My mom woke me up the next morning. Apparently, she'd been wanting to talk to me for days, but I was never around anymore. She perched softly on the end of my bed as I wrestled a brush through my hair. "Sweetheart," she said hesitantly. I glanced over, a hair tie clenched in my teeth. "Well, it's just that… I'm worried about you. About what you want to do," she paused and searched my face, "You've been to the hospital twice in the last couple of weeks. The second time, you were pretty badly hurt. I don't want you doing this Hero thing if you're going to get hurt so much." I opened my mouth to protest, but she held up a hand and stopped me with a glare. Then her blue eyes softened, "You know we all love you, honey. You're so tired, lately, too. Every day, you come home, stuff your face, shower, and pass out. Maybe we get a smooch. Besides last night, that was the most we saw of you."

Pink rose in my cheeks as last night's memory freshened in my mind. Ugh, so embarrassing! "With your internship's last day being today, I want you to remember us, okay? Don't forget about the people who mean the most." She stood up and made for the door, all long legs and perfect grace, but paused with her hand on the doorknob, "Also, the trash needs to go out." I groaned as she shut it gently behind her.

When I was all dressed (in a powder blue sundress that had a plunging back for my wings, a shit ton of costume golden bracelets and armbands with a set of matching lightning-shaped earrings, and a pair of white sandals), I made my way to the bathroom to do my hair. Today, I was doing a press conference with Endeavor and Todoroki. All part of being a Hero, right? I settled on two low pigtails and a jagged golden headband for my hair. Actually, it was getting a little long, almost brushing my chin. I'd have to get it cut at some point.

On the flight to the Agency, my stomach was all tied up in knots. "Did I look professional enough?" "How many pictures would they be taking?" And other unhelpful questions bounced around in my skull. They finally went away as I landed and tucked my adorable (gold-studded, it has to match the jewelry) white clutch under my arm. The lobby was absolutely swarming with cameras and microphones as I barged through the crowd. Endeavor and Todoroki were already seated at a huge three-person desk at the center of it all, clad in impeccable matching suits. I plopped down in my chair, "Sorry I'm late, Endeavor-sensei," I chirped, smoothing down some awry feathers. Endeavor grunted as a camera flash went off a few meters away.

Endeavor said through gritted teeth to us, "Look pretty. Say nothing." I nodded fervently, plastering a sparkling grin on my face. Todoroki managed to not-scowl. As the press began rattling off their questions, I kind of zoned out. After all, it's kind of hard to focus when you're not doing anything.

"Miss Arashi? Miss Arashi!"

I snapped back to the real world, surprised to see a microphone centimeters from my face. The news lady on the other side was red-faced and breathless, "How do you explain the violent weather seen on the night of the Hero Killer's attack? Were you there? Did you see the man up close?" I swallowed and looked to Endeavor, who was clearly not pleased that a news lady had climbed up on his table. He looked down his nose, Watch what you say. I put on my best PR smile, "Well, I was patrolling with Endeavor, ma'am. When the Hero Killer attacked, Endeavor was able to take him down pretty easily. The weather was responding to my upset mood, but there wasn't any real damage done." I batted my mascara-clumpy eyelashes, hoping that she would leave me the hell alone.

How wrong I was.

"But," she pressed on, "The Hero Killer's wounds were described as intense burns- electrical burns- and-" I smiled, a tiny bit of danger leaking into my expression. My patented I'm going to do lasting damage to your spine if you say another word smile. My voice dripped with false sweetness as I drawled, "Well, ma'am, lots of burns look alike. I'd be happy to show you if you'd prefer." Her eyes got wide, and her mouth opened and closed like a fish before she clambered off the table and meekly skittered away.

I glanced over to Endeavor. His eyebrows were raised and a tiny ghost of a smile was on his lips. Was he happy that I had just threatened a news person? The rest of the conference flew by, and no one else tried to ask me any questions. Todoroki got a few, but besides that we were silent.

We met Endeavor in his office afterward. The lights were actually on for once, but Endeavor still glowed like a candle. "Thank you," Endeavor boomed, "For joining my Agency for the week and growing as Heroes and people." He stood and bowed slightly, flames licking at the ceiling. Todoroki and I bowed in unison, "Thank you, Endeavor-sensei!"

