Geus kept close to the walls and tried his best to avoid the lights. The slightest change in the city's noises caused him to twitch around. The others around him were frightened and stepped aside from him. Which only built onto his paranoia.
"Maybe this was a mistake." Geus mumbled. With his mask gone he felt what was under his it. There was no puffiness to his chins and felt only the bone underneath.
Every few seconds he clogs his throat and split off the flow of his quirk. The last thing he needed was anyone getting hurt from him and bring on unnecessary attention. Anybody would ignore a creepy person on the street, but nobody would ignore a dangerous creep.
"Gotta turn around, take my punishment and go home." He rolled around the corner of a brick building and slid down the wall. "What am I doing?" His head bumped the wall. "I hurt four people for the life of one. I'm going to hurt someone else."
It was a complete 180 in his mindset. For days this felt like the right decision even with the possible consequences. Suddenly everything changed after he left those gates. Nothing felt right about this to him. He dug his hands into his eyes and rubbed them as hard as he could.
"I"
"Geus?" Kirishima kicked open Geus's legs. "Almost didn't recognize you without the mask."
"Isn't it dangerous to have your mask off? You could hurt somebody, hurt your self, accidentally burn to build, make others think you're a villain"
"I get it." Geus interrupted Midoriya before he could go into his mind. "It wasn't by choice." Geus exposed his face. "It burned off." The material of the mask was signed off while the metal rings lined his lips. "Maybe Jiro will like me now." Geus groaned.
"Jiro?" Yaoyorozu questioned.
Geus grabbed Kirishima's arm and pulled him up to his feet. "So you, Midoriya, Iida, Momo, Shoto, and me."
"Not you." Iida spoke. "We know you broke out of your detention center. You're a wanted criminal, if you were waiting for a retrial. That idea is over, best you turn around now."
Geus wiggled around his friend and looked up to his tallest friend. "Screw you, Iida. I'll go back, besides... Aren't we all doing something illegal?" Geus patted Iida's chest. "Don't worry too much about it." Geus scratched his ear. "Let's just keep away from streets or any cops because I am a criminal now."
"And you're sure you want to join us?" Shoto asked.
"I'm the criminal. For all the police are concerned I forced you into this. I'm the scapegoat."
"From here on out, we must be very, very careful. The villains have seen our faces remember? We must also consider that we may be attacked at any moment." Yoayazoru devised.
"Got it." Midoriya swung his bandaged arms over his face.
"That's making you stand out more, Midoriya." Shoto sighed.
"We are so covert. Prison jumpsuit with a gas mask, red hair, white hair, escaped hospitaler." Geus joked.
"But at this rate, we won't be able to scout very easily." Iida rubbed his chin.
"Then what do we do?" And Kirishima rubbed the back of his hair.
Momo pointed to a shop right behind her, a giant neon sign read dirt cheap clothes. While their plan was to disguise themselves from the villains. Their new looks made them stand out even more to the general public. A hipster, money bags wife, general douche, clubber, cosplayer, and a guy ready for winter, disguises wasn't the best word for the situation.
"Hey you!" Midoriya randomly shouted.
Iida added onto Midoriya's act with his own. And somehow was worse. "There's a lady with a huge rack over there!"
"I'm sweating so much I feel it going through my mask." Geus tucked his mask deeper in his coat.
"Kids would stand out in the shopping district at night right?" Momo sounded she wanted to convince herself more than everyone else.
"We look like theatre club got lost to rehearsal."
They stopped to listen to a rebroadcast of UA's public apology of the whole attack. What they talked about changed Geus's motives. He pulled on Iida's shoulder.
"Don't look behind." Geus warned. "Just keep looking forward to not raise suspicion. I'm going forward on my own."
Geus escaped the crowd. He quickly walked around the corner and hastily removed the jacket. He pulled the small paper from his pocket. It read the address of where they kept his cousin.
"I'm going to protect you guys by doing this myself." He exhaled slowly. The press conference got to him. If all his friends would show up then a full-on brawl could break out. If it was just him, then maybe things could be different.
He eventually found the place, the outfit Momo recommended for him didn't play any part of this. He was able to sneak the side streets without any serious attention. The place was inconspicuous and in the middle of nothing important.
"Don't do it, Sansei." Beka plead. "Just turn around and return."
"Don't call me that." Geus was too afraid to look back at the woman that changed his life. Through regret, through relief, turning around wasn't an option. Geus knew if he turned around, Beka was the one to convince him to return. "I have a chance."
"Geus, Bailey called me. Told me everything from the attack and how you're feeling. Is one life really the answer for hurting so many others? Is this how you want your cousin to remember you? As a wanted criminal? How about the strong fighter from the festival?"
