Alice luckily was able to get her paperwork done and everything put away for the next day. They were allowed to sleep in because they had gotten their work done in the middle of the night instead. Alice woke up at noon, surprised that Bakugo had left her alone for so long. She got ready and headed downstairs. Chess was draped over her shoulders, his white gaze idly watching the people pass by. "Listen Lady, its too fucking early for this shit." Bakugo was pulling on his gauntlets while Burnin' hovered over his shoulder, asking all sorts of questions.
The woman instantly turned her attention to Alice as she came out from the elevator. "Good morning, Ms. Rise! A pleasure to see you finally awake! I have your first assignment with the agency!" Alice was a bit surprised at how enthusiastic the woman was about their next mission. "So- heres the deal. We have a patrol that needs to be rerouted. You guys went through them last night, so you might be aware of the situation." She pulled out the template that Alice had made with the information on it and set it on the table in front of her and Bakugo. Alice approached and leaned on the table. She remembered this one. The side kicks that had been sent out had gone through their usual route to find evidence of building structures being tampered with. Why they hadnt investigated then was beyond her. "So we are gonna throw you guys onto the trail. You will be doing a basic patrol to see if you notice anything of interest on your walk. Please make sure to be as detailed as possible." Burning babbled on for a moment about the importance of detailed Patrol work.
"So you are sending us to do Side kick work?" Bakugo snarled and slammed his hands on the table. "You guys said that Patrol work was sidekick work!"
Burnin' didnt even seem phased, "So yes- it is, but I also dont want to throw Ms. Rise here to the wolves on her first official field work day with the Agency. So Im going to start you guys with something simple. It shouldnt take more than a few hours, get it done and come back here for your next assignment."
Bakugo just groaned loudly. Burnin' was right, but he would rather be doing something more exciting. "Come on, the quicker we get this done- the faster we can come back and do something else." He grabbed the girl's hood and drug her to the door. Alice scrambled to grab the paper and gave Burnin' an apologetic wave.
The pair made a beeline to their route and fell into step next to each other. "I appreciate you being so patient with me doing some basic stuff first before we get into the low level crime stuff." Alice said with a faint smile to the male.
"You appreciate a lot of bullshit." Bakugo grumbled. Alice rolled her eyes. "But whatever, sure. Youre welcome." Truthfully, he didnt mind. Alice had been pretty patient with him up to this point and she wasnt awful company. "So are all Canadian Heroes super friendly? Or is it just you?" He gave her a side eye, it was partially a question and partially a joke.
Alice snorted, "Its kinda a bit of both. The stereotype that all Canadians are friendly stems from how patient most of our Heroes are." She shoved her hands in her pockets. "Also its more me being polite. Sometimes being mean can be exhausting."
Bakugo nodded slowly and crossed his arms, "I guess you are kinda right." He opened an eye and looked down at her. Alice always had this happy air about her. She was genuinely friendly and caring. He really did like that about her. "Well you get to be friendly for the both of us. Takes some pressure off of me."
"And you get to be a grumpy asshole for the both of us." Alice couldnt keep the smile off her lips. Talking with Bakugo always helped her feel better. She could see him actually trying to be nice to her. She'd learned early on that if someone made an effort to try and be friends with him, he would make the effort in turn.
The pair headed down a side alley and came out in the middle of an absolute mess. Buildings had been corroded with some sort of substance, weakening the overall structures. They hadnt even been walking for 10 minutes when shit hit the fan. Bakugo pulled her back into the alley and pressed her against the wall. "Dont move." He said softly, keeping his voice low. "Gang Orca is talking to a Villain." He whispered down at her.
Sure enough, the Hero was facing off with a Villain, but he didnt seem to be doing all that well. A large burn mark covered is right side, his suit in tatters from the fight. "A shame that you needed to get in on this one, Mr. Orca." The Villain he was facing said with an absent shrug. The villain was a young male in his early thirties, his neon yellow hair pulled back into a loose pony tail. He had what looked like Neon bubbles around his wrists, his outfit matching the bubble-like accessories. "But ya see, I cant let them get away with the fact they fired me without a notice. I got bills to pay. I had been with this business for years and they dropped me like yesterdays news. Now what am I gonna do? My family is gonna suffer." All Gang Orca could do was growl in response. The pain from his side and fight had really put him at a disadvantage. His coms were down and there were civilians being held in one of the weakened buildings. "But do they care? No. They never do. We gotta give them a notice when we quit! They get to just drop us." The Villain snarled. "Its a downright shame, Mr. Orca."
