Chapter 10 – Panic Room
The weekend passed with little fanfare. Aine looked over Kaminari's paperwork in addition to the records from his middle school she had requested.
Everything she found confirmed her suspicions, it was very obvious that he had ADHD. She typed up a list of accommodations and recommendations to send to the teachers to help him and emailed it to Nedzu for approval.
Sessions for the week had been about how she expected; several of the students were starting to feel more comfortable with her and had begun to open up.
Then there was Bakugou. Nothing she had tried seemed to get through to him, so sessions were mostly spent with him sitting on the couch while she did paperwork. Asking his friends hadn't helped much, they mostly echoed what Shouta had told her: Bakugou would talk when he was ready.
Her last student for the week was one of the flashiest she had visited with, but he had been open with her about some of his concerns and had even expressed concerns about some of his classmates.
As had become routine, as soon as Nemuri was finished teaching she made herself at home on the sofa in Aine's office. This Friday was no exception as Nemuri came in the door talking about the chaos that had occurred during the day.
As Nemuri was talking about a badly timed prank one of the students attempted on the support class, Aine's phone began ringing. She smiled in apology at Nemuri before accepting the call.
"It's Nedzu" she mouthed.
"Good afternoon, Principal Nedzu."
"Good afternoon, Miss Satterfield. My apologies but could you come down to my office please, there is an urgent matter to discuss."
Aine felt a twinge of anxiety in her stomach but squashed it down, "Yes sir! I am on my way."
"What was that about?" Nemuri stretched out on the sofa.
Aine shrugged and slipped the phone back into her pocket, "I'm sure it's nothing, Nedzu is wanting to see me in his office. It's got to be about the accommodation requests I put in for some of the students. It shouldn't take too long." With a wave, she headed out the door and down the hallway.
As she approached the door, she spotted a pair of unfamiliar faces standing outside making her hair stand on end. Something wasn't sitting right, her gut felt like lead as she opened the door.
Inside stood a semi-familiar face that she hadn't seen since the hospital, Yokumiru Mera. Nedzu sat behind his desk with a laptop computer facing away from him with an elderly woman's face projecting through a video call. The principal looked at her apologetically, "Miss Satterfield, thank you for coming in. I believe you remember Mr. Mera from our visit in the hospital." Mr. Mera gave a short bow that Aine returned. "And this is the President of the Hero Public Safety Commission."
Aine gave a short respectful bow to the computer screen, "To what do I owe the honor of having not one but two members of the Commission present?"
The woman on the computer screen leaned forward, her fingertips templed as she looked into the screen.
"I'll get straight to the point, Miss Satterfield." the woman's eyes seemed to drill straight through Aine's core.
"Who is Blink?"
Shouta was attempting to nap in the Teacher's Lounge when he felt a weight settle on the end of the couch. He burrowed deeper into his sleeping bag, ignoring whoever wanted to invade his space.
"I know you aren't asleep." Nemuri lightly kicked his feet. Grumbling, he turned over to glare at her where she was perched on the end of the couch.
"Don't you have anywhere better to be?"
Nemuri shot a fake pout his way, "Honestly, I was in Aine's office, but she got called away to a meeting with Nedzu." She put a finger to her chin, "Come to think of it, that was quite a while ago."
Shouta got up and stepped out of his sleeping bag, gathering it up in his arms, "She probably went back to the dorms afterwards, which doesn't sound like a bad idea."
Nemuri pounced off the end of the couch, "You're probably right, Shou. Oh!" she clapped her hands together, "Let's grab 'Zashi on our way."
"I don't remember asking you to come with…"
She lightly tapped his arm, "Don't be a grouch, let's go!"
Shouta rolled his eyes but allowed Nemuri to practically drag him out the door. The hallways were mostly devoid of students as they started walking down the hall towards Hizashi's last classroom of the day.
"Hey Nem! Hey Shou!" the blonde glanced up from a stack of papers. "What's up?"
Nemuri flashed a wide grin, "Just headed back to the dorm, thought we'd swing by and invite you."
"What is this 'we' you keep referring to?" Shouta crossed his arms, "I was trying to take a nap and you dragged me along with you."
Hizashi laughed and patted the stack of papers "I'm done here, let's go."
"Did you hear that the Commission is here?" they recognized the voice as one of the Business Course teachers.
"Is it time for an audit already?"
