Firework
Chapter Three
Figure it Out
Bakugo Katsuki hated vacations. Never really needed them. Or at least he didn't think he'd need one.
Oh, his staff and sidekicks were allowed vacation days of course. It wasn't like no one could ever take time off, it's just that Katsuki never saw the need before now. But due to his nigh-obsessive need to be doing hero work in his free time, he had nearly 81 days of leave saved up over the years, untouched. What a thing.
Add 6 weeks of paternity leave, his team, Kirishima, Deku and several friends begged him to take a 4 month sabbatical to learn how to Dad. For Hanabi. With all the snarling and gritting of teeth out of the way, Katsuki had done just that.
Which is why, at that very moment, he was laying across from his baby on the floor. Staring at her poofy head.
"What's up, punk?" he asked, not really expecting an answer.
The little girl yawned cutely, grabbing her own face curiously. It had been 3 weeks since Bakugo found her on her doorstep, making her just over 2 months old.
Bakugo welcomed the boredom, in a way. Just an hour earlier, the cute little bundle was crying her little head off because she was hungry and had pooped. Katsuki prioritized the diaper, much to the baby's displeasure.
But after feeding (two bottles), she burped successfully, managed not to spit up this time, napped, and was now a perfect little angel. For now.
Now Bakugo was supervising her tummy time, watching her lift her head every once in a while, exploring her surroundings. He knew it would be a while until she could care for herself, or at least ask to be fed.
Still, he wondered vaguely if this is what his life had become. From unstoppable villain-smasher to full-time nanny. Then he looked at the…his little girl.
Right now, she needed him most. And he was a hero. It's the job.
He sighed, lifting her up and carrying her to the kitchen. "Remember Hana, you gotta build those little muscles. That's what Amari said, so don't complain about it."
"Bubububa…" she gurgled, not really responding. Bakugo wondered sometimes if he was crazy, talking to a baby who couldn't understand him. But Ochaco told him a while ago that talking to her normally would help her language skills in the long run. So that's what he was doing.
Speaking of Ochaco…
"Deku and Round-face invited us over for lunch," he told her. "Dunno what they need. Might be nothing. Shit!" he cursed as he checked the fridge. "Carrots…onions…milk, the regular kind…fuck! Kid! Grocery run, you ready?"
"Buh."
"No you're not, where are your shoes? C'mon…"
xXx
"When did everything get so expensive?" he raged, pushing the cart through the produce section. As he grabbed various veggies, Hanabi looked around at all the colors and people. There was so much to see! She reached out to a shelf from her seat, grasping a lemon.
"Honestly, sugar snap peas were half this price last week! When will…Hana?" The baby looked up at her dad. "Did you…you didn't put your mouth on that did you?"
She looked at him. Then to the lemon. And put it in her mouth!
"NO!" he yelped, taking the lemon away. "What did I just say? We don't eat food here!"
The girl cringed involuntarily from the sourness. She didn't have any teeth, but the lemon was just a tad crushed. And slobbery.
"Fuck! Shit…" Bakugo looked at the lemon, looked around, then promptly dropped it. He kicked it under the stand. He pointed at the newborn. "You saw nothing."
"Hmmf!" she grunted, blinking through the experience. She cried for a bit, but quickly got over it.
They continued their journey through the store, moving through some Hero merch on their way to the dairy section. Hanabi was blowing spit bubbles when she looked up at the merch.
And saw her dad!
"AH! She yelped, pulling the arm bar. She reached out at the cut out, then looked back at her real life dad. Then back at the cut out. Then to him!
There were two of him! Two dads!
"Hmm? What is it?" Bakugo asked. He turned to the cut out of himself, in full hero gear. "Oh. Oh, yeah. That's me, squirt!" He picked her up and held her to the cut out. "There's me, see?"
She patted the cardboard, smacking it several times.
"Augh!"
"I know! That's a badass, right there!" He said proudly. He stuffed her back to her seat. "Now, let's-"
"OH. EM. GEE!"
The Bakugo's turned to the noise, already disgruntled. Two young women ran up in awe. "You're The Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight, right?" she practically shrieked. The other was holding up her phone, recording.
"Yeah, so what if-wait…" He snatched the phone from the girl's hand. "Haven't you heard of privacy?"
"Hey! Give that back!" The girl demanded. Katsuki stopped and deleted the video, then tossed it back.
"Listen, you should know better than to record people out of nowhere. For fuck's sake." Bakugo criticized. Hanabi huffed, not liking the strange women one bit.
"Sorry, I just, we just…you're attached?" She asked in shock. The other waited in anticipation.
"Attached? Attached to what?" Bakugo was seriously done with this conversation.
"You have a baby!" She pointed out. "Does that mean…sniff…" she started to cry! "Are you taken? Forever?"
