, narrowly missing his ear. He froze until it passed and hit the wall then turned to see its source. A large, bulky man stood fifteen feet from him, a malevolent grin on his face.
"Bastard!" Bakugo growled, firing up his explosion. "Die!" He yelled, running straight at the villain.
The man shot another spike out from his hand, but Bakugo dodged, twirling in the air and coming close enough to do some damage. But something weird happened.
Another man, whose face Bakugo did not recognize from the files, appeared suddenly next to Spike Guy, put a hand on his arm, then they both vanished completely. Bakugo attacked nothing but air.
"What the fuck? Someone can fucking teleport?!" He hissed, whipping his head around to try to find them. One minion rushed him with a knife but he easily dodged and hit the back of the man's neck to knock him out.
He couldn't find them anywhere. Did they go to another floor? He didn't get much time to think. Another man, whose face he did recognize as that of Takahashi, was charging right at him. The man was even bigger than Spike Guy, with a weirdly small head paired up with giant hands and feet. From what he remembered, his quirk was strength-based and was devastating on impact.
"Fuck." Bakugo aimed and shot an explosion at the oncoming fist, but to no avail. He was hit, and he went flying into the wall almost twenty feet behind him. He staggered back to his feet, coughing.
This happened a couple more times until Bakugo realized that hitting the guy's hands and feet wasn't going to work. His weak spots must be his head and torso, since they were oddly skinny compared to his appendages. He was out of breath and his ribs were definitely bruised. But better it be him to figure this out than someone else.
"All right, Hulk." Bakugo grinned wildly. "I haven't gotten to go this hard in a while. Come get some!"
Takahashi let out a wail and charged him again. Bakugo was going to let him get close and try to dodge enough to get a blast in one of his weak spots. But if he was punched again he might be knocked out. He had one chance.
It was then that white tape shot out to wrap around both of the Hulk's arms. It jerked him back slightly and Bakugo's eyes found Cellophane trying to hold him back.
"I've got him!" He yelled.
"Me too!" Came Invisible Girl's voice. No one could see her, but then the Hulk's arms struggled to reach his neck.
"Oh." Bakugo mumbled, wiping some blood from his lip. She had him in a headlock. Now was his chance. "Okay, Ghost, wait til the last second then jump!"
"Right!" Said Invisible Girl.
Bakugo raged and ran full-speed at the beast-man, aimed both of his hands at his face and torso, and let loose his biggest explosion yet that day.
Singed and unconscious, the villain crumpled to the floor.
"Tie him up like a fucking mummy." Bakugo panted.
"On it, Ground Zero."
Bakugo coughed again, flinching at the pain. His red eyes darted around the room, searching for Spike Guy and the Teleporter. More villains and lackeys had flooded in from what was likely the other floors to provide their side with back up. It was pure insanity.
Then he saw them.
But they weren't looking at him.
He followed their line of sight and felt his blood run cold. "Fuck!" He growled, breaking into a run, his fists heating up and starting to glow. "URAVITY!"
Uraraka looked up at him, surprised at the use of her hero name. Then she saw the spike flying toward her, but she was holding down another quirk user. She froze.
Bakugo leapt in her path.