"No, that was just last month. They wouldn't come twice in a quarter."
The voices died down as the two teachers continued down the hallway.
All three exchanged concerned glances before Hizashi spoke, "Nothing good ever comes from the Commission poking its nose around."
Shouta gave a "humph" in agreement as Nemuri nodded.
After Hizashi finished gathering his belongings, the trio headed out of the main building and headed towards the dorms. The students were all starting to filter towards their own dorms and before long Shouta, Nemuri and Hizashi found themselves behind a small group from class 1-A chatting as they strolled.
Uraraka, Iida, Midoriya and Aoyama were already in conversation and didn't notice the teachers' approach behind them.
"…Commission be at UA?"
"Jai etendue that they found a villain posing as a teacher! Mon Dieu!"
The group of teachers froze, looking between themselves as the students continued walking forward absorbed in their conversation.
"Aoyama! It is highly irresponsible to be spreading such rumors about our esteemed teachers! I'm sure there is a logical explanation for their appearance…"
The students walked out of earshot as the three teachers came to the same conclusion.
"Shit!" Shouta mumbled under his breath, hearing similar curses from Hizashi as they ran back to the main building.
Aine blinked as she stared at the screen, the name lingering in the air like the Sword of Damocles just waiting to crash down and destroy everything.
"I-I'm sorry?"
The woman on the screen let out an exasperated breath, "We received a very concerning call this morning from an anonymous citizen with concerns about a villain at UA. Now, Miss Satterfield, I will ask one more time. Who is Blink?"
"Blink is…." She swallowed hard, was this how it was all going to end? Am I about to end up in Tartarus just like him? Aine took a deep breath.
"Blink is - or rather was - me."
"So you admit to not only being a villain but a villain who worked hand-in-hand with All for One."
The air in the room felt stale and thin, "That was over a decade ago! I was a kid!"
"Did you work for All for One?"
Aine looked for escape routes, but the only open path was back out the doors she had come through. She could feel her heart begin to pound as her monitor began to vibrate, silently sounding its warning. Inwardly, she thanked past-Aine for remembering to put it on vibrate while she was in sessions. Gods above only knew what they might think it was.
She tried to clear the cobwebs out of her throat, "Yes. I did."
"And now, you have infiltrated UA to gather information for him."
"NO!" Aine stepped forward as she heard the doors behind her open and the two figures from before stepped into the room, quirks activated. She held her hands up in surrender, "You don't understand. I was a child. Once I learned what he really wanted, I left that all behind. Please, you've got to believe me." She cast a pleading look at Nedzu, "I want to help the kids…"
"Help or recruit, Miss Satterfield?" the woman's voice was ice cold.
Aine could feel the floor opening up beneath her as spots began to swirl in her vision.
They don't believe me. All this time, all the work I've done to be better and in their eyes I'm still just a villain.
Anger began to flow through her limbs, Everything I've done and I'm only a villain to them.
Well, if a villain is what they see maybe acting as a villain will get me out of here.
Her quirk hummed to life under her fingers just as she heard the doors behind her slam open.
Of course they would have backup! She gritted her teeth and spun around, her quirk shrinking back to its normal hum in her brain as she saw the three faces that glared at the Commission members in the room.
"Ah, Midnight, Present Mic and Eraserhead. Thank you for joining us but this is a private…"
"You are wrong, Madam President." Shouta interrupted.
"I beg your pardon?"
"You're wrong about Miss Satterfield. She isn't a villain!" Hizashi gestured towards Aine, "Sure, she has made some questionable life choices, but she is trying to be a good person!"
"Working for All for One is not just a 'questionable life choice', Present Mic."
"She ran from All for One to save her life when she was a teenager. I was the one who found her in the place where he almost killed her." Shouta walked up until he stood directly next to Aine, "Blink died and was buried that day."
Nemuri stepped forward, "From the day she set foot on UA campus she has done nothing except try to help the students in a fully professional manner. Principal Nedzu, did she not provide a list of accommodations and recommendations for students?"
Nedzu beamed, "Why yes! I had planned on sending them out to the students' teachers on Monday!"
The woman on the screen paused, looking around the room.
"Nedzu, do you really feel it is in the best interest of UA to have a former villain on staff?" she almost visibly scoffed at the word "former" as though it was an inside joke no one else understood.
