"But I don't wanna go, Kiran!"
Kiran Kalassa rolled his eyes and muted the television. He knew he wasn't going to get any more peace the rest of the night. He sighed and looked over at the messy head of black hair poking over the side of the armrest.
"Too bad," The Pro-Hero known as Watchman said. "You're going."
"If you do this," Blake said. "I'm going to run away."
"No, you're not," Kiran said with a hint of a smile. "I already know you aren't."
Blake thunked his head on the plush leather armrest. The past few years living with his guardian had been a long roller-coaster. The irony of the son of two major villains being adopted by a Pro-Hero was not lost on him. However, he envisioned that his time with Kiran would be much more fruitful as far as witnessing big crimes or massacres. Most of the past few years had been listening to boring lectures and having to see videos later on of Watchman's exploits.
"Fine," Blake pulled out his cell phone. He dialed a familiar number on the device.
"You're not calling your parents," Kiran said.
"It's phone hours," Blake said. "I can call them if I want."
"But I don't want you to," he said.
"Why not?" Blake said in exasperation. "You never tell me anything!"
"I tell you all I need to," Kiran slammed his hands on the armrests. "So either put the phone down, or I'll make you."
Blake flung his phone on the ground. It broke in two with the battery spinning onto Kiran's lap. Blake turned around and crossed his arms in frustration. He stood there with his head craned down. The soft sound of the news report on the television showed a chyron advertising the opening of Void Industries newest office in California. Kiran stood up and approached Blake. He stopped a foot behind him and peered down at him.
"I wish I could tell you everything," Kiran said. "It would make things so much easier, wouldn't it."
Blake said nothing.
"But you have a destiny, Blake. And it's a glorious one. All I can do is assist you in reaching it."
"Then tell me what it is," Blake yelled and whipped around to face the man. His eyes were red with tears. "What's so great about this destiny that I can't talk to my parents or Lazuli or anybody else that actually puts up with me? What's so special about me?"
Kiran stroked his chin and blew out a deep breath. "What if I said you were going to be a hero?"
"Stop it. I know that's not true."
"Whether you like it or not," Kiran said. "You're going to do something very important. The fate of One-For-All and our universe depends on it."
"Stop," Blake shouted. "I know it's not true. You're just trying to stop me from becoming like my parents. You're manipulating me."
"The future is the truth, Blake," Kiran said. He grabbed Blake by the shoulders and pulled him right to his chest. He locked eyes with the boy and softened his hold on his thin shoulders. "If i could give you a roadmap and tell you exactly what needed to be done, I would. But you know I can't. Because I know either you wouldn't follow it on purpose or you would change it into something unacceptable. Something that would ruin the future for everyone."
Blake sniffed and shook his head. "Then...what should I do now? What can I do?"
Kiran wedged a tight smile on his face and let go of Blake. He gathered up the remnants of his flip phone and snatched the battery from the sofa. "This school you are going to...it's in a different place. Very different from where you think it is. Stopping you from going, stopping the future from occurring...that would destroy our universe. It seems cruel that you'll be put in a position, but remember that if you do what you feel is right in your heart, you will succeed. And you will leave with a world far safer and stable than you came into it."
Kiran plugged the battery into the phone. He turned it on and handed it over to Blake.
"I don't know what you seek in life, Blake. And I know you don't care to be a hero, but you do have a destiny. Will you give yourself that chance to fulfill it?"
Blake stared at the cell phone. He looked up at Kiran's eyes before the screen lit up. Blake grabbed the phone and looked at the number on the screen. A number from California. The same number on the USAHS pamphlet for student admissions.
He pressed the answer button.
Drake had studied Bakugo's tactics quite a bit in his childhood. Of course, he had Pro-Heroes that he cared far more about. However, Bakugo was still revered in his eyes from his many exploits in Japan. Drake remembered sitting on the rust-tinted carpet floor of the small, cramped apartment in Whittier and watching footage of Bakugo. He would study them much like every other hero, but he saw how intelligent Bakugo could be opposed to the brash, hothead attitude most people saw him as in the public sphere.
So, Drake understood the situation of him standing in front of the single target Bakugo was planning on destroying. The computer to run the backup code releasing them from this prison hid behind Drake and the rest of the students. Blake stood beside him with the other members of his class lining the side of the room watching the quiet stand-off. Drake spied his reflection in Bakugo's scarlet eyes without a trace of a blink hidden behind hi jagged black mask. They were two people in an old western town waiting for the clock to chime for the big battle to commence.
Beep. Beep!
Drake, in a moment of weakness, flinched and turned back without any thought. On the screen, a warning sign flashed indicate a new transport arriving within the next couple of minutes.
Taking his eyes off Bakugo, the blonde man took his chance. He lifted up his arm donning his grenade gauntlet and hooked his finger to the pin. A layer of flames encompassed Bakugo's open fist as a piercing whistle crescendoed to a harsh roar within a second. The metal of the pin inched out to the edge of the gauntlet.
Drake gasped and unleashed his wings. He braced himself for the pain of Bakugo's explosion by spinning towards him and shielding the computer with his back.
However, no explosion came. A web slapped Bakugo's hand and pinned it onto the grenade. He whipped around and saw Hunter shoot out a web that smacked his face. Bakugo growled and shook his head to rid the webs. Hunter's spider arms latched onto the wall and leapt for Bakugo.
