A/N: I know it's been a super long time since my last update. It was a super rough summer, but I'm hoping things will get better. As always, thank you for reading!
"Hey! I'm sorry I'm late!" Kaylee called out as she entered Gym Gamma.
"Hold right there for a second!" She froze, turning her head to the side as she studied Katsuki, who was quite a distance away. She closed the door, shivering slightly from the frigid air outside. They'd not done much training in Gym Gamma, and Kaylee couldn't help but glance around at the massive building. Large jagged structures stood like gigantic soldiers, their cement forms glinting brightly in the harsh ceiling lights.
It was a full three days before the snow had completely melted and classes resumed as normal, much to Kaylee's dismay. She'd been having the time of her life sledding, ice skating, making snowmen, snowboarding, gathering around the bonfires in the evenings, snuggling up to Katsuki–Kaylee knew that she'd remember the past few wonderful days for the rest of her life.
The day was busy for both of them, and other than their early morning workout routine, she hadn't seen much of him other than the few moments they had between classes. She knew he had a lot of hero courses to work on, so she'd been heading back to her dorm to do some studying when she received a text from Katsuki to meet at Gym Gamma.
'What's going on?" Kaylee squinted, trying to make out Katsuki's form in the distance. He stood in the middle of the gymnasium, the large cement towers making a striking backdrop to his form. "Hey, is that a cooler? Do you have beer?" she called out hopefully, her voice echoing throughout. He was bent over what looked like a large cooler, both arms extended as though he was rummaging through it. She thought she could hear the crunching sound of ice.
"What? No!" She could hear the exasperated tone in his voice. "Stay there for a moment, I'm trying something out."
Kaylee stood still, watching Katsuki as he straightened up and held out both arms, much like when he was about to use his quirk. He paused for a second, shaking his head, then turned and called out to her.
"Move about twenty paces closer, ok?" Kaylee did as instructed. Closer now, she could definitely see a cooler, and she watched, fascinated as Katsuki bent down, immersing his hands in whatever it was he had in there.
"What's going on?"
"Give me a minute, and I'll show you." He straightened up and again, held his arms out as though he was using his quirk. Again, he shook his head and Kaylee could almost make out the frown as he stared down at his palms.
"Move another twenty paces up."
"Katsuki, what's going on? Is something wrong with your quirk?"
"Nope, it's just fine," he said cryptically, repeating his earlier actions. Kaylee frowned.
"Then what–" she started to move closer.
"Wait!" He clapped his hands, the sound startling her as it echoed. "I've got it! You need to be glowing more!"
"I'm–what?" Kaylee paused in her tracks. What in the world was going on?
"I'm such a dumbass!" Katsuki quickly jogged to her, and Kaylee couldn't help but admire how the dark blue fabric of his tank top hugged his torso, the gray sweat pants riding down with the movement, exposing flashes of smooth skin.
"Katsuki—oh my God, your hands are freezing!" Kaylee screeched in shock as he pulled her to him, his frigid hands a stark contrast to the warmth of his body. He chuckled, the husky sound ruffling the hair around her ears.
"Mmmm…" he pressed a kiss to her neck, and Kaylee found herself shuddering for a completely different reason than the cold.
"Katsuki–" she purred, loving the way his strong arms went around her, pulling her closer.
"Missed you today," he pulled back to bump noses with her. She kissed him in response, unable to resist gently biting his lower lip. He quickly deepened the kiss, and she moaned blissfully when she felt his hands drift lower to her waist.
"Wait–" He tried to draw back, but Kaylee buried her fingers in his deceptively soft hair, making sure to give attention to the dimple on his cheek. "You're distracting me."
"You started it."
"And I'll finish it, but I'm testing something out right now," Katsuki stepped back and studied her intently, then smiled brightly. "There. I need you to stay right there and keep that glow up, ok?" He pointed at her, then jogged back to his original spot, thrusting his hands into the cooler for another minute or so, then getting into his battle stance.
Explosions erupted from his palms, and even from her distance, she could feel the heat of the blast.
"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" Katsuki turned to her, an almost smug look of delight in his expression. "DID YOU SEE THAT?"
