There was no mighty roar when the faculty arrived; instead, many sank to their knees in mental exhaustion at the plight they had just been through. Izuku was at Momo's side checking on her; Mina had moved to be by his side and was clinging to an arm. Slowly they made their way to their feet as the teachers swarmed the USJ. He saw a third-year group behind them and rushed to the students to check their wounds. Izuku saw Nejire land near them.
"Are you ok?" she asked.
"No, not really, but we will survive." He responded, "Thank you, Senpai; check on the others. I can handle these two for now."
With a nod, she moved to the next group; he was amazed at the shift in her demeanor from bubbly airhead to licensed pro.
All-Might approached them, and Izuku glared at him. "Where the hell were you? They didn't come here for us. They came for you!"
"I was running late, young Midoriya. I am sorry…."
"Save your apologies," Izuku rose and helped the two girls up to their feet to leave to receive medical aid.
Brighton was receiving some attention from a third year, "You are remarkably uninjured; please head outside for evaluation from Recovery Girl."
Brighton expressed relief, saying, "I'm grateful, but I don't know what force was looking out for me." Unaware of the strange looks from Ochaco and Denki, he left, feeling frustrated that Momo had not thanked him for saving her from the portals and allowing the faculty to arrive. He tried not to dwell on the white fire that had given him renewed energy at the end, enabling him to move despite overusing his quirk.
Nezu gathered reports that despite evidence to the contrary, most students had been recently healed from major injuries but still had several minor ones. Rikido and Yuga emerged from the forest area, visibly distressed and in tears upon seeing the heroes. Yuga's behavior was erratic, alternating between tearful outbursts and manic laughter as he stared at his hands.
The class seemed to gather and move out as one unit, with Brighton and Bakugo the only outliers. Toru tenderly reached out for Shoto's hand and was relieved when he didn't pull away instead of taking her hand in his. Others were doing the same, just wanting physical contact with those they had stared down death with. Mina just said nothing and was clinging to Izuku's arm.
Once outside, when every student or faculty approached her, she screamed for them not to touch her. It was a manic and frantic scream; the only person she would allow to touch her was Izuku. It wasn't till he had to empathically soothe her that she could withstand treatment from Recovery Girl. Izuku relayed what he had encountered to Momo, who was dealing with her own shock and troubles. Not only had she almost died, she saw the world as it was about to burn; the Dark Phoenix was before her. She was sure he needed more than one anchor, but all she wanted right now was to hold him and let herself release all the emotional turmoil that was being held inside.
It was the same for every student as their wounds were bandaged, Yuga had to be sedated, and the rest just made their way to the waiting area huddling together. Momo would rebuff Brighton when he came to check on her; his fake insincerity was almost enough to make her vomit. When Detective Tsukauchi came to try and question them, he immediately knew this would be a terrible task. Trying to separate them from each other was borderline impossible. Everyone that approached them made them jump. Ultimately, it was only possible to do so with a line of sight from the group and a distance they all found acceptable.
Thankfully he wasn't alone, and he had brought a female detective with him, Detective Starling; he noticed that most of the girls immediately relaxed at seeing she would be handling their questioning. It made his blood boil because he could already piece together what he hoped only attempted upon them.
-Brighton Freadom, aka the Smarted Person in the Room-
"I understand this may be difficult, Mr. Freadom, but could you answer a few questions?" Detective Tsukauchi asked.
"Despite some minor injuries, I feel rather well, Detective. I have no problem giving you my statement." Brighton responded his voice sure and full of confidence.
"Ok, where were you when everything started?"
"I was near the doors above the fountain area when the villains appeared." TRUTH
"What was your reaction?"
"Confusion at first," TRUTH
"Then?"
"When the mist villain, their teleporter appeared to block our path, I began to think of how best to survive." TRUTH the detectives quirk rang out.
"When he began to take your classmates, what was your reaction."
"I tried to save who I could." LIE
"Very noble of you, How did your group fight against their teleporter?"
"We didn't. Hitoshi was able to use his quirk to hold him in place. After that, Momo and a few others went to work on the door, Ochaco tended to Thirteen, and I was sent to look for a manual override in the control room." TRUTH
"Were you able to do so?"
"After some searching." LIE. "I was able to locate it when two villains burst in; while defending myself, I threw one out the window of the control booth. Unfortunately, she collided with the Mist villain breaking him free of Hitoshi's control. But thankfully, Ida got out and notified the school." TRUTH.
"What happened next?"
"The monster that the main villain had brought with him came crashing down; it attacked Ochaco and Momo. When I ran in, it tracked my movement and hit me, sending me over the edge. I landed amid a group of villains and fought my way out using my quirk. And made my way back to the group and the monster." TRUTH
"Anything happen along the way?"
"No." LIE
"Then what?"
"When I returned, the beast had been what we thought was severely injured by Shota, but it broke free and began to regenerate. Its attention was focused on me for some reason. To keep my classmates safe, I tried to lure it away." LIE
"Anything else?"
"No, I could not witness anything until the faculty arrived." TRUTH.
