This document beta'd by kylekatarn77 and Poliamida
True Colors
Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.
-Helen Keller
After only a few minutes of running, Bakugo was forced to slow down, his lungs burning. He ducked low, trying to avoid the smoke. His eyes watered and he couldn't quite see, but he was determined to press on. He became disoriented, his mind swimming. He couldn't think. What was happening? How was he-
"Bakugo!"
Out of the trees came Yaoyorozu and Todoroki, along with Tetsutetsu and Shiozaki. They all had on gas masks.
"What's going on?" Bakugo coughed. "Where's Shinso?"
"We don't know!" Yaoyorozi said. Her quirk activated, sparkling light coming out of her exposed navel. A gas mask appeared, and she ran up to Bakugo and handed it to him. "There's some sort of poison gas! Put this on."
Bakugo complied, slipping the mask on over his face. After a couple of clean breaths, his head cleared. "I ran into Muscular earlier, but there have to be more villains."
"Muscular?" Tetsutestu said. "Damn, that guys got a body count nearly as big as Stain's. How'd you survive?"
For a moment Bakugo almost either told him to shut up or lied and said that he fought off Muscular, but he swallowed his pride and said, "Shinso and Uraraka saved me. I couldn't even dent the guy. He's bad news."
"You couldn't hurt him?" Todoroki asked, sounding worried. "That's bad. You're one of our strongest fighters."
"Yeah, thanks Icy-Hot. Maybe both of us could take him down together, but alone we'd be screwed," Bakugo said. "We've got to find Shinso and the others before Muscular and the other villains do."
"We're supposed to report back to camp," Shiozaka said. "We should do that, we don't want to get ourselves into further trouble."
"I'm not leaving Shinso alone!" Bakugo ranted. "He saved my ass, and I'm not going to let him get himself killed!"
"Where's Uraraka?" Todoroki demanded. "Did you leave her alone?"
Bakugo shrugged. "I pointed her and the kid towards the highway, told them to get the hell out of here. Shinso just took off running back to camp when I told him Muscular was after someone in particular. I think maybe it's him."
"Why would Muscular be after Shinso?" Testutestu asked.
Shiozaka frowned. "Many assume that Shinso must be a villain himself, because of his quirk. I-"
"He's not a villain!" Bakugo snapped. He shouldered his way forward. "You idiots can do whatever you want. I'm finding him."
"Wait," Shiozaka said, putting a hand on Bakugo's shoulder. He glared at her, but she just tightened her grip. "I will not allow you to face this peril alone. You walk the path of repentance. I do not believe Shinso to be a Judas. I shall accompany you."
"I don't like this, but I'm coming too," Yaoyoruzu said. "If you run into that flame quirk user, you'll be in trouble."
"The same goes for me. If Muscular is there, everyone's in danger," Todoroki said. He turned back the way they'd come, his expression grim. "But that means getting past both the fire and that gas."
"We'll pound our way through!" Tetsutestu vowed, smashing his hands together, sparks flying up as he activated his metallic quirk.
"The fog gets denser through there?" Bakugo demanded.
"Yes, we had to run to get away from it and that villain that attacked us, but it seemed to fade the further away we ran," Yaoyorozu explained.
Bakugo grinned. "Well, that means someone is controlling it. And I bet we find them at the thickest point in the fog. We'll pound them and then find Shinso and the others."
They hurried forward, and soon the gas thickened, filling the air and swirling about in strange phantom shapes. Bakugo kept on towards where it was thickest, and soon they could barely see where they were going. Just as they were reaching the center, another message echoed in Bakugo's mind.
ATTENTION: THESE VILLAINS ARE HIGHLY DANGEROUS. YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO USE YOUR QUIRKS TO DEFEND YOURSELVES AND TAKE OUT FOES. TRY TO REMAIN TOGETHER AND REGROUP AT THE CABINS.
"Well that sounds ominous," Todoroki said.
Tetsutetsu laughed. "Hey, at least we won't get in trouble now! We can-"
There was a sharp crack and then a loud clang, and Tetsutetsu fell to the ground, his mask shattered.