She nodded, beaming at him in pride. "That's amazing, but then it always looks amazing!"
His face fell. "Seriously?"
"What?"
"Oh my God, you seriously don't get it, do you?"
"What do you mean? You used your quirk and it's just as kickass as always!"
"No! I didn't use my quirk like always! How are you not getting this? Come here!"
Kaylee stomped over to him, her eyes narrowed. "What's going on?" She noted the cooler, which was filled with ice.
"Watch." Katsuki thrust his hands in the ice again. "This is a mixture of dry and regular ice. I've got this set to nearly minus ten celsius." He held up his hands for her to examine and Kaylee could see the beads of sweat form on his palms, which were a slight bluish color. "Now stand back for a second and cover your ears." Kaylee did as he commanded, and watched as he made an open fist with one palm, and placed it over the other as he held his arms out.
"AP SHOT! MACHINE GUN!" Hundreds of blasts shot out from his palm, each one headed in a straight trajectory for the cement slab fifty meters ahead, causing bits and pieces of jagged material to fall to the ground.
"Woah." Kaylee was mesmerized as she studied the aftermath of the explosions. "You really are amazing," she said breathlessly. "I mean…that's…wow."
He rolled his eyes. "You still don't get it, do you?"
Kaylee shook her head.
"It's because of you. You did that."
"Huh?"
"It's you." Katsuki waved his arms at her, gesturing wildly at her, and Kaylee stood transfixed in confusion.
"I don't understand."
"It's your quirk." He cupped her face, and Kaylee could feel just how hot his hands were, the strong sweetly smoky smell nearly choking her.
Kaylee swallowed, feeling bile rise in her throat. "What do you mean?" she all but whispered.
"I noticed it during the snow day. It was cold as fuck, and there was no way in hell I should have been able to use my quirk at all, let alone pull off some of those moves that I did. And for hours straight, without any side effects!"
Kaylee suddenly felt as though she was suffocating, and she had to take a step back, her lungs gasping for air.
"Then, that afternoon, when Todoroki made that ice slide–you were standing close to him–" Katsuki continued on, "-and hell, I've known the bastard for years, and yeah, he's got a kick-ass powerful quirk, but even he said he'd hadn't mastered ice sculptures to that effect. And then, that night–while you slept, I noticed how you were glowing in your sleep, I tested it again. I went out on the balcony, stuck my hand in the snow, and used my quirk. You—hey!"
Feeling light-headed, she found herself on her hands and knees. Waves of nausea washed over her. Her head was pounding, her ears roaring.
"It's ok," she felt his warm hands rubbing up and down her spine. "Hey, just breathe with me. You're ok."
After a few moments, she felt somewhat better. "I don't know what happened. I'm sorry–"
"Quit apologizing," he replied, still stroking her back.
"I don't know what to say," she said finally, still catching her breath. "I was so worried that this glow was somehow hurting you all, like radiation or something, so I'm relieved that it's not, but–" she choked on a sob. "I don't want this. I don't want any quirk."
She leaned up against Katsuki. "I know you don't," he said quietly. "And I'm sorry for the way I told you about this–but shit, Kaylee–this is fucking huge! Colossal! I mean, I've heard of people with power enhancing quirks before, but yours–it's like you're a goddamned battery or something. It all makes sense now. You'd never been around any of us much when we used our quirks before, and I've spent the past few days watching you and everyone closely. Asui's quirk is like mine in that she can't tolerate cold either, she'll go into hibernation, but I noticed she was out in the snow just as long as you were–just as long as she was near you."
He paused, and Kaylee thought over his words. She recalled Tsuyu commenting on how long she was able to withstand the snow and the cold when the two of them were making more snowmen.
"My parents sent me some clothing that had some thermal padding in it," Tsuyu told her as they rolled a large snow ball to make a base. "It runs on batteries, but I used so many yesterday, and hadn't had a chance to get any more and no one had any of that type here in the dorms. I thought I could be ok out here for a little while, but I really do think some of the quirk training I did over the summer with Selkie in the colder parts of the South Pacific really did strengthen me! I've been out here for hours now!" Kaylee smiled as Tsuyu beamed back at her.