Bakugo and Alice kept to the alley, Bakugo wanted to immediately jump into the fight, but Alice was able to keep him calm enough so she could send Chess out to get a good look at the area. He zipped through the rubble, getting in the cracks and crevasse to see if anyone would get hurt from sending Bakugo into battle. The cat froze at the entrance to the largest building. The ground floor had been exposed by some sort of acid that still dripped from the upper floors. A group of people, most likely office workers, were huddled in the back corner together. They gave one look at the cat and seemed to push themselves farther back against the concrete, but who could have blamed them?
Chess made a beeline back to Alice, winding up her legs to perch on her shoulder. "He says that there are civilians in that building over there." She whispered to Bakugo, who only growled in response. He knew that going all out would cause a problem.
"Fuck, so we gotta find a way to get them out of there." He tapped his fingers against the wall, looking at the battle field again. "Do you think you could get the people out of there if I held his attention long enough?"
"I think so." Alice glanced around to the buildings. She'd have to move fast and keep to the ground. Her job would be to stay hidden and get those people to safety as quick as possible.
"Dont think," Bakugo snapped and glanced back at her. "Be 100% sure of your actions. Dont back down. Even if you arent 100% sure, suck it up. " Alice squared her shoulders and gave him a nod before slipping along the buildings towards the opening. She could hear Bakugo readying himself behind her.
"Hey! Asshole! Over here!" He called out, which got the man's attention rather fast. The villain turned his head to where Bakugo was, a frown appearing on his lips.
"A Kid? Do you know this kid Mr. Orca?" The Villain put his hands on his hips, a confused look on his face. "Heroes sending kids to do the Pros jobs. Thats a downright shame. No wonder our economy is held up by shit corporations " He jumped down from his concrete platform, wandering towards Gang Orca lazily.
"Young Bakugo, you need to leave- now." The Hero tried to bite his tongue and get between the pair- but the Villain didnt seem to really care.
Bakugo held out his hands, explosions popping off from his palms. "We arent here to fight their battles." He grinned, his expression flickering from amused to downright manic. "We are here to win them."
Alice on the other hand had kept herself low to the ground and slipped into the building quietly. "Hey, Im here to help." She held up her hands and made her way back to the group of people. The ground floor had been completely blown apart, all that was left was two of the main support beams. "My name is Lucidity. Im going to help get you guys out of here, okay?"
One of the office workers, a man with the head of a fish glanced from her to the people talking outside. "They sent a kid in here to get us?" His voice trembled. "Were all screwed."
Alice's brows furrowed and she shook her head, "We are here to help, but I need you to do exactly what I say- okay?" There were about six people up against the walls, looking terrified. The Fish-man shook his head. He wasnt gonna be listening to some kid that might get them killed.
The other people nodded between each other and looked to Alice, who looked relieved. "Okay, so my partner is going to keep the Villain distracted. Okay? Youll need to follow me." Outside she could hear the Villain yelling and Bakugo's laughter. The male was really putting him up for a fight. Bakugo was strong enough to face off with the guy and keep him occupied while Alice moved people around. She brought them to the edge of the building, her magenta gaze scanning the battle field. The moment the Villain had turned away from the opening, she sent the first group down the alley to freedom.
This gave Gang Orca a chance to get away from the situation. His side had severe chemical burns, but they'd heal with him. He glanced up at the explosion hero zipping back and forth across the battle field. He knew Endeavor wasnt stupid enough to send Bakugo here on his own. He tilted his head, trying to listen for someones voice- Alice? He shielded his face as a glob of Goo flew across the rubble, slapping a few feet away from the girl in question- who scrambled back into the safety of the building.
Alice waited until the goo stopped bubbling before she sent another pair off to get down the alley. Chess had his arms up around her shoulders, ready to protect her from any flying goo. It left the girl open to help get the last person ready to run. "Come on, we need to move now." She hissed back at the fish-man, who clung to the center support beam, refusing to move from his spot. He didnt trust no kid to get him out of here unscathed, even if that kid had gotten 5 people out already. Chess protected the female from another sludge bomb that hit the side of the building, the concrete crumbling. "Shit. I cant wait for him." She ushered the last person on and went back to the fish-man, trying to coax him into running. "Listen. I know you dont trust me, but Gang Orca is out there risking his life with my partner. You trust him, dont you?" She glanced to where the rubble fell from the wall and took a piece of the ceiling with it.
"Y-yes." He glanced to the opening again, then back at the ceiling.
"Good, because Gang Orca did my license exam. He personally deemed me ready to go out on the field. You trust his word, right?"