"Beka I just can't." His words said one thing but his body said another. One leg was already twisted around and tried to add the hip as well. "They attacked UA again for me, they hurt my aunt for me. One person can end the suffering for many." He closed his eyes.
Beka somehow knew this and stepped forward. One of her arms clenched her collar and the other held out her palm. She was just as scared of him as he was of himself. He wasn't in the right mind and the questions didn't simmer him down as they should. 'This time away from him.' Beka thought. 'It didn't help him like we thought, safety for others, safety'
"Stop," Geus commanded
She gasped. She was a few inches away from his back. Close enough to see gas move from the corners of his mouth. She completely forgot how dangerous he was when his quirk wasn't held back. She activated her quirk, turning her lips and eyes blue. A little confidence was all she needed to press on. Her arm gently pressed his back, slid around, and curled his side. Without him saying anything she did the same with her other arm. Up against him, she felt the fear irradiate off him. The unsteadiness of his breath twisted with the stability of his body. He was fully aware and scared of the situation.
"I just got back to you." Her body squeezed around his. For as muscular as he was, his body was still soft. Able to dig her cheek against the dip between his shoulder blades and close her eyes. "I'm not going to lose you now."
It was obvious with the change in his body that he held back his tears. "I can't. I don't care anymore if I get kicked out of UA, if I got to prison or jail or back to the center. If this is my last thing I ever do as a free man... So be it."
"I've read the reports. I know how strong you've gotten, all the friends you've made. Don't let this be the last of all of this. You still have the trial to look forward to."
"Trial?"
"It was set just before the incident but with pressing concerns of another attack it's been delayed. How didn't you know about that?"
"Beka." Geus grabbed her freezing arms and tore them apart from him. "Just leave. Don't be by my side today."
"I'm not going to force you to stop. But don't forget." She became frozen, unable to speak from the need to hold back her own tears. "Don't forget we're here to help you!"
"I know."
He listened for her steps to get farther and farther away. His hand still shook minorly, he was scared to knock on that door. Half a dozen villains stood at the side with a possible eviler Bakugo.
The door handle turned on it's own and swung wide open. "It's the cutie!" Toga's hands covered her mouth as she jumped up and down. Behind them her face glowed red. Her hand reached out and pulled Geus inside.
Geus immediately took stance as a wall full of villains that stared down him. Dabi was the only one he recognized out of the bunch but had no doubts every one of them had to do with the attack. His sweat now wasn't from the heat, he feared the situation. Fear placed some sense into his brain and a whole lot of doubt. Not a single scenario in his head looked to be right.
"What are you doing here?!" Bakugo shouted.
Geus turned slightly to the left. He looked back to the villains. His main focus was the man with the hand mask on his face. The leader of the League of Villains.
"Where is he? I'm tired of asking." Geus touched his ruined skin. "I've done so much to get here. I'm not going out without an answer."
"Well, your efforts were in vain then." The vortex man behind the counter with Toga said. He reached inside his chest pocket and slid a white paper across the paper.
Toga snatched the paper and jumped over the counter. She kissed it and handed it over to Geus. Tears rolled down his face, the material of the paper wasn't normal. It was glossy, a gloss photograph. He couldn't hold back his quirk anymore, the gas flowed out of his mouth and spread around the floor. Everyone around them stepped a foot back.
"What's." Sniffles interrupted him. "What's on the other side of this picture."
"Isn't it obvious?" The reptile adjusted himself and stood inches away from the cloud of gas. "You took too long." His smile intensified the situation. More gas flowed out with random hard spots that formed spikes. The reptile rode the situation with his desires. "He's dead."
"Hello, this is Pizza-La, Camino store." A voice came from the outside.
Seconds past with silence, Geus opened his mouth and sucked in his breath. Slowly the gas he created turned solid and looked like a porcupine. The side wall exploded inside, before Geus unleashed. He turned to the attack, even with tears blocking his vision he saw him. All Might's powerful smile was clear to him. All Might pushed through Geus's smoke. He shattered away his creation and wrapped him up inside his massive body.
"We are here!" He shouted.
The situation was handled, a few pros including Kamui Woods had everything inside controlled. A few more heroes were inside to assist. Geus was even in control, the strength of his breaths solidified the gas before it could get out of his mouth.
The moments were calm and pure bliss. As each hero talked, Geus heard none of it. Realization sat in its place and relaxed his mind. As pure of muscles All Might was it still felt like heavenly pillows. The security inside his grip felt like nothing before. At this moment, is the moment Geus discovered why the world needed heroes. What it meant to be a hero. And why his family thought they were a blight to the world became incoherent. Geus no longer felt the agony and pain his quirk created on others. Finally, he was free.
"Young Geus!" All Might shouted.