"Gun!" Yaoyorozu cried, flinging herself to the ground.
"You fools have fallen right into my trap! You UA Students think you're so much-"
"Todoroki! Fire!" Bakugo yelled, then leaped to the side with an explosion fueled jump. Todoroki unleashed a wave of flame that burned away the nearby mists, revealing a boy Bakugo's own age in a gas mask and Stahlmhelm.
"What?" the boy gasped. He fired again at Todoroki, but a wall of ice erupted between them, and the bullet lodged itself harmlessly.
Bakugo leapt forward, but before he could do anything vines sprang out of the ground, wrapping themselves around the villain and ripping his mask from his face and enveloping the gun. He coughed and spluttered, and the gas began to rapidly disperse.
"You shall atone for your sins!" Shiozaki said, striding forward. The boy she had captured wheezed and gasped, his fingers twitching.
"You damn pampered brats!" the boy spluttered. "You'll pay for this! You all will! I-"
Bakugo slammed his fist into the boy's gut, grinning widely. "You know who I am, freak?"
The boy wheezed and nodded. "You're...you're that idiot who lost the Sports Festival who-"
This time, Bakugo punched the boy in the side of his jaw. He was careful not to make it a clean hit, he didn't want to knock the kid out. The boy moaned, then spat out a tooth and some blood.
"Bakugo!" Yaoyorozu gasped. "What are you doing?"
"I've been pissed for a while," Bakugo laughed. "It's finally time I got to beat the snot out of someone!"
"I cannot allow you to simply-" Shiozaki began, but Todoroki put a hand on her shoulder.
"Let him. We can't afford to leave him alive behind us. It's better this way."
Bakugo grinned. He wondered if Todoroki had figured out his plan, or if he was just a coldblooded bastard. Either way, it worked for Bakugo.
"What? No! You're supposed to be heroes! You can't kill me!" the boy said, panicked now, struggling wildly against the restraining vines.
Bakugo laughed and took off his mask. He knew he had to look like hell, his eyes bloodshot from the smoke and gas, his face smeared with blood and grime. "Do I look like a hero to you?" he whispered, leaning in close.
The other boy moaned, and Bakugo suddenly smelled the sharp stink of urine. It was working. He punched the boy again in the stomach. Not too hard, but he would feel it. The boy retched and groaned.
"Why should I leave you alive?" Bakugo demanded. "You tried to kill me. Turn about is fair play."
"I-I can tell you about the others!" the boy babbled. "I can, um, I can give you information! Yes, lots of information!"
"Pff. I think I'll just kill you." Bakugo lit off an explosion in one hand, grinning madly. "I've always wanted to see what color people's brains are when they're cooked!"
"Listen," Todaroki said, pushing Bakugo to the side. "I don't have a problem ending your worthless life. My father is Endeavor. You might have heard of him. He's got the most arrests, but he's also got the highest body count as far as heros go. I've got the same philosophy: A jail cell, or a body bag. The pay's the same."
"I'll tell you anything!" the boy babbled. "Please, just let me live!"
"How many of you are there?" Todoroki demanded.
"There's nine of us! Muscular, Moonfish, Dabi, Toga, Compress, Magne, Spinner, Twice, and me, Mustard!" the boy babbled.
"He's lying. Kill him," Todoroki said, turning away.
Bakugo leered and lit off a series of small explosions from his hands.
Mustard started weeping. "No! I swear, that's everyone!"
"We saw the one with the chainsaws," Todoroki said, turning his back. "You're of no use to us."
"What?! That's just a nomu! It's a mindless beast, it doesn't count! Dabi can control it, but it's just a weapon! Please, you have to believe me!"
"Pff, names don't mean anything," Bakugo said, stepping closer. He sent a small blast over Mustard's head, burning some of his hair and adding to the stink.
"Their quirks! Oh god, don't kill me, I'll tell you their quirks!" Mustard pleaded.