"What do I do now?" she asked numbly, hiccuping slightly.
"We."
"Huh?" She furrowed her brow as she gazed into his red eyes.
He pressed their foreheads together, his fingers curling into her hair. "It's 'we.' We're in this together."
"Oh." She swallowed, laying her head on his shoulder, relaxing against him. "What do we do now?"
He heaved a big sigh. "I think we need to see what the AOE of this quirk is. Like I said, I've been watching you since I figured it out, but–"
"What's an AOE?"
"Area of Effect. It's a gaming term. Your quirk seems to affect people around you, and from what I observed the past few days and tonight, it's about five meters give or take. I did some research, and for people that have similar quirks like that, they seem to be able to focus their quirk on a specific person or target. Some have to touch the person, say a word or phrase, or gaze at them, and it seems to be a conscious skill. Deku told me once about a hacker that had to fall in love with the target, but she could power up the person temporarily with a command."
She felt his fingers idly brush through her hair, soothing her. "You don't seem to need any of that, though." His fingers suddenly clenched at the base of her neck. "Fuck, I bet you have the same effect on anyone you're near–hero or villain."
Kaylee thought for a moment. "My mom–I remember her glowing in my dream." She twisted her head to face Katsuki. "Do you think that's what her quirk did?"
He bit his lip, thinking. "Don't know. I mean, it's possible, but it doesn't make sense as to why she would be working as an ambassador. I mean, hell, I'd have her out as a support hero instead of making back-room deals. Also, why would the President of the United States not want her to use it?"
"Should we tell any of this to Mr. Aizawa?" Dread settled in her gut again. "Oh, what if he has to tell those agents? Both the American and Japanese agencies wanted to know about if or when my other quirk–" Another thought interrupted that one. "My captors! They were giving me that drug to suppress the quirk, but they never said why. All they ever told me was that it was a vitamin shot. I had one every day. Did they know about this too?"
Katsuki scowled. "I doubt it. Seems like if they had, they'd have found another way to exploit you. Auction you off to the highest bidder."
Her heart was pounding again as her mind raced. Her captors never talked about any of their quirks, and Kaylee never cared enough to ask–not that they would have told her even if she had.
"You didn't start glowing until you got here, right?" Katsuki asked. "Once the drug left your system."
"But if my quirk only works when I'm happy–" Kaylee held up her hand, and let her mind wander to one of her happiest memories–sledding with Katsuki. The pale, scarred palm glowed brightly.
Katsuki ran his fingers gently over the webbed skin. "You'd never been happy until you got here. You wouldn't have glowed even if you hadn't been given the quirk suppressing drug."
"No," she agreed. "I'd never been happy until I met you." A small squeal escaped her lips as Katsuki wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight for a long moment. She pressed her cheek to his, and felt moisture, but didn't know the source.
They stayed that way for a good while, the cold of the concrete flooring finally seeping in through her warm fleece sweats.
"Should we tell Aizawa?" she asked again as they both stood up.
He shook his head. "No. At least, not yet. Let's study this a bit more before we make a decision. I thought about it earlier today, during our hero training–I think we need to see if we can get you permission to attend one of our hero classes. I'd think we need to learn more about the mechanics of your quirk, how long does the effects last, does it build up over time, and how many people can you affect at once." He took her hand and led her back to where he originally stood.
"You've not been around any of us much when we used our quirks, and it was a fluke that I figured this out, period. We need more information about what you can do."
Kaylee nodded. "I know it tires me out when I have to contain my glow. I have to concentrate really hard now on keeping it at a constant rate when I'm around others."
"Yeah, that's right." Katsuki got into his stance again, only this time, he donned his gloves. He motioned her closer to him. "Get behind me, I want to see what one of my more powerful explosions is like when you're near."
Kaylee ducked down and covered her ears as the resulting explosions rained down concrete.
…..
"I'm going to have to do a lot of explaining to Cementoss," Katsuki said an hour later as they made the long trek back to Heights Alliance.