The rest of the day flew (heh, bird pun) by. Burnin gave us our training clothes to take home, and we got a little patch to go on our costumes that signified that we were once with Endeavor Agency. Mine were tiny golden flame buttons on the high collar of my bodysuit. Todoroki's was a blaze of red crawling up his sleeve. Endeavor bid us farewell without a word as Burnin whisked us to the train station. "Thanks for a hell of a week," I said to Todoroki as Burnin's motorcycle screamed away from the curb. He nodded, offering me his hand. I took it, duh, and shook it obnoxiously hard, "See ya on Monday, ice cube." I saluted him and took off, beelining for home.

And…

Nobody was home.

So much for family time.

I did, however, get a text from the group chat. A few of the girls were going to a place called I-Island for a support item expo. Momo's dad had received an invitation, and she got a few plus-ones to bring along. She picked me, Uraraka, and Jiro. And cue the snowflakes. I brushed a centimeter of snow from my laptop and quickly Boogled the island. A support-item and Quirk-research paradise. Nice.

So when my parents got home, I was immediately on them. Mom brought up our discussion from earlier. That stung a bit, but I was too devious to be defeated. "But, Mom," I whined, "Support items can keep me safer!" Quick glance between the parents. She's got a point. Finally, they relented! I packed my suitcase and lifted off to I-Island the next morning.

My brothers insisted I video-chat with them the whole flight there, so I pulled my phone out of my cargo pants and rung them up. I couldn't really hear them over the wind, but it was nice to see their adorable faces. For two hours, I sped my flight along with a probably-too-powerful wind until I saw the colorful man-made shore of I-Island.

The girls were waiting at the airport, dressed in their costumes. A customs official with the head of a goat pointed me to a bathroom so I could change. My costume went on again, and I met them on the unloading ramp. "Hey gorls!" I screeched, skidding to a stop next to them. Uraraka jumped and Momo facepalmed, but Jiro gave me a fist bump for my efforts. "I'm so excited I'm so excited I'm so excited I'm so excited!" I mumbled as we made our way to the expo itself.

Fireworks exploded over huge arena-like buildings that sparkled in the sun. The paths were lined with fragrant flowers in every color of the rainbow. I paused to pick a few and shove them into the girls' hair against their will. Momo got a red one, Uraraka a pink one, Jiro a purple one, and I got a yellow one. We walked through the modern city streets, gawking at Heroes and items advertised in store windows. People all around were "Oooooh" and "Aaaaahhh"-ing at the same items we were.

We wandered around for a while until the girls decided on the building they wanted to go into. The sign blazed above us in bright neon letters. "Personal Vehicles." I hesitated at the entrance. Momo paused, "Aren't you coming?" I stuck my lip out in a pout, "You guys know I can't use literally any of those, right?" Jiro shrugged, "They're still cool to look at, I guess." I grumbled and followed them in, "Fine." They wandered around pointing at shiny personal jets and sleek submarines, me tagging along like a lost puppy. The only invention I thought was cool was a hoverboard with stylized lightning blazing across its deck. Momo had to drag me away as I tried to hand the man advertising it a wad of bills.

"Hey," Uraraka said, cutting through the drone of the crowd, "Is that Deku?" I poked my head around Momo's ponytail, "Deku? Like, Midoriya?" Sure enough, he and a blonde-haired girl were talking across the room near a diving suit display. Jiro plugged her earphone jacks into a pillar. "Don't you think it's rude to eavesdrop?" I asked. None of them responded. "Oh my gosh, guys. Let's go say hi!" I herded them with my arms and wings (more like shoved, to be honest) over to Midoriya and the girl. Uraraka went ahead to greet them. I tried to hide behind Momo, but I was half a head taller than her and it didn't really work. And my wings made me easily twice as broad. "Hey, Haruto?" Jiro piped up. I made a "hmm?" noise. "What was all that a couple nights ago? There was some crazy weather and I heard there was a lot of lightning. Then Endeavor manages to snare the Hero Killer. You okay?" I blushed and semi-subconsciously rubbed my scarred shoulder, "Well, yeah. It's still kind of sensitive. I'd be happy to talk with you guys about it once all the media stuff's blown over."

