Time seems frozen while Mia and Bakugo stare at each other. The commotion from outside causes Mia's eyes to dart from Bakugo to the tent's opening, gripping the strap of the backpack tighter. Kirishima yells something from outside the tent, now taking Bakugo's focus off of Mia for a second. She takes the opportunity and dives under the side curtain. Bakugo grunts in anger and tries to grab ahold of her ankle. She's swifter than he anticipated, and she slips through to the other side. When he rips the curtain away Mia is nowhere to be found. A soft thundering sound reaches his ears, and he holds his breath to listen. A zebra tacked in a white saddle and turquoise gems comes galloping through the narrow path between tents. Bakugo jolts backward to avoid getting trampled. The zebra makes a tight turn, falling in the dust of the wider, more crowded path ahead. Visitors shriek and back away from the panicked animal. Bakugo follows, looking to each side, trying to get a glance at Mia.
"Hey!" Someone is waving the heroes down, "We need more help! It's the menagerie!"
Screams swell from beyond the larger tents. Bakugo remembers hearing about the extensive collection of exotic and wild creatures this circus owned; jaguars, tigers, monkeys, and elephants.
Now, Bakugo wonders to himself, Are they all loose?
"Attention!" Stella's voice rings through the circus on some sort of invisible loudspeaker, "The menagerie animals have been released. Go inside the nearest tent for safety. I repeat, go inside the nearest tent for safety. The culprit is one of the circus' performers. She has set off explosives and stole money from the safe. If you see a young woman with red hair in a white and red costume, please alert authorities! Heroes, do not let her escape!"
She was right there! Bakugo feels the frustration singe his chest. He clenches his fists, She was right there and she got away.
He scans the panicked paths and colorful tents for a moment. In all this mayhem, the culprit could have already slipped out of the gates undetected. Bakugo plants his feet and faces both palms down, then creates an explosion to propel himself through the air and to the top of one of the tents. It's not very sturdy. Bakugo lands hard, it sways back and forth and he nearly loses his balance.
"Kachan!" Midoriya is down on the path, "What are you doing!?"
"Looking for the thief, dipshit!" Bakugo barks back, "Just keep helping with the animals and stay out of my way!"
The sun had set fully, the only light were the tiki torches around the gates. The tents cast long, thick shadows flickering along the paths. Up here, Bakugo can see the rest of his classmates in full Hero-mode; some trying to contain and calm the animals, while others help the guests evacuate. A fire licks at the menagerie tent, a large hole in the top. With all this motion it'll be hard to find Mia, who knows the tents and layout of the Circus. Bakugo uses his explosions to leap from tent top to tent top, scanning the paths and hoards of people trying to exit the gates. As he swings around the exposed spire of one large, striped tent, he hears it. On one side, a river of people all rushing toward the gates. On the other side, he hears - ever so faintly- the jingling of bells.
Mia's heart pounds against her chest and throbs in her ears and fingertips. Freedom is just beyond the bars. Her backpack is stuffed with everything she's ever owned and its heavy and bulky. She reaches for the fence, this one section where the bars are bent slightly, wide enough for her to fit through.
Freedom is just beyond the bars...
Mia is wrenched backward and sent tumbling through the grass. The wind is knocked out of her, and she struggles to take a breath. As she lifts her head, she sees the blond boy- Katsuki Bakugo- from before. A smug smirk pulls at his lips, and small flashes dance and pop in his palms and he comes toward her.
"Wait-" Mia gasps, hoping to reason with him, but he lunges at her. Being a small, swift target, Mia can dodge him by slipping the backpack off and rolling out of the way. She crouches for only a moment but leaps again to avoid footsteps coming from behind her. The plain looking boy with green hair and freckles is back.
"It was you, Mia?" His voice is disappointed, almost sad, but his eyes do not lack intensity. He braces himself, ready to fight.
"Just give me a chance to ex-" She shouts with a harsh, defiant glare. Bakugo interrupts her with a larger explosion.