Kaylee reached up and brushed more bits of concrete from his hair, her ears still ringing from the blasts Katsuki used. By the time they left Gym Gamma, most of the structures were in ruins, and she was left in awe of just how powerful the explosions became as they experimented with her quirk. The final blast ended up sending out a blinding bright light that decimated everything in its path and it was thanks to Kaylee's lightning reflexes that the pair of them weren't both buried under the rubble.
"Let me talk to him, I can say it was my fault for wanting to see you use your quirk," she replied. "Then I could say that I've never been able to watch any of you do any sort of quirk training, and then they might be more conducive to letting me attend one of your hero classes."
"Good idea," he nudged her shoulder, then paused, stopping dead still. "Holy fuck, I just realized something."
"What?" She tugged on his hand to get his attention. "What's wrong?"
"Deku."
"What about him?"
"You've never seen Deku use his quirk. Holy shit." Katsuki looked dumbstruck and Kaylee frowned, wondering what he was talking about.
"I saw him during my first week–it's just a power quirk, for the most part right? He does a lot of punches and kicks and has that whippy thing and the air thingy. And the green lightning stuff." From what she'd seen of Deku's quirk, it wasn't that big of a deal, although the green lightning did look pretty cool. Ochako was especially vocal about how powerful and awesome Deku's quirk was, but Kaylee chalked that up to her being a supportive girlfriend and all.
Katsuki gazed at her with a stunned expression. "Kaylee," he said slowly. "Deku's got one of the most powerful quirks ever!"
She grinned. "I mean, sure, it looks pretty cool, and I'm sure he's very strong and all, but your quirk, and Todoroki's and Kirishima's are way more powerful. Even the belly laser that Aoyama has–"
Katsuki shook his head. "No, you don't get it. Deku's quirk is called One for All and it is the most powerful quirk ever."
"I think it's sweet how you defend him–you're such a good friend to Deku. I know you probably still feel guilty for bullying him, but that was ages ago and you've more than made up for that."
He rubbed his temples in frustration. Kaylee cocked her head in puzzlement.
"I like Deku," Kaylee explained, just in case Katsuki was getting offended that she didn't like his friend. "I think he's great and a really nice person, but I don't see what you're worried about."
Katsuki groaned and gazed up at the night sky. More concrete dust fell from his hair. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but please trust me when I say that Izuku Midoriya has the most powerful quirk to have ever existed. Even more powerful than mine, or Todoroki's. Even All Might."
Kaylee brushed dust from his shoulder and nodded in agreement. "Ok. He's really powerful. Happy now?"
He groaned again. "I guess so. I can't believe I'm having to defend the shitty nerd to my girlfriend."
Kaylee felt bad for a moment and thought to cheer him up. "You know, Ochako was telling me one night when we were up late talking that Deku can do something really interesting with the whippy thing. He can make a swing like contraption out of it and she likes it when—"
"Please stop talking." She giggled as he grabbed her hand and practically ran up to the dorm.
….
"Both of you. My office. Now." Bakugou exchanged a look with Kaylee as their homeroom teacher pointed at the pair of them the moment he saw them in the hallway.
"He's really mad," Kaylee mouthed. Bakugou shrugged. He figured they'd get shit for what happened last night at Gym Gamma, but fuck, wasn't that the entire purpose of the place? So that students could use their quirks, go all out and not have to worry about damage? Plus, it's not like Cementoss couldn't just rebuild in no time. Their stern teacher was pissed though, Kaylee was right, and he thought back to how anxious Kaylee got the last time Aizawa was angry. He decided he'd do the talking on this one.
The door closed with an ominous click and Aizawa rounded on the pair of them, his eyes flashing. "Explain to me why Gym Gamma looks like someone dropped a nuclear bomb on it."
Bakugou opened his mouth.
"That's my fault, sorry Mr. Aizawa," Kaylee said, bowing. "You shouldn't get mad a K-Bakugou, it was me."
Bakugou was stunned. He recalled their conversation last night where Kaylee said she'd take the blame, but he didn't really think she would do that. Fuck, he opened his mouth again to interject, but he felt a slight pinch to his arm, and he looked over at her to see a slight shake of her head at him.
Aizawa folded his arms over his chest, giving her a scathing look. "So I'm to believe you've somehow developed a fire quirk? Try again, Kaylee."
