A crashing wave splashed over Hawks.

The frigid water whipped at his face, and the man fell back onto the wooden dock as the wave dragged over the surface and slid onto the grass grounds of the island. The water pattered down over the wood, and Hawks fell on his face with his hands stinging from catching himself over the harsh, rough wood.

Fortunately, The shaking stopped. However, the cacophony of car alarms and stirring children in the dorm buildings have alert to Hawks. He saw the buildings lights flicker again before all of the buildings illuminated as if every switch was turned on at once. At the very north of the compound, the lights cast a harsh shadow over the pier facing Lake St. Claire.

Hawks balanced himself and flapped his wings to right himself to an upright position. He shook and grimaced at how his yellow undershirt clung to his skin, his jacket was drenched with droplets of water falling off the furred fringes.

He took out his yellow goggles and placed them onto his face. He pressed a button and saw a litany of numbers flow over the lenses. Then, he switched it to infrared mode and gazed over the grounds. He saw quite a few students already scrambling for the exits of the buildings. Howeve, when he turned to the school, he saw a red limp shape laying inside the main atrium.

Dabi, who had fallen off the pier, splashed his head above the surface. He coughed and pushed back his hair which was flat on his head opposite its normal spikes. He tread to the side and shivered from the cold.

"Stay under the dock," Hawks said. "I need to see what's happening."

"But the informant is coming," Dabi said.

"Handle him. Besides, it's not like you're gonna run away," Hawks smirked back at him. "You're a terrible swimmer."

Hawks took off and flew over the grounds. The island, a small sliver of land he could fly over in ten seconds at top speed, was abuzz with students flowing out of the buildings. A small fire had started to smoulder out of the first year's dormitory. Cars from the teacher's lots shook and honked with headlights blinking from the quake.

Seeing an urgent manner, Hawks flew down to the fire coming out of the one window. He knew he had to focus on the students first before anything else. He just hoped that Deku would return with Ayumu and Ivan to take control of the situation. He needed him there soon, because he didn't want the informant behind the quirk stealing signal to be spooked and never show up.

Not to mention, he was the principal of the school. He did have a duty to ensure everyone's safety.

He landed at the flume of smoke out the window. He peered inside the room, but the thick black smoke already encompassed the entire space.

"Hello?" Hawks asked. "Anyone in there?"

"It's me," a voice shouted inside. "Tao Hitoshi."

"Are you okay?"

Inside the room, Tao had been enveloped by the hot smoke suffocating the air around him. In the middle of the room, the flames had scorched through the floor and traversed to the sheetrock on the sides of the room.

The flames lapped and ate the walls and creeped closer to where he cowered underneath a broken light panel that fell on top of him. He struggled to hide underneath the panel and propped it on an angle to face the flames. It dissuaded the flames, but the smoke still found it's way around and constricted on his lungs. He could not see beyond the sea of scarlet and black, but he barely heard Hawks voice as a small whine underneath the roaring fire.

"No!" Tao shouted. "My rugs caught fire! I'm trying to smother them out, but it's spreading too fast."

Outside the room, Hawks reached a hand out. The smoke was so hot, his hand singed just from the blazing air that billowed out of the room. He seethed and jabbed his hand back.

"Tao," Hawks gripped his hand and looked into the void of black that sprang with an occasional spark of red fire burning in the center of the room. "Can you exit through the front door?"

"The door is stuck with something in the hallway," Tao said. "I can break it open, but then the building may catch fire due to the increased oxygen."

"I'd rather the building catch fire than you," Hawks said. "Break through it if you can."

"No," Tao said. "I can come over to you."

"It's sweltering, Tao."

"I don't care," Tao shouted. "I'm coming over to you."

"Stay where you are," Hawks said. "I'll…I know what to do. Just wait!"

Crack!

The smoke erupted from the room and kicked out at Hawks. He spun around and flew backwards onto the cool night. He hovered and saw the flames explode from the room and wafted upward before evaporating into a thick smouldering cloud.

"No! Tao!" Hawks shouted. He prepared to fly straight into the flames. Uncaring about any burns, he would never forgive himself for letting a student get cooked on his very first day.

"Mister Hawks!"

Hawks peered down and saw a hand on the glass of the room below.

Tao, covered in a strange bright light outlining his body, slammed his fist on the glass. The window broke, and he stepped out onto the ledge.

