Slam! Slam! Slam!
"C'mon," Lynn shouted. "Just a little more."
Slam! Slam! Slam!
One last punch, and Lynn rested her knuckles that were tough as diamonds on the steel door. She lifted her fist away from the frigid surface.
Not even a scratch reflected off the pristine door.
Lynn shook her hand and lowered the bone density back to its normal state. A cut stung on the skin, but she grit her teeth and examined the door. At least, she tried to if it weren't for the blabbering distracting her from behind.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, we're gonna be expelled," Skylar ran around like a drunk fly across the break room. "We're gonna get kicked out and my parents are gonna disown me and my agent is in Bali and he hasn't returned any of my texts and I'm going to be some bum living in a van down by the river and-!"
"Shut up," Lynn said. "We still have about five minutes!"
"We're stuck!" Skylar shouted. His wings diminished down to a smaller size just behind his back with the strange heavenly glow around his halo fading with his hopes. "I'm going to have to go back to lotion commercials, Lynn! Lotion commercials!"
Lynn whipped around on her heels. She marched to Skylar and grabbed the lapels on his white jacket. With a tense grip, she shook the coarse fabric with the stressed boy flailing about and losing his balance.
"Get a grip," Lynn seethed through her teeth. "We still have time."
"I'm gonna live in a van down by the river!" Skylar whined with tears in his eyes and shook of Lynn's hands. "I can't breathe! It's too hot in here. Is it hot in here? Why's it so hot?" He turned around and hyperventilated.
"No, it's not hot," Lynn said. "It's actually freezing in this room. So it's…not…hot…."
Lynn trailed off with a realization fumbling into her head. Skylar stared at her with his halo regaining its golden sheen.
"But what if it was hot?" Lynn asked herself.
Leon brushed away the rubble that buried his right shoulder. He coughed out dust and felt a strange warmth bubble at a cut by his head. In a dazed roll, he rested on his knees and gurgled away a bead of blood that dripped from the laceration into his mouth.
Over his gaze, a small periwinkle film cracked on the image of the destroyed office space before him. By the ceiling, words blinked for Leon to see.
FSCE overheat error. Motor shutdown in five minutes.
Leon gasped more from the words than the throb that emanated from the punch to the gut he felt. He clutched his middle and blinked away the sweat that clung to his eyelids. His outfit already torn to shreds, the threads were singed with a glowing neon hissing on the very ends. Stretched of his bare chest visible from the lashes, he rose up to full height and turned back to face his assailant.
"You think you can be a villain, huh?" This boisterous obsidian haired young man said with a mirthless smirk.
"No," Leon said with a grimace at the pain in his midsection. "Tuition was too expensive for villain school."
"Ah, a jokester," James held out his palms. A layer of violet neon flickered with the speed of a shuttering film camera towards Leon. "I knew someone like that. And this is what I wanted to do to him!"
Blam! The neon lasers shot out of his hands. Leon charged his legs and leapt out of the way. However, that was exactly what the angry man before him wanted. He shot out a ray of energy that clipped Leon's ankle.
Leon's face slammed into the ground. The ankle connected to the laser remained floating in the air. With a laugh, James lifted his arm and whipped the laser upward. Leon's body flung in the air with his face screaming towards the ceiling.
Slam! His face cracked into an exit sign that fell to the ground. Then, his entire body plunged back to the floor and bashed the destroyed concrete underneath the thin layer of carpet.
Lynn ran over to the table by Skylar. Pulling out the blueprint, Lynn smoothed out the map and traced her finger down to the first floor of the bank. She jabbed at the room they were inside and drew a quick circle around it.
"My dad is in construction," Lynn said. "He never worked on this building, but a friend of his did. It's an old historical building here in Detroit from like the 1920's. So no air conditioning or indoor plumbing and such."
Lynn looked over to the cabinets at the furthest corner. She rushed to them with Skylar in tow. Crouching down to her knees, she opened a cabinet and rummages through the jugs of oven cleaner and disinfectant. With a quick huff, she grabbed Skylar's shoulder. He yelped when she pulled his head into the cabinet space. His halo illuminated the dark cavern to reveal a myriad of bottles and detergent.
"So they didn't have a lot of we do now. Including staying up-to-date with modern fire codes," Lynn moved Skylar's head around with his halo beaming light. She stopped him right at a large yellow jug at the very back of the cabinet.