"What the fuck are you…" Then, like a switch, he connected the dots. "Oh, Jesus Fuck!"
"Who is it!?" The other girl demanded, like he had cheated. "Who does your heart belong to!?"
"Nobody! Wait, why am I…FUCK!" he shouted, collecting onlookers. "Look. I'm not married, or any other kind of 'ied.' And yes, I have a kid, but-"
"But she had to come from somewhere!" The bimbo asked like her life depended on it. "Who stole you away? Who took your seed?"
"ENOUGH!" He roared, startling them back. "MY PERSONAL LIFE IS NONE OF YOUR DAMN BUSINESS! No one stole me away because I BELONG TO NO ONE! You got that?"
The two girls stared for a solid 5 seconds, then sighed in relief!
Bakugo cocked an eyebrow. What now? With a tear in her eye, her make-up stained face shimmered happily with glee.
"You're still on the market! We were so worried!"
"Oh PISS off!" Bakugo barked, pushing his cart and baby away. "I'm not for sale! Get a life!" Hanabi shot a final glare as she was rolled away.
"Sigh…" One said to the other. "He has such a way with words…"
xXx
An hour later…
"I can't believe you got cornered like that!" Ochaco said with broccoli in her mouth. The Midoriya's house was always kept clean and tidy, despite the large space. Having Auntie Inko living in helped, along with assisting Ochaco.
She patted her own pregnant belly, only a mere week away from her due date. "I hope my baby doesn't get too much attention like that."
"Don't worry!" Bakugo waved off, indifferent. "They didn't seem too worried about Hana. It would've been a shorter conversation if they were."
"Makes sense to me," Izuku said between sips of water.
"Still! Way too scary…" Ochaco shivered. "You said they deleted the video?"
"No. I deleted the video on their behalf!" Bakugo snarled, stabbing his chicken aggressively. "Sneaking up on people like that, like the paparazzi. I already hate those fuckers without a kid!"
"Bah-bah!" Hana babbled from Inko's arms. The graying mother smiled quietly, rocking the baby at the dinner table. But Hanabi was restless.
"See!? She doesn't know what I'm talking about and she agrees with me!" Bakugo pointed his fork to his baby. "Seriously, never taking her out of the house again!"
"That…might be overkill." Izuku sweatdropped.
"You'll see what I mean in a week!" Bakugo said accusingly. "Damn vultures…"
"You really shouldn't curse with the baby." Inko said softly. "Never know what she'll pick up."
"Deku?" Ochaco said quietly, with wide eyes.
"Eh, she'll be fine." Bakugo insisted. "Toughens her up, I say!"
"Deku."
"She does have a point, Kacchan. Maybe,"
"DEKU!" Ochaco snapped. "Water!"
All four pairs of eyes landed on the pregnant woman, who was starting to breathe rapidly.
"What's that?" Izuku asked dimly.
"Water broke." Ochaco peeped.
…
…
"WHAAAT? OMIGOSHWENEEDTOGETTOTHEHOSPITALRIGHTNOW!"
"Katsuki!" Inko hopped up. "Take Hana!" She practically shoved the baby girl to her father. "Izu, breath! Remember the birth plan."
"R-R-Right! Birth plan! Call hospital!" Izuku helped Ochaco up with a phone in hand. Bakugo held Hana away from the chaos, who started to cry from the sudden noise.
"Right, get on out of here!" Bakugo hollered. "You got a ride?"
"Yes!" Midoriya gasped between fits of panic. "Sorry about-"
"No apologies, do your damn job!" Bakugo raged half heartedly. They all clambered out of the house, Bakugo heading for his own car. He strapped his baby in.
"Good luck and all that shit!" He called after the speeding car. He hopped in, driving off.
"Honestly, kid," He said gruffly to the babbling baby. "Guy's the number one hero, but can't keep his head on straight. Can you believe that?"
He got to the highway. "Fucking Deku actually suggested the he just fly his pregnant wife to the hospital. Clueless idiot."
After a while, he was drumming his fingers on the wheel. If he went home, he'd be bored again. Nothing to do really.
He started seeing exit signs for parks. Playgrounds and stuff.
"..."
xXx
Soon enough, he was at the park. Little kids ran around wildly while parents gossiped on the sidelines. Both he and Hanabi looked around blankly. Neither of them knew what to do.
Bakugo spotted a swing set. With little baby seats.
"Ok, c'mon squirt."
He strode over, gently sticking Hana in the swing. "Whatchu think?"
"Hmm…" Hana grasped the chain, wiggling around.
"Yeah?" He grinned. He gave the swing a small push, sending her back and forth. Hana's eyes opened wide! The world was moving without her!
"Well?" Katsuki asked. For once, he had a clear answer! Hana huffed at him, trying to make the swing move again with her little body.