With his hand outstretched, he channeled the light through him and had the beam exit from his hand. The beam shot out to Hawks, but it stopped just feet away from him in the air. With the elasticity of a rope, the beam was cool to Hawks touch as he grabbed on and saw Tao grip the other end.

"Hang on," Hawks shouted.

Hawks skied into the air and soared as high and as fast as he can. Tao felt his feet leave the sill, and he dangled on the other end of his makeshift rope utilizing his quirk. He gripped it for dear life as the other room he exited from rumbled again.

Crash!

Another eruption of smoke spat out from the room below. The fire sprang out in a massive ball with the floor above collapsing down and setting fire to the facade. Tao spun on the end of the light beam and stared at the fire eating away at that end of the building. Hawks looked down at the boy as he flew towards the mob of students congregating in the center courtyard area of the island. While the fringes of his hair were singed and his skin drenched in sweat, the boy otherwise appeared okay save for the torn ends and gashes in what appeared to be a formerly white gi tied tight to his body. Now, his entire being was covered in a dark soot with splinters of plywood and sheetrock smeared over his face and shoulders.

Hawks lowered them slowly to the middle clearing. A few students noticed and gave them room. The light ray between Hawks and Tao shimmered before erasing back into Tao's body when he touched the grass. He fell onto the cool ground and rolled himself to a halt looking up at the clouds of the night. Seconds later, Hawks landed with a few students gravitating towards him. As others saw them surrounded a solitary figure, the rest of the student body made their way over to Hawks who stared back at the mob of students he was now in charge.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"No," Tao said. "I shamed myself by causing that fire. I've burned my family's rugs and have embarrassed them today."

"You didn't embarrass anyone," Hawks placed a hand on his shoulder. "You're okay. That's what really matters to me. And your folks will feel the same way. You did good up there."

Tao sighed and straightened up his posture. "Agreed. Regardless, I will work harder and be more diligent next time."

Hawks smiled and patted Tao on the head. Before he knew it, the entire student body descended on him with a few members of the faculty joining in.

"Hawks, what's going on?" One student shouted at him.

"Is this an attack?"

"Is there a villain nearby?"

"Everyone, please relax," Hawks announced to the massive group surrounding him. "It was just a small earthquake. They're rare, but they happen around here. So, please just wait for the fire department to arrive, and we will be fine."

"Where's Deku?" One upperclassmen asked. "He can handle whatever is happening."

"He is making sure other students are secure," Hawks said which was not necessarily a lie. "He will be joining us shortly. Please just stay here and stick together. We will give the all clear soon."

At the very edge of the crowd, Melanie felt a small bump at her shoulder. She turned to find a long mane of black hair retreating towards the main entrance of the school building. With no other students behind her, Melanie hurried behind the figure and held out her hand to tap her on the shoulder.

"Sigi," Melanie said. "Where are you going? You heard Mister Hawks. We must stay with our fellow students to ensure no further injuries."

Sigi brushed away the hand from Melanie. "I'm getting to the bottom of this. That blast came from the school building."

"How do you know?"

"I know," Sigi strut to the glass doors of the school with Melanie in tow. "That Riley is behind this. Haven't you noticed how weird he has acted? How he is around smartphones? His clothes and the Walkman he has? What do you think that all means?"

"Perhaps he likes old technology," Melanie said. She bit her fingers and turned back to the mob that had not noticed them.

Suddenly, Melanie's hair shined a quick flash. Sigi squinted, but found when the flash stopped that Melanie's hair had turned a dark raven like hers with the ponytail shape now changing into a long straight mane not unlike her own.

"What happened to your-?"

"I'm fearful that this is an attack of some kind," Melanie said. "We must follow orders and stay in the faculty's sight."

"Riley is doing this," Sigi shouted when the made it to the marble steps of the front entrance. "He's the only one I don't see in this crowd. So, I'm going to solve this and stop Soldier Boy from whatever he's trying to do. And if you're such a hero, maybe you should help me to save the day. Isn't that what heroes do?"

Melanie stopped at the precipice of the door. The glass was fogged, but the light inside gleamed and cast a soft amber sheen over Melanie. Yes, she cared about following the rules and regulations of this school. However, Sigi had a point about trying to solve this mystery and stop any more issues from occurring that night. However, the consequences of disobeying orders could be far worse. What do she got expelled just from this?