Nedzu hopped down and walked around the desk until he stood in view of the computer, paws tucked behind his back, "I believe the good that Miss Satterfield has done in the three weeks she has been on campus speaks for itself. To remove such a valuable asset from students would be severely detrimental to their success."
A heavy sigh from the computer, "Fine, Principal Nedzu. Miss Satterfield, we will allow you to stay as in the original agreement, but you will be under strict surveillance from this day forward. All phone calls, texts, emails, and written correspondence will be monitored by the Commission. Also, you will no longer be permitted to leave UA campus for the time being."
Aine's hands were still shaking with both anger and adrenaline, but she gave a short bow, her eyes glued to the ground. True, it meant that she was now trapped within the walls of UA but at least she wasn't headed for a cell in Tartarus.
"Thank you."
"Miss Satterfield," the woman's voice was stern, Aine raised her eyes to meet the screen, "One breath out of line and we rescind everything. Thank you for your time, Principal Nedzu." the screen cut to black.
Aine felt her knees buckling as the adrenaline deflated from her body, Shouta's arm went underneath her shoulders supporting her weight and keeping her upright.
"It's ok. It's over, just breathe." he whispered, exaggerating his breath for her to copy.
Mr. Mera stepped over, "I'm sorry for all of that, Miss Satterfield. Please understand the Commission…"
"Has done more than enough." Hizashi's voice was low and seething.
Nedzu clapped his paws together, "Eraserhead, please take Miss Satterfield to the teacher's lounge until she is able to return to the dorm. I wish to speak to Mr. Mera alone." the last word reverberated like a threat as the four adults bowed and left.
A warm mug of tea was pressed into her hands almost as soon as she sat on the couch.
They sat in silence as Aine's brain went into overdrive.
How did they find out about my past? I've only told the detective in the hospital and these three. Did he tell them? Surely not, he didn't record it so there was no evidence. Also, I never told him about the name "Blink". They said it was an anonymous call-in, if it had been the detective surely, he would have been there to arrest me. Might it have been someone connected to the Doctor? Were they trying to get me removed from UA in order to try and get to me again?
"Aine? … Aine." a hand on her shoulder snapped her attention back to where she sat, mug cooling in her hands as three pairs of worried eyes watched her.
She looked up, her eyes meeting Shouta's as he sat across from her with his hand on her shoulder.
"You back with us?" his voice was low with concern.
Aine nodded her head, "I'm just trying to put pieces together. Trying to figure out how could they have known about my past. Who could have told them?"
Shouta leaned back, "Have you told anyone about your past since you came back?"
She shook her head, "Just the detective that came to the hospital, but I don't think it was him. Whoever told the Commission knew a piece of information I never told him. That I went by Blink. Only you three or someone associated with All for One would know that."
"Do you think it was someone associated with All for One?"
Aine sipped the liquid in the cup, "I don't know. It wouldn't surprise me, get me sent to a less secure location. Or maybe they thought pressure from the Commission would make me run again."
She saw a flash of something register over all three of the faces watching her, she shook her head, "if that's what they thought they are wrong. I'm done running."
Setting the mug down, she stood to leave, "I'm good. Let's go home."
It had taken a little convincing to get Nemuri and Hizashi to let her stay alone in her apartment. Aine had insisted that she was fine, only getting them to leave by promising to call them if she needed anything.
She flopped onto her couch, staring at the ceiling for what felt like hours before changing clothes and heading to Ground Beta.
Pushing herself as hard as she could through the streets and rooftops, Aine ran and climbed until she could hardly breathe. Every time a thought or memory of what happened in that office came to mind, she threw herself into another obstacle. Keeping her hands and feet moving so she didn't have time to think.
When she finally stopped on her favorite rooftop, she dropped heavily onto all fours gasping for breath. As her body stopped moving, the thoughts began to flood her mind. How close she had come to loosing everything, how she was now at the mercy of the Commission, how one wrong move would bring her world crashing down.
For almost a decade, she had done everything in her power to ensure that the name Blink was as far removed from the name Aine Satterfield as possible. Every step as calculated as it could be to keep the two personas separate. Only for a single phone call to pull the phantasm that was Blink out squirming into the light. For All for One to be able to have yet another laugh at her attempts to be free from her past.
His voice hissed in her head, I told you they would never see you as anything more than a villain.
As tears streamed down her face, she sat back on her heels and screamed at the stars.