"Alright!" Bakugo swung her a bit harder, sending her high! He carefully gaged the momentum, checking on Hana the whole way.
But she was fine! Everything Bakugo stopped to check on her, she started huffing to go again! He stopped checking after a couple times, sending her swinging as high as was safe.
"Yeah! Look at you!" Bakugo whooped. Then Hana did something she never did before!
She started to laugh!
"Hehehehaaaaa!" She squealed with delight! It was a shrill sound, carrying over the entire park. "Haaaahahehe!"
"HA! Having fun?" Bakugo called out. Her little smile could have blinded the world! And for the first time in a while, Bakugo was having fun too.
He vaguely wondered how Deku was holding up.
xXx
"Don't worry, 'Chaco! It'll all be over soo-"
"WHERE THE FUCK IS MY EPIDURAL?!"
xXx
Eh, probably crying as usual. He chuckled to himself as he slowed down the swing. Hana looked back at him in betrayal.
"Chill, there's other stuff to try." He said to his grunting baby. He carried her to more stuff, like a sandbox!
He set her down in the sand, giving her a spare shovel. "What about this, huh?"
"Bmm…" she hummed, slapping the sand with the plastic tool. With as much strength as she could muster, she threw the shovel in the other direction.
"Oy, come on. Give it a try." Bakugo said, giving her the tool again. And once again, she threw it away. Clearly, this was not as cool as the swing.
"Grrrrrr…"
Bakugo's eyes sharpened at the sudden noise. He saw something flash into his vision!
"BOOOM!"
A snarling bulldog had lunged towards them out of the corner of his eye! But Bakugo's reflexes were better. With one arm, he held his baby close. With the other, he swung with an open palm towards the threat, exploding on impact!
Smoking and charred, the animal yelped and retreated. Bakugo hopped up, protectively holding Hana out of danger. The dog recircled, growling and barking at the pro hero.
Then Bakugo snarled back, threatening the mutt with his exploding fist! He pressed his baby into his chest, almost concealing her completely.
After a brief standoff, the dog yielded, crying as it ran off.
Bakugo let out a huff as he lowered his smoking hand. He looked at his baby's face. "You ok, Hana?"
Hana looked at him curiously, completely unaware of the danger.
"Yeah, you're ok." His heart started beating again. "You're ok…you're ok…"
"Excuse me! ExCUSE me!"
He jerked his head, holding his child close. A middle aged woman was striding towards him crossly. And in her hand was a leash.
Attached to that dog!
"Did you hurt my pumpkin?" She just about screeched. "Princess has burns on her after running over to say to you!"
Bakugo's temper flared immediately. "Say hi? Is that what attacking a baby is called!?"
"Oh please! Princess here wouldn't hurt a fly! Right, Princess?"
The very much male bulldog sat obediently, like a tattletale at preschool.
"Look, hag!" Bakugo snarled. "Your damn mutt lunged at my kid! If you knew it was coming up here, maybe ask first before letting him off leash towards a baby you don't know!"
"What? And that gives you the right to hurt my darling?"
"It does. 100%. In every conceivable way."
"Unbelievable!" She shouted, trying to garner as much attention as she could. "You're an abuser! Animal abuser!"
"Get a lif-urk!" Bakugo began to retort, but his heart was throbbing hard, out of his control. How long since he's had his meds? His blood pressure was too high! If he keeps this up, he may keel over!
But he doubted this hag would let him walk away. He steadied his breathing. Relax. Focus.
"I did what I felt was needed to defend my child." He stated coldly. "Have a day. And leash that dog." Without another word, he turned and walked away.
"Hey! Where do you think you're going?" She demanded. But she didn't give chase. "I'm not done with you!"
He ignored her, holding Hanabi over his shoulder. Hana stuck her tongue out as they left.
xXx
Later, after he got his heart under control.
BA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
"THAT FUCKING BIIIIIIIIIIIITCH!" He bellowed.
After dropping Hana off at Kirishima's (Racoon-eyes never said no to babysitting), he immediately raced to his personal gym at HQ. And started beating the fuck out of practice dummies. Some of his sidekicks wanted to ask how he was doing, but promptly fucked off at the sight of their enraged boss. A clear circle was formed in the sparring room, giving the murder god plenty of space. Trace stood near the edge, deadpanning at the destruction.
BOOM! BOOM! BA-BOOOOOM!
"THE NERVE! THE FUCKING AUDACITY! HOWITZER IMPAAAACT!"
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
After nearly 30 minutes of total annihilation, Bakugo stopped, gasping for air at his handiwork. He grasped his chest, feeling his heart try to leap out. But he just had his meds. He's fine.
Other heroes stared at him cautiously.