Lynn reached in and pulled out the bottle that was labeled insecticide. She dragged it over the linoleum floor and pushed it towards the refrigerator.
She heaved herself back up and opened the cupboards bolted over the counter. She pushed away bags of coffee and a bottle of creamer before seeing a bag in the corner. On her tiptoes, she snatched the sack and lifted it onto her shoulder.
"So it was either die in a blaze or make renovations to bring everything up to code," Lynn said. She opened the drawer under the sink and pulled out a plastic bucket with a lid. Yanking off the lid, she lifted the bag of sugar and poured the sweet grain into the bucket. It sifted through and into the receptacle.
"So," Lynn finished the pour and grabbed the jug on insecticide. "They made fire exits on all first floor rooms. My question is-."
"There's no other exit," Skylar said as Lynn poured the jug of insecticide into the bucket with the sugar.
"Except there has to be," Lynn said. "Otherwise, this building would be a death trap."
"So there's a passageway out of here," Skylar cheered. "But we don't know where it is."
"They installed them to be hidden," Lynn said. "Unless…."
"There was a fire."
Finished with the jug, the substance inside the bucket started to fizzle. The concoction hissed and bubbled to the top of the bucket. Lynn jammed the lid onto the bucket and pointed at Skylar's halo.
"Is that indestructible?"
Skylar grabbed his halo and stared down at the shaking bucket. "I guess. I haven't-."
"Put it around the bucket. So the lid stays on."
Skylar increased the size of the halo. He handed it to Lynn who placed it around the bucket vertically. Skylar touched the halo to shrink it snug around the bucket. The seams buckled with foam leaking out from the edges.
Then, Lynn ran to the gas-powered stove by the sink. She placed the bucket on one of the sections and cranked the gas open. A small flame emanated from the stove and started to burn the bottom of the eroding plastic.
A hiss. A high pitched whistle. Then….
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Leon's body crashed into the floor with a crater the size of his body etching into the barrier. Leon tried to control his limb, but the blunt trauma made his vision go dark. His limbs sagged with the strength of a rag doll. The air bashed out of his lungs, and the heat of the neon burned the outside of his clothes and exposed skin.
In his darkened vision, Leon saw the number over his eyes tick down further. Based on the time he had left, his clock to powered down status was the same amount remaining on the mission countdown.
The wind flew through Leon's hair when James tossed him aside. Leon crashed through another wall. His body crumpled through the concrete and tumbled all the way to the window. He spun over and over with the world melding into a gray sphere that whirled in his gaze.
Smash! Leon's face slammed into the window. The glass vibrated and clinked with a reverberation of its holdings. His hot breath fogged the surface with blood smeared by his face on the crystalline pane. He writhed with a harsh grunt wheezing from his parched lips dabbed with the metallic taste of blood. All he could think about was the pain stinging at him; poison coursed through his veins along with the short circuiting of the electrical system within him.
Then, he gasped and gripped the window. His hand smeared blood over the surface when he tried to gain purchase and rise into the turpentine-scented air. What if his secret was found out right then and there? What if they saw the mechanical parts within him and realized that he was not as he saw?
That he was not real after all?
Those fears screamed through his ear when James stepped through the large hole into the corner office area. Leon scanned the area and spun his head towards the window. There were no other exits save for the five floor descent to the ground.
Leon stepped on his ankle, but a sharp stunt of pain jabbed through his body. He collapsed under the weight and fell onto his back. He tried his other foot. This time, he rose up with his back sliding on the glass to regain balance.
"You can't even put up a fight," James laughed. He approached the boy whose eyes were dimming with a strange glow that throbbed in brightness. They faded with every passing second with Leon's breath falling shallow. To taunt him further, James lowered his head of luscious black hair towards Leon.
"Go ahead," James said. "Take a hit."
Leon clutched his arm. His hand sparked, but he could not muster the strength to lift it any further. Also, based on the stiffness of his shoulder, that joint may have been cracked or dislocated.
"I'm serious," James chuckled. "Take a hit! I'll give you one. Even a quirkless one."
Leon grabbed his arm and lifted it up to James' face. He held the limp limb and tried to move it towards him. A few attempts, but he was forced to step closer to James.
He let go of his arm and used his left one to move to James. He balled his fist up and threw it forward along with his body. He punched the air at a sloth's pace which made James roll his eyes in annoyance.
