"I said wake her up." A raspy voice demanded as Bulla tried to focus through her drowsiness. Where...am I...?
"Are you crazy!? If she's really as strong as you say, she could wipe out this whole place!" A brawny voice followed.
"Come on, don't be so gullible, Mag." A younger male voice refuted. "Something like that would be All Might level, no contest. You really think someone her age would be that strong?"
"I don't care what you think. We're waking her up." The raspy voice told them. What's...going on...?
"Shigaraki, I believe that would be ill-advised! I saw it for myself, this was no magic trick! In an instant, a large section of that forest was just gone!" A more familiar voice spoke. "Magne's right. If we wake her up, she could explode again."
"But if that's the case, how could she possibly have that kind of power?" Another voiced asked. "She's just a child, after all."
"Yeah, you're right, just leave her asleep. RELEASE THE BEAST!" Sounded two voices back to back, almost as if one person was speaking.
"At least she's cute. Maybe I'll make her even prettier." A younger female voice spoke as Bulla felt a hand reach around her chin. Through her drowsiness, her senses were finally beginning to return to her. With a groan, she let out a cough, her throat dry from the few days she spent passed out.
"I knew there was something about you from the start. That power of yours is kinda funny." Shigaraki spoke as Bulla saw the girl's face contort into a wicked smile.
"My name's Toga, but you can definitely call me Himiko! What's your name?!" She asked excitedly, pulling her face to look into her eyes.
Although still dazed, Bulla's mind began to race, asking a million questions per second. Despite her first instinct to struggle, she knew that if she was careless, she'd die. "My name... It's Eschalot..."
Toga's face immediately warped from a crooked smile to a scowl. "Well that's not a very cute name."
"Why am I here?" Bulla asked, regaining a control on her panicked heart rate. At the slightest nudge of her bindings, the patch-faced villain from that night had stepped out from behind the bar.
"You'd better watch yourself. Wouldn't want to leave you with too many more burn scars, now would we?" He taunted. In the background, Bulla could just barely make out the sound of Aizawa talking. Her eyes slowly turned over to the television that was left on in the back.
"...harm to 27 of our students. And we as the staff were ill-prepared. We take responsibility for any trauma caused by our negligence. It's our duty to train heroes, but also to protect heroes in training." Aizawa spoke, as he, Vlad King, and Principal Nezu took a bow.
With grated laughter, Shigaraki couldn't help but boast. "Oh that? I hope you don't mind the entertainment. I just wanted to watch as the cracks formed in superhero society. Just imagine the irony. Heroes being the bad guys for once. You can't expect them to be perfect though. After all, modern-day heroes have it rough."
"As soon as a hero accepts payment for saving people, they are no longer a hero. Those are the ideals that Stain left for us." The lizard-looking man spouted.
"Those so-called 'heroes' are nothing but flash, trying to act like they're doing it for the good of mankind! What a joke!" The boy in the school uniform said from across the room.
"Once everyone starts asking questions... Questions like 'What is a hero?' 'What is justice?' 'Is this society truly fair?' Then we will know we've won. And wouldn't you want to be on the winning side?" Every word out of this man's mouth disgusted Bulla. Her face only solidified that fact, although his next words came as a surprise. "Compress, let her go."
"And why do I get to be the lucky candidate?" The slender man with the top hat asked, holding his hands to his hips.
"Oh, come on, Compress. If we're trying to recruit her, it'd only be fair for us to treat her like an equal." He persisted. "Beside, she's the coveted Class Representative. She wouldn't dare try to take us all at once. You're smart like that, right?"
Everything about this pisses me off! She thought to herself as Compress came around to loosen her bindings. As much as I'd hate to admit it, this is too much of a dicey situation to stay and fight.
"For the record, I would like to apologize on their behalf." Compress told her. "Although we had to use brutish and forceful actions, please do understand that we are not some kind of unruly mob committing crimes without a third act in mind." He explained Bulla rose from her chair and retreated to the corner.