When Hunter's arms jabbed Bakugo's skin, he spun around the man and draped layers of webbing on the man. Bakugo tried to seat him away, but his arm pinned with the webbing stretched over him. The thick silver net squeezed Bakugo's limbs together and caused him to stumble backwards.
He regained his balance immediately and ripped his strong arms off his body and tore the webbing in half. Hunter jumped off Bakugo as the man flailed his arms around to get the webs out of his nose and eye. Before he could regain his senses, Drake flashed his dragon wings and launched forward.
He flew right into Bakugo's back and dug two talons that jutted out from dragon claws. Drake and Bakugo sailed out of the white room and back into the pawn shop. Drake soared the left and lifted Bakugo forward to the window of the shop's facade.
Bakugo yelled with his face colliding with the glass. Drake flew upward into the periwinkle twilight sky and twisted in mid-air with Bakugo. They corkscrewed over the empty streets with Bakugo spitting fire out from his hands that spiraled with every turn Drake took to disorient him.
Back in the room, Hunter fell down to his knees and pushed his arms into the ground. "I'll stall him with Drake. Everyone else, inside!"
Hunter crawled out of the room with the speed of a striking cobra. Blake rushed to the computer and tapped on the button to run the code. However, a warning siren alarmed with the screen flashing a bright red color.
CODE NOT RUN: INCOMING TRANSPORT.
"We can't leave yet," Blake shouted to the others. "Someone's coming."
"Could it be Deku?" Megan asked.
"In fact, it's highly likely," Martel said while reading his tablet. "If it were from Void Industries, I would be able to decipher the IP address from the location of the transport. This one, however, has none."
"So we have to do it right after they show up." Blake said. He grabbed the handle to the door into the hallway and flung it open. "Everyone in!"
The room shook when two figures crashed through the ceiling of the pawn shop lobby. They smashed into the old shelves and cracked the wooden floorboards that splintered over the cloud of dust.
Bakugo rose up on top of Drake's body who had taken the brunt of the fall. He threw his fist down, but was stopped by Drake's tail wrapping around his wrist. Stopping the punch, Drake took his right claw and swiped it over Bakugo's face. He screamed with long, deep cuts etched into his skin. Blood bubbles out from the attack which caused Bakugo to lose his balance.
Hunter dropped through the destroyed ceiling behind Bakugo and stabbed him on the sides with his pincers. Bakugo roared and blasted Drake with an eruption underneath him. Drake cried in pain as Bakugo flipped over Hunter and landed behind the large boy. With his speed, Bakugo faced no opposition when he held out his hand and narrowed his fist into a small circle. With his other hand, he held out his palm behind the circle and fired a blast. His furthest hand concentrated the laser into a small, piercing ray that sliced into Hunter's back and ran through to the other side. Hunter flew forward and slammed his face into the thin pawn shop wall. His spider arms turned limp on top of him with his crumpled body struggling to rise back to his feet.
Drake scurried to help Hunter get up, but Bakugo smirked at him and slammed his foot on his hand. Drake shouted and flapped his wings to escape Bakugo's grasp. However, it was no use as the Pro-Hero put all of his weight on Drake's back. He grabbed the base of Drake's wings and gripped them in his tight grasp.
"Distracted, Drake?" Bakugo said. "Trying to help your friend? That's what gets you in trouble, y'know?"
Bakugo pulled on Drake's wings. Drake screamed and balled up his fists. His greatest fear was coming true as Bakugo attempted to remove the part of his body. Drake had no idea if this removal of his wings would be permanent, but it hurt worse than falling into a pool of lava with the pain blinding his yellow eyes with tears. He tried to morph his body into any way possible, but the pain was too much for him to concentrate and control his dragon form. He felt the tight dragon skin tear at the base, and Drake thrashed underneath the stronger man. As painful as the experience was, he tried to pull himself closer to Hunter who tried with all his might to stand and control the river of blood pouring out from the hole in his chest.
"Let's see how fast you can grow these back," Bakugo shouted down at Drake. He gave one last pull with the intent to rip off Drake's wings.
DING!
A sharp chunk of steel pierced Bakugo's skull like a screaming bullet. Bakugo flew back towards the counter of the pawn shop. He crashed through the wooden counter and tumbled to a halt at the base of the wall. More wood and sawdust hid Bakugo's limp frame under a mocha haze that suffocated the room. Drake rolled over to his back and vanished his wings to gaze at the entrance to the white room.
Megan stood at the doorway with Anton behind him. She turned and gave Anton an unwilling high-five with his other unmoved hand.
"Good timing, Anton," Megan said. "I knew you'd throw the metal at the right time."
Robyn brushed past Megan and ran for Hunter. She slid on her knees towards him and activated her quirk. A white circle emanated underneath them and stopped the bleeding. Hunter grunted and tapped his chest; the hole now disappeared but still leaving a nasty mark and pain that ached within his body.
"Everyone alright?" Megan asked.
Drake got up without a word and turned back towards Bakugo. He was already regaining consciousness and pushing on his arms to stand back up.
Behind Megan, a bright light flashed within the room. She looked back and saw Blake at the computer. The light dimmed from the doorway towards the exit chamber, and a green screen flashed on the monitor.
"They're here!" Blake said. He hit his hand on the keyboard.
BACKUP CODE INITIATED.
5:00
4:59
"Everyone in the chamber!" Blake yelled. He ran for the door and raced into the hallway that would lead to the chamber.