"...the fuck you lookin at?" He demanded after catching his breath. "That's how hard I want everyone here to be pushing! Get back to work!"
As the others found ways to be busy, Trace walked up calmly. "Good afternoon, sir. How's fatherhood?"
"Hah…" Bakugo hung his towel on his neck. "How does it look like I'm doing, huh? Stupid fangirls, stupid old hags…people suddenly popping out at you…fuck!"
Trace cocked an eyebrow. "I wasn't aware you had fangirls, sir."
"Exactly! 'Cept one, I guess." He walked with his second-in-command upstairs. "Any luck in the investigation?"
"You are referring to the unofficial investigation as to the identity of your…baby mama?" Trace clarified.
"Cheeky today, huh?"
"Apologies, I am a bit under stress." She admitted. "Lots of leads. Lots of dead ends. You were sure busy that night."
"No jokes." He snapped. "I hear enough from Shitty Hair."
"As you say," she said briskly. "Although, if I can speak freely?"
Bakugo nodded as they reached his office.
"I believe our resources need to be spent elsewhere for now." Trace said sternly. "Our numbers are down."
"Numbers fluctuate," He argued, sitting down. "How down are we?"
"200 arrests in the past month."
He stared at her. "You're kidding! We averaged 300 just two months ago!"
"You misunderstand," she corrected. "The agency is not at 200 arrests this month. The agency is down 200 arrests. With 76 escapes from direct custody."
"...say again?"
"We have only averaged roughly 100 arrests this month. 76 criminals escaped arrest from our sidekicks."
Bakugo stood up, his hands smoking against the table. "That's impossible. I arrested at least 90 guys before taking time off. That was this month. That means…"
"Without you personally here, Dynamight Agency has arrested 11 criminals in the last 3 weeks."
The room was dead silent. Save for the hissing of Bakugo's hands burning wood.
"And I wasn't notified…why?" He asked softly. "I have at least 20 sidekicks! What the FUCK ARE THEY DOING WITH ALL THAT TIME?"
"You are on sabbatical, sir." Trace reminded. "I have been mitigating the situation the best I can, but it has been a struggle. Put simply, no one puts criminals away like you do."
"So they got lazy." Bakugo snarled. "They've been riding on my success for so long…they really think they can get by so easy!?"
He made his decision.
"Bring me every sidekick responsible. NOW!"
xXx
"Where's Ha-chan!" Mina sang playfully on the floor. Hana giggled uncontrollably, kicking while on her back. Mina sloooowly looked at the baby.
"GASP! There she is!" She cried out. "Boboboboo!"
"Hahahaheee…" Hana squealed. Mina picked up her little foot and placed it on her ear.
"Ring-ring! Hello?" She pretended. "Oh, it's 'Suki!" Yes…yes…what? Keep Hana for a bit longer? Don't mind if I do! Omnomnomnom!"
Elsewhere, she heard the front door open and shut. "Hey baby!" Eijiro called. "You wouldn't believe the guy I pinned today! He could rotate his entire body any way he wanted! Like that one guy…" he slowed as he entered the living room. "Oh, we're babysitting Hana?"
"Yep! As of…an hour ago?" Mina guessed. "Something about a park, a witch, and needing to blow something to smithereens."
"Sounds about right." Kirishima plopped down on the couch. "Think I'll check in, see if he needs to spar."
"That's fine." Mina picked the baby up and sat next to him. "Though, all this babysitting gives me baby-fever." She looked at her husband with a grin. "Serious baby fever."
"Really?" Kirishima leaned in. "Do tell."
Brrrr…brrrr…brrrr…
"Huh…it's Bakugo. Might be important." He said as he checked his phone. "Rain check?"
"I suppose…" she sighed. "Rain doesn't stay forever you know…"
He laughed nervously as he got up, answering his cell. "Hey Bakubro, what's shak-"
"GRRRRAAAAAAAAAAUGH! I DON'T FUCKING BELIEVE IT!"
"Ok, breath dude." Eijiro said calmly. "What's going on?"
"What's going on is my agency is filled with LAZY FUCKS, that's what!"
"Whoa whoa whoa…you're at the agency?" Eijiro interrupted. "You're on vacation dude!"
"Dammit! I KNOW that, Kirishima!" Bakugo raged. "But if things keep going the way they're going, Hana will have to live in a cardboard box! Apparently, I'm down 200 arrests in the past 3 weeks! Because apparently, I'M the ONLY hero in this joint who can MAKE ARRESTS and KEEP CRIMINALS FROM ESCAPING!"
"Holy…do you need me to come over? Cover some patrols? I can call Midoriya?"
"NO! Deku's in the delivery room till further notice. And I don't need other heroes doing my job, I need MY heroes to do THEIRS!"
"Ok…ok!" Kirishima nodded. "So what do you need?"