She giggled, rolling her eyes. "Of course not, Mr. Aizawa. What I meant was, Bakugou hasn't had the opportunity to work on his quirk much, what with the snow days and he'd been so busy training me and such–and all this time I've been working with him, I'd never seen him use his quirk at full power, so I begged him to show me what it looked like." She paused. "I don't get to see any of my classmates use their quirks outside of the two training sessions, and I spent one of those locked in a bathroom–"
"Until you escaped and went full Die Hard," Aizawa replied dryly.
"Well, yes–" she laughed again, the merry sound trilling throughout the room. "But the point is, I've never seen any of them use their quirks, and I was just so curious–I mean, I kinda feel left out some here, you know–when they all talk about how awesome their afternoon hero classes went, and what new ultimate moves they learn, and I just wanted to see what Bakugou can do. It's hard to picture what a Howitzer Impact looks like, even though Bakugou's described it to me dozens of times."
She paused, giving Aizawa a wistfully sad expression, her dark eyes shining with tears. Bakugou swore he heard her voice catch slightly. "I just wanted to see it in person. And since I'm not allowed to view the hero quirk classes, I begged Bakugou to show me what his ultimate moves were." She bowed again. "So, it's my fault."
Bakugou watched as Aizawa's brow rose and struggled to keep a bland, bored expression on his own face. He wanted to laugh for some reason, as Kaylee was really piling it on pretty thick, but it seemed Aizawa was falling for it. Damn, she was so fucking good.
"Let me understand this. You felt left out because you hadn't seen everyone use their quirks and got Bakugou to blow up half of Gym Gamma, right?" Bakugou straightened as he felt the teacher's gaze on him. "And you went along with it?"
Bakugou shrugged. "Well, it is a pretty badass move. I think I'll call it the Tsar Bomba."
"That's a great name!" Kaylee chimed in eagerly, beaming at him. "Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight's new ultimate move: the Tsar Bomba!" She bounced in excitement, clapping her hands.
Bakugou couldn't resist grinning back, his chest puffing out.
Aizawa pinched the bridge of his nose, closing his eyes as he let out a frustrated sigh. "From now on, Bakugou, you will limit your quirk training to an appropriate time and place, which is not to show off for Kaylee." He pointed at Kaylee. "I will consider letting you observe a hero quirk training class, provided we get approval from the Principal. Understood?"
"Yes sir," Bakugou and Kaylee said in unison.
Aizawa opened the door. "Kaylee, get to class, and let everyone know I'll be there in a bit. Bakugou, stay here for a moment."
Bakugou glanced at Kaylee who suddenly looked worried. "He's not in trouble is he? I swear, it was my fault–"
Aizawa rolled his eyes. "No, now get to class. We'll be along in a few minutes."
She nodded, giving Bakugou one last lingering look, and closed the door.
Aizawa muttered something under his breath that sounded like, "She's picked that up from Eri," and shook his head.
"Sir?"
Dark, bloodshot eyes met Bakugou's crimson ones. "You've been an excellent teacher," he said.
"Tch," Bakugou grunted, pleased with the praise.
"I'm not going to ask if you're working on figuring out what her other quirk is," Aizawa began and Bakugou stiffened slightly. "But if you are, I would suggest that you focus on that."
Bakugou blinked, not knowing how to reply.
"Time is running out," Aizawa continued. "You've got four months left until the end of the school year."
"I know, damn it!" Bakugou felt sick at hearing just how little time he had left spelled out. His palms stung, and he realized he'd clinched his fists so tightly that his nails had cut into them.
"And once the last semester starts, it's going to be slammed for all of you in the hero classes. There are several more very extensive training sessions planned, not to mention your work-studies in January, and Principal Nezu is going to announce this later today, but he's giving all students an extra week break just between Christmas and New Year's–"
Bakugou's head snapped up. "Wait, what? An extra week?"
Aizawa nodded. "All students are expected to spend the time with their families–"
"What about Kaylee? Will she be allowed to leave too?" Hope bloomed in his chest as he thought about how his parents wanted her to come visit. Fuck, she could stay with them, there was plenty of room at their home, and he could show her so much–take her to restaurants, movies, shit–he might could even use his parents connections to get tickets to see Hamilton, since it would be in Tokyo during that time.