"I know Muscular's and Moonfish's already," Bakugo cackled. "Moonfish does the thing with his teeth, and Muscular has that enhancing quirk. What good is knowing about the others?"
"Dabi makes flames! He's weak to his own fire though, he can burn himself! Compress can make things small, he hides them in these little balls! Toga's insane! Her quirk lets her take people's shape, clothes and all by drinking their blood, and she has all these knives! Um, Twice can duplicate anyone but himself, he's nutso too."
"Keep talking," Todoroki said, pulling Bakugo back slightly.
"Magne can make people magnetic! Boy's are one pole, girls are the other, but, but I don't remember which is which!"
"Ah, just let me kill him!" Bakugo said, straining slightly against Todoroki's grip. "Come on! Let me blow off just a limb!"
"I-I'll talk, I'll talk! Please, just keep him away from me! Spinner, he's just a lizard, can walk on walls and stuff but he carries this giant sword. And, and I make gas! A-and the Nomu! It can grow extra limbs and put stuff on them, usually chainsaws or hammers or drills! God, I swear that's everything!"
"Who are you?" Bakugo demanded. "The hell are you doing here?"
"The League Villains! We're the Vanguard Action Squad! W-we're here because of a guy, um, Shiguraki met him online! Calls himself AssumingDirectControlN7, one word! Shiguraki's been talking to him for months, on message boards and stuff. He's the same one that told us All Might was going to be training your class at the USJ all those months ago or something, and now he's led us here!"
"What?" Bakugo said, feeling dazed. "Shinso's on your side?"
"If that's who it is! Shiguraki said he doesn't know about this, but that he'd be happy to join our side! He hates Hero Society too!" Mustard babbled. "Please, don't kill me!"
Todoroki looked at Bakugo. "I think we're done here." He let Bakugo go, turning away.
"Oh god, please, no, don't-MMMPHHHH!"
Bakugo grabbed a fistfull of Mustard's shirt, ripped it off, and stuffed it in his mouth. "Are those vines tight?" he asked.
More vines sprang out of the ground, totally covering Mustard and encasing him in a thick layer of plant life.
"I left him enough space to breath. A little," Shiozaki said, coming to stand beside Bakugo. She glanced at him. "That was clever of you. I almost believed you were going to kill him."
"Don't be an idiot. I'm not going to just murder someone," Bakugo snapped. "I'd have killed him in a fight, sure. But not when he's helpless like that. Now come on. We have to go find Shinso."
"Do you think he really betrayed us?" Yaoyorozu asked worriedly, helping Tetsutetsu back to his feet. The metal boy seemed rattled, but fine aside from a large welt on his forehead where the bullet had struck.
Bakugo grimaced. "I don't know. But if he did, I'm going to kick his ass. Now come on. If he's dead, we can't do that."
They hurried forward again, towards where Bakugo reckoned the camp was. Fires were raging out of control everywhere, but Todoroki was able to use his ice to block the way of any flames that got too close. They ran for a short time until they came to a trail.
"This is where the test of courage was supposed to be," Shiozaki said. "The camp isn't far away."
"Look, there! Is that Midoriya and Hatsume?" Yaoyorozu said, pointing. Sure enough, Bakugo spotted the two lovebirds collapsed on the ground, holding hands in a sickening gesture.
"Come on, we've got to help them," Tetsutetsu said. He ran forward, only for a tree to smash into him, driving him to the ground.
"I thought if I left some bait out we'd attract a few flies!" Muscular laughed, striding out from the undergrowth.
"Yes, you're very clever," another villain, this one dressed in a top hat and yellow greatcoat with a mask on. "I applaud you for your restraint. Now get rid of these pests. I'm taking these two, as I said."
The man in the overcoat bent down to touch Midoriya and Hatsume, and they vanished. A moment later, two glass spheres appeared in the man's hand. "I'll just pocket them. They too have been rejected by society. They'll make excellent recruits." The spheres dropped into one of the overcoats pockets, and Bakugo snarled.
"Compress," he growled.