"I'm sorry, but I am unable to," Melanie said. "And I advise you stay here."

"Fine," Sigi said. "Then…I guess I'll just have to be in danger myself."

"In danger," Melanie repeated.

"Of course," Sigi said. "Who knows what's going on in there. I mean…you wouldn't want a fellow classmate to face danger herself, correct?"

Melanie swallowed and smoothed out the legs of her pants. She plastered on a brave face and cleared her throat. "Very well. I can't have a classmate go into mortal danger without assisting in any way I can. Please proceed."

Sigi could not help but chuckle as she turned to face the door. This chick was easier to play than a one stringed banjo. She pushed her shoulder into the door and opened the passage into the school.

The atrium itself was normal. However, all of the electronic doors were jammed open with a fire alarm blaring inside. The lights flickered with a few of tiles on the floor cracked. A few of the pillars had strange bulges in the center, but otherwise tow area was still.

Melanie gasped and covered her mouth. "Look!"

Sigi turned to the open doorway leading downstairs. By the pathway, a crumpled body lay on the ground with his limbs splayed out. Wearing a slate suit, the large man's radio lay a few feet away from his open palm. Blood pooled around his head which was face down in the puddle. Behind him, footsteps dotted by the blood toed into the open staircase and down the spiral into the basement.

"Oh, no," Melanie ran over to the man. "Are you okay, mister."

"He's probably dead," Sigi huffed. "Look, there's a trail that heads down to the basement. This lab I guess it's called. Whatever we're looking for is there."

"But this man is dying!" Melanie shouted. "I need to help him."

"Melanie," Sigi facepalmed. "We need to focus on the mission. We can't help him."

"Like how you focused on the mission earlier today?" Melanie lashed out. "I heard about how you abandoned your team. And it led to you failing. If there is someone in need, you save them. Heroes save!"

Melanie kneeled down next to the man. She grimaced, but then grabbed his head. It looked lifeless in her grasp, and blood coated her small fingers. She shivered in disgust, but forced herself to have his head within her palms. Sigi watched her when the girl looked down and blew out a deep breath.

She closed her eyes. Her body tensed as she strained herself deep in concentration. Sigi examined the girl when she trembled over the man. Her chest heaved, and she let out a soft grunt.

Then, the same light from earlier sparked over her head. Spark. Spark. Another spark.

Then, the light flared once again. Sigi shielded her eyes, but when she reverted her gaze back to her, Melanie's hair was pink yet again and done up in a neat ponytail. Melanie let out a deep sigh and looked back down at the man.

He twitched in her grasp. Then, he grumbled and emitted a low moan. He opened his eyes with the vibrancy of a sloth and rubbed his forehead. The gash in his skull remained, but the blood had clotted up and stopped any more of the fluid from leaking onto the ground.

Sigi took a step forward. She thought about her selfishness over the past day and stared at the two of them as Melanie clapped in happiness at the guard being alive.

"Man, I got a headache," The guard said.

"You are okay, mister," Melanie said with an assuring smile. "But please tell us what happened."

"Some guy came up and hit me," The guard said. "I don't remember who. Just they went downstairs-."

Flash!

Before Sigi could react, a great white flash erupted from the stairwell. The source was down at the very bottom of the now dark, cavernous path.

"Let's go," Sigi said.

Without waiting for Melanie, she ran down the steps. She bumped into the narrow walls with her shoes clacking down each step. She descended faster and faster into the darkness. With no light down at the very bottom, she cut through the black and ran all the way to the bottom floor where she was met with even more black.

In a small hallway, Sigi stopped at the base of the staircase. She squinted, but the area behind the open door was an endless obsidian void. No light betrayed a hint of an object or being in the room. It was like peering into infinite space.

Black.

The echo of footsteps behind her climbed down towards her. She moved none as Melanie arrived right by her side. The two girls stared into what could be assumed as the dormant room. When the ring of Melanie's steps eroded into silence, no noise protruded from the hallway. Only the breathing of the two who froze at the end of the hall.

Black.

Sigi swallowed and took a short step.

Then, another.

Another.

Another.

Melanie followed close behind. Her heart slammed into her chest, and a harsh chill made her teeth chatter. She forced herself to but her tongue to focus and keep her mood optimistic in order to utilize the healing aspect of her quirk.

