Toph is seven years old when she gets kidnapped. She wakes up cold and disoriented, surrounded by the tinny, uncomfortable vibrations of metal. "What happened?" Toph groans, trying to focus her hearing. She's not the only one here, but there's only one other person moving. "Inasa?" she guesses hopefully.
"No," an unfamiliar boy answers, shuffling closer. "I'm the only one awake. Who are you?"
"Toph." There's a crackle of fire, and she flinches a little from the unexpected heat. "What are you doing?"
"It's too dark to see in here," the boy explains apologetically. Toph lowers her hands, facing the source of heat warily. "Are you okay? What happened to your eyes?"
Toph blinks, touching her face in confusion. "Nothing, I'm just blind."
"What—?"
"It's fine, it's always been like this," Toph cuts him off quickly, irritated. "Is Inasa here? He's tall, got a buzzcut."
The boy shuffles around some more as Toph presses her hands to the steel floor, concentrating. "I think this is him? He's the only other older kid here."
Toph frowns, having come to the same conclusion as she feels around the steel box they're in. In total there are fifteen kids in here, thirteen still unconscious. Most seem fine, Inasa included, but three seem to be shivering from the cold, their movements erratic in their sleep. "You've got a fire-type quirk, right? Some of the little ones are too cold, can you help them?"
He pauses, still crouched by Inasa. "Which ones?" He doesn't ask how she knows.
Toph gets to her feet carefully, grimacing at the ice-cold floor on her bare feet. Determinedly, she points out each kid, and together she and the fire boy collect them together and huddle beside them. "They look like they could have fire quirks," the boy observes, "So they could be sensitive to the cold." He shuffles over so the kids are mostly leaning on his left side, and Toph stays on the other side to squish them in.
"That's weird," Toph says quietly, half-focusing on Inasa's breathing.
"What is?" The boy asks.
"Well," Toph taps her foot rhythmically, "You've got fire, Inasa has a wind quirk, and I can control earth. What are the chances we're gonna find some water-quirks too?"
The boy hums in interest. "You think we might all be elemental users," he muses. "What's the last thing you remember, Toph?"
She thinks back, the memories surfacing slow and unwillingly like molasses through her head. "I was… playing with Inasa in a forest. Well, we were fighting, but we always do. And I heard someone approach. They just wanted to watch our fight, so we let 'em. Then he was all—angry? Excited? Maybe happy." She remembers the clink of metal and the whoosh of air, faster than anything Inasa's done. She still tried to dodge, but it nicked her. There's an ache in the meat of her shoulder, a bruise. "He shot us. Something to knock us out."
"I was taken from home," the boy shares. "Dad wasn't home that night, there were a few people that snuck in. I fought, but they knocked me out with some chemical."
Toph frowns. "Any idea why we're being kidnapped? My parents are rich, so I guess could be a ransom thing, but I don't know about everyone else." They didn't even ask for her name.
The boy is quiet. "Well, my dad's a pro hero. It could have something to do with that? Or," he pauses again, "Maybe it's to do with our quirks? Because we have elemental powers?"
"Maybe," Toph says, "But we don't know if everyone here has the same kind of quirk. What's your name, by the way?"
He seems to curl into himself, and speaks with all the confidence of a field mouse, "Shouto… My dad is Endeavor, the flame hero."
Toph's eyes widen, but she bites down on her exclamation quickly. He didn't seem so stiff until now, but his shoulders are tense and his heart is beating rather fast and she doesn't like it. "Okay," Toph says casually, placing a hand against the cold wall. "Um. Think you can melt us out of here?"
He shakes his head, limbs loosening a bit. "No, I thought of that. The metal's too thick, it'll take ages and it'll make the rest of the floor too hot to stand on. I can't tell who's out there guarding us, either." Shouto explains. A beat later, he adds, "I'm better with ice, anyway."
"Ice?" Toph repeats in confusion, lifting her head.
"My quirk is half-hot, half-cold. I… don't like to use the fire-side that much," Shouto admits, adjusting his arm around the two boys and one girl between them. They were all younger than Toph, but one of the boys was almost as big as her and it was hard to keep them all warm.
