There's no chance for us
It's all decided for us
This world has only one
Sweet moment set aside for us - Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen
That night Shinso slept on the floor between us. Katsuki had complained about the sleepover, but I was still feeling too vulnerable to be alone with him. The Captain had set course to Calais, where there were completely abandoned port structures. It had been the crossing port between France and Brittania for centuries, and a place where anyone could go and tie up well enough to move personnel.
"Good morning, Kittens." Midnight swayed in on completely impractical heeled boots. Her corsetry was black leather with red lace trim paired with a long, straight black skirt with the same red lace overlay. Over it all she wore a simple white medical coat.
Katsuki sat up, and Shinso rubbed sleep out of his eyes. I yawned, not bothering to hide it. If she were here, I had a good idea of what was going to happen next. I took a deep breath and held it, hoping Shinso knew enough to do the same.
"Aizawa has sent word that I was to come down here and make you…" She smiled in a predatory way, "comfortable. Your ship is within range of this." She reached into the pocket of her medical coat, and tossed Katsuki a radio that had obviously seen better days. "It has just enough charge for you to get out a message when you wake."
"Wake?" Katsuki frowned, "I'm already up. I'm not fuckin' going back to sleep."
"That's where you are wrong." She slipped out of the coat, the smooth ivory skin of her breasts mounded above the corset. "You are very pretty. I'm glad. Because otherwise I might hate you too much in principle." A pastel nebula oozed from her shoulders, "I suppose I should have started with 'good night'."
No one had accounted for Katsuki's amazing metabolism or the madness that held Enji Todoroki in its grip. The Magdalene had only been airborne for nearly two hours, sailing over the English channel to our safe-house in Brittania. I'd heard about it, but we'd been on the job ever since I had been picked up all those months ago.
After handing off Katsuki and running back to our room to change into a proper uniform, I went down to find Dabi. He was sitting, his fingers tented in apparent thought, his chaise toward the portholes showing nothing but white as we picked up speed on a winter storm that wanted to go our way as well. I stood on the edge of the bay and watched him. I needed to confront him now, though he'd almost killed me last night with his thoughtless words.
"Dabi?"
"You know that's not my name."
I bit my lip, I hoped this wasn't the end of us. I'd told Katsuki that I loved Dabi again just last night, and that wouldn't change. Even after everything, Dabi was the man I wanted to spend my life with. I wanted to change the world with him, for him if I had to. I came to stand behind him.
I needed to end this childishness, "It's the only one that matters.'' His head dipped, "I don't know why you couldn't tell me the truth, but it's done. Everyone here knows who you are. Once Bakugo spills his guts, everyone in Jap-Asia will know too."
He looked at me, his eyes seeming to caress me, "It's too dangerous for me to remain here now. Just knowing that the Magdalene has provided me shelter will make my father come find us. We'll be hunted to the ends of the Earth for his precious Shoto, the child he wanted, even if I am not here. I'm done with this life." His gaze returned to the view, "My only regret is you."
"What part?"
He stood, one violent motion, his flames crawling across his hands and up the sleeves of his trench. I stood my ground, craning my neck to keep eye contact, to show him that I was unafraid. That his damned father could hunt me personally until I was an old woman, that I didn't regret us. Not one day, not one hour, not one second.
"Sonar contact! Possibly hostile." Hizashi's voice sounded over the shipwide. We both turned, then scrambled to the nearest portholes. "Prepare to run! Tear the lid off, Mei! Ahead full! Batten down for maneuvers! All hands, battlestations!"
"This isn't over."
Dabi gave me a terse nod before screaming over his shoulder, "To arms! Squad one!" I was already running to my duty, securing all the doors on this level. Then I would be back to run and fetch or whatever Dabi needed while he was at station. I darted out of the artillery bay.
By the time I was done, the first squad was manning the rails, Dabi at the aft railgun, scanning with binoculars. He didn't need them. I'd only seen the Imperial ships from afar, and to see what I assumed to be the Endeavor bearing on us shocked me. Her size, the cloud of silvered vapor and smoke trailing, I'd never seen anything like it.
"Close your mouth, sailor," Dabi let the binoculars hang as he turned to regard me. "I need to say this, Ochaco. I am sorry for lying to you, for not telling you my story. You are the best thing to have ever happened to me." He lifted a hand crowned with staples and laid it on my cheek, "In case we don't make it..."
"In case we do?"
"Sure." He chuckled, "In either case. I love you. Will you forgive me?"