"Thank you, Mr. Freadom. Your statement has been most enlightening."
-The trip back-
Reports were filed in as the student's testimony was taken; Nezu was taken aback by the number of critically injured villains found and the dead. Midnight did her best to calm the students while getting some details; her training as a counselor told her this would be a terrible task. The trauma of the day was so painfully evident. Once the preliminary statements were given, she got the students on the bus to get them back to the campus as the USJ was in the rearview it was then that the first sob broke from Mina, then it triggered others as the class began to grieve together. Brighton seemed annoyed that Mina and Momo were crying on Izuku's shoulders and that no one was paying him much attention.
Bakugo sat in the corner, staring out the window; he knew he should be dead. If it weren't for Aizawa, that hand fucker would have killed him.
Ochaco was talking to Denki in the back of the bus.
"How did you end up in that group of Villains?"
"I don't know, one second, I was looking down the stairs and saw Brighton. The next, I was flying through the air. Why?"
"I think he threw you?"
"Why would he do that? Isn't his quirk some teleportation?"
"I don't know, but some things aren't adding up, like when he got back to where we were fighting that thing, I am sure he put Tsu and Toru between him and it to by himself some time."
"That's a serious accusation Ochaco."
"Yea, but remember what Tsu said during the training that she went to leap away, but something grabbed her leg and pulled her back, and when I was trying to get to Misty, time seemed to slow down. There was no way I should have been able to dodge that portal."
"Still to think he would do something like that?"
Once they were back on campus, they made their way to the locker rooms; it took some coaxing from Izuku to get Mina to separate to get changed. She clung to Momo as they made their way; Mina was in the showers for a while; she responded to questions with a single word with some aid. She got dressed. Once they stepped out, she seemed relieved to see Izuku and grabbed his arm again. Everyone's costumes were in tatters and wrecked. They just left them to be collected by the staff.
-The Dorms-
Everyone piled into the common area, not attempting to separate; the nearness of their comrades was what they all craved. Even Bakugo sat on the steps, just processing everything. Mina broke the silence, "I killed people today." She said hollowly, her head resting on Izuku's shoulder.
"As did I," Fumi said. "They talked about doing horrible, unspeakable things, and I lost control. I couldn't take it. I knew what Dark Shadow would do, but I couldn't let them walk away or escape."
"I am sure I crippled some people," Shoto said. "I can still smell the fur on that monster burning."
"We all did something that we aren't proud of," Itsuka said, her and Kyoka leaning against Mezo, who was doing his best to calm his nerves as he looked down at the severed stumps where he had lost some appendages, thankfully he had been informed but Recovery Girl that they would be able to be reformed it was still difficult to look at.
"You're the one that healed us, aren't you, Izuku, Kero," Tsu said from her spot.
"Yes." Was the boy's response.
"How can you do that with Telekinesis?" she pressed.
"I told you all that I can affect things on smaller levels; that's why I call it Psychokinesis; it works on a molecular level. That is how I can produce fire. I didn't so much as heal you but stitched up the worst of the wounds."
"And that connection?" Ochaco said. "I don't know about all of you, but when he did it, I felt like we were all connected."
"No idea," He lied.
"What happens now?" Toru asked, her voice wavering.
"Ideally, we should try and rest, but I don't know how well that will work," Ida said. "I feel so ashamed that all I could do was run and get help."
"Don't, Ida," Hitoshi said, speaking up, "You were the only one with us that could; all I could do was hold off Misty for a bit; after that, all I could do was try and drag people out harm's way."
"I don't want to sleep alone," Mina said. A mummer of agreement washed through the group as others echoed similar statements.
"I think I would like to sleep here with all of you," Momo said.
"I can use my quirk to bring down blankets and stuff; if you give me permission to open your rooms, we don't even have to leave the common room to get our stuff," Izuku volunteered.
With some nods and others going and gathering their stuff themselves, soon they were all there under blankets, but sleep would not come easy. Bakugo didn't leave, but he didn't bring his stuff down.
"Something is bothering me?" Itsuka said as everyone had returned.
"What's that?" Kyoka asked. "Beyond the obvious."
"When the portals started appearing, I thought I was out of the way, but then it felt like something shoved me, and next thing I knew, I was swallowed up." She replied. Brighton said nothing his heart rate increasing.
"Same here," Izuku added.
"I thought I was going to get pulled in for sure, but then I got yanked out of the way; I thought you did it, Izu," Momo said.
"Wasn't me. I was trying to pull you to me."
Kyoka noticed the sudden uptick in someone's heartbeat, it took her a moment to pinpoint it, but then she saw it was coming from Brighton.
"Maybe it was some villain's quirk." He added. Kyoka noticed the way his heart was rapidly beating he was lying about something.
"Yea, but what villain?" Momo responded. "The only one that we saw was Misty. Why didn't they do anything else if there was a second villain there? And if it was part of Misty's quirk, then why did any of us escape the portals, and why target Izuku and Itsuka."