"Y-yes." The man swallowed thickly, his gaze flickering up at the ceiling again. "But..."
"But nothing." Alice said softly. "You need to trust him and he trusts me." She glanced up to where the male had been looking. The crack from the last acidic bomb had slowly but surely been traveling to where the male clung desperately to the support beam. "Dont look at it. We can get out of here." She said firmly. "Please, trust me."
The guy took a deep breath and pushed away from the support beam, moving slowly to reach for Alice's hand. The movement away from the support beam had triggered its collapse. The weight from the upper floors finally causing the ceiling to buckle. Alice snagged the male's hand and whipped him away from her. He scrambled away from the falling debris, his gaze filled with regret and fear. Chess reacted almost instantly and his paws came up, bracing the ceiling to where the support was needed. Alice yelled out in pain, her legs almost buckling from the physical strain. Chess wrapped his other paws around her legs, using them as a basis for support. The office worker stood staring at her with a look of pure terror on his face. This kid, who had been just trying to get them out had put herself in harms way to keep him safe. "GO NOW." She looked up at him, her magenta gaze glowed slightly from the strain on her quirk. He hesitated, regret filling his face before he took off, scrambling around the corner.
Alice stood with her lower back against the support beam. It had stopped shifting, the ceiling resting on Chess's paws for support. She could only feel the pain of the weight on her legs and Chess's stress of holding up something so heavy. He meowed in pain himself, his arms shaking. "Dont give up, buddy. We got this- remember?" She managed to choke the phrase out, but tears streamed down her face. "We're stronger than this. We survived some pretty bad shit before." She glanced up to the ceiling. Everything had stopped moving, the room they were in was eerily quiet. "Remember, we have friends here... Uraraka, Fumikage, Kirishima..." Alice felt the lump in her throat catch. "W-we cant give up now." She was scared. If she let go the ceiling would topple with her in it. Gods, she hoped her stamina would be able to keep this in place.
Back outside, Bakugo had finally got a hit in on the male. He recoiled back, the rumble from the building nearest to him coming to a halt. He had a feeling Alice had something to do about it, but he kept his focus on the male in front of him. "Get the fuck away from me kid!" The Villain snarled the words, goo dripping from his hands. "I dont want to hurt you."
"Then just fucking DIE!" Bakugo held his arm out and pulled the pin on his gauntlet, the explosion clipping the male's arm as he scrambled away. The Villain stood a few feet away from where the explosion had hit. A look of fear in his gaze. Bakugo's explosion had left a good sized hole in the pavement, if he had been just a bit too slow...
"Just step down." Gang Orca had righted himself and slowly approached the pair. He held his arm out in front of Bakugo, who lowered his arm with a glare. The acid stung, it would heal eventually, but he couldnt let Bakugo hurt the poor man. "We can work something out. We dont want to go any farther than this." He flickered his gaze to the building. He'd seen the shifting, but didnt know the real damage. He hoped that Alice was able to get out with the Hostages. "We just want to help you."
The Villain glanced from Bakugo to Gang Orca, his yellow gaze hesitant. "What... You want to help me? By hurting me? There is nothing to work out! My life is falling apart. My wife left me because I lost my job. I have nothing now. Im nothing but a lost cause."
The desperation in his tone made the pro-hero hold up his hands. "I know. I know. We can work on getting you rehabilitated. Remember, Japan has one of the best rehabilitation in the world. No one is a lost cause. We can help you get another job lined up so when you rejoin the world- you are all set to restart your life. You told me before you had wished it wasnt me to get involved." He could hear the police arriving. Someone must have called them. "But now Im involved and I want to help." He took a hesitant step closer. Gang Orca took a glance at Bakugo, who was still ready for a fight. "Young one, please back down." He said sternly. "Ive got this." Bakugo scoffed, but stepped back- his gaze still locked on the Villain as Gang Orca talked him down. "See? Im just here to help as Ive told you before, you trusted me before this- didnt you?"
The male seemed to deflate at the Pro-hero's words. "Y-yes." The Villain chuckled and glanced to where the Police had slowly started to filter into the battle grounds. "I dont think I have the energy to even fight back after that whole interaction." He let his arms drop, waving in Bakugo's direction.
"That is completely fine, we will get a car ready and take you directly to the station. You have my word that nothing will happen to you. Okay?"
Gang Orca was able to deescalate the situation rather quickly after his run in with Dynamite and took the male over to the police to get his escorted off to the station.