"Done." It was the simple truth, and he threw all regulations to the wind as his hand went to my hair, pulling me close. He kissed me with abandon, his teeth and tongue teasing me, making me feel an altogether different urgency.
When he broke away, he nodded, "Battlestations, mister."
I crossed my arms, "At your service, commander."
He returned to the railgun as the first wave of electromagnetic pulses fired from the Endeavor. She was fast, coming amidships, and though we should have been able to outrun her, she'd been running at full speed and wasn't slowing to allow us to play get-away. We heard the thrumming of the rails hitting our buffers, and Dabi sneered out at the pursuing ship.
"Hold fire!" Dabi shouted, the crew already sighting, artillery crew standing by with shells for reloading. "Hold until she's broadside! We have to be smarter than them!" He gave me a look, "I hope that wasn't Bakugo's work. I feel better already if it was. That was ill done." Dabi stabbed the intercom, "Bridge, we're ready. Signal Mei to hold steady! She's showing us her belly, we won't get another chance."
Shoto's voice came over, "Fire at will. The order is fire at will! Cap is still trying to run."
"So be it, little brother. It's been nice knowing ya." He stood straight, lifting his binoculars again, "The order is fire at will, gentlemen. Let's make them fear us."
The opening volley made my hair stand on end. The static charge took a few seconds to rebuild, and I stared wildly out the portals that were wide open to the atmosphere now. The rails were silent, their crews loading the heavy artillery cannon now, since the rails would do more damage to our ship the closer the Endeavor got.
Another huge pulse went out, the electromagnetic energy aimed at the lowest decks, an effort to knock out her engines. That would sink her instantly, and I turned worried eyes on Dabi who was frowning at the ship, his lips moving in the calculations he was no doubt running through.
He dropped his binoculars, but I grabbed him, "He didn't give us up! He won't try to kill us, please! Just aim for her nav-con system. She won't be able to do more than limp to port. Please!" He stared at me and I shot another worried glance at the Endeavor. The ship seemed close enough to touch, now. "Dabi, I trust him."
He grabbed my shoulders, pulling me close for a hungry, sloppy kiss that left my toes curled, and I dropped nervelessly back to my heels. "Okay." He lifted his voice, "All rails Port, prepare to fire at.." His eyes scanned the ship, "Nav controls! Forward hatch; same inclination, forward!"
The pulses cracked the air as the Endeavor pulled along mid-ships. The once-shiny knobs and spinnerets of their nav controls had been blackened, some of the optic obviously fried, but their back ups seemed up and running, as she fired her rails, strafing our sides and lower engine decks in a wild arc. I hoped to god that Katsuki was there, and just as worried about me as I was about him.
When I saw him, my mouth gaped open. He was wearing what was obviously their uniform, but his hair was tall and prickly as it had been for most of our time together. He was standing at the port hole arguing with a dark-haired woman. He slammed the window open and swung a leg out. He couldn't...
Katsuki bellowed at me, "Ochaco!"
I instantly relieved my gravity, screaming wordlessly as I flung myself from the artillery bay. I knew, without even registering it consciously, that Katsuki would not let me fall. I could hear the sonic crack-boom of his explosions as he followed my example, the scream of anger as Dabi flung fire out, the blue flame turning orange as it licked up the sides of the Endeavor.
Katsuki caught me, dragging us down at an eye-watering rate before I could slap my hand to an open patch of skin. I tightened my hold, the familiarity of flying with him coming back like an old lover.
"We have to put a stop to this!" Wind whistled around us, whipping my clothes tight to my body, Katsuki's cravat whipping my face as it clung to his neck. He thrust out an arm, sending a blast out to the side, causing us to rocket in a corkscrew toward his ship.
"I'm open to suggestions," my eyes were closed, trusting Katsuki with my life once again. "We're dry," I shouted over the din, "but we won't give up."
"Neither will Enji." I almost didn't hear him, and he stole my words as he fired again, "We have to stop him." We banked again, a steep fall toward the blue and white of the Endeavor and Katsuki's artillery bay. "Coming in hot!"
He landed hard, and we rolled before the inertia of his blasts wore out and my anti grav took over and we bounced high. I swallowed convulsively, and we slammed against the overhead. I screamed, my back had taken the brunt of the left over inertia of the sudden stop. Even weightless, it hurt and I coughed violently, splattering Katsuki's neck and shoulder with droplets of blood and saliva.
