Ever heard of the saying 'the more things change, the more things stay the same'? If it was one thing I learned coming to this universe was things changed, but at the core they were the same. For example, Disney didn't exist in this universe, but Dreamworks did. If Disneyland was Dreamland and How To Train Your Dragon 2 just won Jimmy's (Oscars equivalent), well more proof. Elvis Presley was not the King of Rock but Princella Presley was the Queen of Rock. They were subtle differences, but at the same time they weren't.

But at the same time, Michael Jackson and Obama were all things that didn't change.

Different but not.

Same but not.

There was a point here. Focus Haruka.

Oh right.

So good news! I kinda succeeded? Both Tadashi and Hiro are alive. Yay! (The 'Tackling the Hamada Bros as they approached the building' plan really was my best bet.)

Bad news, I got a broken arm, Tadashi has a concussion and a broken leg and Hiro is in a coma.

And somewhere… two deaths confirmed in the fire, one being Professor Callaghan, the other a student that Honey Lemon knew.

I should feel bad, but I don't. What kind of person does that make me?

xXxXx

"Haruka?"

"Hi Cass," Haruka said tiredly. Everything hurt. She wanted to just sleep the night away, but every time she closed her eyes, the fire caused her to wake. Great, if she formed PTSD after this, someone was going to get hurt because damnit, her life was not meant to be a superhero action movie. (The irony of her situation did not make her feel any better.)

"How are you feeling?" Cass asked.

Haruka waved her arm that was in a bright blue cast. "Well, this is the first time I had my arm broken and definitely won't be cleaning any time soon, but hey, I'm alive, you're okay and so are Hiro and Tadashi, can't really ask for more. Sleep would be nice, but it'll come eventually. Plus, they're going to discharge me soon, enough time to make it home and sleep and not show up sleep deprived to work."

Cass looked at her in shock. "Haruka you don't have to go to work tomorrow."

Haruka nodded. "I know. But I'm one of three full time employees you have hired. None of the part timers are coming in and you are definitely not coming into work tomorrow. Absolutely not. John only cooks and if we leave poor Sakura to make drinks, wait, clean and run the cashier, there will be chaos. So I'll show up, run the cashier, wipe the tables and help where I can."

"Haruka…" Cass said, worried.

"You're paying for my health insurance," Haruka said. "And I'm not going to pull you away from Hiro's or Tadashi's bedside!" She gave Cass her best stubborn look. This was not something she was going to be swayed on.

"Ms. Kikou?" a nurse called out, entering the room.

"That's me," Haruka chirped.

"Here are your discharge papers," the nurse said, handing over the papers. "I have your stuff here."

"Thank you!" Haruka said with a smile.

Looking back at Cass, Haruka said, "Want me to take anything back to the cafe? I assume you're going to be camping here."

Cass gestured to the bag sitting on the chair. "Just some stuff that Hiro and Tadashi had." She frowned. "Are you sure you're okay to work tomorrow, Haruka? We can just call in the part timers."

Haruka smiled and waved dismissively. "I'm sure, Cass. It'll be fine." She heaved the bag over her shoulder. "Take care of the boys and get some rest yourself."

Cass pulled her into a hug. "You take care too. I'll see you later."

Haruka beamed. "Aye aye ma'am."

xXxXx

Haruka dumped the bag of both her and the boys' stuff onto her bed. As suspected, the neurotransmitter sat in Hiro's bag. Haruka sighed, picking it up.

What to do with this little device?

While she was certain that Hiro did go the extra precautionary step to put in the security, how trustworthy was it? Would it be better to simply crush the headband? After all, if it was broken into thousands of little pieces, wouldn't that be better than leaving it to chance that Callaghan could break the security protocols?

… Could she destroy something that Hiro worked so hard on?

Stop the evil madman or protect Hiro's invention?

…

Hiro was going to hate her.

Haruka set the headband on the ground and crushed it. It broke, splintering apart into pieces. She pulled at it, tearing the wires and dismantling it as thoroughly as she could. Until the rescue teams pulled Callaghan's body (and properly identified it as him), Haruka wasn't going to take the chance.

She stared at the broken pieces of the headband and sank down to the edge of her bed. Smiling sardonically, Haruka let out a bitter laugh.

"I'm such a terrible person."

And now we diverge from the movie. owo b Please leave a review on your way out.