Bakugo had let out a sigh he didnt know he was holding. So much for an easy first mission. "You need to look in the building! She's still there!" The Fish-man was screaming at the edge of the barricade. Bakugo felt his entire face drain of color and he sprinted towards the building before the sentence left the male's lips. A few police officers were standing at the entrance, a look of shock and horror on their faces.
Alice was still standing with her back against the beam. Chess was almost unrecognizable. The cat had almost completely shifted to something out of nightmares. It's large head was filled with jagged teeth, all four eyes squinted in pain. It's form was larger, lankier. It had turned into some sort of monster out of stress and it's long tail lashed angrily behind it. The shadows ripped at the girl's outfit, causing cuts to form on her skin as the monster tried to wrap itself around her, desperate to protect it's master. Alice was barely managing to hang on. Her head was hanging, but she was standing. Bakugo pushed past the police and froze. He can become dangerous if the nightmares get bad enough.. The thought echoed in his mind. Now he understood what the girl had meant. "Support?" His voice came out choked. This was suppose to be a simple mission. He'd left her alone. Another Hero brought down because of Bakugo Katsuki.
The police scrambled around, trying to get someone on the scene who'd be able to help the poor girl. She obviously didnt have a lot of time. Chess was shaking, his form unable to stay consistent. "Could we pull her out?" They were mulling over their options.
Gang Orca had come up behind Bakugo and stopped in his tracks. "Alice?" He hadnt even expected Alice to still be in this situation. She was strong, but this was... horrific. "Is she even awake?" He managed, his red gaze trained on her slumped form. He wasnt even sure if the girl was even aware of the situation at hand. She was bleeding due to Chess ripping at her skin and her lower body was covered in shadows that flickered desperately around her feet. The Pro took a deep breath and straightened himself up. "Alright, is anyone close enough who could support the buildings weight?" He slipped into a more professional mood, looking at the police as they were scrambled around.
"No sir. Closest person is a good 15 minutes away."
Gang Orca growled, "She doesnt have that time." He snarled and looked around to the people in the area. He felt like this was his fault. Most of the quirks nearest to them wouldnt be able to even touch the building. Even Bakugo wouldnt be able to blast away that much rubble. His head shot down to the Hero in training. He'd worked with Bakugo for the remedial classes. He knew what the boy could do. "Bakugo. Do you think you could get in and out fast enough to get Ms. Rise safely to the edge with your explosions propelling you?"
"Yes."
"You will need to pick your way into the building as quickly as possible, See how close Chess lets you get. Youll need to grab her and propel yourself back away from the center of the building as quickly as possible. She doesnt have the stamina to keep Chess at bay AND keep the building standing. Im putting this in your hands." Bakugo nodded sharply. This was not the ideal situation, but Gang Orca didnt have a choice. His arm had retained horrible damage from the acid and it was obviously that Alice was struggling. He'd step in if Bakugo failed, but... He glanced down at the blond. He doubted Bakugo would fail.
The police moved back as Bakugo picked his way through the rubble towards the girl. "Listen here, you stupid cat. Im here to help." He called out, taking off his gauntlets and slowly making his way across the ground to the girl. Chess made a strangled noise and Bakugo could feel the creature's eyes watching him, but he didn't lash out at the male as he approached. "Support? You awake?" He didnt expect a response.
She glanced up at him, her expression was pained, "Dynamite? Took you long enough." She tried to crack a smile at him, to which he just gritted his teeth. Here she was, cracking jokes while half conscious. "I have no idea how to get out of this." She choked back a laugh, trailing off at his expression. "Sorry..."
"Dont fucking apologize. We have an idea. You just gotta have that damned cat keep his cool long enough for me to propel us out of here." Bakugo had seen a lot of heroes risk themselves, but it really hit home to see one of his classmates in such a bad shape. Especially Alice, who wasnt even suppose to be a hero.
"I... dont know..." Alice responded to him, but didnt move. "I dont even think he can hold out much longer." She didnt even know if she could move with how tightly Chess was gripping her legs.
Bakugo wrapped his arms around her waist and hoisted her up. Chess let her go instantly and the shadows tore at her leggings, leaving a thin trail of blood from his claws. She was so light. He straightened and took a deep breath, "Ready?"
"As Ill ever be..." Alice said with a light laugh. Bakugo readied himself, but Chess couldnt hang on. He let out a strangled cry and his monstrous form disappeared as he shifted back into a small cat, opening up the ceiling to collapse. Bakugo had went to respond, but everything happened so fast. He was only able to blast the support beam away from them as the rubble rained down.