"Easy now. Everyone here has suffered. And you? I can see within you more suffering than most." Shigaraki told her as he stepped closer. His words had seemed to touch something deep down inside of Bulla. Something...dark.
"What the hell are you blabbering on about...?" She suddenly said, her fears slowly twisting into rage. "What makes you think...that for even a second..." All of a sudden, a powerful gale began to explode around Bulla, knocking everyone to the ground. "My family is gone... And the only person I had left... Your thug tried to kill." Bulla's fists clenched tight, and her teeth grinded together. Looking up, her eyes were filled anger. "What makes you think that you know anything about my suffering?!"
"And you're sure she's this way?!" Bakugo asked Pan as they flew through the air.
"I wasn't so much before, but now I'm sure of it! She just had a huge power spike! I wasn't even sure if it was her for a minute!" Pan told him.
"What the hell do you mean by that? I thought you said her Kai was specific! How would you not be able to tell if it was her?"
"It's hard to explain! My dad wasn't around long enough to give me any in-depth training, so I'm honestly winging it here! But from my understand, Bulla has a limited well of strength, and this power I'm feeling is far beyond anything I've ever felt from her! It's almost as if-!"
"She's changed somehow, right?" Bakugo asked, interrupting her as he landed on the roof below him.
"Yeah, exactly. How did you-"
"After you went down, something happened to her. Her hair turned golden and her strength was on a whole other level. It was impossible for me to wrap my head around." He explained as Pan looked down to him.
Suddenly, as two and two clicked in her mind, her eyes widened with concern. "Oh no... Bakugo, we have to go!" She emphasized as her Ki exploded. She shot towards the rising energy as Bakugo followed closely behind.
"What is with you two and secrets!? Are you gonna tell me what the hell is going on?" He said in frustration.
"If it's what you're describing, then Bulla just transformed into a monster with nothing strong enough to stop her if she doesn't get a handle on it!" Pan stressed as her hands began to tremble. "Come on, body, I know you're recovering, but now's not the time to fail me. KAIO-KEN!"
Enveloped in red, Pan suddenly exploded ahead, and Bakugo blasted off as best as he could to keep up.
"HAAAAAAA!" Bulla roared, blood drawing from her fists as her hair began to rise.
"Shigaraki! We have to do something!" Compress called out as the everyone scrambled to get off the ground. With his mask-hand having been blown off, his eyes narrowed behind his hand as he gazed upon the untapped well of power and destruction.
"Kurogiri, warp her away!" He commanded.
"I can't get close!" Kurogiri told him as he struggled to pick himself off of the wall.
"Compress!" In a panic, Mr. Compress reached out, just barely able to touch Bulla as he sealed her away, immediately stopping the gale.
"Well that went about as well as I expected." Dabi told him.
"Geez, talk about overdramatic." Toga mentioned, blowing a raspberry.
"What do you want to do about her?" Compress asked as Shigaraki reached for his hand.
"Leave her in there for a while. We can try again once-" Before Shigaraki could finish his request, the small blue orb that now held Bulla cracked, and the powerful gale that had previously disappeared bellowed once again. "Compress, what's going on?!"
"I-I don't know! Nobody's ever broken my Compress before!" First at a dull buzz, her roars only grew in volume as more cracks formed. And with a white light, she broke free from her prison.
Now bathed in a golden light, she felt strength coursing through her body. Although she was aware of the golden light surrounding her, looking down at her hands, she understood that the dream-like power that she vaguely remembered had not returned to her. Nevertheless, she knew now that she could win. Her eyes, devoid of any distinct pupil narrowed, cold and focused on her enemies, and her hair settled in a spiked form, despite retaining its original blue color. "You've tried to take everything from me as an attempt to get me to join you." In an instant, Bulla vanished and reappeared behind Kurogiri. "I remember from the USJ. Your physical body is hidden beneath this cloud. Meaning all I have to do is..." In a single swift motion, one that nobody could even see, she slammed Kurogiri downward, cracking his neck brace and shattering the bar below him as he plummeted downward.