James sidestepped Leon's punch and grabbed the man. He pushed him back to the window and propped him up by placing a hand on his neck. He lifted Leon up to his eye level and squeezed a hand at his neck.
"This is what you'll face out there," James said. "You think anyone will care if it's your first day? I bet you-."
Then, James' smirk disappeared. His stared into Leon's eyes which were wide and desperate for release. His one uninjured arm clawed at James' fist. Yet, James noticed something through the white pupils at the center of the boy's electric blue eyes. Sure, that was strange, but something else made James loosen his grip in concern.
Lynn grabbed Skylar's hand and ran over to one of the tables. She kicked over one of the plastic surfaces and faced it towards the bucket. She braced with Skylar behind the table with the fizzing and rumbling from the bucket growing louder. It shook with an occasional flame licking around the sides of the bucket as if it were a snake striking at prey.
"What are you doing? What is this?"
"My dad works with explosives in construction," Lynn said. "What happens when you mix ammonium nitrate from insecticides with sugar?"
"I don't know!" Skylar said. "My middle school was a performing arts school!"
"It causes a reaction," Lynn shouted over the increased roar of the bucket. "And if it's contained in a pressurized space, it makes an ex-."
Lynn was interrupted.
By an explosion.
"Hey, kid," James said. "Are you…is your quirk-."
Blam!
The explosion shook the entire building. James let go of Leon and stepped back. He whipped around to face the office space behind him. A pillar. Already unstable from the fight, collapsed and crumbled into a dust cloud of concrete. The dust rumbled through the hall and off the ceiling down onto James.
With the moment of distraction, Leon held out his left arm. The static within him roared to life with his ears ringing from the high-pitched squeal of the electricity fuming off him. He let out a terse shout and jammed his elbow into the window with the static aiding in the acceleration into the pane.
Smash! The glass breaks behind him. James craned his neck back to Leon just as he feels the static prickle at the hairs on the back of his neck.
Leon takes his previously limp arm and snatches up the collar of James' hero costume. With the assistance of gravity, he leans back and flips out of the building with James.
"Gah!" James shouted. "What are you-?"
Leon's eyes glowed a bright cerulean. The static flowed right to James. He gurgled out a choked shout with the wind blowing past them on the descent. The current of electricity locked up James' muscles, and his grip stayed on Leon's collar while he tried to move. It was no use, but Leon felt the core of his body warm with the cylinders inside spinning faster and faster as they descended.
Leon glanced down to the ground. Then, he saw a metallic light pole at the very corner of the street. While not tall enough to stop the fall completely, it would be enough for his needs.
He thrusted one arm back towards the pole. With a flash of electricity, his body went stiff with the metal inside him clicking together. His vision grew dim again, and a strange gray film spun the world around in a monochromatic kaleidoscope. He and James slowed in their descent and gravitated towards the light pole.
The break in momentum caused the two to fall closer towards the base of the pole. The fall slowed with the two traversing down akin to a spider spinning down a web. Leon's body, now magnetized, shifted over to the pole with James in tow.
Right before he hit the pole, Leon shouted in pain and threw the arm holding James backwards. He broke James out of the magnetic field which catapulted him away. James somersaulted in the air and danced over the street like a faltering leaf in the wind.
Clink! Leon's back hit the pole just feet above the concrete. He yelled with his head throbbing from the concentration. He released the magnetic pool around him, and the colors of the world came back to life.
James flew right into a window in the opposite side of the street. His body crumpled into the store front and annihilated the glass panes that rained down on him.
Leon, now demagnetized, sunk down onto the floor. His bottom slammed the ground which caused his breath to escape from his lungs. He groaned and rubbed his tense back. All of his muscles screamed from aches with the interior of his body hot and parched. His throat a desert, Leon wiped away the sweat dotting his head with blood still leaking from the porous cuts on his face.
In the break room, Lynn opened her eyes. The room was upside down.
The table that she used as a shield destroyed and cut into small plastic bits, she lay with her head on floor and the rest of her body splayed out on the wall. Her body covered in soot and grey dust, she fell onto her side and rolled back up to her feet.
Next to her, Skylar floated down to earth with his golden proto-wings perched out wide behind his back. His halo zipped from the explosion site and clinked back into place above his head. The blast had thrown him into the air, but he descended with the grace of a wilting feather. He brushed away the dust in his hair and landed next to the now upright Lynn.