They passed the steel frame of the door into the darkness. When Sigi turned back, the black had erased the door frame. The two stood an an infinite box of which they floated within.

Sigi breathed out and stepped forward. She made more headway, but at the same time, she moved none. It was not that she was stuck, but she had no direction or place to go.

Step.

Step.

Step.

Her footsteps betrayed no noise. Sigi could only hear her own breathing and the pulse of her heart thumping through her ears.

The fuzz of absolute silence creeped over Sigi's skin like ice slithering over her body. She faced Melanie, but found that beyond the girl was no exit. In all areas, it was just darkness.

"Where are we?" Melanie asked.

"We should be in the basement," Sigi said. "Maybe this is some illusion quirk or something-."

"No," Melanie said. "Look."

Sigi frowned. She looked back out to the area opposite Melanie. Only to come face-to-face with a door.

A singular door. Oak with a golden handle that recessed into the wood. It sat still right before Sigi, but there appeared to be no frame for it to rest within.

A simple door seated on the edge of nothing.

Sigi sighed. She was starting to grow tired of the strange tricks being played on her. The main goal was to find Riley and get out of this place. What she would do to that boy when they escaped would be a war crime in certain countries due to the mess that he was causing. He just had to be behind all of this.

The girl took a step forward. Right to the door. She reached out her fingers, and the tips kissed the gold almost anticipating a singing burn.

However, the metal was cool to the touch. With another full, Sigi placed her s delicate digits on the recess and slid the door to the side. Inch-by-inch, the door seemed to disappear into an invisible black wall as she slid it further. However, another bright light glistened from inside. An ivory sliver sliced into view, and Melanie had to cover her eyes just to avoid burning out her corneas.

Sigi grunted and flung the door to the side. It evaporated into a thin mist, and then the light cascaded into that of a setting sun over the horizon.

When Melanie gazed back into the doorway, she saw the apricot glaze of the sky outside the clear windowpanes.

The windowpanes of a classroom.

Sigi took a hesitant step inside. Melanie followed. In the classroom was a typical chalkboard with oak desks and seats over a steel blue wall and tile. From inside the class, Sigi looked back out the doorway. What made her gasp was that the darkness had disappeared in favor of a school hallway. Hardwood flooring lined the pathway with the pop site side holding another sliding door of a separate room. Whether it was a mirage or a fantasy, Sigi was unsure.

"Where are we?" Melanie asked.

"The better question is," a gruff voice barked out. "When are you?"

The two turned to the teacher's desk off to the corner. At the front of the room, a young boy about their age with spiked blonde hair and scarlet eyes held his head up with an arm as if in a bored state. He looked over at the two and drummed his fingers on the desk.

"Who the hell are you?" Sigi asked.

"I should be asking you that," he said. "Who do you think you are messing with space and time like this? Didn't your parents ever teach you to not walk into endless voids?"

Melanie tilted her head and examined the man. She blinked trying to focus on the familiar presence. Then, she gasped and pointed at him.

"You're the Pro-Hero," Melanie said. "That Dynamight guy."

"No I'm not," Katsuki Bakugo spat out and stood behind the desk. He marched to the podium and leaned on it towards the two girls.

"I recognize you from all the missing posters," Melanie said. "Along with Deku and Shoto. But…you're dead."

"It appears so," Bakugo said. "And you two need to be grateful you're not."

"Okay, look Explosion Boy," Sigi crossed her arms in defiance. "I just need to know if some meathead named Riley is apart of this. Can you tell me where he is?"

"Oh, that moron," Bakugo scoffed. "Don't worry. He and that science nerd are being dealt with right now. You two are lucky compared to what they're going through."

"What are you doing to them?" Melanie asked. And whose the science guy you're talking about?"

"Listen, I don't have much time," Bakugo slammed his fist on the podium. "So let me tell you what you need to know. Someone tried to poke their nose into something they shouldn't have. This is your one warning to not do it again."

"Do what again?" Sigi shouted. "I didn't do shit!"

"You walked into the Void!"

"What void?"

"The Void!" Bakugo screamed. "The place where there is no here. No here, no there. No anywhere. No moments. No life. An infinite obsidian," Bakugo breathed out and stared into the skyline of the city outside. "The end of the world."