Martel pushed bast the other and ran up to Bakugo's body. He pulled out what appeared to be a cerulean caulk gun and waved it around in front of him. Before him, a concrete wall formed where there was previously just space. Martel stepped backwards and formed another layer of concrete. Then, another. Once he got to the doorway, he dropped the gun and took out an electric net dripping with water. Holding the plastic ends, he tossed it up to the frame of the door. It stuck and hummed with an electric current running over the wire. Then, he grabbed his hover board and flew for the exit way.
Megan grabbed Anton by the waist and tucked him under his arm like a football and with him in tow to the exit. Drake rushed to Hunter and looped and arm around his shoulder. Despite the boy being nearly twice his size, his spider arms helped pull them back to the room. Robyn took out her new space sword and pushed Hunter through the small doorway. When she turned back, Bakugo shot back up to his feet and trudged through the destroyed counter.
"Oh, no you don't!" His voice growled through the layers of concrete in the pawn shop room.
Bakugo thrusted both of his hands down and exploded them onto the floor. The momentum caused him to rocket for the entryway. He crashed through the concrete like it was plastic wrap. Bang. Bang. Bang! His face appeared contorted with blood and rage when he streamed for the kids at the doorway. The trio at the doorway could only scream when Bakugo ripped through the electric net and collided with them and shoved them into the room. Bakugo's explosions died out, and the four of them smacked the wall right next to the computer. They collapsed into a heap and sprawled out in the white room.
Bakugo shouted in pain from the net around him zapping his entire frame. His adrenaline raging through him like a broken reservoir dam, he bit the net with his teeth and ripped it in two. The electricity died, and Bakugo burned the net before turning towards the computer. He prepared for another missile to launch from his hands. His palm outstretched, and sweat coagulated around the center.
Swish! Bakugo screamed when the tips of his fingers were sliced clean off from a set of blades that cut through the thick, sawdust-laden air.
Robyn was the first to get up and locked eyes with Bakugo. She had unsheathed her now twin swords and jabbed them towards Bakugo. He gripped his injured hand and balled it up to mute the flow of blood spurting from the absent fingertips.
Bakugo used his other hand and shot out a blast that made Robyn twirl around. Her balance kept her on her toes as she rushed for him again. Bakugo lifted up his gauntlet and blocked one of the slashes from her blade.
However, he couldn't dodge the slash to his midsection that Drake's claw made into his stomach. Bakugo flailed, but he was able to erupt a fireball in Drake's face. He flipped backwards and slammed the ground. Air left his lungs as Drake groaned out with his face singed and covered in blood from battle.
Bakugo, distracted, screamed again when Robyn took advantage and jabbed her blade forward again. This time, the sword sliced into his arm and chopped all the way to the bone. Hunter approached and shot out more webbing to keep him captive. Before the pain was too much for him, Bakugo spun around and erupted flames from his hands. The blast knocked both Hunter and Robyn to opposite corners of the room. Robyn skid to a halt at the corner furthest from the doorway to the exit chamber. Drake looked at her clutching his arm and stumbled for the door.
"You two go," Robyn shouted. "I'll handle him."
Drake gasped in pain when he put weight in his ankle. The door was twisted inward with his toes visible in the burnt rubber of his shoes. Blood dripped from his eyebrow and dripped down into his eye. He blinked to get rid of the fluid and leaned on the handle for the steel door into the hallway. Drake coughed up blood and slid down to his knees. With little strength remaining, his hand dragged over the frame and left a trail of blood towards his head. He turned his head and panted for air. His limbs and muscles had no more energy, gelatin appendages that hung dead on his body. All he could see was the blurred shapes of Robyn and Hunter fighting Bakugo.
In the hallway, Blake ran to the end by the exit chamber and saw a few of the other students in the room through the small plexiglass window above the handle. Martel skated next to Blake with his hover board humming inches above the ground. Megan ran with Anton as the hallway shook with smoke billowing out of the walls.
At the end of the hall, the door flung open. Izuku, appearing immaculate in his hero uniform, stepped into the hall and saw the students charging towards him.
"Blake?" Izuku asked right as the boy flew into his chest. Blake grunted out and fell backwards onto the floor. He bounced away and slid back into Megan's legs tumbled with Anton crushed underneath her. She grit her teeth and lifted Anton back up with Blake climbing to his feet. Martel stopped next to Izuku and held out the tablet revealing the countdown for the transport.
"Professor Deku," Martel said. "We have to get in the chamber immediately."
"What's happening?" Izuku asked. "Where are the others?"
"Bakugo is trying to destroy the computer," Blake said. "The code is already running to get us home. We only have a minute."
Behind him, the other half of the class stepped off the platform. James, in fact, marched for the hallway prepared to fight.
"James, wait! Everyone stop," Megan shouted. "The transport home leaves in only a couple minutes."
"That's plenty of time to kick his ass," James said.
"No, James," Izuku held out his palm to halt his students. "Class 1-A, stay here. We're not losing anyone else!"
Bang! Another rumble from down the hall shook the marble room. Some of tile popped out to the walls and shattered onto the floor.
"We can take him," James shouted.
"There's too little time," Izuku said. "So stay here and wait for me."
"But wh-."
"That's an order," Izuku yelled. "And if you don't obey, I'm giving you detention for a year!"
James hushed up. He scowled at Izuku, but he decided to step back and grabbed Moxie's hand. The rest of the class stepped back up to the platform. Izuku brushed past his students and ran for the white room.