"Did it work," Skylar asked and wafted away the dust from blocking his view
Lynn blinked away the dust from her eyelids. She saw the room covered in smoke with a fire burning by the area of the eruption. The melted pieces of the bucket morphed with the destroyed ceramic of the counters and the upturned linoleum littered with dirt and broken concrete.
A ringing noise blinked out from the fire alarms around the room. Above, sprinklers spurred out water with the hiss pattering down to squash the roar of the flames.
However, as the smoke cleared, the harsh light of day peeled out from beyond the crater in the wall. A sliding door where there was only concrete had slid open battered and squeaking from the eruption. It was a fire passageway to escape from the flames.
"Let's go," Lynn said.
She bumbled over the burning break room and shielded her face from the sprinklers spitting water on top of her. Skylar glided over the floor next to her.
Lynn leapt over the rubble and past the flames of the smoldering cabinets. They passed through the crumbled steel of the fire exit door and bumbled from the smoke billowing out the exit. Lynn coughed at the hot smoke invading her lungs, but she brushed away the embers that whizzed in the air to get out of the building.
They rushed out into the street. In the bright sunshine, they ran to the corner by the main entrance. People from the bank funneled out of the main exit with some pedestrians mulling about on the road.
"Where is Leon?" Skylar asked.
Lynn scanned the crowd. Then, slumped at the base of the pole was the taller boy with light hair and shut eyes.
"There he is," Lynn pointed at the pole.
The two raced over to Leon. Lynn crouched down to the comatose boy with Skylar taking off his halo.
"Leon! Wake up!" Lynn shook his shoulder. "What happened to you?"
"Here," Skylar placed his halo on Leon's head. The gold rested on top of Leon with a bright shine that glowed from the contact.
The halo vibrated on top of Leon's skull. For a second, he was dormant. However, he started to shift on the spot with a luminescent golden sheen trickling over his head.
Leon opened his eyes in a weak state. He lifted his head, as heavy as an anvil, up to the pair of bright green and gold eyes that peered down at him.
"Did we…lose?" Leon asked in a soft voice.
"Not yet," Lynn glanced at her wristwatch. "We still got two minutes."
Leon, despite having no energy left in his body, felt a sudden surge of motivation trickle from the hot ring of gold on his head. Inside, he saw the power indicator over his vision go down to zero. Yet, there was still a flow of static that sparkled at the edge of his fingertips.
"Right," Leon said. "Let's go."
Skylar smiled and grabbed his halo.
Skylar Landsen! His quirk: Angel! He has the agility and appearance of an angelic being from heaven! He can also affect the willpower of others with the use of his halo!
Leon stood on his own. He steadied himself on the pole and strengthened his gelatin legs to keep him steady. Wiping away a drop of blood from his cheek, he started to trot next to Lynn and Skylar down the street.
"We need to get a mile away," Leon said. "Can anyone run a mile in two minutes."
"More like ninety seconds now," Lynn scanned the empty street before them with cars parked on the side.
"Anyone know how to hotwire a car?" Skylar asked. "Also, does my hair have any sugar in it?"
"Sugar? Why would it-?"
"Focus," Lynn shouted.
She scoped the area. A bunch of locked cars, a few lampposts, and a suspicious hot dog cart on the corner down the street. She saw a dormant red bicycle with two leather seats resting next to one of the cars. She grabbed Skylar and Leon's wrists and rushed over to the bike. She sat on the front seat and rolled it out onto the street.
"You're going to bike us a mile?" Skylar shouted.
"Leon," Lynn looked over Skylar's shoulder as he sat behind Lynn. "Your quirk. You can funnel it to different limbs like mine, right?"
"Like my legs," Leon looked down at his tattered shoes. "Yes, but I don't think I-."
"It's our only shot," Lynn pointed the bike down the street. "It's a straight shot up congress. Power your legs to move super fast."
Leon took a deep breath. Despite the number flashing in his eyes saying he had no power, there was a sudden spark that clacked from his legs off to the concrete. They were so close to finishing the mission, and he was not going to be the reason they would fail. When Leon blinked, he saw the images of his parents. The ones that wanted him to go to this school. The ones that went and practically bought the place for him.
A blue pulse emanated from the veins in his arms.
The ones that made him this way.
Leon narrowed his eyes and grabbed onto the back of the seat by Skylar.
He dug his legs onto the road.
Zap. Zap. Another zap!