Melanie approached Bakugo. Slow, as if to not scare him, she clasped her hands together and planted herself feet away.

"Why are we here?" Melanie asked.

"When the physical tries to travel to the metaphysical," Bakugo said. "Two reactions occur. One of the physical material arriving to the metaphysical. But what replaces the physical material that left? The metaphysical. And the metaphysical in your world can't exist. So…this is the consequence."

"The matter was replaced," Melanie said. "But it was replaced by something that can't exist in our world."

"Right," Bakugo grumbled. "So, in the void of the physical objects that travelled to this place, somethings had to replace them. And that replacement is…this."

"Okay, this is ridiculous," Sigi cried out. "None of this is real. You're a paid actor. Melanie, let's get out of here."

"Don't you want to know where Riley and Gavin are?"

A different voice. This one with a British accent. A soft-spoken boy stood at the entrance with a gentle smile and light eyes. A wristwatch attached to his wrist, he smiled with a halo brining over his head.

"Gavin?" Melanie asked. "I met that boy earlier. Yes, where is he?"

"Oh, they're both in a very special place," the boy said. "Not quite as nice as where I will frequent soon. Or perhaps I already frequent it."

"Enough of the riddles, Leo," Bakugo spat out. "Just get on with it!"

"Where you are currently," the boy named Leo stated. "Is the consequences of Gavin and Riley's actions. Transporting themselves to this very unique place. However, by doing so, they also transferred over a piece of the realm to your world. Again, a world with completely different physical states as mine. Not only is it very unethical, but it could also lead to…as Bakugo put it…the end of the world."

"What?"

"At least, the end of your world," Bakugo said. "Not that I give much of a shit about it anymore."

"What you are witnessing is the Void," Leo stated. "It's what happens to those who try to covet this realm without being allowed in. Sure, Riley and Gavin may have reached their destination, but you two would pay the consequences as well as anyone who is taken by the Void."

"So what?" Sigi leaned on a desk and frowned. "We're stuck here?"

"Not for long," Leo said. "Only until Gavin and Riley return to their proper states. Then this piece will return to its proper state. The metaphysical will return back to the metaphysical. The physical back to the physical. Your school's laboratory should be just fine minus a few lightbulbs."

"But the more this is done," Bakugo said. "And the more people who try this, the larger the Void becomes. And the Central Platform isn't going to be happy if people trying to waltz in and out if it."

"The Central Platform?" Sigi scoffed. "What is all this? Some kind of cult? Look, scare me all you want, but I want the truth. What is Riley? Is he a time traveler or an alien or is he just weird?"

"Sadly, I can't divulge such information," Leo said. "That matter is a physical one to be handled in your physical world. All I can do is give you my blessing that you will be healthy and happy for the rest of your days on Earth."

"I don't want your blessing," Sigi shouted. "I want the truth!"

"The truth is," Bakugo smacked his hand on the podium. "That you're friend messed up, and he better not do it again or we won't be nice next time. If you're gonna do weird timely-wimey, teleportation experiments, keep it in your realm and not others."

"Realms?" Melanie repeated under her breath. She turned back to Leo and examined the boy. Then, she faced the classroom and read on the chalkboard the words inscribing it as the old U.A. classroom that she recognized from old pictures of Deku and Lagniappe being taught within.

"This isn't the real U.A. Is it?" Melanie asked. "Not the one in our world."

Silence. She stared straight at Bakugo who bit his lip. Then, he sighed and deflated onto the podium.

"No," Bakugo said. "This is my Void. One I am to be in."

"Did you try to enter the metaphysical," Melanie said. "To tamper with our realm and…the other one?"

"A lot of people did," Bakugo said. "I was just the worst one."

"And these are the consequences," Leo said. "If you wish for all human's souls on earth to be enveloped by this Void, then you will continue to covet what isn't yours to obtain. Not yet, at least. It is important that you two express that to Riley and Gavin when you return. Gavin is an ambitious young man who will do anything in the name of advancing humanity. And Riley," he nodded at Sigi. "Has his own goals. But it will be imperative that you two make sure they do not attempt to traverse to where they are again. Or you will be in the Void."

"So stop Riley from whatever he's trying to do," Sigi said. "Great. So can I just stab him when I see him again?"