"We're under strict orders to keep her here at UA at all costs." Bakugou's heart sank, and it must have been evident in his expression because Aizawa softened his voice some. "I can't guarantee she wouldn't be watched out there." A hand went to his shoulder. "You know she's safest here."
Two weeks. They'd be apart for another two weeks, and they already had so little time left.
….
It took a week for Gym Gamma to get completely repaired. Apparently, that last blast that Katsuki used took out a supporting wall, melted some of the metal beams in the roof, and caused some extensive water damage. True to his word, Aizawa got permission for Kaylee to attend one of the hero training classes, but only on the condition that she was accompanied by a pro-hero faculty member at all times. In this case, she was flanked by Present Mic and All Might, who, if nothing else, kept up a lively color commentary about each of Class 3-A's students and their various quirks and what they had been doing over the past years to train. Mr. Aizawa would occasionally come over to double check on things, but often had to go work with the students.
The entire class had been training for about an hour, and Kaylee was starting to feel some exhaustion from having to focus on containing her glow. Kaylee kept to the perimeter, keeping an eye on her distance from the nearest student. She and Katsuki had been testing her AOE, as he called it, and they estimated that her quirk affected anyone standing within five meters of her, but that distance could increase with the brightness of her glow. They also learned that her quirk didn't have a lasting effect on those around her; it only worked when they were standing in her radius.
The previous evening, both she and Katsuki had come up with a plan on how to best test her quirk without catching any attention or potentially causing any harm. Katsuki was a master strategist and was a font of information about each of his classmates.
"Students with quirks like mine, Deku, Todoroki, Kaminari, Tokoyami, Sato: we're normally off towards the middle and the back of the gym where the biggest structures are," Katsuki told her. They had a set of hero figurines out on her bed to get a layout of Gym Gamma so Kaylee could envision how a hero class worked. "Try to stay around Aoyama, he still gets sick when he uses his quirk, or even Cheeks–she's improved a lot, but she can still get nauseous when she's floating a lot of stuff at once. Lobes and Shoji, even Koda and Sero, they'd make good targets too. Don't bother with Hagakure, it's not like you can make her more invisible. It might be worthwhile to try and get near Four-Eyes, but he moves around so fast, you probably wouldn't be able to observe any effect your quirk had on him."
"You ok there?" Present Mic asked her, jerking her from her thoughts. "Eraserhead will have our asses if you get hurt."
She gave him her sunniest smile. "I'm fine. Thanks for staying with me."
She gasped as the ground trembled beneath them, and she reached out to grab his arm for support. She looked to find the source of the tremors, and noticed Kyouka had used her earphone jacks in the ground to ferret out where Tooru was. Damn, they were too much in the middle of the gym for her to test anything. She glanced around, noting that both Tsuyu and Ochako were also a good distance away, and both were working on a combo move with Ojiro and Sero.
"Hey Kaylee! Watch this!" Kaylee looked up as Mineta soared high above her, using a long rope of purple balls like a jungle vine. He quickly did a somersault in mid-air, then rapidly pulled more orbs from his head and formed another rope which he used like a whip to attach to one of the metal beams on the roof.
"Very good!" she called back. Actually, it was pretty impressive. Although Mineta still wasn't her favorite person in the class, he had somewhat grown on her, or at least she tolerated him more. Katsuki hadn't mentioned much about his quirk, so Kaylee didn't bother with him either.
"Kacchan! I've got you–"
"Like hell you do, nerd!"
Kaylee quickly turned in the direction of Katsuki's voice, all thought of Mineta vanishing from her mind. She couldn't hold back the dreamy sigh as she spotted him as he darted through the concrete structures, dodging Deku's black whip. His costume fitted him so tightly, she could count nearly every muscle, and her fingers curled with the thought of feeling them under the finely stretched black fabric. Squelching the need to fan herself, she quickly turned her attention elsewhere.
"Look, Kaylee–" All Might tugged on her arm as he pointed at Mina, who was training not far from them. "Pinky is about to use her quirk on the training dummy!"