"Come around and let me carry you before you drop us." I shook my head, but he felt it, "We don't have time to argue this, partner."
I could hear my own whimpering, and I tried to stop, to be the girl I knew I could be, but I was afraid I'd seriously injured myself. Even so, I scooted around to let Katsuki crush me to his chest. He buried his head in my hair for a moment, "I'm sorry it happened this way. I wish..."
"It's no use, Cap." I sounded breathy, but like I could face the rest of this bad adventure. I opened my eyes, over his shoulder the entire bay was staring at us. Faces that looked like the ones I'd just abandoned, streaked with soot, sweat running over cheeks, some open mouthed as their guns were momentarily stilled.
"Drop us," Katsuki said quietly. I unlocked my arms to press my fingers together and we fell. Katsuki landed hard on his feet, his boots hitting with a thump that shook us. He didn't let me go, and I gratefully held on until he needed his hands free.
"What're you staring at?" He barked, and the crewmen turned back to their posts, many picking up hand guns or directing their quirks toward the Magdalene. "Stop that shit! They're getting away, you copy me?"
"Aye, aye!" Someone crowed, a chorus sounded shortly; buoyed by their belief in their young commander. Each and every one of them stood at attention as Katsuki surveyed them.
"Captain Todoroki has stepped over the line, allowing a personal vendetta to cloud his mind. These people," he gestured out where fire, electricity, and even Hizashi's sonic scream were still blasting the Endeavor. "They're not the enemy."
A slim woman, the same dark hair I'd noticed earlier and her ears hanging strangely low, stepped forward, "I can broadcast, maybe we can get a cease fire on their part as well. We have to finish this, commander." Her dark hair swung as she searched the deck, her ears elongated and thunked with little pings into the side of the ship. "Ready, commander, what do you want to say?"
Katsuki let me go, and I stood, feeling strangely light-headed. He rotated his neck, a crack or two sounding in the suddenly quiet bay. "Cease fire, Ensign Jiro."
The woman, Jiro, faced the steel plate and announced in a loud voice, "Cease fire!"
"Command to signal: cease fire!" Katsuki ordered, and another crewman scurried to a set of flags, and began the slow, measured signals that would hopefully make Dabi and the others stop trying to sink us.
"No!" A voice thundered overhead, the ship's communication system crackled to life.
Everyone faced it, but Katsuki shouted over it, "Jiro, ask again! Crewman, don't you dare stop. It's time to finish this."
"Fire! All guns on the rebel ship Magdalene! Sink her! Sink her!" The howl sounded crazed and I fearfully faced the loudspeaker. So, this was Dabi's father, and Shoto's as well. I shuddered, I knew what he could do. If he could cruelly abuse his own children and wife, then I didn't want to know what would happen to me in his hands. "Conn, about!" The speaker spewed his orders, and I felt the ship lurch, "Ramming speed, Mr. Usagiyama!"
"No!" I rocked, catching my balance as the ship turned abruptly, "No! He can't!"
"We'll stop him." Katsuki grabbed my arm, "Tell them what's happening, Jiro!" We took off at a run, my head pounding like a drum, my lungs laboring. I coughed again, this time splattering my hand with blood. I clenched my jaw. This was it, I wouldn't let this stop me. We were going to change the world today.
We thundered through passageways, crew flattening themselves to the bulkheads as Katsuki barrelled toward them. I could still clearly hear Jiro's frantic calls for a cease fire and a warning that they were preparing to come about. I hoped that Cap would do the right thing. He'd taken a liking to the explosive boy before we'd taken him back.
"This way," Katsuki directed, pointing up the stairs, "get to the end of this passageway, and wait. I have to get into my room. I need my gauntlets. This is..." He shook his head, "I think you're the only chance I have at taking down the captain. His quirk is insanely powerful."
"Okay," I turned, coughing again, and wiping my fingers on my knickers, leaving a steak of burgundy behind.
Katsuki touched my shoulder, "A kiss? For good luck?"
"Not a chance." I breathed shallowly, trying to conserve my breath.
"I was sure that would work."
I coughed lightly, "Sorry, Cap. I'll wait for you up there." I turned my back, and darted up the ladder. I didn't have long to wait. Katsuki appeared just moments later, his coat and caveat gone, large enameled gauntlets in their place. He lifted his hand, and they gleamed emerald in the overhead lighting.
"Now, I'm ready."
AN/ Mosevic you rock, pal!