"So it's like, one hand has ice and the other has fire?" Toph guesses, judging by the way Shouto's sitting against the kids. It's kinda funny, it sounds like another Avatar myth, but she won't tell him that. "If it's too much then stop, but your ice can't help these kids as much as your fire right now," Toph reminds him.
"Oka—" Shouto cuts himself off as a metal door slams, somewhere outside the metal crate-thing they're in. Toph goes still, and then gets up from her spot next to the kids to get closer to the source. "Toph, you shouldn't—"
"Shh!" Toph raises a hand quickly, and Shouto quickly falls silent. She closes her eyes and stands as still as possible, listening. "I can hear them."
"So you think any of the children are awake yet?" Someone stands by another metal wall—sheet metal, thin and tall, like a warehouse. He latches the door.
"Haven't heard any crying yet, so no." The new speaker chews on a piece of gum noisily, leaning against a box like the one they're in. Are there more people? More boxes of kids?
"You sure it was smart to grab the hero's kid? We've already made the morning news." A nervous man. His footsteps are heavy, and his voice warbles oddly, maybe he has a mutation quirk.
"The boss wanted him for a reason. He's already halfway there, ya know, he's a good candidate. We'll be moving out within the day, they won't be able to track us after that." That's another speaker, one that speaks with sharp authority and treads like Inasa, light and airy. "Once we get to the facility, we can complete Amon's vision and invoke the Avatar State once more."
Avatar State? They really were using that folklore, the really old stories about... benders. Like her. She named her quirk after the bending art of those old stories. A lot of people do it, like the Agni family in China and the waterbending hero, Backdraft. She told that stranger what her quirk was before he shot her!
Toph doesn't like this. She doesn't like this at all, and she doesn't even know what they're doing. Where would they be moved to? Where's the boss, and how was he supposed to summon the Avatar? She doesn't have a single answer, but there are fourteen other kids trapped in here, Inasa isn't waking up, and Toph has had enough.
There's only one thing she can do.
She strikes the wall suddenly, viciously, palm out like she's striking rock. "HEY! YOU FREAKIN' CREEPS! LET US OUT SO I CAN KICK YOUR BUTTS!" Toph punches again, hating how the vibrations rattle her teeth. She screams in anger and stomps on the ground, letting loose the strongest vibration yet. "YOU HEAR ME, YOU PUNKS?! I'M GONNA TAKE YOU ALL OUT!"
"Toph, what are you doing?!" Shouto exclaims, and some of the children begin to stir. "You're gonna make them panic!"
"I'M GONNA GET US ALL OUTTA HERE BEFORE THESE MOOKS CAN LAY A HAND ON US!" Toph screams, banging the wall again. The vibrations she sends out are painful to focus on, but she does it. Eight, no, nine captors. Plus the boss, if he's around but out of range.
A couple of the captors wander closer to their box. It's gotta be a shipment container, like the kind they use on freighter trains and trade ships. Her dad's described them before.
"Hey, I guess someone's up," Chewing Gum comments, and kicks the outside of the box. "Quit whining, girlie, it'll all be over soon."
Toph screams and punches back, right where she thinks his crotch would be. He startles a little at the sound, but doesn't back off.
"That's gotta be the earth girl, she's got a quirk like that rescue hero. The cat one, y'know." Flutterfoot speaks again, and Toph is close enough to recognize the voice as the person that went after her and Inasa. "She's one of the stronger ones, but it's not a problem. She's blind."
She strikes the wall again with a yell. "You're gonna regret hurting my friends!" Toph vows coldly. "When I bust outta here, I'm going after you first."
"Uh huh. Keep dreaming, sweetheart. Maybe you'll be a hero in your next life."
The threat sends a chill down her back, but Toph just screams and punches the wall again, harder than ever, willing and demanding and pleading for it to just move.
It doesn't.
Instead, she thinks the wall is singing, and it startles Toph so bad that she stumbles away from it, bewildered. "Toph!" Shouto yells sharply, "Get away from there, don't draw their attention."
Toph tears herself away from the odd, rippling sensation of the wall, stomping her way over to Inasa. He's beginning to stir, and she wants to hear her stupid friend's voice more than anything.
"Inasa," Toph holds his shoulder carefully, "Are you awake yet? C'mon Twinkletoes, I need your stupid help."