"Oh, so you have heard of me?" the man asked. He bowed deeply. "I suppose my reputation precedes me. Now, I bid you adieu, as my more brutish companion insists that his bloodlust be sated for the evening."
"You're that kid from before," Muscular chuckled, stalking forward. "I admit, you got me. I don't know what the hell you did, but I was out cold for a few minutes! You should have finished me off then!"
"Crap," Bakugo hissed, stepping back. "The hell do we do now?
"Simple," Todoroki said, raising his left arm as it became enveloped in flame. "We both hit him as hard as we can."
"Come on, little boys!" Muscular laughed, raising his arms in a beckoning gesture. "Are your wills strong enough to face mine? I am-"
As Muscular stepped over the tree, it suddenly shattered as Tetsutestu leaped up, grabbing onto Musclar's legs. "GET HIM NOW!"
Bakugo didn't need any further encouragement. As Todoroki fired off a blast of flames, he leapt forward, getting almost point blank with Muscular. The big man had stumbled, and was swearing as fire engulfed him. Todoroki turned off the fire, and Muscular looked up as Bakugo pointed both palms at the villain's scared face, only centimeters away.
"DIE!" Bakguo let loose with everything he had, and Muscular disappeared in a ball of smoke and fire. Not trusting that had been enough, Bakugo blasted away again and again, trying to aim away from where Tetsutetsu had been. He sensed sudden motion, and leapt up, using the force of his blasts to propel him backwards.
He was just in time. Muscular surged forward, bleeding profusely from his old wound, half of his face a mass of burns and weeping flesh. The villain screamed incoherently, thrashing about wildly. Bakugo saw Musuclars good eye was no longer in his head, dangling out of his skull on a bit of muscle fiber. Muscular flailed about, blinded and enraged. He took out trees with a single blow, sending splinters flying through the air.
"You shall be bound in sheol!" Shiozaki declared, and vine arose, wrapping Muscular completely.
That still wasn't enough to stop Muscular, and the madman roared, ripping at the vines to free himself. Yaoyorozu activated her quirk, and several glass vials fell into her hand. She threw them with precise aim at Muscular, and they shattered, enveloping his head on a misty fog. For a few seconds Muscular continued to struggle to free himself, but then he began to slow. More jars impacted his head, and slowly, Muscular sank to his knees as his efforts to free himself weakened. Yaoyorozu produced a thick blanket, dumping the contents of the jars onto them. A nasty chemical smell filled the air, and she ran forward, tossing the blanket over Musclar's head. He twitched a few times, then finally lay still.
"Chloroform," Yaoyorozu panted, clutching her side. "That should keep him out for a while."
Shiozaki hurried forward, pulling Tetsutetsu out from under the remains of the tree. His metal skin was scoured by blast marks, and he groaned slightly. "He is injured," Shiozaki said. "We must remove him from the field."
"Let's get him to cover and hunker down," Yaoyorozu said, coming over to aid Shiozaki. "I'm spent. I don't think I could use my quirk again for anything more than a pebble."
"I'm not stopping, not yet," Bakugo snarled, running off down the path where Compress had vanished. "That asshole has Midoriya and Hatsume now!"
Todoriki followed Bakugo, shaking his head as he used his ice to make a path he could skate down. "I thought you hated those two."
"The hell does that have to do with anything?" Bakugo snarled, using his explosions to lift himself into the air. "You gonna leave them to that clown?"
Todoroki gave Bakugo a tight smile, but simply kept on moving.
It wasn't long until they caught up to Compress, who was leaping from tree to tree like some sort of damned ninja. Bakugo snarled and forced himself to unleash ever more powerful explosions, despite the fact that his hands were numb and his wrists felt as though they were going to snap off at any time.
Compress glanced back, starting to see the two boys in pursuit. He pressed on though, continuing his mad dash forward.
"I've got you now, asshole!" Bakugo screamed, unleashing a final, massive blast. He shot forward, slamming into Compress. He grabbed the man's jacket, ripping it right off his shoulders. Compress went tumbling to the ground, though he managed to roll and land lightly on his feet.