Kaylee watched in horror and fascination as Mina suddenly shot out a strong spray of acid into one of the concrete and metal structures dotted throughout the building. Kaylee took a step back and covered her nose, her eyes watering as the fumes from the acid wafted over.
"Careful!" Momo quickly rushed over to decontaminate the area, and a large fan was turned on to remove the fumes.
"Sorry! Sorry, everyone!" Mina called out. "I didn't think it was going to be that strong!"
"What type of acid was that, Ashido?" Iida raced over as well to see if he needed to help. "It's way more powerful than your usual type–look how quickly the cement is dissolving!"
"I'd been working with creating hydrofluoric acid," Mina replied. "But I hadn't been able to get the formula correct."
"I think you just did, Pinky." Momo quickly made a "Warning: Chemical Spill" sign and both she and Mina roped off the area.
"How awesome am I?" Mina jumped up in glee. "Now I wish I could have used the name 'Alien Queen' without getting slapped with a copyright infringement!"
Kaylee swallowed nervously as she gauged the distance between them. She thought she was being so careful, but realized between her gazing at Katsuki and All Might tugging on her arm, she must have drifted closer to Mina than she meant to. What if her quirk had caused that or something worse? Hydrofluoric acid was a very strong acid, and was often fatal when in contact with human skin. Even the fumes could be fatal.
"Kaylee, you didn't get any on you, did you?" All Might pulled her back further and she suddenly had both teachers examining her.
"No, I'm fine," she responded. Both teachers looked her over twice, then visibly relaxed.
"Everything ok, here?" All three of them jumped as Mr. Aizawa strode up to them.
"Fine!" the three of them said in unison. Eyes narrowed in their direction.
"Mina's skin is incredible, considering hydrofluoric acid can cause fatal injuries with even just a small concentration," Kaylee wondered aloud, trying to change the subject. "She doesn't seem to be affected at all by the fumes."
"Part of the hero training here involves exposure to toxic chemicals in low doses," All Might said. "Students are trained in how best to maneuver through such cases. I'll never forget the time I had to rescue some civilians from an overturned tanker truck carrying liquid nitrogen on a freeway just outside of Sapporo."
"Oh, that was just after you returned from America, right?" Deku apparently had some sort of skill where he could materialize anytime All Might started talking.
"That's right, Young Midoriya!"
Deku turned to Kaylee. "Did you get a chance to see us play 'Catch-a-Kacchan'?"
"Stop calling it that, Deku." Katsuki strode up to stand beside her, and Kaylee had to focus extra hard to keep her glow contained. God, he was even more gorgeous with his mask pushing his hair back off his forehead. He had one gauntlet under his arm, and he was peeling off a glove.
Present Mic motioned to Katsuki's glove. "What happened there?"
Katsuki huffed. "I think Hatsume made a defective glove–the fabric can't withstand the heat from my blasts anymore."
Kaylee leaned over to inspect. Sure enough, the orange and black fabric appeared to have melted in places, and there were some definite areas where skin was visible.
"I'll go with you, Kacchan," Deku said. "I think that last hit you gave me warped a sole."
"Tch. Stupid nerd, I almost had your ass too if Cheeks hadn't gotten in my way."
"That was my fault, Bakugou," Tsuyu and Ochako joined them, Ochako looking a little green and out of breath. "Tsuyu and Sero were working on a combo move that launches me, and well, I didn't know you were coming our way."
Bakugou snorted. "Yeah, conveniently just as I was about to capture Deku." Kaylee watched as both Deku and Ochako exchanged a telling look and Kaylee narrowed her eyes, bristling.
Deku held out his hands and laughed nervously. "Come on, Kacchan, it's not like we planned it or anything." Again, Kaylee thought the pair of them looked a little too guilty. "I'm done for today anyway, so let's go see if Hatume can fix our gear."
"I'm going too!" Ochako nearly shouted, startling several of them. "I mean, I'll walk with you. Kaylee, you've never met Mei Hatsume, so you can come with us. Is that ok Present Mic, All Might?"
Both teachers agreed, and the group made their way to where the R&D wing was located.
Ochako leaned in, "You better keep an eye on that Mei Hatsume," she whispered as they walked.