"I need Hana to stay somewhere. Can Racoon-eyes keep her longer?"
Kirishima laughed. "No problem, but if you keep this up, I might have a baby soon."
"Good. Go ahead and grab the baby bag from my place. Then if you've got a minute, head over. It's time for a bit of tough love."
xXx
2 hours later…
"Man…boss man looked pretty passed today." One colorful hero said in passing. Multiple heroes were called in for a briefing, ASAP, on the roof of all places!
"I wonder what kind of emergency is going on." Another hero said thoughtfully. "Why else would he need everybody?" She asked.
"Good question." Bakugo called down, in full hero gear. He almost forgot what his gauntlets felt like! He landed on his feet from 20 feet in the air. Behind them, Kirishima climbed out of the manhole built into the roof, in full hero gear as well. "There is an emergency. And I need every one of you for this one. It's a crisis that threatens the entire city, if not all of Japan."
"Then what are we doing here?" One hero asked. This was Thunderclap, a rookie dressed in a gray uniform with a lightning cloud on his chest. "Shouldn't we be where the crisis is?"
Dynamight crossed his arms, smirking. "You're right. And here we are." He pointed at his sidekicks.
"You are the crisis waiting to happen."
Dead quiet. Kirishima almost chuckled. Talk about a dramatic start. Bakugo started addressing heroes personally.
"Slipslap!" He pointed. "This month alone, in my absence, you let 9 villains go because you failed to fully incapacitate them before arrest. One of them was a rapist! That guy is loose because of your negligence!"
He pointed at another hero, this one with large wings and an eagle head. "Harpy! You let 4 criminals escape, and only made 5 arrests! In your file, it says you can see over 1,000 meters! Why can't you see your own BULLSHIT?"
He continued, picking each hero and counting out their various mistakes by memory. Only a handful of heroes were spared from the verbal onslaught.
"Hang on!" Another hero called out. A guy in a purple jumpsuit. "That's not fair! You're the one who's been gone all month!"
Bakugo furrowed his brow. "Your point?"
"So how could we be expected to make up for it?" He asked. This was Bungee, he could stretch his body out like rubber. "None of us are on your level!"
"Please!" Bakugo scoffed. "Of course you're not! Not one of you is! But you should at least strive for it! You should at least be able to take down…" He took a moment to recall. "The 'Squiggler'! A guy who's only power is to be slimy! SLIMY! IS BEING SLIMY THE ARCH NEMESIS OF DYNAMIGHT HERO AGENCY?"
The sidekicks cringed in embarrassment. Exactly what Bakugo wanted. They should feel embarrassed.
"Listen for your name, and come up here when you hear it! Trace! Genius! Lionheart! Goober!"
Four sidekicks stepped up. Trace of course, as she was too busy keeping the agency afloat to even begin going on patrol. Genius did her job perfectly, running the control center with practiced ease and assigning tasks to heroes. All she needed was a few sips of tea, and she was a perfect strategist (she also implemented a small tea budget, which Bakugo accepted). Lionheart and Goober were plain good heroes, but hindered by the incompetence of their coworkers. Lionheart was one of the biggest physical bruisers, given his Lion strength and appearance. Goober was literally a glob of green goo with eyes. And had saved more lives than Katsuki could count. None of them deserved what Dynamight was about to dish out.
"The rest of you!" He bellowed. "You sacks of shit threatened peace and good order with pure negligence! How's a sack of shit supposed to save lives? Well?
They didn't answer.
"They can't!" He shouted. "Because they are SACKS OF SHIIIIIIIIT!" He raged, blasting his hands for extra intimidation. "I LEAVE YOU FUCKERS ALONE FOR THREE WEEKS WHILE I RAISE MY DAUGHTER, AND THIS IS WHAT YOU GIVE ME? IDIOTS! I AM NOT GOING TO RAISE MY CHILD IN A CITY WHERE RAPISTS RUN LOOSE AND HEROES ARE TOO BUSY TAKING SMOKE BREAKS TO CARE!"
He stopped, taking short breaths from his outburst. Once he recovered, he continued. "Here's the deal. As far as I'm concerned, none of you deserve to be heroes at my agency. You are all suspended, pending further training. Effective immediately. "
Several voices rang out, shocked at the news. Bakugo held out a hand for silence, which he got immediately.
"And I don't mean just from my agency!" Bakugo continued. He pulled out a stack of papers. "These are all of your files! With a letter to the hero commission requesting immediate review! I'll be mailing all of these personally! TONIGHT!"
The sidekicks were shocked still! Their licenses could be revoked!
"Unless!" He gave the files to Genius. "You can prove to me that you belong here! Prove yourself, and we'll handle your incompetence in-house! You'll still be suspended, but you'll still have a chance to get back onto the active roster with enough training!"