"If you run, you just die tired," Bakugo panted. He quickly found the small spheres, but to his surprise, he found three instead of two. "Dammit, did you have Shinso too?!" He cracked them open, but instead of finding his schoolmates, he just found leaves and rocks. "What the hell?!"
"Word to the wise," Compress wheezed. His mask had fallen off, revealing dark eyes and a wicked grin. He spat something into his hand. "If your opponents ever make sure you see something, it's just a misdirection."
"I'll kill you and take them anyway!" Bakugo snarled as Todoroki came up beside him, his fist ignited.
"Oh, I don't think so. You see, I wasn't the first back to our meeting place," Compress chuckled.
"What?" Bakugo felt the hair on the back of his neck suddenly rise, and he hit the dirt. Something whirred through the air above his head, impacting with a thunk in a tree trunk behind him.
"Aww, why'd you duck? I just wanted to see your blood. You'd look so cute with it spilling out of your body." A girl with yellow eyes and a snaggle toothed grin stepped from the shadows, another knife in her hand. Toga, Bakugo thought.
Bakugo felt a wave of heat, then cold, and looked to see Todoroki struggling to raise a protective wall of ice against a stream of dark flames.
"Compress, where's Muscular?" the scared man wielding the flames demanded.
Compress shrugged. "The brats must have disposed of him. Where are the others?"
"Already gone. We were just about to go ourselves. Did you succeed?"
"Three prizes," Compress said, holding up the spheres in his hand. "That hero, the quirkless boy, and that inventor girl. I think they can all be persuaded to see reason."
"Good enough. Toga got what she needed before Eraser Head and Vlad chased us off," Dabi said, then pulled out a phone and spoke into it. "Ready for pick up."
A dark swirling vortex appeared behind Dabi, and he stepped into it. Toga skipped after him. Bakugo jumped forward, arm desperately reaching out.
"Farewell, young man. May you-"
A stream of water shot out of the bushes, washing over Compress. He gagged, and one of the spheres slipped out of his hand. Then he fell into the vortex and vanished, taking the other two with him.
"NO!" Bakugo raged. He pounced on where the villains had vanished, tears appearing in his eyes. "No! I can't lose! Not again! Not when it really matters!"
"Bakugo!" Urakaka called. She ran over to him, Kota hard on her heels. "Oh my gosh, are you OK?"
Bakugo sank to his knees, staring at where the vortex had been. He willed for it to return. He could jump through it, he could fight them all, he could save Shinso! He could prove at last he was stronger than Midoriya!
"I thought I told you to get the kid to safety, you idiot," Bakugo rasped, collapsing onto his hands and knees. "You could have gotten him hurt…"
"We couldn't run," Kota said, kneeling down by Bakugo. "You...you saved me. And...and my parents wouldn't have run. They were strong, like you said. And I'm strong too. So is Uraraka."
"I wasn't just going to run away, you rude jerk," Uraka said, kneeling down to retrieve the sphere. "What's this thing, anyway? How do I-oh!"
The sphere suddenly cracked in Uraka's hands, and Midoriya tumbled out onto the grass.
"What happened?!" he gasped, sitting up. "Where's Mei?"
"Gone," Bakugo said, his hands ripping at the sod as his entire body trembled. "They're both gone."
"Gone? Where? What happened?" Midoriya said, his voice rising in pitch. "Where's Mei?"
"The villains, they took her, and someone else," Todoroki said, coming up to kneel beside Midoriya. "Are you OK?"
"Villains?! They got Mei?! No! No this can't be real!" Midoriya babbled he stood up, spinning about. "Where's Mei? Mei! Mei! Where are you?"
"They took her, you idiot," Bakugo said, his eyes squeezed shut as tears began to flow unwillingly down his face. "I was weak again! I'm such a worthless failure! They took them and it's all my fault!"
"Oh God," Ururaka whispered, her hands going to her face. "Oh my God."
Around them, the forest continued to burn. In the distance, Bakugo heard sirens. They screamed to the world that once more, Katsuki Bakugo was a pathetic weakling.