"Wait, there's no time," Megan shouted. "It leaves in ninety seconds!"
Izuku ignored her and sprinted with all of his might towards the source of the vibrations and explosions that shook the entire building.
In the room, Bakugo dodged another web strike from Hunter. He blew an explosion into the ground and spun in the air. He dodged Hunter's flying punch and grabbed Hunter's head. He pulled his hand up and blasted upward which caused him to land on the ground with a harsh landing on the floor. Holding Hunter's head, Bakugo slammed his skull into his knee. The impact knocked Hunter out cold, and Bakugo threw his unconscious body to the side.
Robyn charged for Bakugo again. She threw her swords at him, but he blocked each attack. She stabbed and sliced at him, but his large gauntlets blocked each move despite some of the cuts leaving marks in his suit. Bakugo shot another explosion at her face. Robyn dodged it with the tips of her hair getting singed. The blast collided with the wall and blew off chunks of marble just inches away from the computer that counted down to their exit.
Robyn lunged one last time before Bakugo slapped away her sword. He spun around with his momentum from the explosions and grabbed both of Robyn's wrists and squeezed the life out of them. Robyn screamed and dropped both swords. They clattered on the ground with the crack from Robyn's wrist leaving a sickly echo that made Drake wince.
"That was cute," Bakugo said.
Then, he ran his hands down towards Robyn's neck. Without any other theatrics, he chocked her with one hand and wrestled her chin sideways with the other. He sneered down at the girl whose bright blue eyes looked down at her original sword; the one with her brother's name etched in the metal. It was a surprisingly comforting thought to her as Bakugo twisted her head in opposite directions.
CRUNCH!
"But playtime is over," Bakugo said with a mirthless chuckle.
Izuku flung open the door which pushed Drake onto his back with his arms splayed out. Izuku froze dead in his tracks right as Robyn's corpse pounded the ground and collapsed into a heap of bone that would no longer move.
"Robyn!" Izuku stammered. "Kacchan! Kacchan, What have you done? That was one of our students!"
Bakugo turned around with a maniacal grin on his face. "What do you care, Deku? They're not even real."
"They are!" Izuku screamed. "Kacchan, you've been tricked! Edith Void has lied to you. Our students are real! Maybe this is a simulation, but our students are real!"
"They're not," Bakugo said. "They're A.I! Computer programs! Just useless extras getting in the way of me being with Ochako and my kid!"
"They're real," Izuku cried out. "They're human beings, Kacchan! We have to save them!"
Bakugo chuckled and grabbed Hunter's head. He placed it in his hands the same way as Robyn a few seconds prior.
"Here's the thing, Deku," Bakugo spat out with blood leaking from his mouth. "Even if that's true, even if they're real, even if they've been tricked into this just like I tricked you…I don't care."
"Kacchan, please," Izuku said. "This isn't right. You know it isn't!"
"I'm going to do what I need to keep this technology and this universe safe," Bakugo squeezed his hands around Hunter's neck. "So I can start this story and this simulation all over again. And this time, I'll save Ochako. And I'll be with my kid. And I don't care how many children I have to agree to have sacrificed to do it."
Drake, laying on the ground with a pool of blood crafting a halo around his head, could only stare at the horrifying site. Izuku continued to plead with Bakugo while Hunter remained limp in the blonde man's grasp. His mouth tasted the metallic liquid that dropped over his face, and his yellow eyes grew dark from the fatigue that suffocated his vision.
Drake focused and closed his eyes. He knew only one thing that could possibly save Hunter and the rest of his class now. He had never done such a thing before, but now was the one time he needed his power more than ever. The inside of his body was frigid and unmoving, no flame felt within his frame while he shifted through his different memories of studying his own quirk.
The time he first learned of it.
The time he lost control.
The time he time he had to forgive himself.
Drake now sat on the floor of his apartment. The carpet was still that ugly copper, and the small window outside revealed the quiet river invaded by fishermen that sailed through the titanic snow-soaked mountains in small, rusted dingies. They haunted him. The entire town haunted him.
With the television playing more news footage of the latest capture of an especially evil married villain couple in Japan, Drake sniffed the scent of caramel in the air. He stood up, his bare feet scrunching int he carpet, and he walked to the miniscule kitchenette area. The apartment itself was sparse save for the couch and a small circular wooden table. In the tiny kitchen, a gas stove bubbled liquid caramel in a large pot. Next to it, a plate of red apples at on top of a paper towel.
Drake dipped his hand in the boiling caramel. He lifted his finger to his mouth and licked the tip. The substance stuck to the roof of his mouth, and he had to smack his lips and swallow quite a bit before it ran down his throat and warmed his normally cold stomach.
"You can still burn your finger, ya know."
Drake turned back towards the voice. His mother stood by the window framed by the two ferns at either side of the portal to the outside world.
"Remember, the doctor said you just can't feel the heat. Doesn't mean you can't get hurt by it," she said in a strong voice.
Drake sighed and licked the rest of his finger. "It still won't burn me like anyone else."
His mother sat down on the couch. Drake followed suit and sat there to watch the news reports.
"Don't you watch anything else?" She asked. "It's not healthy to be watching only the news at your age. Or any age, for that matter."
"I must learn," Drake said. "How to utilize this quirk. How to control it."
"Ah, control it," His mom said. "So, you're still guilty, aren't you?"
"Of course I am, mom," Drake frowned. "Why wouldn't I?"