"Yes," Leo said. "But that would severely hinder your chances of entering where they have tried to travel to."

"And what place would that be?" Sigi asked.

Leo shrugged and peered out at the setting sun. He looked down at his watch and tapped on the glass. Satisfied, he advanced to the desk at the very back of the room where a certain green-haired boy sat a long time ago. He touched the desk and breathed.

"That," Bakugo said. "I think you already know the answer to."

Melanie took a brave step forward to Leo. As she did, the sun outside seemed to loom large. The light grew brighter with a man electric blue zap flickering in the distance and nearing close. The light strobed faster wiht each passing second. The city outside evaporated into mist and retreated into the glow that was about to blind Melanie.

She stopped right by Leo. The boy smiled at her as she grabbed a strand of his hair. The thistle of hair in her fingers combed through like soft twigs when a strange warmth filled up Melanie. A warmth of thta reminded her of home.

"Mister Leo," Melanie asked. "Are you an Angel? From Heaven?"

"I look forward to meeting you again in the future," Leo Agravain stated. "When I can show you what's beyond."

With one small smile, Leo tapped on his watch one last time.

Melanie gasped.

The light engulfed them, and the ground gave way to nothing. She fell, but at the same time, she rose up through space and time. The blue light flickered past with specks of cerulean stars and exploding comets racing past. Faster and faster. A kaleidoscope of nothing and everything all before her very eyes. The sound of the crying wind screamed over her ears, and just when she thought her body and her mind could take no more….


Slam!

Lynn closed the driver's side door. She buckled up and turned the keys in the ignition of the Gran Torino. Next to her, Leon sat with Skylar shaking from the shocking events that just occurred in the back.

She reversed out of the parking spot. With the tires squelching on the pavement, the car zoomed over the pavement towards the front entrance guard shack. Her thoughts pounded through her aching head. She had just knocked out Jason. Jason! Her one true friend and…maybe more than a friend? They wouldn't have kissed otherwise, right? She never forced herself on him, but she had secretly fantasized about such an event for a while. In fact, she had thought they were fated to eventually be together.

But then, why did she say no? Jason was offering her what she had wanted for so long. To drive away with him to anywhere. Why did she say no? Yes, he was pressuring her, but it was what she wanted. Yes, she had always considered being a Pro-Hero, but that was never her first priority. Did that change recently? Meeting Deku? Meeting Leon and Skylar just that day? Defeating the heroes and winning the challenge? Did she now want to save others and better society?

She remembered the pride she felt when they had been victorious in besting two Pro-Heroes. The rush when she figured out how to get out of the bank. The euphoria as she flew in the air with Skylar and Leon. It was a euphoria she could get addicted to. It was one she would only feel as a Pro-Hero.

Was her future better at this school?

Was it better without Jason?

She shook her head and slammed on the gas.

The path from the parking lot snaked at the edge of the island and was about a quarter mile road following the water. With the blinking lights of the Detroit Skyline, the road may be a peaceful and picturesque one if it weren't for what the trio in the car had to do.

Lynn shifted and pushed the car harder. Leon gripped the handle on the ceiling, and Skylar tugged at his hair in agony.

"What if my agent finds out about this," Skylar cried. "What if Schmakery's finds out, and they ban me? Oh no, what if I get suspended from TikTok? If people find out I helped a murder, I'll be cancelled!"

"If people found out, you'd be in jail," Leon added in an even tone.

"Losing all my subscribers is worse!" Skylar whined.

"Get a grip, you two!" Lynn shouted. "Lay low, we're coming up to the guard shack."

A few students turned back from the outer bands of the student body congregation on the clearing. They saw a single muscle car racing down the road towards the lone guard shack right by the bridge leading to the city. On the other shoreline, blinking emergency vehicles could be seen rocketing towards the bridge like fireflies in the night sky.

Lynn spun the car and skid right up to the guard shack. The road arm was down with the Entrance Guard standing in front of the arm. Lynn stopped the car, and the vehicle lurched to a halt. The guard moseyed over with a clipboard and crouched down to fit his head inside the window.

"Now, I know you don't have permission to be leaving this late," The Entrance Guard shouted.

"It's an emergency, mister," Lynn batted her eyelashes at the guard. "Besides, that fire is scaring me, so I thought we should evacuate."