"No need. I already understand. You set off explosions and put everyone in danger so you could steal some money and run off!"
"That's not it!"
"Spare me your bullshit!" He's after her once more. Mia leaves her belongings in the grass and tries to break for the maze of tents again. A hand reaches out from a tent flap and palms her face. The force makes blood immediately start gushing from her nose. Then she falls to her knees and crumbles to the ground.
Bakugo and Midoriya watch as Mia falls to the ground, bloody and unconscious. A man in a suit steps out of the tent. He is tall and slim with black hair that has begun to gray. He's clean-cut with a sharp jawline and a smooth face. His suit is black and trimmed with black sequins.
"You must be the other Starling," Bakugo says to the man, seeing the same sick expression in this man's eyes as he did in Stella. The man smiles and gives a shallow bow.
"Steven Starling. And you two must be from UA High. My sister told me your class was here." He takes out a red handkerchief and wipes blood from his palm.
He nods down to Mia, almost like he had forgotten about her for a moment, "Don't worry about her, my quirk is not harmful. This hand," he waves the one that he used to grab Mia's face, "puts you to sleep. And this one," he raises the other hand, "wakes you up."
"She was… running away…" Midoriya explains and trails off while watching Steven Starling slip two glittery black gloves on.
"Yes, I figured. She's always been rebellious and ungrateful. My sister and I adopted her, did you know that? And this is the thanks we get." His voice is venomous, he snaps his fingers, "Will you two boys help me bring her to my tent?"
Midoriya and Bakugo exchange a wary look. Just looking into his eyes, Bakugo can see that Midoriya's alarm bells must be ringing, too. Again, he tries to shove his own down, thinking they're both on edge from their last run in with All for One. Bakugo grumbles in annoyance, but still loops one of Mia's arms around his neck and carries her, following Steven Starling to a golden octagon-shaped tent.
Inside is gaudily decorated. An ornate Persian rug lays across the faux-floor. A plush, camelback velvet sofa is across from them. A mattress sitting to the far right is topped with a multitude of purple pillows. There are belongings thrown all over, a silk robe draped over the couch's arm, pearls and diamond jewelry sit on the cushion, clothes litter the floor. Behind them is the only flap to enter and exit. Stella sits on the sofa and a younger woman with a shaved head lays with her head on Stella's lap.
"Ah, finally," Stella sighs. The woman sits up, looking at Bakugo and Midoriya with a closed-lip smile that doesn't reach her eyes. Steven Starling takes Mia in his own arms.
"S-shouldn't we tell everyone we got her? And that it's all ok? I think the animals are taken care of…" Midoriya offers shakily.
"Mmm," Stella taps a red-tipped finger to her lips, "Not quite yet. We aren't done playing."
The young, buzz-cut woman holds a palm out to them and suddenly a purple prism forms around them. Bakugo smirks.
"As if some cage will contain me," he puts his palms out, but no explosion follows. He looks at his hand in angry puzzlement.
"H-Hey, Kachan, your quirk isn't working!" Midoriya trembles.
"SHUT UP I SEE THAT, STUPID!" Bakugo screeches back. He is officially, completely pissed off. An angry flush rises from his chest, into his neck and cheeks.
"My little love's quirk doesn't just contain, it restricts all quirk usage for as long as you're in there!" Stella beams, biting her lip, then laughing a wicked-witch kind of laugh. Bakugo winds up and crashes his fist against the prism, but it doesn't crack or even ripple. The shock shoots back into Bakugo's hand and snaps a knuckle. He lets the pain hiss out between clenched teeth.
Steven Starling drops Mia on the floor, then perches her limp body up so he can tie her hands to the ornate wooden table in front of Stella's couch. Mia sits, hunched over. Steven Starling takes one glove off, stands over Mia and slaps her hard enough to make both Midoriya and Bakugo flinch. Her nose has stopped dripping blood, but her lips and chin are stained with it. She groans in pain as she tries to open her eyes.
"Deku," Midoriya has never heard Bakugo's voice this weak, "We… we screwed up…"