"Screw this!" Dabi called out as he threw his flames towards the student. In the blink of an eye, Dabi flew into the wall, slumping to the ground unconscious, and Magne slammed into the floor, cracking the ground beneath them.
"You're outmatched, Shigaraki." Bulla told him coldly as everyone else began to draw their weapons.
With a moment of silence hanging heavy in the air, Shigaraki turned to the television behind him, which had said 'Sound Only' ever since he turned off the press conference. "Master, I need you to lend me your power."
"What a wise decision, Tomura Shigaraki." A mysterious voice said from the television.
"Master? No matter. He will fall like the rest of y-!" Without warning, there was a knock at the door.
"Hello? I've got a pizza delivery here." A voice said from the other side of the door.
There was a moment of silence, the tension broken as everyone, Bulla included, watched the door in confusion. Just then, "SMAASH!" All Might shattered the wall like it was made of twigs.
"What the-!?"
"Kurogiri's knocked out! AWAKEN SHADOW MAN!" The man in black yelled in two different tones, both voices in a panic.
"Mustard!" Shigaraki called out.
"Right!" The student-aged kid responded as a purple gas began to emit from his body. However, it was to no avail.
Leaping in, Pro Hero Kamui Woods prepared his attack. "Pre-Emptive Binding... Lacquered Chain Prison!" In a swift motion, he stretched his arm out, allowing the wood to spread from his arm, and binding the six villains and three unconscious assailants.
As the villains lied pinned against the wall, Mustard refused to quit. "Oh, yeah!?" He quickly began to expel gas from the pores of his body, however, he was unable to form a proper cloud before Retired Pro Hero Gran Torino zoomed across the room, bouncing from wall to wall. With a single swift kick, he broke the mask the surrounded Mustard's face, knocking him out in the process.
"It'd be in your best interest to cooperate with us." He told the villain as he retreated to All Might's side.
"Just what I'd expect from a competent new hero. And a veteran Pro who moves faster than the eye could see. You can't run anymore, League of Villains." His cold gaze looked over the organization with a triumphant smile. "Understand? Because we are here now!"
"Right after the press conference?! They had this ruse planned the whole time!" Mr. Compress said in a panic.
"One tends to neglect defense when they're on the offense." Pro Hero Edgeshot explained as he slid along the wall, returning to the 3D plain while opening the door. "And we didn't come alone. Take a look." Just outside, police crowded the surrounding area, along with #2 Pro Hero, Endeavor.
"After all the trouble I went through preparing this, the final boss comes knocking at my doorstep." The frustration on Shigaraki face was clear. With Kurogiri incapacitated by Bulla, he was unable to bring in his reinforcements.
Like a beacon, All Might's brilliant radiance bestowed a devastating pressure upon the villains before them. "Do you see, now, League of Villains? Through the diligent investigation of our police, we have subdued your Nomu. You have no more moves, Tomura Shigaraki. Your game has ended."
"All Might..." Shigaraki growled. With no more options, he prepared to play his final card.
As Bakugo and Pan rushed to the source of the power spike, Pan's worry only grew. "So, are you gonna tell me about what's going on, or what?!" Bakugo asked as they continued their path.
"Believe me, this is bigger than you, Bakugo. You have no idea what you're up against!" Pan told him as she grit her teeth, finding his intrusion to being increasingly more frustrating.
"I think I pieced it together, honestly. I just wanted to confirm, since it's nothing I've ever dealt with before."
"Just what are you on about?!"
"She's transformed into a Super Saiyan, right?" Bakugo suddenly said, causing her eyes to widen as she grinded to a complete stop, allowing the red aura around her to fade.