She shrugged and thankfully let it be. I not-so-gently squirmed my way past and bounced over to the blonde girl, offering my hand in a standard American greeting. "Hi!" I chirped in (heavily accented) English, "I'm Arashi Ha- wait, Haruto Arashi! I always forget that your names are in a different order, and-" She smiled, taking my hand gently, "It's totally fine," she responded in Japanese, "I'm surprised how fluent you are in English! I'm Melissa." I grinned, shaking her hand vigorously, "Thanks, my mom's American. It's a real pleasure to meet you, Melissa!" She bowed kind of awkwardly, her hair flopping into her face, then straightened up crookedly. "How do y'all do that so much? It hurts my back?" I smiled and shrugged.

Melissa ended up taking us to a Hero-themed cafe around the corner from the transportation building. I got an Endeavor coffee, which was boiling hot and spicy as hell. As I choked and hacked on my drink, the girls were warming up to Melissa really nicely. Midoriya was talking to a pair of waiters that looked strangely familiar… holy shit! It was Kaminari and Mineta! They were gawking at Melissa as none other than Iida sprinted up to our table. I don't know why I was surprised anymore. Giving them a half-hearted hello, my focus snapped to an explosion in the distance. "Hey Momo?" I said, shifting my head on my hand to look in the direction of the sound, "Didn't the guidebook say there was an obstacle course?"

I flew overhead as the group (besides Mineta and Kaminari, they still had jobs to do) went to explore. Okay, sign. Me. Up. There was a mini landform with robots stationed sporadically around it, someone blasting from one to another with… explosions. Now Bakugo was here, too? So was Kirishima, apparently. The lady at the foot of the mountain raised her hand to the crowd, "First place!" she squealed into her microphone. Bakugo swaggered into the stands. As he began yelling at our classmates, I lined up to take a shot at the course. The lady balked a little at my height, but waved me forward nonetheless. I bounced on my toes as the timer clicked down. Then I became a blur.

My lightning whips appeared in my hands, and a tiny storm raged above. Lightning and my whips decimated the robots as I soared above, darting through the air. I landed with a thump next to the lady as the first drops of rain plopped onto our cheeks. The last robot fell to its knees as the sun poked out again. I coiled my whips and nocked them onto my hips as the lady announced my score. Fifteen seconds. Not half bad. I flew back over to where my class was clustered on the stands. Bakugo looked like he wanted to blow my brains to the moon. As I landed with a thump, I made a face, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He stomped up, so that his snarl was centimeters from my face, "How the hell did you get that time? First Deku, now you." I shrugged, flashing my canines in a dangerous grin, "Maybe I was holding back. I know I could do better than that." His face flushed crimson as his mouth opened to retort, but the lady shouted another time. Fourteen seconds. This time, both Bakugo and I were hauling ass over to whoever the time belonged to. Todoroki. Was the whole damn class here? Bakugo was all up in his face, demanding to know why he was there and how the hell Todoroki had beaten his score. I eventually shoved in between them, squishing in my wings to press them apart. Bakugo kept trying to shove past, and Kirishima had to come help me hold him back.

When Bakugo finally cooled off (with a stinging blast of rain from yours truly), I knocked a knuckle on the top of his head, "Can you not try to kill anyone on vacation, please?" He growled, "Damn half-'n'-half bastard. Damn time. Damn you." I elbowed him in the ribs, a smile spreading on my face, "Well damn you, too, sparkles." He returned my smile. One of his teeth was chipped. So even the invincible sparkles came away from fights unscathed.

I met back up with Midoriya, Melissa and the girls just as they were leaving the stadium. "Hey, Arashi!" Melissa chirped, "Your Quirk is amazing!" Then she paused and turned to the group, "So I know Arashi's and Deku's, but what are yours?" I piped up, "You can call me Haruto!" But no one was paying attention. Momo Created a little nesting doll and handed it to Melissa as Jiro plugged her jacks into her phone and pumped metal music through the speakers on her boots. Melissa's face lit up with excitement when Ochaco tapped her shoulder and she wobbled up. I took off to steady her, flying her in a slow lap above the group. She giggled and whooped the whole way back to the ground.