"Because you'll destroy yourself," she said. "Putting that guilt on yourself will lead you to either being a mean, nasty hero, or a villain."
"You're saying I'll be a villain," Drake said with offense.
"No," his mom said. "Never. You're too good. And you are good, Drake. You just don't give people a chance. And most of all, you don't give yourself that chance."
"I don't deserve it," Drake said. "I threw that out years ago."
His mom smiled at him and grabbed his hand. "I can tell you till I'm blue in the face that it wasn't your fault. That there was nothing you could have done. That it was a freak accident. That you're not bad or a villain or anything like that. That your grandfather is still proud of you and the man I know you're going to be. But…it's not going to be enough. Not until you believe it."
"And I don't," Drake said. "I don't believe I'm actually good. That I matter. That I even deserve to matter."
"You deserve every chance this world has to give," She said. "And guess what? The people out there? The ones that are going to need you one day? They deserve you. That's how much you matter, Drake. And I know you'll do it. Because you're that good."
Drake sniffled and looked away from his mother in embarrassment. "Then when will this pain go away? The pain in my heart?"
"I wish I knew," his mother said. "I wish I could take that pain away. But that's your cross to bear, Drake. It's your demon to fight and defeat. And it may be one that you have to fight every day. For a long time. But you will defeat it. Because you have so much good to do in the world. They, all those people out there, they are going to need you one day. Will you be there for them.
Drake turned to his mother.
"Of course I will."
"Why?"
"I owe it to them."
"You owe it to the world."
"I owe it to grandpa."
"You owe it to your class."
"I owe it to my friends."
"You owe it to yourself."
"I owe it to myself."
"Now, it's time to wake up."
Drake's eyes opened.
Time to wake up…and be free.
In the white room, Bakugo could only gape at the strange ruby glow that emanated around Drake who was previously on the floor. He stumbled up to his feet, his teeth bare and sharp with his yellow eyes shrinking down the irises to a thin obsidian glint. He huffed and stepped between Bakugo and Izuku. The red-head balled up his fists and stares right into Bakugo's eyes who blinked in surprise.
Without another sound, Drake's clothes ripped away, and his skin was completely covered in red dragon scales that morphed out of his skin. His frame grew to twice the size of Bakugo with his tail flowing out from behind him and smacking Izuku in the face. His head was angular and shaped into a diamond face that had red thorns on his head that mimicked his spiked red hair. His eyes enlarged to the size of dinner plates, the deep amber color reflected the now small body of Bakugo. The entire size of the dragon was over half of the room and blocked Bakugo from both the computer and Izuku.
The dragon opened its mouth and let out a nerve-shattering shriek that reverberated around the marble room. Izuku cried out and fell to his knees while covering his ears. Bakugo fell into his back, releasing Hunter, and he scrambled backwards on his haunches.
"What the shit?" Bakugo yelled.
The dragon lunges right for Bakugo. He blasted an explosion at his face, but the flames simply ran over the face. The dragon's mouth opened to reveal foot long ivory teeth that gleamed in the fluorescent lighting of the bright marble room. Bakugo screamed when the jaw twisted and latched onto his body. It closed over his torso and dragged him upward through the sky.
The dragon broke through the ceiling as of it were paper. It soared upward with Bakugo in its jaws. He tried everything to get out of its bite. He slammed explosions into its eyes. He clawed and stabbed at it to no avail. He thrusted his grenade gauntlet into its mouth and pushed his arm through the jagged teeth of the beast. He yanked the pin and blew a massive beam of flames that exploded right into the gullet of the dragon. However, to Bakugo's horror, the explosion simply disappeared into the dragon down its slimy throat. Flying high into the Los Angeles sky, Bakugo felt the moist air from the dragon's nose blow over him with an angry snort from the monster.
Now above even the tops of the distant downtown skyscrapers, a small dot in the sapphire sky already twinkling with burning stars and distant mountains, Bakugo's eyes widened when he saw a strange auburn glow emanate from the end of the dark throat. Bakugo cried out and tried to wrench his body from the jaws of the dragon, but it was no use. The flames rose up through the dragon and roared like a train towards Bakugo.
In a last ditch effort, Bakugo reached into his pocket. He flicked his fingers at the remote to get him out of his predicament, but he could not press the button.
The explosion of flames from the dragon's mouth roasted Bakugo within the teeth of its jaw. Bakugo's mouth dropped open in an inaudible scream. The fire burned his skin, and he felt his hair fly off with his body turning charred. The fire suffocated him with smoke filling up his lungs. His entire being was blinded by the hot light of the furious flames that burned him in the air. The dragon released Bakugo, but the power of the attack kept him levitated above the streets and engulfed by the fire.
The dragon closed its mouth and slid through the air like a snake around and back towards the pawn shop. Bakugo plummeted towards the earth with his eyes flickering closed from fatigue. The world danced around him; buildings and the lights of the city streets melded into a kaleidoscope of tungsten and aqua neon. He grew dizzy, his body spinning like a fluttering leaf towards the ground.
Bakugo reached back into his pocket. He thrusted his hand over the remote and jabbed the button on the device with his remaining strength.
In the white room, Izuku saw Bakugo's tumbling figure disappear. The dragon rode the invisible waves of the air and darted to the open ceiling leading to the cot chamber.
Izuku ran over and grabbed Robyn's limp body. He threw her over his shoulder and leaned down towards Hunter. He gripped Hunter's collar and started to drag them to the hallway. He screamed out to the heavens and pulled the heavy boy, inching towards the doorway with every pull.