Leon pushed the bike forward. At first, slow. Then, he increased in speed. He jogged. He grit his teeth and powered through the pain shooting up his spine and polluting his brain.
He broke into a run. As fast as he could naturally run, Leon shouted. The spinning static wheels within him clicked with the ferocity of a leaping cougar. His legs chugged with static leaping off them and zapping the ground they past.
However, Leon's arms gave way from the energy he was putting into his run. He fell forward with his grip faltering.
Zap!
Skylar latched his hand onto Leon's. He cried out in pain from the shock. Yet, he held on. Then, he grabbed onto the back of Lynn's collar. The current struck her, but she simply put her head down and squeezed down on the handlebar. It was just pain they would have to deal with.
The trio raced down the empty street on their trusty bicycle. Leon's legs stomped the ground and left singe marks on the black road. Skylar's halo shook from the strain atop his head with Lynn trying all her might to steer the bicycle. Surrounding them were occasional strokes of blue lightning that flashed between the three. Only forty seconds remained. If they kept this pace, it would be a minuscule difference between the finish line and the countdown.
There was one more intersection before the highway overpass. Beyond that was outside of the downtown area. Lynn lifted herself up on her haunches and leaned forward. She could taste victory with the electricity flowing through her. The warmth fizzled over her while the bike screamed to the stoplight.
"Almost there," Lynn said.
Then, a person stepped out onto the road.
Lynn squinted and saw it was that Yaoyarozo girl that sauntered out on the road. She stopped right at the center directly in their path.
And she held a large green tube in her right arm. She pointed it towards the bike and aimed at the rocketing bicycle.
"Is that an RPG?" Skylar screamed. "They're trying to kill us!"
Lynn saw the black of the barrel they raced towards. They drew closer, and it appeared that Momo was waiting for the last possible second to launch the middle at them.
"Follow my lead!" Lynn shouted.
Forty feet. Thirty. Twenty.
Only twenty seconds remained.
On the RPG screen, a red target locked onto the bicycle.
Ten feet.
Click.
The moment the flames ignited inside the barrel, Lynn leapt into the air. She jumped feet first in front of the bike and closed her eyes. She knew this would hurt, but it was their only way to succeed.
She flipped in front of the bike. Gripping the handles backwards, she faced Skylar and Leon and lifted up her feet. The density in her bones by her ankles hardened. With a quick hitch of her breath, she slammed her ankles down onto the road.
Crack!
The bicycle catapulted forward. The three flung forward off the ground right as the missle cut through the air down to the road.
Lynn, releasing her feet from its dense state, wriggled like a rag doll to avoid the missle. The bullhead flew just an inch underneath her, and then it sailed right into the concrete just a foot behind them.
Blam!
The missle exploded into the road. Already in the air, the force of the flames erupted and pushed the bicycle forward and launched it into the air.
Skylar and Lynn screamed with the blast rocketing them into the sky. The group flew past Momo and rose over the highway bridge. Leon, still dangling from behind, just scrunched his legs to avoid the roof of a bus.
They kept elevating into the air. The bicycle soared with a pack of eagles and warbled through the clear cerulean sky. The soft breeze tickled at Skylar's hair with the bright sun beaming over him. He sat up and brandished his wings. The golden shape acted as flaps to keep the bike floating in the endless ocean over the rugged and rough skyline of western Detroit. In the distance, the school sat on the island with a few cars driving on highway ramps in the distance. However, in the sky, it was just the birds roaming the horizon with the fresh air flowing through his lungs.
Skylar felt a quick squeeze of his hand. He turned back to see Leon still hanging on for dear life. Skylar heaved him upward which allowed Leon to climb onto the back of the bike. He grabbed Skylar's shoulders and rested on the seat with him. Lynn climbed over the handlebars and sat on the first seat facing Skylar and Leon.
The three sat in silence. They soon descended but with a gentle glide as Skylar's wings sliced through the gentle air.
"How did you guys get out of the break room?" Leon said. "Did you get in the vault?"
"No, but I made a bomb to get us out," Lynn said. "What happened to you?"
"I fought a Pro-Hero and I think I threw him into a window," Leon said. "By the way, Are you flying us, Skylar?"Leon said.
"Nope," Skylar smiled. "We're falling with style."