"Hawks already said it's under control," he pointed at the dorms. "He told me to make sure no one leaves so we can have an accurate count of the students when Deku shows up. And the fire department is on its way. So turn around and go to courtyard with everyone else."

"Please mister," Lynn said. "We are very allergic to…to fire."

"Yes, terribly," Leon said.

"It makes me break out," Skylar shouted.

"Look, this is for your safety," the guard yelled. "Everything will be fine, so get your jank-ass car back and-. Ah!"

The guard kept back. He dropped his clipboard and swatted at the air. Then, he spun around.

"Ah!" He shouted again.

He swatted again at nothing. Another swat. Another.

"There's bees everywhere!" The Guard screamed. "I'm allergic!"

The guard flailed his arms and danced around like a kite during a hurricane. He screamed and ran away from the guard shack with the arm still blocking the exit. The guard ran across the school grounds with his arms trying to knock away the invisible bees.

In a bush, Aiden's red hair poked out with his smirking face chortling at the panicking guard. He flashed a thumbs-up at the car.

"Now that he's out of the way…," Lynn said.

She pushed her foot into the clutch and set the car in drive. The tires squealed and spun before slicing over the pavement and sent the car into the plastic arm attached to the guard shack. The protrusion snapped when faced with the resistance of the grill, and the arm splintered away as the car bumbled down the short chute leading up to the bridge.

"Okay, so when we get to the landfill," Lynn explained while shifting to another gear. "We leave everything that might have DNA traces inside. Then, we drive it to the crusher and have everything destroyed."

The car bounced onto the bridge. Skylar hopped in his seat while Leon's head tapped the concave ceiling. The golden lights on the tresses of the steel-cable bridge raced past while the engine whined over the tar-black concrete.

"How do you even know all this?" Skylar asked.

"In Detroit, you have to be prepared for anything," Lynn said. "We get a cab back, and we pretend this never happened."

"But I'll remember it!" Skylar asked. "What if someone uses some machine to read my mind! I'll be kicked out of the union and I won't be able to get any Equity gigs ever again!"

"Excuse you," Lynn shouted. "I just killed my best friend since I was like two! I'm not exactly thrilled about this either. But as long as we three stick together-."

Thunk.

"Everything-."

Thunk.

"Will be just fine."

Rip!

Skylar turned to the middle section of the seat next to him. In the middle console, a bump emanated from the leather seat.

"Guys?" Skylar cried out in horror.

A loud rip split apart the leather in the back passenger bench. Next to Skylar, a hand popped out of the material and flexed out its palm. Then, the hand gripped the side of the hole with another appendage clutching onto the opposite side.

With a quick heave, Jason yanked his head through the hole and appeared in the back seat of the car. He had ripped through the back of the seat and pushed his torso through with blood coating his entire face!

"Oh my God," Skylar screamed. "He's a zombie!

Lynn whipped her head around. Jason yelled out and thrusted forward for the central console of the vehicle. Lynn screamed and spent the wheel to make Jason lose balance. Half of his body wiggled around in the hole while Skylar cowered next to him.

The car sighed and zagged over the bridge. It slid at the summit of the road with smoke shooting out of the rear tires. At the other side of the bridge heading towards them, a single taxi cab raced towards them and up the incline to the top with a trail of emergency vehicles about a block behind them.

Inside the taxi cab, Izuku stared in shock at the sight. Smoke flared from the school with glass broken outside some of the buildings. A mob of students gathered in the main courtyard, and a pair of headlights snaked around and reflected off the low clouds of smoke drifting over the bridge like spotlights at a film premiere.

"What in the world?" Izuku whispered to himself.

Back at the Gran Torino, The group inside bounced to each side within the cockpit as Jason tried to reach for the stick shift. Skylar grabbed his halo and shunted it over Jason's head as the boy dived for the center. When the halo hung around his neck, Skylar shrunk it tight on Jason's neck.

Jason gurgled with the suffocating metal constricting around him. Jason choked and forced his knees out of the whole. He kneeled up and grabbed the hall with both hands. However, as hard as he pulled at the golden circle, it would not budge. The skin on his face morphed into a deep raspberry with oxygen halting in his throat. His body grew limp, and he writhed while falling forward down onto Leon's lap.