On the computer, the timer was down to twenty seconds. Izuku's heart battered his chest when his eyes flickered to the screen and saw the countdown nearing its end. He panicked and yanked on Hunter's collar harder. Sweat stung his eyes as his head leaned backwards in tension.
For just a second, the memory of him as a little boy pulling garbage on a beach came back to his head. All of this effort to be a hero, and he couldn't even get his students back to safety. The blood and tears he toiled through to make sure he could be a hero that would make All Might and his mother proud would be wasted. He was doomed to be stuck in this world forever. Along with his innocent students that were simply roped into this crazy scheme.
I'm sorry, everyone, Izuku thought to himself. I failed all of you.
Izuku closed his eyes. His limbs were about to fail from fatigue. His legs shook while his arms cramped from the strain on him. With twenty seconds left on the timer, he was defeated.
Until a knock awoke from behind awoke him.
Behind him, the door burst open. Behind him, the entire Class 1-A was lined up behind Abel who appeared at the front. In a single-file line, Abel wrapped his arms around Izuku who gasped from the touch.
"Abel," Izuku shouted. "Class? What are you doing?"
"Pull!" Abel ignored his teacher and felt his legs lifted off the ground. Behind him, Austin latched around Abel and thrusted his feet backwards with all of his strength. Then, the other members of the class all pulled them through the hallway towards the exit chamber.
Izuku rushed backwards with Hunter dragged on the ground over the marble floor. Sparks ignited from white room as a flashing red light flicked on and an alarm blared and bounced through the hallway. The class yelled out with the human train rushing through the hall.
At the end of the line, Lloyd grabbed James by the collar and sprinted with him trying to keep up running backwards. In the center, Megan activated her quirk and caused Katsu and Moxie to move at a blurring speed. This caused the entire line, connected to one another, to barrel down the hall and past the open door at the end.
Lloyd took a dust spike and jammed it onto the floor as a makeshift brake from the human train. The momentum halted them, and it caused Lloyd to somersault in the air. James tripped and flew back into the boy as the other students crashed backwards onto the platform. All of them rolled on the floor in a heap, but they had arrived.
Izuku rubbed his head and sat up. From the hallway, the dragon broke through the walls and trashed the entire area. It bashed the ceiling and crashed past marble and steel that it contorted with its large frame. Using the momentum of flight, the dragon squeezed through the narrow hall before popping out in the exit chamber. The entire building before Izuku was now gone with the walls destroyed and showing the computer in what was once the white room. Now, the ceiling and walls destroyed, the entire neighborhood was now visible from holes in the side of the chamber and the annihilated pawn shop.
The dragon circled above the platform before faltering in size. The red scales reverted back to normal human skin. The body shrunk down to the size of a normal teenager before Drake appeared with his normal frame and red hair. He fell headfirst towards the platform, his eyes closing as the boy fell into a dazed fugue.
Fortunately, he fell into four pairs of arms that bent, but did not break the makeshift trampoline that kept Drake from hitting the ground with a sickening crunch.
"Gotcha!" Abel said. "Good job, Abelsquad!
Blake cheered and let go of Drake. He climbed on Austin's shoulders and pumped his fist. "Yeah, we got everyone!"
"Even Drake," Katsu said. However, he flinched when he looked down at the comatose boy. "Who is very naked right now."
"Okay, why do I have to keep seeing people naked today?" Abel said.
Martel took out a pair of black sweatpants from behind him and threw them at Austin. The boy blushed and poked Drake's legs through the fabric.
Izuku scanned the room. The platform vibrated with a bright, heavenly light appearing above them. A heat coursed through the entire group with the white light starting to swirl lines of strange code around the platform.
"Everyone hang on," Izuku said. "We're going home!"
The class huddled together as Izuku stood at the dye of the platform to protect his students. He saw the computer in the other room shake as the countdown ticked down to the final seconds.
Five.
Four.
Three.
Just as Izuku was about to run back to his class, another strange light appeared with code running over a thin funnel. Izuku's heart slammed into his stomach, and his blood ran ice cold through his weakening body. Right in front of the computer, Bakugo appeared from thin air looking untouched and strong as ever.
He held out his grenade gauntlet and placed his finger right on the pin.
"No!" Izuku screamed. "Kaccha-."
Ping!
"Are you sure, mom? I know you don't like heroes."
"Blake, I just don't like people stopping me. It's nothing personal!"
"So,, you and dad would be okay if I go?"
"Well, you don't have much of a choice. Do ya?"
"I just want to make you proud."
"And whatever you do, whether it's as a villain or hero, you will make us proud. As long as you don't get changed by it. Be proud of who you are, and give whatever you do your all. Dive in a hundred percent!"
"Okay. I love you, mom."
"I love you, too. But also, Blake? One more thing."
"Yeah?"
"If you do become a hero...don't interfere with me or your father's business. We will fight back."
"Fighting you and dad? That sounds like fun! I can't wait!"
"Heh. Neither can I."
The wreckage was similar to the graveyard that was their school. Every building within three blocks of the pawn shop was flattened. Any concrete of the road or sidewalk was covered in plywood and brick along with broken glass shards and overturned cars. Smoke hissed out of small fires that burned in isolated heaps around the mountains of decimated siding and roofing that crossed over the ground like a chestnut quilt.