Lynn laughed. She stared at Skylar's warm eyes and blinked with a slight blush on her face. Skylar was a very brash drama queen, but looking at his placid and smooth face with those soft eyes, Lynn saw the dedication he had to becoming a hero. There was no denying he was talented, but he also had many skill sets that would make him a perfect hero. Also, one day, he may be able to fly, and she would love to be the first person he took into the sky one day.
Skylar gave a glance back to Leon. Did he really fight a Pro-Hero all by himself? Not only that, but he fell out of the building and was still able to get up and push them down the street. This was a strong person that he needed to remain close to. Sure, Leon was a bit of an awkward weirdo, but he found that to make him even more sweet and endearing. He grinned at Leon, lost in his bright blue eyes.
Leon nodded at Skylar. However, his gaze was pointed at Lynn. That rumble that distracted James was a bomb made by her? The quirk she possessed was already powerful, but this girl certainly had a scheming brain that would be perfect in solving the riddles that hero work threw at them. He admired her strength, but more so, he admired her intellect.
The three stared at one another, blissfully unaware that one of the other two was looking at them as well. Even as the bicycle lowered to the earth, they were content in their daze.
However, the rooftops of the ramshackle Detroit buildings appeared to Lynn. She blinked and flipped back around. Just a block away was a red line painted on the ground with a bunch of reporters and school personnel.
Lynn stepped over the handlebars and forced her back into a rigid stance. She leaned back with the bike underneath her and pushed her hair forward so it wouldn't be harmed by the impact about to occur.
"Skylar, Jump!"
Skylar leapt off the bicycle and continued to glide forward. Leon held his hand and zoomed with him forward. Lynn slammed the ground with her torso strong and skidding on the concrete. She was unharmed with the pieces of the road broken leaving a trail.
With Lynn landing, Skylar held Leon up and dropped him just a foot above the ground. Leon tumbled onto the ground and rolled over the road. He stopped himself and looked up at Skylar who approached the finish line. The boy had his arms outstretched for the paint, but his descent was still a tad too fast.
Smack! Skylar landed face first onto the hot road. His face tore over the hard, jagged surface with his clothes getting torn from skidding on top of the concrete. He skittered like a skipping stone over a tar ocean until he gave one final bounce and slid to a halt.
His arms still splayed out before him, Skylar looked up at the display at the finish line. Five seconds left. He glanced at his hand. A foot from the finish line.
Skylar gave one final heave.
Slap!
The clock, at two seconds, stopped.
Then, over the speakers placed at the sidewalk of the red line, a loud voice blared out.
"Group A…wins!"
Back in the control room, Izuku stood flabbergasted with the rest of his students cheering on the display. On the screen, the three students were in different states of laid out on the same city block. The medics on site rushed over to the three and started to put them on stretchers. Behind him, the class spoke like excited puppies to each other. Except for Ayumu who was still asleep with no hint of her other self in sight.
"What a delightful and villainous display of chutzpah," Melanie said. "I have become inspired for my turn!"
"They did so well," Mai clasped her hands together. "I hope they are alright. They deserve rest."
"Man, that Lynn girl has got it going on. Know what I mean?" Aiden elbowed Merle in the midsection.
"No," Merle said.
"Bark!" Sam The Dog did a backflip to showcase his enthusiasm.
"Their ancestors should be proud," Tao, seated with his legs crossed on the ground, sipped a cup of tea he somehow found.
"Quite ingenious," Ivan said all of with his eyes pointed towards the screen. "I'd love to to a bank with them anytime."
"But wait a sec," Sigi crossed her arms. "They didn't actually rob anything. They never got to the vault."
"I know," Izuku said. "Why did The Announcer just shout that they won?"
Hawks clapped Izuku on his hands. "The pizza, Izuku."
"What?"
"Of course," Melanie said. "Skylar delivered a large pepperoni pizza from Pizza Planet! He took twenty dollars, but a large pie is only nineteen dollars and ninety-five cents! He never relinquished to Creati her change!"
"So the group was successful from stealing five cents?" Izuku babbled with his mouth agape. "Are you serious? That counts?"
"I mean, I think it does," Hawks said. "But I guess you are the teacher. So you get to make the final decision."
Izuku faced his class. All of them stared back at him with the cutest puppy dog expressions (including Sam who wagged his tail). He knew the morale of the class would be destroyed if he hung up success in this mission to specifics. Perhaps he could just let a victory slide in this fashion for the beginning of the year.