He groans, rolling onto his back. "Ugh. Toph? Toph, what happened? I feel… bad."
"We got freakin' kidnapped, and now we gotta save all these kids, so you're not allowed to cry," Toph explains succinctly, her words not a warning but a declaration. She points over her shoulder. "That's Shouto. Everyone else here is a baby."
"Shouto?" Inasa rubs at his face, peering at the other boy. "Um. Hi. I'm Inasa Yoarashi. What the heck is going on?"
"Toph just woke everyone up by banging on the walls," Shouto informs him irritably. "You shouldn't talk to them, Toph, we don't know what they want or if they're—"
"I know what they want," Toph cuts him off, folding her arms. "We need to get outta here before they move us…" she trails off as the younger kids stir and awaken, and Toph can sense their panic settling in. She clamps down on any panic of her own. "Shouto, gimme some light?" She asks abruptly, helping Inasa to his feet. "The kids are scared."
"How can you always tell?" Shouto murmurs, but complies anyway, judging by the flare of heat and crackle of flames near her. Toph takes a deep breath and slaps on the sweet smile she usually reserves for her parents and home tutors. She has to act like everything's okay, that's what heroes do.
"Hi everyone! My name is Toph. This is Twinkletoes, and that's Icy-Hot. Is anyone hurt? Can you tell me your names?" She elbows Inasa sharply, making him yelp.
"Yes! I'm Twinkle—NO, my name is Inasa, c'mon Toph!"
"Hush, Twinkles, go check if anyone's hurt." Inasa groans dramatically and hops away, apparently over his sleepiness.
One of the kids closest to them giggles at their antics. Another one is still panicking. "Wh-Where are we? I wanna go home!"
Toph kneels, grabbing the girl's hands gently. Toph focuses on her panicked heart. "What's your name?"
"H-Himari," she says softly. She's maybe five years old, if Toph had to guess.
"Himari-chan, don't be afraid. We're stuck in here, and there are villains outside, but we're going to get out of here soon." She squeezes the girl's hands, feeling her shake. "Are you cold?"
"Yes—oh," she tugs her hands out of Toph's, cupping her mouth. Suddenly Toph feels the brush of warmth over her face, a sort of pop-crackle to go along with it. "I can make hot sparks with my breath. I can warm up myself!"
Toph nods, not able to quite smile. Another fire-type quirk. They really did gather up elemental kids. "That's great, Himari-chan. Can you help Shouto warm up the other kids?"
She exhales again, a few more sparks crackling around the girl's face. "I-I can try?" Toph directs her to Shouto, who is amassing a small army of pre-school children.
"You look funny!" One boy points at Shouto's head. "Like—like a peppermint."
"Yes," Shouto agrees serenely, apparently accepting this description. She'll have to ask about that later on, what the hell did peppermints even look like? "This side makes ice, and this one makes fire."
A girl gasps in delight. "Icy-Hot! I get it!"
"Icy-Hot, I can make ice too, and water and steam!"
"...My name is Shouto, actually."
"Can you make snow? My daddy can, but I make bubbles!"
"Ah. I don't think I should make snow right now, it's already cold."
Toph grins, helping another boy to his feet. He's got tiny, feathery wings attached to his forearms, and he's very light, as if his bones are hollow like a bird's. "How do you feel, Feathers?"
"Feathers…?" The boy says tiredly, and then brushes a hand over his arms. "I'm Yuuto, not Feathers!" he declares fearlessly. "And I'm fine!" His heart says otherwise.
"Do you have an air quirk, Yuuto?" Toph asks. "Wanna meet my friend Inasa? He can control wind."
"I—really?" Yuuto's heart jumps as surprise overtakes his worry. "The Twinkle boy?"
"I'm not Twinkletoes, I'm Inasa!" Her friend dances over to the clump of kids around Shouto, landing beside Yuuto.
"You can fly!" Yuuto says in wonder.
"Kind of!" Inasa agrees excitedly, and they usher the feathered boy to Shouto.
The half-hot half-cold boy is getting a lot of attention. Shouts of "I like your hair!" and "You're pretty, Shou-chan!" surround the boy, who seems unable to respond.