Within one specific mound, Drake's red hair poked out of the tower of torn plywood that covered his body. The wood fell to the side and shook with the boy digging his way out of the debris. Drake grunted and pushed away the wood before his bare shoulder, covered in dirt and blood, appeared out of cemetery that were the buildings of the south-central neighborhood. The deep lavender sky above was obscured by the smoke and dust that invaded his airwaves and make him hack out his lungs.
Drake tried to activate any aspect of his quirk, but none would come. His body was warm for once, and he was blinded in one eye that was swollen shut from the explosion that had just taken out the exit chamber. Without any other thought, he scanned the small clearing by the source of the blast. Despite the sneaking suspicion that their one way out of this hellhole was destroyed, he could only think about his classmates and surveyed the plane for a hint of any of them.
Standing in the center, Bakugo stood unharmed and chuckled at the sight surrounding him. No other students appeared, most of them buried in the burnt wood and torn rubber of dislodged car tires and broken manhole covers. The stench of gasoline and leaking sewage water that pooled at the base of the mound across from Drake made the boy wince along with the pain that throbbed in his ankle.
Bakugo turned and saw a blue hat attached to a head just above the surface of a wood pile. He stormed over with a calm rage fueling him and reached down into the ground. Drake clawed with his bare hands at the debris surrounding him, but a tight rubber rope of a downed power line caught his ankle in its grasp. He howled in pain and pushed away more wood.
Bakugo grabbed the head underneath the hat. Abel's sunglasses were bent in half with the lenses shattered down the middle. His body was limp, but his eyes were just open despite the blood that ran over his face. Bakugo lifted Abel up in front of him and squeezed his neck.
Drake clawed harder, but each stroke made more debris pile into the hole and kept him trapped. He panted and cleared his throat of dust and swallowed to power his vocal chords to any sort of noise he could muster.
"Someone help," Drake said. "Mister Deku, somebody!"
Bakugo laughed and squeezed harder around Abel's neck. The boy could only gather a small modicum of strength to bat at Bakugo's fists with his own. His headphones shorted out with only a soft guitar riff spitting out of his headphones before they finally died away into silence.
"This was a fun class," Bakugo said to Drake. "You guys were the closest to getting out of here as anyone. But that's the thing about being a hero. Close is the only difference between saving someone..."
Abel's neck creaked from the pressure. Abel gagged and felt his vision fading into nothingness.
"And ending them for good," Bakugo said.
He faced Abel with a maniacal grin stretched over his face. He intended on it being the last thing Abel ever saw.
"I'll say this. Of all the students in this class," Bakugo laughed. "I'm going to enjoy killing you the most."
"Why?" Abel croaked out.
"No real reason," Bakugo said. "I just don't like you, earphones."
Drake cried out and could only hold his hand out towards Bakugo as he squeezed the life out of Abel. No hero or student were close by and alert to save him. All Drake could do was watch in horror as the boy's legs flailed and started to slow in movement. His eyes popped just a hair outside of their sockets, and the boy's face was as red as the fire that burnt just inches away from Bakugo.
Bakugo stopped toying with Abel. One more squeeze, and the boy's neck would snap like the wing of a hummingbird. He frowned and prepared to give one last twist of his wrist.
Drake closed his eyes. He hid his head and waited for the inevitable crunch of Abel's broken neck and his dead body littering the dirt and grime on the ground.
Then, a gag. But from a deeper, more gravel-coated voice.
Drake opened his eyes and peeked over his arm. Bakugo's face dropped into a shocked stare at Abel. His hand slipped away from Abel, and his grasp weakened to release the boy from his chokehold.
Abel fell to the ground clutching his throat. He wheezed for air and crawled away from Bakugo. He brushed over the broken wood and puddles of mud before hiding behind a large truck tire laying by a remnant of the steel door that led to the exit chamber.
Drake gaped at Bakugo who gagged and hyperventilated for air. He clutched the area by his heart and fell onto his knees. He reached his arm out as if he were trying to bat away the source of the invisible attack, but the pain would not subside. His chest tightened into a vice grip around his heart, the pressure stabbing away from him as blood stopped flowing through his body. He crawled over the wreckage and cried out before he flipped onto his back and thrashed on the floor.
Drake craned his neck to the spot directly in front of Bakugo. Looming over the man, Blake stood with a curled smile beaming down on him. In both of his hands, the hilt of a knife that he had just plunged into his chest right beside his heart.
"Heh," Blake chuckled. "I always dreamed that it would come down to this."
Blake laughed when he dug the knife further into his body. Bakugo screamed and pawed at Blake's leg. However, Blake just kicked his arm aside and twisted the knife into the cavity. The metal grazed the edge of his heart, which made his whole body shake from the trauma. Bakugo flipped again onto his stomach and grabbed the area around his heart.
"You taught us well, Mister Bakugo," Blake said. "But if there's one impression you left, it's that you could never let go of the past. Never forgive yourself. Never forget those who wronged you. Well, guess what? Heh heh."
Blake gripped the knife and prepared himself for one last plunge.
"I don't forget, either."
Blake kneeled down. Bakugo rose up to his knees and lifted his head right up to Blake's with their noses nearly touching.
"This is for putting my parents in jail, you bastard," Blake said.
Blake fell onto the blade. The ground collided with the knife and caused the metal to slice up into his his heart and the muscle of his back. The knife cut clean through him with blood pooling on the fabric of his shirt.
