Ch. 5 Wake Up Call
It wasn't the strange feeling of threadbare sheets against her skin or the consistent electric beep nearby that woke it. It was the smell. Stale and a little acrid, the sterile air had been grating on her nerves more and more as she began to stir from her sleep. Her mind was hazy. Honestly, she was surprised she could even put any thoughts together as she blinked against the groggy haze that threatened to pull her back to an uneasy sleep. Ochaco pulled a face as she propped herself and felt an awful tug from inside her navel. Heavy waves of nausea pulled her back down to the scratchy bed. As she winced at her insides churning themselves into knots, Uraraka began to notice the nodes and needles attached to her arms. Bandages covered her hands and most of her arms. She tried to sit up again but her head swam, letting out a pained groan when she flopped back onto the bed. A familiar voice, warm and bright, called out from the outer edge of her blurry vision.
"Oh she's awake!"
Mina's brilliant golden eyes shone in Ochaco's face suddenly. Her friend awkwardly leaned over the edge of the bed, inspecting her face before wrapping two thin arms around Ochaco for a tight hug.
"I thought you were a goner!" Mina sobbed. Ochaco's protest for air and space went ignored. She was vaguely aware of the presence of two other figures standing at the foot of her bed but couldn't get a word out to them. "I was so worried about you! Don't ever do that to me again, you hear?"
"Y-yeah, Mina," Ochaco gave weakly. They exchanged a wobbled smile before Uraraka turned attention to the other two people in the room. With her head a little clearer, somehow, she started to take in her surroundings. Her hospital bed was surrounded by cloth curtains, one of many in a large hospital wing. Pale, dead fluorescent lights illuminated every inch of the space and hardly allowed any shadows in its sight. Captain Hosori stood in her crisp uniform with a severe look on her face. Ochaco vaguely wondered if the officer's skin would sag without her hair pulled so tightly back. The other person was in a white lab coat over mint green scrubs. A white face mask with matching scrub adorned their head.
"Cap-captain Hosori? What're you doin' here?" Ochaco asked with a groggy croak. Hosori gave her a brief smile and sharply walked up next to Mina. Her face appeared slightly relaxed up close though there was something dulled in her dark eyes that Ochaco was weary of.
"Yes, there are a few things I wanted to discuss with you while you were... out of action as it were. First, I wanted to give you my personal thanks, Uravity. Your efforts the other day saved dozens of lives."
Hosori extended a stiff hand out to Ochaco who took it with her own wobbling from effort. The police captain gripped Uraraka tightly and gave her one firm shake before pulling back quickly. Ochaco winced, nursing the knuckles gingerly while Hosori spoke once again.
"Secondly, I thought you would like to know that the individuals who you helped recover have all been taken care of. They were in perfect health the last time I saw them."
"Where are they now?" Ochaco asked, pushing through the bile that forced its way into her throat, "What's going to happen to them?"
Hosori gave her another reassuring smile. Ochaco felt relief flood her body, trickling into the ends of her fingers. It seemed that good news had arrived and it was helping alleviate her nausea.
"I believe they are being offered transport back to their home countries," was all Hosori offered. Ochaco quietly processed the news. Of course they were being deported. What other option was there? There was nothing more that she could do for them. Unfortunately, no amount of reasoning could soothe the need to give more aid to her rescues. She was a hero after all; it's what she did. Ochaco shared a look between Mina and the physician who only gave her a shrug of confusion.
"Well that explains a lot..." Uraraka grumbled, crossing her arms in frustration. Mina gave her a sympathetic chuckle. Hosori cleared her throat and Ochaco's hopes fell through at the sight of the severe look that returned to the captain's aged face. Ochaco did her best to sit up straighter and mentally braced for what was coming.
"So, Uravity... Mind you this is just precautionary. There will be a more appropriate time for you to answer questions about the incident yesterday but I just... I just need to have some peace of mind." Well this was different. When was the captain ever this unsure?
"Go on, Cap," Ochaco offered with a determined smile, "Hit me."
"Do you have connections to the criminal known as, 'Deku?' There are some rumors that he was down in the subway with you but we couldn't find any evidence."
"Uh, captain? Who is Deku?" Ochaco lied. She inwardly cursed at being cornered so unexpectedly. She and Mina had started a minor investigation since the warehouse raid. They hadn't made much progress, which was all well and fine. It really was more of a pet project for Uraraka than an official case for the agency. The two had been very careful with their prodding but this had the potential to look very bad for them. Thankfully, it seemed Hosori took the bait. She heaved a sigh of relief and ran a gnarled hand across her face.