As we walked past the cafe from earlier, Melissa paused to give Kaminari and Mineta tickets to the gala later that night. Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for said gala. Iida demanded that we be back in the lobby by 1830 sharp. I checked my watch. It was only about 1700 anyway. So I took a power nap when the girls and I got up to our room. I was out for about half an hour before Momo shook me awake and shoved a dress in my face.

It was a black, sleeveless, off-shoulder dress with a flouncy skirt that brushed my knees. I mumbled a thanks before stumbling to the bathroom and pulling it on. And what do you know? My scar was like the feature piece of the whole damn ensemble. I moped out, and the girls descended on me like a storm cloud. "What's that?" Ochaco asked innocently, pointing at my shoulder. I cringed, "I was injured on a patrol with Endeavor." Please don't ask any more questions. "Were you there when he caught the Hero Killer?" Jiro echoed. I noped back into the bathroom, "Yes, but I had absolutely nothing to do with it. Goodbye!" Taking the excuse to put on my costume jewelry from the press conference and do my hair and makeup gave me an extra few minutes of solitude. I braided a little headband of my hair with a gold ribbon and lined my eyes with a stupid amount of black eyeliner and shimmery gold eyeshadow. Then I wound one of my sparking whips around my waist like a belt, completing my outfit.

Ochaco was adorable in a fluffy pink dress and an obnoxiously large bow. Jiro looked as metal as ever with her studded leather jacket and high tops. Momo looked like a goddamn model in a mint green evening gown. And of course, I looked ready to go pound someone to a pulp like I always did. We trooped down to the lobby, where Midoriya and Iida were already waiting. Both of them were in tuxes, but Midoriya's looked a little too big. Kaminari and Mineta appeared, still in their waiting uniforms (which were snazzy black and white suits). Iida was pissed that Todoroki, Bakugo, and Kirishima hadn't shown up and didn't text him or anything to imply that they were going to the party at all. Finally, Melissa came out of the elevator in a cute cornflower blue dress with a sweetheart neckline.

My phone beeped. I pulled it out of the secret pocket in my dress. My dad was here! I sent an angry text back somewhere along the lines of: "Why didn't you tell me?!" So, apparently, he was called on reserve a few hours ago by Sir Nighteye to come represent his Agency, because Sir Nighteye was too introverted to show up himself. As we waited in the lobby, an emergency klaxon blared over PAs. Somewhere on the island, there was an explosive device, and everything was going into lockdown. I put my phone away as huge steel sheets slid over the doors and windows, effectively trapping us in the lobby. We backed into each other. "What the hell?" I grumbled. Melissa was trembling a lot. Uraraka wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she said, "This isn't standard protocol for explosive devices."

I nodded, "Something's wrong, isn't it?" Then I groaned, "Can't we ever get a day off?" The elevators weren't working either. It was like someone had cut power to the whole damn building. Melissa led us to some emergency stairs as the A/C turned off. It was blistering hot in a few minutes. Todoroki intercepted us on the stairs, wearing the same suit he'd worn at the press conference. His icy aura really helped turn down the heat. Eventually, we came to a landing near a balcony overlooking the gala. I flew Jiro and Midoriya up, so we could look down at the ballroom.

Holy.

Fucking.

Shit.

Every visiting Pro was restrained by some kind of advanced laser rope things, and masked people with machine guns and rifles paced around the terrified partygoers. A tall dude with a metal face mask was leading two men away at gunpoint. "Hey," I whispered, "Isn't that Melissa's dad?" Midoriya leaned forward, little puffs of his breath fogging the glass. "And… my dad," I said, softer that time. He was tied with more glowy junk than the other Heroes. The wings and his temper made sure of that. He was actually spouting off at a nearby gunman, pulling at the ropes. That's my dad. Midoriya signaled All Might (who was restrained on the floor) with the reflection of my whip's glow in his phone screen, and Jiro plugged into the floor so All Might could whisper to us. The villain (the metal mask dude) had taken over the island's wicked powerful security system. Everyone on the island was a hostage. I smiled ruefully, "Except us." Midoriya returned my expression as I flew them back down.