Several heroes looked at each other. Most seemed to be fine with this arrangement.
Others…
"Man, fuck that!" Thunderclap flipped the Number 2 hero off. "I don't need your ass to be a hero! Fuck you!" With that, he jumped off the roof, using his weather powers to float down. "FUCK YOU, DYNAMIGHT!"
Bakugo merely shrugged. "Genius, you know what to do."
"Roger." Genius picked out a single file, and fitted it into an envelope in a single swipe of her hand.
"Now…anyone else?" Bakugo asked calmly.
xXx
30 minutes later…
"Damn it!" Thunderclap yelled, kicking a rock as he walked down the street. "One guy! Lose one guy, and I get the boot! It was just a purse-snatcher! Like I've got time for a purse-snatcher!"
He raged aloud as he made his way home. Or to a bar. Whichever came first. As he walked, a pair of crosshairs had him in sight.
Hundreds of meters away.
"A irate hero? Fired, perhaps?"
An unseen finger wrapped around the trigger.
"Perfect."
BANG!
A small bullet shot through the air, headed right for the former hero. Only it wasn't a bullet.
It was a vial.
xXx
"Good! You pass." Bakugo decided, making the hero sigh in relief. Bakugo challenged each wannabe hero to knock either himself or Kirishima off the roof. If they succeeded, they could keep their jobs.
Kirishima was having lots of fun, and even tried to help a few to succeed. But the test wasn't if they could. It was if they'd even try. Whoever gave up on their own automatically failed.
Whoever kept fighting, or managed to succeed, passed Bakugo's judgment.
After failing the last hero, Bakugo had weeded out half of his sidekicks. Only 10, including the four he spared.
But this was fine with him. He needed elites. Not an army of uselessness.
"Good hustle, all of you." He put his hands on his hips. "You may actually turn out to not suck! We'll see if you bear frui-"
"Sir!" Genius interrupted, pressing her earpiece. "We have a situation! Threat level Alpha!"
Right as she said that, wind started to whip around them! It blew harder and harder, roaring past their ears!
"GET INSIDE!" Bakugo roared over the noise. "NOW! GO GO GO!"
The agency, sans Dynamight and Tracer, scrambled down the manhole into Dynamight's office. Genius pulled out a thermos, drinking her emergency tea! She sprinted downstairs to her work station, firing up her system in mere moments.
"Bakugo! You got me too!" Kirishima sharpened his arms, ready for battle. "Where do you want me?"
Bakugo thought about it. Kirishima would be useful right now…but…
"Go home."
"What?" Red Riot questioned. "But I'm here! You need-"
"I need Hana to be safe." Bakugo interrupted. "Right now, I gotta do my job. I need somebody to head over and take care of her. Please."
Eijiro stopped. Bakugo never said please. Not for anything! "Alright bro! Good luck!" With that, he jumped off the building in a crash, then jumped to his car.
Meanwhile, Genius threw her headset on, her mind running a million miles per hour. "Sir! There is a large cyclone forming 3 miles away from the agency, headed north. There were no indicators for any hurricanes or the like! It is likely…"
"Thunderclap…" Bakugo snarled from the roof. "When I get a hand his throat-"
"Sir, this level of power is beyond anything Thunderclap has ever demonstrated. He may not be in control of himself, or even involved."
He turned to his second. "We still have a trace on him?"
"Yes…" she pulled up a holomap from her wrist, using her quirk to cross reference and find the ex-hero. "He's there, sending you the data Genius."
After a moment, Genius responded. "Data indicates that Thunderclap is in the eye of the storm. Dynamight, if this keeps up, we'll have a Category 3 hurricane in a matter of minutes!"
"Keep tracking him, stay on comms!" Dynamight blasted off, fighting the heavy winds to get closer. It was bitter work for the Number Two Hero, flying against the wind. He tried to use the wind to his advantage, flying to the flow to get closer.
Then rain began to fall.
Perfect.
xXx
Meanwhile, the Kirishima house shook from the freak windstorm outside. Mina and Hana camped out in the bathtub, after hearing about the villain attack from Eijiro. Hanabi cried from the roars of wind, while Mina did her best to soothe her.
"It's ok sweetie…shhhshhshh…" she said quietly. As she rocked the baby, she looked at the news coverage; watching the tell tale booms Katsuki made as he flew by.
"Here Hana, look!" Mina showed the baby. "It's Dad! See? There's 'Suki!"
Hana's slowed as she watched the video feed. The tornado was scary and the sky was dark with rain…but those flashes were familiar! The camera zoomed in!
Hana's little eyes widened. It was Dad!
And he was saving the world!
xXx
It took at least 10 minutes for Katsuki to get within sight of the cyclone. He was drenched beyond belief, which only slowed down his sweat-based quirk. In his ear, Genius buzzed.