"He is... He's a villain. Not much is known about him. What we have from the raid where you led the charge amounts to just whispers. And with the open attack yesterday, a few of the criminals we booked claimed that he was present. You don't recall seeing anyone with a strange mask do you? Maybe one that looked like a rabbit?" Ochaco took a moment to think it over before shaking her head. Of course there had been people with strange costumes and looks. In her memory, she only recalled a few faces. The green skin thugs, the two women who helped her out, the crowd of rowdy criminals. A pair of emerald eyes. Nothing like a rabbit mask jumped out at her.
Captain Hosori gave a nod of satisfaction and stiffened up again. Ochaco took note obvious the officer made her transitions, as if making it a point to have other people notice the swing in mood.
"Very well. Thank you again, Uravity. We'll be asking for your reports a full twenty-four hours after your discharge here. Pinky. Doctor." With a quick salute, Captain Hosori walked off at a breakneck pace. Left in the wake of Hosori's dust, the three only exchanged another confused look before the doctor began to speak.
"All right, Ms. Uraraka. I'm Doctor Fujima. You passed out after your little adventure yesterday. We took the standard tests and it just seems you overdid it. We're going to keep under observation for the next day. Just a precaution, you know. Pretty standard stuff here... Right, so we've just got to make sure you're not dehydrated and then you should be good to go. Anyway questions?"
"Yeah," Ochaco started with an edge in her voice, "Is it really necessary to keep me out another day? I've got work to get to. And what's with the bandages? I thought you said I passed out."
"Yes, well, there were some... mistakes when you were being handed over to us. Let's just say that Lemillion and Halogin were trying to be extra helpful. Thankfully those are just superficial wounds. And yes, it actually is necessary to keep you here. I want to make sure that you're in full health. You're a pro, after all. It'd be a shame if you went back out into the field only to come back here because we were careless with your recovery."
Before Ochaco or Mina could get in another word, Fujima walked off in the same direction Hosori had. Ochaco threw her hands up with an exasperated gasp. It was bad enough that she lost a whole day from passing out, but to keep her cooped up here for another twenty four hours? Absurd. Absolute madness. Mina gave her a sympathetic rub once again.
"Hey, it could be worse?" Ashido offered with a little hope in her voice. Uraraka gave her a skeptical look, pouting slightly while her friend continued to talk. "Speaking of... I kinda, maybe, called your parents?"
"What?!" Ochaco bolted upright and fell back down in pain. The sudden movement irritated her stomach, causing new spins of dizziness to engulf her mind. She squinted through her agony at Mina who was sheepishly explaining herself.
"Yeah, so I called them right? But, like, they didn't pick up. So I left them this innocuous voice mail. Well I guess they watched something on the news 'cause they called a couple hours ago and they were maaaaaad. You should maybe call them back."
Ochaco seethed, ignoring her stomach gnawing itself into oblivion. Mina could only blink at her partner as she handed over a small phone. Uraraka snatched it and took a moment to look it over. It was sleek, new, and shining. It wasn't her own.
"What happened to my phone?" she asked, not wanting more bad news. Unfortunately, Mina's face was all the answer she needed. "Shit. That's just great."
"Yeah, it musta fell out of your pocket during the whole fight in the subway. Anyway, someone dropped this off at the office for you, fresh outta the box. I think it was paid for by someone you saved. We made sure it wasn't rigged or anything so it's safe."
Ochaco turned over the phone in her hands, inspecting the gleaming plastic. It wasn't uncommon to get gifts from the people they rescued but this was a little over the top. At least it isn't a crazy expensive one... she thought as she laid it on her lap. Ochaco felt Mina's eyes on her and looked up.
"What's up, Mina? Everything ok?"
"Well to be honest, no. Why'd you lie to Hosori about you-know-who?" Mina whispered, agitation fixed upon her face. Ochaco gripped the phone in her hand a little tightly. Guilt mingled with the wracking nausea in her stomach while she spoke.
"I didn't want to endanger the agency, Mina. Imagine what it would look like to her! We just opened up our own agency and all of sudden we're wrapped up in some crazy stuff with this Deku? Not a great look. This agency is everything we've worked so hard for and if I got us in hot water because of some project? No, that's not fair to us. Not to you."
Mina took a moment to hang her head. Ochaco watched her pink friend run her hands through her hair, frustration practically vibrating off the acid hero. Uraraka gave her a quizzical look which stayed until Mina explained herself.
"You're right! You're right. It's just that, well, we might have actually already gotten mixed up with this guy before."
"What?!" Ochaco hissed.
"Ok, so here's what we have so far: nothing. His name is Deku. That's it. We don't know what he does, or why he was there at the warehouse. I figured that those traffickers were just walking in on his territory. Only, dig this: we've seen this kind of stuff before. Remember that wild drug bust? The one shortly after we opened up?"