Midoriya quickly briefed everyone else as to what was going on. All Might wanted us to bail and go find help. Like. Hell. Everyone quickly agreed not to fight the villains head-on. "We don't want a Stain situation," I muttered, rubbing my shoulder, "And besides, anyone who's not combat-ready would be in danger." Uraraka and Melissa nodded. "Should I fly back to the mainland and look for help?" I asked softly as a tentative plan was made (get to the top floor where the security system was and shut it down so the Pros could take over). Todoroki appeared at my side, "We'll need your size and speed later. But be ready." I nodded with a grunt.

So began the long trek up 200 flights of stairs. Mineta lagged behind most of the way, but Iida, Midoriya, Todoroki, and I led the pack. If anyone tried to stop us (which was unlikely. No one in the building would be taking the stairs this high up), we'd be the best line of defense. We kept going until we reached the eightieth floor. "It's blocked!" I breathed in disbelief. A huge metal wall blocked off the entire hallway. I balled my fists, "Should I blow it open?" Melissa shook her head, "It'll alert the security system." Mineta said from behind us, "What about this door?"

Before Melissa could stop him, he pulled a lever and opened a door to a smooth metal hallway. A little red light blinked on almost immediately. I moved forward and grabbed the front of his suit, "You idiot!" I growled, "You just told them exactly where we are!" I threw him to the ground as everyone else sprinted for a door at the end of the hall. He scrambled after them. "Wait! Wait!" I shouted, pointing to the walls, "Are those electric barricades?" Melissa looked up, "Yes. Why?" I grinned, "Close the door if you value your brains." With a quick billion volts, the hallway's security system was completely (and probably permanently) disabled. We ran through the hallway to the door.

It led out into some kind of botany lab. The walls were crawling with every species of plant imaginable. "Look!" Jiro said, pointing to the other side of the room, "The elevator's coming up this way!" I glanced up, "I can hide everyone in the trees!" With everyone safely concealed in the thick leaves of a huge oak tree, we held our breaths as two villain grunts emerged. "We see you, stupid kids," one of them snapped. We froze. What would we do? "I could tell you the same thing," a familiar voice growled back. "It's Bakugo!" I hissed as he and Kirishima wandered into view. The situation quickly deteriorated, and Todoroki and I joined a fight with the grunts. One had some kind of matter manipulation Quirk, and the other one was suddenly a hulking monster.

"Can I fry them?" I deadpanned as Kirishima was flung into a nearby wall. Todoroki grunted as he used an ice block to lift everyone else to safety, "We're not allowed to fight them. You know what happened last time." I whined back, "I know I'm on thin ice, but it's just two guys. And Bakugo's blowing the big one up!" He glared at me from the corner of his eye, "Don't." I grinned, then shouted, "Hey, idiots! Get off the floor!" I grabbed my whip from my dress and summoned my other one. Wind whipped around the room as I spun them over my head, whooping and laughing, before slamming them onto the villains and giving them a tiny (ha! Understatement of the century) shock.

I dusted my hands off on my skirt as the boys staggered back to their feet, dismissing both of my whips. Todoroki did not look pleased, "You had a weapon the whole time?" I gasped in fake shock, "You didn't?" Even Bakugo looked mildly surprised. After retrieving Kirishima, who was stuck in the wall (he just had to turn off his Quirk. Stupid.), Bakugo blew a hole in the side of the building and I flew them up to the next landing. Huge turbines sat in rows on the secondary roof of the tower. "Wow," Kirishima quavered, "We're up really high." I smiled coyly and grabbed his arm, "Are you… scared of heights?" He swallowed, and Bakugo barked a laugh. Our little moment was cut short when we heard a scream.

My eyes snapped to the sky. None other than Midoriya and Melissa were flying up through the air toward a flimsy-looking catwalk. "I have to help!" I shouted. Uraraka was facing off against a huge squad of security robots. The boys made quick work of them as I flew up to help Midoriya and Melissa. Midoriya punched a hole in the wall, and I dropped them in, following them into a stairwell. I braced my hands on my knees as my head pounded. Whew, was I near my time limit! "Are you guys okay?" I panted. Midoriya and Melissa nodded shakily, staggering to their feet. I was pretty sure we were safe until someone slammed Midoriya out the window. I was able to throw my wings in front of Melissa just as a blade arced down on her. A grunt burst out of my throat as the blade bit into my wing. "What the hell?" I growled, grabbing the arm it belonged to and soundly breaking it. The man cried out and staggered back, cradling his arm.