"Pro Hero Shoto is responding to the incident. Syncing comms now."
"ANY ADVICE ABOUT TRAVELING IN A HURRICANE?" He shouted loudly.
"All research states 'don't'."
"THANKS A LOT, EINSTEIN!"
"Bakugo, are you seeing this?" Shoto buzzed over the radio.
"NO!" Bakugo screamed sarcastically as he boomed through the growing wind. "I DIDN'T NOTICE THE TYPHOON DESTROYING EVERYTHING IN ITS PATH! THANK YOU FOR POINTING THAT OUT, ICYHOT!"
"I don't think this is the time…wait, I can see the perp!" Shoto reported. On his end, he was using his ice to block and funnel the wind away from innocents and reinforce damaged structures. The hurricane reached Category 3 with ease, shifting slowly into 4. "Do we have an ID?"
"HIS NAME IS TAKA KEMUI!" Bakugo answered. "PRO HERO THUNDERCLAP. I FIRED HIM ABOUT 45 MINUTES AGO!"
"So this is a tantrum?"
"I DON'T KNOW! THIS IS BEYOND HIM! HE'S NEVER HAD THIS MUCH FIREPOWER!"
"Got it. Could it be trigger?"
"It has to be." Genius cut in. "But most Trigger doesn't last much longer than this! This should've been over a few minutes ago!"
Todoroki slid through the infrastructure with his left arm on fire, shooting ice everywhere to keep the city together. But the storm just kept moving without him! When he shot his ice into the center, it got carried off with the wind. Debris had started to pick up, making the storm even more deadly.
Bakugo landed on a high rise, he could see the storm ripping through town! And into…
Oh no.
"Genius!" Bakugo yelled as thick Rain hit him in the face. "Are there any hospitals in the path?"
"...yes sir. Two hospitals. Keigo Methodist and-"
"Toshinori Rite!" Bakugo finished. "The one named after All Might!" He radioed Todoroki. "ICYHOT! WE HAVE TO STOP THE HURRICANE IN ITS TRACKS!"
"I know, the hosp-"
"NOT JUST THAT! DEKU'S IN THERE! HIS FAMILY IS IN THERE!"
"Then he can help! Let me-"
"NO IDIOT! HIS KID IS BEING BORN! THERE'S NO WAY HE'LL LEAVE THEM! NOT NOW!" Dynamight looked up, the wind seemed…different the higher you went.
He had an idea!
"ICYHOT! WHEN I SAY, BLAST YOUR FLAMES INTO THE CYCLONE, WITH THE FLOW SO IT GETS SUCKED IN!"
"You have a plan?"
"YEAH, BUT I NEED TO GET TO THE TOP OF THE HURRICANE! TRUST ME!"
Dynamight blasted off, getting higher and higher into the sky. He blinked through the rain, forcing his quirk to work despite the conditions!
"GENIUS! THE HURRICANE HAS TO SUCK THINGS IN SOMEWHERE, RIGHT?"
"I know what you're planning, Dynamight. It's too dangerous to-"
"SAVE IT! ANSWER THE QUESTION!"
"...yes, near the top. Anything entering the top of the hurricane will be sucked into the eye. From there, the winds are calm. Anything dropped will hit your target."
"GOOD!" Bakugo got higher and higher. He was high enough that the rain stopped!
The wind started to pull him in!
"If you get too close, you'll be pulled in too! You'll be shredded by the debris!"
"Heh…good thing I'm not going in!" He unclipped his grenadiers, letting the wind pull his weapons off! His gauntlets fell into the vortex without him!
"ICYHOT, NOW!"
Below, a flash of flame struck the vortex, getting mixed into the destruction. Down the grenadiers fell, falling close to the ex-hero!
And getting hit with a wave of heat!
KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A gigantic explosion ripped through the storm, right at center! The hurricane surged, as if struck! It got stronger!
Then bit by bit, it died down, slowing to a gentle breeze. Cars and buildings dropped down to earth, released by the hurricane. Destruction was everywhere. Casualties would be high after this catastrophe.
But the hospital. The hospital was safe.
Bakugo let himself free fall, blasting himself to the eye of the storm. He hoped the blast hadn't killed his former employee.
So he could kick his ass one final time.
He landed among the wreckage of a parking garage. Cars were everywhere, and people below were crying out for help. Other heroes arrived and began evacuation and treating any injuries they could find.
Bakugo had another goal. He blasted through the rubble until he found him.
"Taka." He growled. He knelt down next to the charred man. He was worse for wear, to say the least. The man lost an arm and a leg in the explosion, and could barely breathe. His suit was in shreds, and his skin was torn asunder by the debris and explosion. He was barely breathing when Katsuki found him.