Bakugo gave one last gasp and flipped back onto his back. His head almost touching the crown of Blake's he lay parallel to him facing upward at the sky. He shuttered for one final breath, and the light in his red eyes dulled into a dead reflection of the twilight sky above him. His hands splayed out to both sides of him, and his limbs fell into a permanent reverie of stillness. His muscles betrayed no more movement before he gave one final exhale.
Drake yelled and broke out of his prison. The wood splintered and flew away from his bare torso. He ignored the pain ringing through his head and his leg and stumbled his way over the clearing. By this point, the other students started to awaken and emerge from their spots. James blew up the wood above him with Lloyd turning the piece above him to dust. Anton rolled out of a destroyed truck with Leo gaining consciousness underneath. Alistair and Moxie grabbed one of Megan's arms and pulled her out of an overturned car with Synaes breaking a block of wood that kept Austin buried within a bed of gravel. She held the cane out and pulled him out as Katsu crashed through the side of a semi-truck that had toppled on top of him. In his arms, Martel pulled out his hoverboard, and they both cruised on it downward towards the surface.
Izuku awoke holding onto Robyn and Hunter in either arm. He blinked and focused his gaze on Drake running towards two figures laying on the ground. Regaining his strength, Izuku grabbed both of his students and dragged them towards the center to see what was occurring. He saw the spiked blonde hair and familiar costume on the ground, and his breath hitched when he traced the outline of Bakugo and the black-haired child laying face down next to him.
"Kacchan," Izuku said. "Kacchan! Blake!"
Izuku lifted Hunter and Robyn and limped as fast as he could towards the center of the debris clearing. However, Drake beat all of them and slid on his knees towards the two dead on the ground.
"Blake," Drake grabbed the boy and flipped him over. A wide, unsettled smile was forever painted on his face with his blank eyes crinkled from happiness. Drake saw his own face within his gaze, and the boy started to tear up.
"Oh, Blake," Drake said. "Blake, I'm so sorry."
He grabbed Blake's head and buried his face in the boy's dust-laden hair. Drake cried and stroked the boy's hair. Tears streamed down his cheek and melded with the streaks of blood that continued to flow over his face like a river.
"Blake?" Austin stammered. Abel leaned on the taller boy for support. "Blake? Why did he-?"
"To save me," Abel coughed out. "To save all of us."
Izuku reached Bakugo and placed his hand on his chest. No heartbeat. He felt under his nose, but no air breathed into his fingers. Izuku started to tear up. He squeezed Bakugo's face with his shoulders shaking from the cascading confusion and sadness that bashed his soul like a tsunami.
"Professor Deku," Lloyd said. "What does this mean? Does it mean we are stuck here?"
"This was the only way, wasn't it?" Megan asked with her voice breaking at the end.
"No, there has to be another way," Moxie said. "Right, Mister Deku?"
Izuku remained silent and stared down at Bakugo.
"No, there's options," Lloyd said. "There has to be."
"Stop it, Lloyd," James growled. "This was it. We're stuck here, and for real."
"No, it can't be," Anton said. "We were supposed to get out. We need to get out!"
"Oh, God," Lloyd grabbed the necklace of his family around his neck. "We're...we're stuck here, aren't we?"
"No," Abel panted. "We can't be. I still gotta see my mom at home! My parents, my family. My mom! She needs to see me again," he turned to Austin and looked up at the blonde man trying to remain strong. "Austin...I gotta see my mom again! I can't be stuck here Austin!"
Austin grabbed the boy and enveloped him in a hug. Abel buried his head in Austin's chest as the taller boy held him steady and rubbed his back. "It's not fair," Abel said. "Why can't I see my mom again?"
Katsu sniffled and hid his eyes away from the others. "I-I never even got to tell my mom goodbye. I need to see my mom, too!"
"I...I need my mom and dad, too," Megan shuttered out when she began to cry as well. "I need to talk to them."
As the class started to panic, Moxie plastered a brave face and kneeled down to Izuku. She snuck up to his ear and leaned her mouth up to it.
"Mister Deku," Moxie said. "Please. We need a hero."
Izuku, however, was despondent. His lip trembled before he ran his fingers over Bakugo's frozen face.
"Kacchan," Izuku said. "Kacchan, why would you do this? After all we've been through! He just...he was supposed to be a hero!"
The memories of the dead man in his arms raced through him; a film strip that would not pause for a second of examination. Them growing up together. Bakugo bullying him. Finally seeing the power Izuku held. Fighting each other time and time again. Finally gaining each others respect. Rising through the ranks of the Pro-Heroes. Reaching the summit together. All of the pain and triumph Bakugo gave Izuku, and all of it concluding in his death in a digital universe he had helped trapped them within.
Later, Izuku could chastise himself for breaking down in front of his students. He would smack himself for not keeping a cool head under pressure. He could lecture his students on how not to act during battle. However, in this moment where he saw his childhood bully, friend, maybe even his best friend, was dead, Izuku would not care how he appeared. This hero that had given him so much grief, but also so much joy, a man that ultimately made him a stronger and better hero than he could have imagined, a person that he truly loved and yet was betrayed by without a hint of regret.
And yet, despite that betrayal...
He still loved him.
Izuku cried.
The End.
Just kidding.
Well, this is not a fun time for anyone. What will happen next? What do you think will? We are almost at the end, so stay with me! I'll be here as long as you're with me!
Make sure you review! And tell your friends. This is the best BNHA fic with OCs ever! Tell them that. I'm sure they'll agree.
Thank you. See you soon!