Midoriya swung himself back inside and smashed that fucker into the nearest wall. "Are you okay?!" he practically screeched at Melissa. She nodded, showing off a cut on her arm. I kicked the unconscious body of the attacker, "Damned bastard. He must have caught you before I blocked it." She stuck her tongue out at his mangled arm, "How did you learn to do that?" My only response was, "Don't worry about it." Midoriya and Melissa went ahead as I thoroughly restrained the villain. I only stopped when I heard gunshots. And I've never run so fast in my life. Midoriya was pinned to the wall of a huge, open room with ribbons of metal, and Melissa was on the ground, blood leaking from her nose. The two men I'd seen earlier were also on the ground. One was groaning in pain, clutching at his shoulder. The other one…

I didn't want to think about it.

The metal mask dud was there again, and he was clearly the big issue here. "Midoriya!" I shouted, "Are you okay?!" He opened his mouth to respond, but another ribbon of metal slapped over his mouth. Oooookaaaay. I was starting to lose my cool. I turned slowly, adjusting one of my bracelets and some of the rings on my fingers, "Hello, sir," I said cordially, striding toward him. His hand hovered over the metal wall. Ah. A metal-manipulation Quirk. I couldn't help the ghost of a smile that appeared on my lips. I probably looked like a crazy person, my hair wild, black makeup smeared around my eyes, a streak of red across my chest from where blood from my wing had splattered. "If you don't mind," I said, a bit of danger leaking into my tone, "I'm going to ask you to surrender yourself." A feral, savage grin crossed my face, "Please."

"I've heard about you," he responded, keeping his hand steady, "You're the one who took down Stain. The Thunderbird." I spread my hands grandly, bowing slightly, "The one and only... You know that if you don't cooperate that I'm going to have to hurt you, right?" He chuckled, raising a tiny pistol at me, "You can try." The first shot might as well have been a joke. I sidestepped it easily and took a few long steps forward. Midoriya was struggling like a champ in the back of the room, and I could hear him tear some of the metal. Lightning sparked at my fingertips and the corners of my eyes as I got closer to the still-firing villain. If he hit me…

I tried something I never had before. Blood ran through veins, right? So why couldn't lightning? A bullet fizzled as it struck my collarbone, a little streak of ash marring my dress. "Well. You've just crossed a line, my friend. No one. Ruins. My. Clothes!" I roared, finally moving fast. The lightning I'd woven through my body was powerful. Electric. I was moving faster than I ever had. My whips came to me like a second thought as I charged forward. I kicked one of my high heels at the guy, and the spike dragged across his cheek, leaving a crimson stripe. A laugh burst out of my throat as more bullets made contact with my power, only to be incinerated. I knew I was heating up the room with all my electricity, but I went cold when the barrel of the villain's gun swung toward Melissa.

Midoriya finally broke free and scooped up Melissa as a bullet tore through the air. I took that as a cue to swing my remaining heel into the villain's side. And I almost made it. "Dammit!" I screamed as a spike of metal stabbed straight through my leg. Lightning sizzled down it, electrifying most of the floor. The villain jerked and convulsed some, but used his spike to fling me into the air. A huge wall followed me, blocking Midoriya from attacking, and slamming into my back.

Melissa bolted for the door. Midoriya went with her (to keep the villain's lackeys off of her back), while I kept on the villain. "You don't know how to fucking give up!" I snarled, my whips swirling toward the villain. Two pillars thrust out of the walls. With a quick glance making sure that Melissa and Midoriya were out of range, I electrified the whole damn room. That was enough. Just enough time.

The villain decided to make the worst mistake of his life right then.

That goddamned fucker decided to shoot me.