But he was still breathing. Despite the flail chest.
"I'm sorry…" the ex-hero wheezed. "I tried to stop…couldn't stop…went as slow as I could."
Bakugo understood. He easily spotted the vial sticking out of his waist. Some liquid remained.
"What happened? What happened to you?" Bakugo demanded. His usually spiked hair had drooped from the water, his marquee mask lost to the wind. Soon enough, Shoto arrived too on his ice.
"I…heard…a shot. Felt…something stab…me. My quirk…triggered without me!" Taka began to cry between coughs and hacks. Wind still whipped around him, kicking up dirt and blasting randomly.
"This lasted at least 20 minutes, if not more!" Shoto murmured. "And his quirk is still active!"
"I'm sorry…I'm so sorry!" Taka sobbed. "I never wanted…to hurt anyone! My pride…I couldn't take…your rejection…Dynamight…"
"I don't blame you kid." Bakugo grunted, sitting next to him. "Get some rest…training starts tomorrow."
"Tra…training?"
"Yeah idiot…for your right to stay in my agency." Bakugo said softly. "Bright and early…got it?"
"G…got it. See you…"
He didn't finish his sentence.
Bakugo closed his eyes, putting a gloved hand on his sidekick. Shoto bowed his head in respect.
"His path only traveled about a mile. He really did hold back as much as he could." Shoto said. Bakugo shut the hero's eyes and set him down.
Then, a flash of green lightning skidded to a stop! Deku looked around, spotting his friends.
And a dead hero.
"What…happened?" Deku asked. He was still in casual clothes and scrubs. "I couldn't leave Ochaco, I'm sor-"
"Don't apologize." Shoto assured him. "You did your duty. We did ours. It's ok." Bakugo stood up, his face set.
"Somebody murdered this hero. With an unstable dose of Trigger." He informed the Number One Hero. "That's what caused this to happen. I had to engage deadly force to stop this. If I hadn't fired him…"
"This may have happened with or without Thunderclap." Shoto reasoned. "You said he heard a bang. The vial is small enough to fit in the barrel of a gun."
"I'll have my science guys lift what they can with the police." Dynamight decided. "Right now, rescue takes priority."
"Right, I'll-" Deku started to charge up, but Bakugo stopped him.
"Is Ochaco still in labor?"
"Well yes, but she's safe now. She's-"
"Then get your ass in there!" Bakugo bellowed. "There ain't nothing you can do that we can't, Mr Chosen One!"
"...are you sure?" Midoriya asked them both. Shoto nodded.
"Go be with your wife, Midoriya."
In a blur, he was gone. Shoto turned to Bakugo.
"You're one to talk. Thought you were on a sabbatical?"
"I was." Bakugo spat. "Still am. Just…stuff with the agency. Nothing I can't handle."
Shoto put a hand on his shoulder. "You don't have to be here either. I can hand-"
"Look, I'm fine!" Bakugo barked. "Hana is fine, she's with Racoon-eyes. She's already set for the night and Kirishima has her stuff by now. And this shit is gonna take all night anyway, so I'm staying."
Shoto crossed his arms. "You don't have to feel responsible here. This wasn't your-"
"He was my guy, Icyhot." Bakugo jabbed his own chest. "One of my heroes is dead on the ground. Murdered and forced to kill. Circumstances aside, I'm not letting this go. There's more to this Trigger than meets the eye right now and I'm gonna stop it!"
"You will need help." Shoto insisted.
"I know that, dumbass." Bakugo sighed. "I am still on vacation, but my agency is on this. If we work together, we'll get the job done quicker."
Shoto nodded. "Glad we're on the same page. Now then, the rescue?"
Bakugo cracked his neck. "Right. The rescue."
xXx
"Babe! Mina!" Kirishima shouted as he scrambled inside. "Where are you?"
"Bathroom! We're ok!" Mina answered. Eijiro came in, kneeling down next to the tub.
"Thank God, you're both ok!" He kissed her deeply and messed Hana's hair. Hana didn't even notice, transfixed on Mina's phone. The news crew moved on the rescue coverage, where Bakugo could be seen lifting rubble off of people.
"Really? You're showing her that?" Kirishima asked.
"Hey, it calmed her down! She was crying before, and now she's not!" She reasoned. Ignoring the couple, Hana watched her dad give a short sound bite to the reporter.
"No one won today. The only victory is that we stopped this before it got even worse. Now stop filming me, dammit!"
It would take a few years to realize, but at that moment, Hana had seen her Dad, Dad the hero, in action. How he fought through the storm and blew up the bad guy!
Her wide, red eyes shimmered. Her Dad…was the coolest hero ever!
xXx
Reviews
BradenTrivett:
Thank you so much! Hope you continue to enjoy! (Little more action today :P)