Toph stomps on the ground—lightly, but enough to rattle the box—and places her hands on her hips. "Listen up, everyone! We're gonna be saved by heroes, but until then we have to keep each other feeling safe and warm." The atmosphere has changed dramatically since Toph first woke everyone up, hearts calmed, breaths unworried. It's much easier for her to focus now.
"Oh!" Inasa raises his hand for some reason. "We should have a buddy-system. Toph and Shouto and me are the oldest, but we can't look after everyone, okay? So—pair up! Take care of your partner!"
Toph gives a sharp nod of approval as the kids pair up easily, chattering about their quirks. They're all young enough to be familiar with buddy-systems that schools give. Most of them pair up with kids with similar quirks, though Himari pairs with Yui, who shoots water from her fingers.
Inasa grabs Toph's elbow, and mutters to her, "What's the plan?"
Toph drags him over to Shouto, who's been very quiet this whole time and is hard for her to read. The younger kids are all distracted, calmer than before, and Toph thinks she can speak without them overhearing anything. "I can hear everyone outside this box," Toph begins, and Shouto leans closer. "I counted nine, but they mentioned a boss, too."
"Could ya hear 'em say anything about what they want with us?" Inasa asks eagerly.
Toph hesitates, and then gives another short nod. "It's about our quirks. They wanna do something with them."
Shouto wraps his arms around his knees. "So you think they need us alive. That's why you weren't afraid to yell at them?"
"Yeah. But they know your dad's gonna come after them. Those mooks plan on moving us before the end of the day."
"You dad?" Inasa inquires, turning to Shouto.
"My dad's a pro hero," Shouto says shortly, deliberately leaving it vague. "Toph, what else do you know?"
Toph chews her lip. "Well, about our quirks. They said the boss wanted you, Shouto, because you're already 'halfway there'. And you sort of have two elements as a part of your quirk, right? They want experiment on us or something to combine elements. For that to happen, they can't hurt us until after we're moved—so now's our only time to strike."
"What?" Inasa yelps, before Toph slaps a hand over his loud mouth. He speaks through her fingers. "I don't like this at all! How can we get help? I don't even know where we are!"
Toph pulls her hand away, pulling her legs in. "I don't know," she snaps. "Pull yourself together, Twinkles, we don't have time for fear, and we don't have time to be rescued. We need to bust out on our own." It's what she realized when those villains were talking. To pull off a kidnapping of this scale, they had to have a plan to get them out quickly, but they chose young kids for a reason. There was no time to waste.
And Toph's blood was boiling, she was not going down easy. Her parents think she's weak enough as is, and she still has to prove the whole world wrong and become a hero.
Inasa whines, but manages to keep his voice down. "Toooppph, nooo, this isn't a game! How're we supposed to fight, anyway? How're we supposed to get out of this box? There's ten villains and three of us old enough to maybe fight. And we're seven!"
"Toph," Shouto cuts in smoothly, "Are… are you cold? Your feet look blue."
"Blue?" Toph frowns at the non sequitur.
"That's what happens when they're cold," Inasa explains, shifting to get a better look at her. "Oh, yikes!" He places a hand on her foot and Toph flinches back, almost kicking him in the face.
"Quit it!" Toph snaps. "Don't touch my feet!"
"But you're cold!" Twinkletoes protests. "Shouto, help me out. She's tiny and barefoot and stubborn as a rock!" He dodges a swipe of Toph's hand.
"That doesn't mean I need help, Airhead."
"But you are cold," Inasa argues.
"...Maybe… put your feet against my thigh?" Shouto suggests awkwardly. "I won't make more fire, I can just make it warm." He turns his left side to face her, stretching out a leg. "Put your feet out. You can't fight with numb toes."
After a moment of tense silence, Toph deflates and sticks out her feet. She still twitches when Shouto's hand grabs her ankle, guiding her to rest on his warm side. Inasa hugs her suddenly from behind, engulfing her whole torso with his stupidly long arms, and Toph vows to punch him in the face when they're out of this mess.