"Why?"
"She gets very handsy."
….
"Wow, you must be the new girl I've heard about! I'm Mei Hatsume and it's a pleasure to meet you!" Kaylee took a few steps back as the short, pink-haired girl practically jumped in front of her once they all walked in the R&D lab that apparently was where Mei Hatsume and Mr. Power Loader worked. She wore green cover-alls, a black tank top, and had various gadgets hanging off her belt and in her hair, which was pulled back from her face by a pair of large goggles.
Kaylee was astonished to learn that there was entire wing of UA that she'd not seen, but then really, she would have had no reason or purpose to be in that area of the school. The room they were in resembled a large warehouse, with rows upon rows of shelves loaded with parts, piles of metal stacked all around the floor in various stages of development–Kaylee thought she saw steam coming from one of them.
"Hi, I'm Kaylee," she replied, bowing slightly. She was a little taken aback at how forward the girl was, although she seemed to be harmless. She stood so close to Kaylee, she could see the unusual eyes the girl had–green and yellow, with what appeared to be target locators in the irises.
"Ease up, Hatsume," Katsuki placed an arm between the pair. "Kaylee doesn't like strangers getting so close to her."
"Bakugou!" Hatsume jumped as though just noticing him. Her eyes quickly roamed over the rest of the group. "Midoriya and Uraraka too! Is this a party or what?" She quickly rounded on Deku, who looked very nervous while Ochako glowered.
"What have you done to my babies?" Hatsume began patting Deku up and down, and Kaylee had to quickly turn away to keep from laughing at the horrified expression on Deku's face. Ochako had a very dark aura over her. "Look how scratched and dinged up they are!"
"Oi! Leave the nerd alone and take a look at my glove, Handsy!" Bakugou pulled her off of Deku and slapped his glove in front of her face. Hatsume immediately latched on to the glove as though it was hypnotizing her. "You gave me cheap fabric and it's melting!"
"No way! I ordered that fabric from a company that specializes in fabric for welding applications! It can withstand temperatures up to 3200 degrees F," she turned to Kaylee, "or 1760 degrees C. It's reinforced with special wires for additional strength and a ceramic coating that withstands abrasions and vibrations."
"Yeah, well, look at it!"
"We tested your explosions, and the maximum temperature was just 800 degrees C," Hatsume grabbed Katsuki's palm and began running her fingers over the skin. "How are you able to generate that type of firepower now?"
"Because I'm fucking awesome that's how!" Katsuki snapped, jerking his hand back.
Hatsume didn't even blink at Katsuki's rudeness, instead darting over to a computer and typing madly. "I guess at this point, I can see about reaching out to some contacts at JAXA or NASA and see if they've got any ideas. I heard that the Israelis developed a type of insulation that can withstand 2500 degrees C. They're using it as insulation for space shuttles to withstand the atmospheric temperatures upon reentry."
Katsuki looked impressed. "Think you can put something on the palms to make it where I can concentrate the blasts even further?"
Hatsume didn't even look up from her computer. "Maybe, but I don't know how I could find a material thin enough yet hard enough to withstand the thermal pressure you generate."
Hatsume quickly turned to face them. "I'll see what I can do." She dashed back over to Deku, and grabbed his lower calf. "Now Midoriya, explain what you did with my babies!"
Once Kaylee got over how loud and incredibly close Mei Hatsume could be, she found the girl was hiding an extreme intelligence, not to mention witty. She was incredibly proud of all her "babies", and Bakugou said in an aside that she hardly ever slept. Her inventions were top notch and she wasn't even out of school yet. Kaylee decided she liked her very much.
Once Deku explained what he needed, and Ochako even asked for a few repairs to her hero costume, it was time to leave.
"Coming, Kaylee?" Bakugou held his hand out to her.
She held her hand out. "I'll catch you up in a bit, ok? I want to talk to Hatsume for a few minutes."
Katsuki shrugged, and with a promise that she'd see him tonight, the rest of the group left.
Kaylee turned to Hatsume. "I've got an idea for Bakugou's gloves."
The girl's eyes widened with delight. "Oooh! Let's hear it then. And call me 'Mei.'"