He grabbed Hawks arm. "We need to talk."
Izuku pulled Hawks out to the hallway. Behind him, the students gave each other curious looks.
"What was that about?" Sigi bit her lip and examined the room.
The students spoke amongst themselves. Except Riley who had tuned out after the mission ended for the first group. He was in awe over the insane technology and advancements made in this era. However, he had decided to listen to more music to prepare himself for his first test. He had to keep his cover, and not being able to control his quirk as these people called it would be a dead giveaway.
Sigi looked over at the green eyed boy with brown hair neat and kept. He had the physique of a typical Pro-Hero in training. If she didn't know better, she would think he was in second year based off his posture and poise. She hummed to herself and walked over to Sam The Dog.
"You," she pointed at the dog. "We have to get ready."
"Bark!"
In the hallway, Izuku slammed his hand into wall. Despite not having the power of One-For-All anymore, the sheetrock gave way with his hand puncturing a stud and cracking it. Bits of wood and dust rained from the crater before Izuku whipped around and jabbed a finger into Hawks' face.
"I told you to not involve my students in this," Izuku shouted.
"Involved in what?" Hawks held his hands out in a defensive manner. "I didn't tell James about the mission."
"I don't want them involved in this at all!" Izuku yelled. "I want them far away from me. So they can have their own futures. You know why I've kept away from Moxie since graduation? So people don't compare her to me! Which they will if I'm around her all the time."
"Please, Izuku," Hawks chuckled. "No one is going to compare you to her. Moxie is way more competent with One-For-All then you were at this point in your life."
"Are you trying to piss me off?" Izuku corners Hawks and pressed his body close to his so there was no escape.
"It was a joke! Calm down," Hawks said. "You act like someone just died."
"Mirio died, Hawks," Izuku said.
Hawks' smile faded away. He considered Izuku who stepped back and locked his gaze down to his red shoes. He scratched the back of his neck and pursed his lips.
"I saw that student again," Izuku said. "Blake."
"Another nightmare," Hawks said.
"No, it was in the day," Izuku said with his eyes wide and quivering. "In fact, before we came here. He was so…real, Keigo. Alive. And…he hated me."
"Izuku, if you don't think you're in the right mental state to take-."
"It's not about my mental state," Izuku shouted. "I'm not crazy! He just appeared like how you and I are talking right now. He even had a shadow on the ground when I saw him in the break room!"
"Look, I need you to focus on now," Hawks said. "I know you still have issues with what happened, but-."
"I have issues?" Izuku said. "No, James being banned from Canada is having issues. This is different, Hawks. I think someone is messing with us, and it's the same people that are taking quirks! So listen to me, and help me figure this out."
"I will," Hawks nodded. "And hopefully Dabi can help us when we talk to him tonight. I'd prefer this over before any news agencies start catching on. Also, did you say that Guzman kid got banned from Canada?"
"It's a long story," Izuku wiped away a bead of sweat from his brow. "He was visiting Lloyd in Edmonton, and something happened between them."
"What?"
Izuku sighed and relaxed his face. "Enough. I didnt come here to gossip about my students. Just…Okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell. I just don't like my feelings being…well…belittled. And I've gotten that treatment a lot in my life. From Kacchan especially."
"Then let me know if I do that," Hawks said. "I don't mean to."
"Right. Then, let's see how the rest of the students do. I was actually impressed by the last group. Even if James and Momo almost killed them."
"I told them to not hold back," Hawks chuckled.
"And why did you call Momo, by the way," Izuku said. "I haven't seen her in years, so I'm glad she's here, but why her? I feel like there are other Pro-Heroes you could have gotten easier."
"Well, it's be weird to not have one of your grades' professors at the school, correct?"
Izuku blinked.
"Huh?"
I still need OCs! Please submit and remind me if I haven't gotten back to you with a decision yet!
Sorry this took so long! My doc got corrupted, but it may have been for the best since I improved the story of this quite a bit. I frankly just had fun with this group and heist, so forgive me! I can't guarantee every heist group will get eight thousand words, but I will try to give you all the good, juicy bits!
So what did you think? Please let me know! Any comments or suggestions should be posted as a review! I need at least 6-9 reviews per chapter to keep going! The person who gets the 69th review will have something very special happen to their OC! You will see!
And of course, join the discord! Share your thoughts there as well on the characters, dialogue, story and more!
Thank you. See you soon!