"Yeah," Ochaco answered slowly as her brain cranked out the memory, "We got there and the whole crew had already been tied up. Like a present or something. Wait, that was him?!"
Mina gave her a slight shrug. Ochaco was reeling. Just how much was this guy involved in? And why did Hosori label him a villain if he was taking out the bad guys? Things weren't adding up. The look on her partner's face told Ochaco that Mina was thinking the same thing.
"I think we actually need to dig deeper on this, 'Chaco. The Cap doesn't go snooping around small time crooks for nothing. I think this guy might be the real deal."
"You're right," Ochaco slowly mused, "If he's bigger than we know, this could mean a lot of good things for us if we bust 'im. Imagine the headlines! We could rival the Endeavor agency!" Mina burst out laughing which Ochaco found contagious. They trickled into a light chuckle before being shushed by a passing nurse. A moment of companionable silence passed between them. Ochaco felt a sudden rush of gratitude toward her partner. It was nice to have such a close friend be a reliable confidante in uncertain times like this. Mina stood up and stretched with a little pop sounding out from her spine.
"Where should we start? We've got no leads and this guy's MO just seems so weird," Mina whined.
"Well, we could take a look at some of the statements from the drug bust, the raid, and yesterday's fight. See if there's anything that might even hint at this guy being around. We can also poke around the other agencies. Ask what they know without making it too obvious."
"Or, " Mina interrupted, "We do this: you get better. Then when you're clear to come back to the office, we'll start really working on this Deku problem. I'll give you everything I can find but you'll steer this thing, got it? You are the one who started looking into this."
"You bet, Mina!"
The two heroes chatted for a bit, discussing the happenings at the office while she was out and the aftermath of the fight that caused Ochaco's stint in the hospital. It was early evening when Mina made her way out of the hospital and back to the office.
"You owe me for covering you. I want, like, a long, loooong weekend 'Chaco!" she warned before she left for the office. Ochaco rolled her eyes, waving her friend away as she left. Ochaco let her hand drop as Mina's footsteps faded away. She felt drained. Nothing about this Deku made any sense and he was causing her more headaches. If Captain Hosori was interested then it would be better to start an open investigation the moment she returned to work. They'd be able to have access to police files and statements more easily that way. Ochaco bit her lip. It wasn't just that they had more work now. No, it was Deku's way of dealing with his rivals that gave her pause. There weren't any casualties and she swore that he was comforting that young woman at the warehouse. Villains don't comfort people. That's just how it was. What kind of crook was this guy? Some wannabe vigilante? Uraraka looked at her phone and contemplated calling her parents but decided against it. She had received enough weirdness for one day. Better to call them when she had more strength.
She made herself as comfortable as possible while her mind raced. Flashes of the fight from the day before played out as she closed her eyes. Just as her drowsy brain began to slow down, a pair of brilliant green eyes burned into her mind's eye. A comforting, warm voice called out to her, letting her know it was going to be ok, that she should release everything she had held up.
It's ok, Uravity. Just let it go. It'll be fine.
She fell asleep believing the words.
The first Uraraka did after getting up from a fitful sleep was call her parents. She figured that they were throwing a fit over the lack of any word from her end. Better to get over with first thing in the morning. It didn't take long for the call to pick up. No amount of bracing could have prepared her for her father's mournful wrath.
"OCHACO!" Her dad's wail poured out of the earpiece and pierced her ear drums. Uraraka pulled back the phone widely, her face contorted into an unseemly cringe. "What happened to you?! Why didn't you call us yesterday? Are you well? What were you thinking?"
"H-hey daddy." Ochaco tried to take a diplomatic approach, knowing full well that her parents were going to wring her dry for being so careless. Her mother sounded off in the background with an angry screech.
"That Ochaco? Ochaco! What the hell were you thinkin' child?" She rolled her eyes as she switched the call to the video interface. A few beats passed as her parents fumbled with their own phone and suddenly their sunburnt faces filled her screen. They were squinting at the camera, confusion etched into the wrinkles on their face. She spat out a laugh as they continued to berate her for being reckless.
"You damn near gave us a heart attack and you're laugin' at us? Did your brain get scrambled from all those rocks that fell on ya?"
"Pffft! N-no, momma. I-I - pffft! - didn't get buried or anything. I promise, I'm ok. They're gonna release me a little later today. Can't wait to get outta here and back to work."
"Nuh uh, young lady," her father chided, "You'll be resting up till you're actually strong enough to go back. No more of this nonsense of working on yer days off."
