Chapter 9: Fear and Agony

"Katsuki," Izuku said gently, surprising the blonde from the change from his emotionless tone. "I appreciate your concern, but I'm fine. I haven't gotten into anything. I've just...found people who believe in me."

"Who are these people," Bakugo asked, worriedly. "Are they villains?"

Izuku burst out laughing, worrying the explosive teen further. Izuku couldn't have it though. The irony with William, and the thought of Allmight being thought of as a villain was too much.

"Hell no," Izuku said.
That relieved the blonde, at least.

"Really, Katsuki," Izuku said. "Everything is okay."

Bakugou gave him a look that Izuku took at 'explain, nerd'. He gave a tired sigh.

"One of my new friends is a genius that likes building things," Izuku said. "He saw how bored I was with school, and started to teach me how to program and build things."

Katsuki's eyes widened in surprise, and he asked, "So what's with the Latin?"

"To protect your projects," Izuku explained.

The blonde nodded in understanding.

"The muscles," the blonde asked.

"Heavy equipment," was Izuku's quick reply.

The blonde tilted his head back. It all seemed to fit, but something seemed off. Yet, he also knew he couldn't push. At least he wasn't involved with villains...

"Alright, nerd," he said, giving the other teen a hard look. "I know you're not telling me everything..."

Izuku gave him a blank look in return.

"However," the explosive teen said with a tired huff. "I'm not gonna push."

A small crack appeared in Izuku's mask, and the blonde smirked.

"Just don't do anything stupid," Katsuki snarked.

Izuku snorted in amusement.

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Izuku woke up to darkness. Slow echoes of water dripping filled the air. A cold shiver of fear rose in him when recognition hit him.

He was in the safe room!

Words clung in his throat as the panic hit. He reached out towards William, but there was no answer. Dread filled him and his panic rose further.

His heart was pounding, and it was hard to breathe.

Why wasn't he breathing?!

Tears filled his eyes as he choked on a sob.

It wasn't until he felt the agony of metal tearing up his insides that he realized he was in the Spring Bonnie suit... That was also when he realized he was sitting in a poll of water..., but the water was...sticky.

The realization that he was sitting in a pool of his own blood hit him like a bag of bricks.

He woke up with a terrified scream.

0000000

His mom rushed in soon after, and he calmed her down the best he could. However, he couldn't stop the shaking of his hands. He knows she noticed, and was thankful that she didn't push him for more answers. He didn't know how to explain it to her.

Plus, no matter how much he loved her, right now he needed William. William understood this pain, and he had a solid presence that Izuku found reassuring—even though he knew others found it creepy.

Once his mother left, he immediately dove into his mindscape.

"William," he cried out as it came into focus, and he felt a gentle pressure on his shoulder.

He spun around, and buried his head into the man's shoulder, his tears finally falling now that he felt safe.

"Brat," William asked in surprise.

He knew Izuku was tougher than this. He didn't even cry when he nearly died.

"I was in the safe room," Izuku sobbed, an William winced in empathy. "I was sitting in a poll of my own blood."

William's breath hitched and he wrapped his arms around the teen. He just felt the aftermath of being springlocked.

"Oh, kid," William said softly as he ran a hand through the teen's growing curls.

They stood there for several minutes as Izuku sobbed into William's purple shirt. It wasn't until Izuku's shaky breaths steadied that William even dared to move them.

0000000

That day, William declared was an off day. No training, no building, nothing but fun and mental rest. He even had him call off his training with Allmight—threatening to take control and do it himself if Izuku dared to argue with him. And, while Izuku was mildly annoyed, he understood why William decided this. His training and building animatronics was dangerous. And, Izuku knew that he wouldn't be able to focus right now.

So, he decided to suck it up and take a walk instead. The air was nice and cool in the early morning hours. He was happy that it was the weekend. It was hard enough to pretend to care about lessons on a good day.

Izuku took the back roads to stay away from the morning rush. He tried to focus on clearing his mind.

However, just as his mind calmed, he was jerked back to reality by someone roughly pulling him into an alley.

"Well, well, well," a cruel voice taunted. "What do we have here? It's the quirkless freak!"

Izuku felt his gaze harden as anger flowed through him. He took a quick stock of his surrounding and cursed. There were four boys from his school surrounding him, no available weapons, and the alley led to a dead end.

"What a wonderful situation to find himself in," he thought sarcastically.

"Aw," one of the guys cooed mockingly. "Is the waste of space scared?"

Izuku didn't answer, but his gaze hardened.

The other both with him laughed. Izuku discretely got in a position to better defend himself. He wished he had a weapon as he let his senses run free. He wasn't sure what one of the boy's quirks was because he was in a different class and he recently transferred. Izuku took a deep breath and the world turned into a blazing red, sounds sharpened around him, and he took notice the heartbeats and vibrations of the boys that surrounded him.

"We should show this bug he doesn't deserve to even be allowed to kiss our boots," the boy with extended fingers said nastily.

The others cheered. Extended fingers went to jab at him, but Izuku was ready for it and dodged. This, however, made the other boys mad. The boy with wings, Tsubasa maybe, flew at him. Hearing the flapping wings and feeling the slight air pressure, Izuku dodged to the side, and slugged him in the face. His friend yelled in anger and spikes extended from his knuckles with a slight hiss. Izuku saw his red frame lunge for him, and Izuku caught his arm—dodging the spikes—and used the boy's momentum to swing him into the boy that was once again lashing out at him with extended fingers.

They slammed into the alley wall with a painful slap that echoes around the alley. Tsubasa once again flew at him—his attack once again broadcast by the sounds of his wings. Izuku quickly spun on his heel and kicked the flying boy in the stomach. Tsubasa cried out in pain as he fell to the ground, no longer able to considerate on staying in the air.

That was when the fourth boy came up behind Izuku and tapped him on the back. For a moment, he was confused, but then Izuku screamed in agony as he felt springlocks go off.

The other boys looked on with horror as he fell to his knees crying out with soul rearing pain. He actually felt like he was dying.

"What the hell," one of the boys gasped in horror. "What the hell did you do to him?!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen," the transfer cried out in shock. "It's only supposed to show your worst fear...not this!"

"Come on," another boy said in fear. "Let's get out of here before a hero comes!"

"And leave him here," Tsubasa cried out in disbelief.

"Do you want to go to jail for unlawful quirk usage," the first boy asked.

The four looked at each other, and then at Izuku who was still screaming in agony. In the end, they ran away from the scene.

Izuku was crouched on the ground, crying with agony. He's never been in so much pain. He could feel jagged metal pierce through his chest and stomach. He felt blood clogging his lungs as it slowly suffocated him. Fire seemed to be burning in his veins as it lit his brain ablaze. His mind felt like it was melting.

What was worse was that he could feel that William was feeling it too. They kept trying to reach out to each other, trying to save each other from the pain, but each attempt hurt them further.

"Help me," Izuku cried mentally. "Please! Anybody!"

His mind was breaking. He could feel it as he lost the fight to stay awake. He didn't think he could make it much longer. With one last pain filled sigh, he passed out.

The alley was silent as he lay still.