Leon activated the system in his body. He grabbed Jason's shoulder and shocked the boy with his static. Jason, while connected to Leon, had his arm shoot out on reflex from his limbs losing control due to the electric current. His hand flung out and slapped limbs arm which twitched and electrocuted the girl.

Lynn shouted. Her arm slammed down while on the steering wheel and caused the car to sail to the right. The car rocketed for wall of the bridge. Skylar screamed and closed his eyes with Jason wriggling on the stick shift like a dying chicken without a head. Leon banged his head on the dashboard, and Lynn twitched with the electric shock causing her to spin the car and over correct.

The group screamed when the car accelerated faster and faster. Before finally, it reached the top of the bridge. With a steep decline ahead of it, the car took off from the summit and soared through the sky.

The world muted into a dead silence for Lynn. The other three in the car lifted upward as zero gravity took effect in their free fall. Skylar had his eyes closed while Leon grabbed onto Jason to stop him from reaching Lynn. Jason's arms went limp, and his eyes bulged from their sockets with the halo choking the life from him. The wind brushed past Lynn from the open space in front of her due to the destroyed windshield. From this height, Downtown Detroit appeared beautiful and placid with the line of red and blue lights about to turn onto the bridge.

On the descent, the car tucked down to the very bottom of the bridge's incline leading up to the summit. The headlights illuminated the vehicle before them; a taxicab with a certain green-haired Pro-Hero watching in horror as the car raced towards him like a missile about to destroy its target.

The Grab Torino descended back to the surface of the bridge. Right at the taxi holding Izuku and his other students.

"What the fu-!" Izuku screamed.

Blam!

The cars collided with a sickening crunch of metal twisting on the hood of both vehicles. Oil spat out with the engine blocks getting crushed on each other. Sparks and exploding tires bursted out static and oxygen at a rapid rate with glass shards spinning in the atmosphere like jagged leaves in autumn. Izuku covered his face with his arms as debris battered them. The wind knocked out of him, and the roar the volume of a locomotive deafened his ears. His legs crackled with the floor of the car crumpling up like ripped paper towards his feet. The front end disintegrated, and the aluminum of the vehicle was erased by the twisted debris of the broken engine block and exposed radiator that tore in half and leaked fluid onto the pavement below.

The cars stopped dead in their tracks. With the momentum of the wreck, Jason's body flew through the open space of the absent windshield and launched through the air into the taxicab. His limo frame smashed through the window and slammed into Izuku's lap. His head rested on his thighs with his legs knocking the taxi cab driver out. When the cars came to a halt, his body fell lifeless in Izuku's hands.

Behind them, Ivan held Ayumu in his spindled arms. The front end took the brunt of the impact, so they were both unharmed with Ayumu watching the scene with little interest. Frankly, it was well past her bedtime, and she wanted to go to sleep. She smacked her lips, and then closed her eyes to return to slumber.

When the wreck ended, Izuku opened his eyes to find the bloody head of Jason in his lap. He could not recognize the boy due to the drenched ruby fluids around him. However, he did recognize the halo that choked him still around his neck.

The halo, on its own accord, enlarged to a space that was as big as Jason's skull. Then, the halo flew off of his neck and spun through the air back to the opposite vehicle. The halo traced a sparkling gold path through the air back to the top of it's owners head. Following the object, Izuku rose his gaze to the opposite vehicle.

Leon, Lynn, and Skylar stared back at Izuku. All of them were covered in spots of motor oil and blood along with remnants of glass that twisted off the vehicle. The hiss of a dead engine spat smoke between them, but Izuku recognized all of them right away. The three were frozen with Lynn's hands still on the steering wheel. As she stared at Izuku's horrified green eyes, she saw the long line of emergency vehicles rumbling towards them in the bridge. The sirens crescendoed with one cop car stopping right at the wreck. There was nowhere to run other than off the bridge.

Lynn has no other options. The vehicle was dead, and she was not only about to be caught by the cops, but by her new teacher. She had supposed, in a morbid way, that he had crashed into her earlier that summer. Perhaps this event made them even. In which case, maybe Deku would be able to forgive and forget.

"Uh…," Lynn licked her lips and forced on a cheap smile. She waved at her teacher in a nervous fashion. "Howdy, Mister Deku!"

Before Izuku could react, the airbag went off and knocked him out cold.

Well, Lynn thought to herself. At least maybe he would forget.


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