Toph huffs, blowing hair out of her face. "I think I can break through this box," she says finally, sinking into Inasa's warmth. "I wasn't just banging on the walls 'cause I was mad. I can see through the vibrations. I can feel my surroundings that way. And I was hitting the wall so hard, I was trying my best to feel everything I could…"
She flexes her hands experimentally. They sting a little bit, and she thinks they're going to be in pretty bad shape by the end of this. But it's okay as long as I can save everyone.
Toph clenches her hands into fists. "Metal comes from earth, doesn't it? I'll make an exit for us."
"You think you can do that?" Shouto asks skeptically.
Toph nods resolutely. "I have to, so I will."
Inasa hugs her tighter. "Toph, how can you just say cool stuff like that? You're so quotable, like a pro hero, ne, Shouto?"
Shouto doesn't answer at first, and Toph gets the feeling she's being stared at. Twinkletoes is hugging the hell out of her, and Shouto is touching her feet, and suddenly Toph isn't cold at all. In fact, she's very warm, and maybe feels like melting or punching someone. She vows to punch Inasa twice when this is over.
"Yeah," Shouto says finally, and Inasa waits for him to say more, but he doesn't.
"Wah!" The wind boy exclaims. "You're just as cool! So mysterious! I like it!"
"...Thanks?"
Toph rolls her eyes. "We need a plan. I don't want any of those kids getting hurt. You guys don't have to fight if you don't want to, but—"
"Are you kidding, Toph?" Twinkletoes interrupts, "No way are you gonna fight alone! We're all gonna save each other, aren't we?" He looks to Shouto.
"I can fight," he says solemnly. "But they might have guns, and more tranquilizer bullets to knock us out," he reminds them.
"Ha! I won't let that hit me again!" Inasa declares. "I was caught off-guard before, but I'm fast! I can blow them away if I see it coming."
"Just don't blow me away too," Toph mumbles. "I'll tell you if I hear any guns being drawn. I know what they sound like now. So, here's what I know about the villains down there…"
The three elemental children huddle together, Toph squished between them, as they discuss their plan. They probably take longer than they should, and have to stop frequently to check on the younger kids, but finally, Toph untangles herself from the boys and gets to her feet. The boys go over to keep the little ones calm, and Shouto forms a careful wall of ice so that none of them try to follow them out.
She cracks her knuckles and stretches her arms, spreading her legs until she's standing in a deep squat, firmly balanced on the warmed metal floor. Then she takes a deep breath and screams, "HEY YOU DUNDERHEADS DID YOU FORGET ABOUT ME?!" while striking the metal with both hands precisely. It doesn't move, but Toph isn't worried.
She stomps the ground again, hands flying out. "IF YOU THINK YOU CAN STOP ME, YOU'RE DEAD WRONG!" She declares, punching the walls before her.
"Oh great, the girl's at it again," Chewing Gum is the first to complain. None of them come near the container this time, already familiar with her tantrum. "C'mon kid, pipe down. It's not like there's anyone around to hear you!"
Toph roars back, still working the metal. It's hard. Brittle and unyielding. She slams her hands down again, searching. She screams, a battle cry and a shout of frustration at the same time. "C'mon, metal," Toph mutters to herself, folding an arm and striking with a hard elbow. Her hands are beginning to ache. "Move."
Toph leans back, and then punches the wall decisively—and her teeth rattle as the wall sings to her again. She huffs out a laugh and does it again, ignoring the spike of pain down her left arm. Her knuckles might be bleeding by now, but it doesn't matter. Toph punches once more, readying herself.
"Here we go, nerds!" Toph shouts back to Shouto and Inasa, turning her attention to the far side of the box, out of the villains' sight. She slides back into her stance. The boys shift, bracing themselves.
Toph explodes through the wall, the metal screeching terribly, and wastes no time tearing a hole large enough for them to escape through.
"What the fuck was that?" A woman demands. Toph is ready. Twinkletoes is practically vibrating in excitement. Shouto's heart rate picks up.
Inasa screams out a heartfelt battlecry as he leaps off the top of the shipping container, aiming straight for the Flutterfoot, the woman who walks on air. The woman dodges, and that's when Toph strikes from below, punching out with a boulder and throwing her across the warehouse. Shouto freezes her carefully in place.
Toph laughs maniacally as she reveals herself to the eight others, drawing their eyes. "WHO'S NEXT?!"