The bullet went straight into my thigh, burning pain following it. Tears streamed down my face as a cry ripped out of my throat. I struck the guy with a blast of wind as he turned to focus on Midoriya, chucking him into the wall. Midoriya was trapped under a pile of metal, so I landed and used wind to pry it off of him. The villain scurried off, hiking the unconscious guy over his shoulder. Once Midoriya was free, I used my wings to help him up, "C'mon, hotshot," I coughed, cutting off my sentence, "They took Melissa's dad." He struggled to his feet. "Why don't we fly up and say hello?" Midoriya nodded, blinking blood out of his eyes.

I ripped (yet another) hole in the tower wall and carried him out and up. A military helicopter was parked on the roof, and the villains were piling into it. When we set down, I hopped awkwardly before tripping over myself and face-planting. Midoriya was already up and running at the villain. "Deku!" I shouted, my voice raw, "If you can get Melissa's dad out, I can fry 'em for ya!" I muscled myself to my feet, favoring my uninjured leg. The rotor on the helicopter was already spinning, so I used wind to rip that sucker off. Surprised shouts issued from the cockpit as the rotor sliced into the side of the chopper.

Midoriya (wait, no. He deserved his Hero name.)- Deku, was launched backward by another combination of pillar attacks from the villain. I used the temporary distraction to launch into the air, a helluva storm brewing above me. This guy wasn't going to be taken down by a bunch of damned kitten tickles. I tucked in my wings and dove toward the open doors of the helicopter as sharp sleet lanced through the sky. With a swift scoop, I nabbed the unconscious scientist and circled back. But not before a pillar rammed me to the side. Damn was this guy fast.

Metal cords yanked Melissa's dad away from me and vice-gripped my wings. "Shit!" I cried, sending powerful electricity down the wires, but they severed before I could do any damage. I fell for a solid five seconds before landing- hard- on the roof.

Blink. Fuck. Blink. Better. I sat up groggily, scanning the shitfest before me. It was like the whole damn tower was alive and angry as hell. Oh boy. Ice and explosions popped up periodically. Todoroki and Bakugo were here. I could see the rest of the class huddled on an outcrop. Melissa was laying horrifyingly still on another. I struggled to my feet, hissing as my weight landed on my injured leg. Someone landed next to me, ducking under my arm and hoisting it over their shoulders. "The hell are you doing?" I growled, trying and failing miserably to pull away. "Saving your ass," Bakugo snapped back. He helped me hobble over to the other students. Iida took most of my weight as Bakugo blasted off again. "I have to help!" I protested. Iida shoved me down, "Sit down before you bleed out. All Might and our classmates have it under control." As if some kind of glorious fate was in play, All Might and Deku slammed the villain into next year.

Bakugo reappeared, missing most of his shirt, and half-dragged me to a nearby emergency room with Kirishima. Thankfully, the bullet had missed the bone in my leg, and the lady with the healing Quirk was able to fix me up nicely. I was missing my shoes, and both of the boys were missing chunks of their shirts and jackets, but we were otherwise fine. When they deposited me back at my hotel, I bowed to them, even though both of them were younger than me, "I really appreciate it, guys. Y'know, the whole saving my sorry ass business." Kirishima was flustered, but Bakugo scoffed, "The only payment I want is to never let you live this down!" I absolutely gaped as Kirishima snorted. Then both of them stopped laughing suddenly and took a couple steps back. "The hell, guys? I'm not that scary," I offered. Their eyes looked decisively up. Oh.

I turned around to see my dad towering over me. "Were you ever gonna tell me that you went and got yourself shot, Haruto?" I winced, looking over my shoulder to the boys, "if you value your lives, run." Kirishima waved as he and Bakugo speed-walked away. "What are you doin', kid?" Papa said tiredly, "After the Stain incident-" I cut him off, wincing harder, "I know, Papa. It won't happen again." He sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Why in hell are you so reckless?" I smiled cheekily, "I learned from the best!" He knocked his knuckle on my head, "Go back to your hotel, kid. We're flyin' home tomorrow at 0800 hours." I mock-saluted him, pivoting on my bare feet, "Yessir!" He guffawed as I marched off into the night.

Okay, this ran shorter than I expected. Can't wait to get back into the main storyline, too.