Ochaco frowned at them. Just how much did Mina actually tell them. Ah well, no use in arguing with them. Ochaco smiled as they continued to fret over her. Her mother asked if there was any way Mina could cover some extra days while her father merely suggested that she take it easy at home. She almost shook her head. Didn't they understand that a hero's work was never done? Besides, there was an investigation to get underway.
"Sweetie, we say this outta love," her mother said, "But you gotta rest. You worry us so much and we know it comes with the territory but... but you'll always be my little girl. Just - just watch yourself ok?" Ochaco felt tears prick at the corners of her eyes. She watched her parents give her encouraging smiles as her father cut the call.
"Alright, we gotta go honey. Got surfin' lessons in a half hour. Be. Sure. To. Rest. You hear?"
"Yes, daddy." They waved her goodbye a little mournfully. Ochaco stared at her brown eyes reflected in the now dark screen. She felt like a failure. Ochaco Uraraka was a pro hero, a good one at that. She had made a name for herself, opened up an agency with a classmate, and fulfilled her dream to help her parents relax. Yet they were still worried about her. How much stronger would she have to get in order for them not to concern themselves? Despite the leaps and bounds she made, moments like these reminded her that it would never be enough. She felt a deep exhaustion well up in her, pooling at the center and spreading to the very tips of her appendages. It would never be enough no matter how hard she worked. At least that was how it felt.
She shook her head, shrugging off the negative thoughts. Her parents were grateful, of course. They took every chance to announce how proud of her they were, how much they loved her. She just wished she could reach a point where it would feel like she actually accomplished something. Ochaco took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. For now, all she had to do was rest. If that was the case, then would focus all her energy on recovering as quickly as possible.
A few hours later, Uraraka found herself stiffly walking around the discharge hall. Mina had been wise enough to bring the spare change of clothes that Ochaco kept at the office for emergencies. The muscles in her legs refused to work correctly as she shuffled on the tiled floor towards the nurses' desk. Sitting behind a brightly lit monitor was a disgruntled looking man in pale green scrubs. He typed furiously and pointedly ignored her as she approached the desk. Ochaco waited a few seconds, clutching the doctor's hand written notes like a talisman. She coughed gently to catch the man's attention. He looked haggard. The beginnings of a very short beard clung to his face, large bruised bags hung under his eyes. The nurse gave her a grunt when he finally looked away from the monitor. He held out a hand, resuming his work with the other hand. Ochaco placed the slip of paper into his meaty fingers and recoiled when he aggressively pulled back. The nurse scanned it quickly and began typing furiously as he spoke.
"Doc says you need to rest for at least two more days. Follow up with your PCP if you feel the need. If you experience any more nausea or digestional issues, come back immediately. Got it?"
"Y-yeah." Ochaco gave the nurse a weird look. He looked, stopping his typing in mid action. His face softened and he rubbed his face roughly. The exhaustion became more pronounced as he pulled the skin around his eyes.
"Sorry, miss. It's just been a rough couple of days. There's been a constant stream of patients coming in off the streets," he said, dropping his voice and leaning towards her, "According to some of the cops that've been here, there's some kind of rampage going on out there."
"Rampage? Like a killing spree?" Ochaco grew concerned. The nurse shook his head, shaggy hair swaying with the swivel.
"No that's the weird thing. While this guy's targeting just about everyone, dig this: he's leaving them alive. A few broken bones, concussions, but not a single death. Most folks just end up having a hangover from the stuff he knocks them out with."
Ochaco stiffened. Deku. The thought pierced her sharply, leaving no room for error. She wanted to press more but without Mina or her work on hand, Ochaco wouldn't make much progress. If anything, she would just feed her anxiety more fuel. The nurse changed gears and gave her some discharge paperwork with a little more cheer gleaming in his eyes. At long last, she was free. Uraraka walked out into the bright daylight through the sliding double doors. Pressure built up in her as she watched an ambulance pulled up to the emergency entrance.
Wonder if that's another one of Deku's victims, she pondered. Ochaco hesitantly pulled her gaze away and began to march her way towards her apartment. It was hard for her not to bother the EMTs pulling someone out of the ambulance. They had a job to do and it wasn't worth interrupting them to satiate her curiosity.
It was a beautiful Spring day, the pale sky filled with a slight chill that was offset by the sun's warmth. Roving crowds milled about the sidewalks and grew denser the closer she got to her apartment building. She felt a smile on her lips despite the worries gnawing at her thoughts. With such a lively energy in the world, how could she feel so anxious? There'd be time to capture Deku another day. Now was the time to just enjoy the moment. Uraraka pressed on, humming softly to herself, lost in her own world. She had a slight glaze over her eyes and mulled over the paperwork waiting for her at the office. It wouldn't be a fun few weeks going back to work but for now, she just took in the day's warmth while she walked home. For now, there just wasn't time to worry.