Geus blinked back into reality, black portals surrounded the room and summoned the creatures dubbed Numus. Shock quickly set into his breathing. The creation he created never left, he only imagined they were gone. Long stretches of spikes scattered from the main source. Each one impaled the Numus several times over. Purple spikes entered from one side and left the other with gas poured over the creature's body. It wasn't the sign of bliss that deafened Geus, it was the cries from these monstrous creations.
The time to fully see what he did was short. The black portals they came through also sucked on him.
'This was a mistake.' Geus panicked, he had no idea where he was. The heroes were gone, Beka was gone, all his friends were gone. Destruction was everywhere, a hole in the wreckage to see the rest of the city. And inside that wreckage was him, Bakugo, and some masked guy in a suit.
"Wha-what the hell?" Bakugo coughed.
"Sorry, Bakugo." The Dark Vader sounding man turned his attention to him, then Geus. "Sorry, Sansei. If that woman didn't stop you, I wouldn't have killed the boy." All of the villains appeared as well before any back and forward could begin. All of which were just as confused as them. "You failed again, huh, Tomura?" He started to walk over to the young leader and spoke again. "Don't be ashamed, try again. I have brought your associates back as well. Even the children."
All hope was lost. A situation where only the villains could win. No plan could be made between two scared children can stop a full force of villains. And still Geus didn't want to stop, he turned to the back of the villain. He quirk slowly ran the length of his arm. His palm opened up and formed a soft layer of gas on it.
"You have come after all."
Geus froze and stopped his irrational thoughts. A gust of wind knocked out his quirk afterward. It was All Might's doing. He slammed down against the villain with such force to smash the ground below them. Yet the villain was able to stop the attack, appeared not affected at all from the surprise attack. More force was generated from because of the opposing forces. A larger shockwave was created and blasted everyone else back.
All Might went in for another attack without any hesitation. But the villain was ready for it, his composure stood tall and launched All Might by himself. A cannon blast strong enough to crash him back yards away from the scene. And still he stood untouched.
"That won't kill All Might. So run away from here, Tomura, and take these children with you."
All Might still wasn't done as he said. As another warp gate was opened for them, All Might got himself out and back in. The villains also felt stronger because of this. All of them went after their prizes. Going straight after Bakugo and Geus with deadly force. Knife strikes, fire blasts, and both of them had to hold out.
As adept as both of them were to defense, six against two was not in their favor. Bakugo's explosions kept him propelled out and away from their grabs. While Geus kept forming layers with his quirk.
'Why am I afraid?' Geus curled over another layer and absorbed an attack from the magician. Still he was grounded and barrel rolled into more rubble. 'If I can take out armed guards, why can't I take them out? Why am I so scared?'
Another explosion knocked Geus out of his inner mind. He looked at the source. "Midoriya?" Geus shouted.
Midoriya, Iida, and Kirishima launched into the field. Ice suddenly appeared under their bodies and formed a ramp into the sky. Geus took advantage of the distraction. He grabbed the closest villain to him. The one known as Twice was the unlucky one. His pure gas hands grabbed hold of the mask and poured layer after layer of his quirk. Nobody could interrupt him now. His eyes met with the eyes of the mask. One long constant scream came out from the center of the pile. The fountain of gas covered the source of the noise and made it indiminishable from either of them.
Geus's mouth remained open and burst the eardrums of Twice. It was anger now in his system, heat bounced off his hands and burned the sides of the mask. It didn't burn off though, to see the face for his cousin's death looked impossible. All he wanted was to see the killer, nothing else mattered. His body started to shake uncontrollably, he sent everything he had at the man at the cost of himself.
'One little bit! One more push!' Geus sent everything he had inside of him. A mountain of gas surrounded both of them, a gas that only produced heat and nothing sulfuric. That privilege was held exclusively for the center. Corners of the mask melted away and exposed the hair underneath.
"What is this heat?" Twice shouted. "It feels so nice." His voice changed slightly to cheerfulness. "No this hurts too much!" He shouted again.
He was happy, the right eye was open and matched his to a straight line. Then, gone. A hole in his quirk formed from Twice's body. He was off of Geus's grip and out of the mountain of gas. Someone else jumped through the hole, an old man in a retro yellow hero suit. He grabbed Geus and torpedoed out. His body spazzed out the entire time, the moment between shakes was clearly visible. The oldster's face was determined. He carried no fear inside the trap of death and proceeded with his goal. He tossed Geus into the air, jumped back to the ground and jetted himself into Geus.
"I gotcha idiot!" Bakugo shouted. He grabbed Geus and tucked him inside of the center of the pile. Luckily for their speed, the gas that left his mouth vanished when it touched his lips.
Geus finally felt the impact of the overuse of his quirk. The spasm from was surely to come at any moment. And when that hits, nobody should be hit by his recklessness. He grabbed onto Iida's overalls and grabbed his attention.
"I need to get down... Before I hurt someone."