With Bakugo landing on a nearby roof, Pan turned to him. "How do you know about that form?!" She asked him, fury filling her voice.
"Krillin lost his life, causing Goku to awaken into the legendary raging warrior called a 'Super Saiyan'. She told me herself. Once I saw how worried you were, and how little you were willing to tell me, I put two and two-!"
Before he could finish, Pan reached down in a flash of red and gripped him by the collar, swiftly lifting him into the air. "You listen to me, Katsuki Bakugo. I've done everything in my power to protect her. Both from the evils in the world, and from herself. This is a power like nothing you've ever known. I need to become strong enough to protect her from herself, even now! You couldn't possibly-!"
"I get it." Bakugo said, cutting her words short. "You want to be strong enough to save her, no matter what. I get it. She's giving me a whole new reason to achieve strength like that." As his teeth began to grind, his hand reached up, and he gripped the wrist that bound him by his collar. "So why the hell are we just floating here! Let's go save her, dammit!"
"Bakugo..." With his words weighing heavily on her mind, she lowered the two of them to the roof below, releasing her grip. "You're right." She told him, gritting her teeth from the backlash of the Kaio-Ken. For Bulla's sake, she bit her tongue and drudged on, blasting off towards the source of Bulla's massive power, and Bakugo followed along.
It wasn't until they almost made it they their eyes laid upon the horrible scene before them. "Hey... What the hell's going on?!" Bakugo asked in frustration. Several ranks of police officers filled the streets, and Pro Heroes scrambled about as they sought to eliminate the Nomu that were now flooding the streets, emerging from floating pools of silver sludge.
"Aren't those the Nomu from the USJ?!" She asked in a panic.
"You couldn't tell?!" Bakugo asked.
"No! Everyone here has a power of some kind! So when a bunch of strong powers are bundled together, it's more difficult to tell when they're friendly or hostile! Besides, I was focused on Bulla over-!" As she pointed out towards the building ahead, All Might suddenly flew out of the massive hole in the wall. "Wha...What? Where did she go!?"
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU MEAN 'WHERE DID SHE GO'?! SHE DIDN'T JUST DISAPPEAR!" Looking up, Bakugo came to a realization. It's... All Might...
"But that's just it! Her power spike faded just now, and it feels like she's no longer in the area! The other powers I was sensing are gone, too!"
"Kurogiri..." Bakugo growled as he blasted off. "Come on!"
"Where are we going!" Pan asked as she followed behind, looking up at All Might's disappearing frame.
"All Might definitely knows where she is. That warpy-bastard must have taken everyone away! If we follow All Might, he'll lead us right to her!"
"Are you kidding?! We actually need to keep pace with him!"
"We'll do it!" He yelled in what seemed like desperation. "We have to!"
His determination resonated with Pan, and very much reminded her of Vegeta. When there was something that had to be done, he was always determined to do it, until the very end. With a sigh, she grit her teeth hard. "Fine then. Watch over me when we stop." She told him. Just as he had looked over his shoulder in confusion, her aura warped into a deep crimson, enveloping her body completely as she blasted off. "KAOI-KEN x3!" As she had passed Bakugo, she gripped him by his arms and took off. Although she wasn't fast enough to keep up with All Might, she was able to drastically slow the distance being created between them. It wasn't long before they had reached a crater, and All Might began to battle with a man dressed in a suit and mask.
"Who the hell is that?" Bakugo asked as they began their descent.
"I don't know, but there's something weird about him! It's like he has a bunch of different powers within him that I can sense! But I can't maintain focus!" Just then, Pan's eyes widened. Bulla was knocked out on the ground below, and All Might zipped around, fighting off the scattered villain as well as their boss.
Nearby, there were several somewhat familiar powers below, huddling behind cover. However, as Pan began her descent, she felt herself losing control. "Son? Son!" Bakugo called out for her, his voice dimming with each passing second. It was only mere moments before she slipped out of consciousness.