"The villains had no idea what our quirks were," Bakugo added. The class turned and looked at him. "They dropped me in the fire zone, Frog Face in the water zone, Tweety in the storm zone; if they knew what we could do, I would have been in the ice zone. Instead, they just upped my firepower."
"That was our thought when they dropped Denki in the flood zone, ribbit," Tsu said.
"So, who shoved me into the portal?" Itsuka said.
Before the conversation went any further, almost everyone's phones started ringing. People began to separate to other parts of the room as parents had received the news and were now reaching out to their children. Mina did her best; if it weren't for Izuku soothing her empathically, she wouldn't have gotten through the conversation.
Most of the class held off their parents, claiming exhaustion and the need to rest; they were assured that such things would not hold them back tomorrow.
Hitoshi noticed that Brighton was going up the stairs while the group had separated.
"Hey Brighton, you ok?"
"Yea, I just…."
"Got you? Come back downstairs," Hitoshi said with a growl.
"Hitoshi, what the heck are you doing?" Ida demanded.
The rest of the class was stunned at what was transpiring. "Come on, Ida, don't you think it is weird that the people he has been sucking up to are the ones that managed not to get sucked into a portal except Itsuka and Denki. And the object of his obsession just happened to get pulled out of a portal."
"He is hiding something. His heart rate has been through the roof as soon as we started talking about what happened," Kyoko added.
"But to use your quirk on him," Ida protested.
"Fine, let's just ask him; if he didn't do shit, you can turn me in," Hitoshi said. "Either way, if he did fuck us over, I would like to know if I can trust him."
"Me too," Tsu said. "I don't trust him; if he didn't do anything, then…."
"I think he was the one that threw Denko off the stairs," Ochaco said. "And I saw him put Tsu and Toru between him and that monster."
"Brighton, did you shove Itsuka and Izuku into those portals?" Hitoshi asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"So, I could save Momo and get her into bed out of gratitude; Itsuka didn't seem like she was going to go along with my plan's about Izuku."
"How did you do it?"
"With my quirk."
"What is your quirk?"
"I can slow time down in a given area."
"For only yourself?"
"No, I can choose who I affect and who I don't."
"So you could have saved everyone from going through the portals?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you?"
"I didn't care."
"How long did it take you to find the override for the door?"
"I found it almost immediately."
"Why didn't you open it?"
"I was hoping that Izuku would get hurt if not killed, and I wanted to wait to claim more of the glory, as I felt that I wasn't in any danger."
"What about the rest of us?" Itsuka yelled.
"I didn't care."
-Faculty-
Midnight and Ectoplasm stood in front of the holographic projection of the USJ, moving people around according to the reports amassed from the students. Things weren't adding up. The first question to fly out from Ectoplasm was, "Why didnit Mr. Freadom act sooner?"
"I don't understand it either; he could have stopped all of them from being sucked in and separated, yet according to the report, we can only tell that he saved Ms. Yaoyorozu. From the reports, it can be inferred that he shoved Mr. Midoriya and Ms. Kendo into the portals." Midnight responded, looking up from the projection.
"It can also be inferred that he threw Mr. Kaminari into a group of villains to save himself as well, but we will need to question him with the aid of the detective to confirm," Ectoplasm added. "Either way, I have to question his actions severely. If his classmates figure any of this out, we could have a dire situation, and he would essentially be a traitor in their midst."
"There would be no justification for his actions; we need to report this to Nezu immediately and get him out there for now." Midnight said. Truthfully she wanted to throw the little bastard to the wolves, but she needed more evidence.
Nezu was reading all the reports, including the very disturbing one from Detective Tsukauchi and his information from the interview with Brighton Freadom. As he began to put together all the elements of the incident, his mind suddenly painted a clear picture. He understood that Brighton was here to report back to his father, but he hadn't suspected that the boy was foolish enough to attempt to sacrifice other students for some petty gain.
His mind clicked all the pieces together, painting a clear picture of some events; he immediately pulled up the security feed for the 1-A dorm's common room. His eyes widened as he slammed down on the intercom.
"ALL FACULTY REPORT TO THE 1-A DORM IMMEDIATELY; WE HAVE A CODE RED. REPEAT CODE RED."
Midnight and Ectoplasm broke into a dead sprint.
-1-A Dorms-
No one could believe what was said, and no one moved to stop Mina, who screamed in fury and ran and punched Brighton with every ounce of strength. She wasn't alone. As he regained his senses, his mind flared in pain as a giant fist snatched him off the ground and punched across the room. As he landed, he activated his quirk; he could see the rage on their faces; he remembered Hitoshi talking to him, he must have used his quirk on him, his heart dropped.
He had to run; he went to move only to feel unable to move.
"Where do you think you are going?" Izuku said.
"How?"
"I told you at the party that you were out of your league; now you will catch the ass whopping you deserve."
Time began to flow again, he tried to stop it, but he felt a mental block in place. No running away now. He heard Izuku's voice echo in his head.
He turned in time to catch a knee to the gut from Rikido; as he doubled over, looking for any friendly face, he saw none. An invisible knee crashed into the side of his head, and he went sprawling; Tsu followed up with a powerful kick driving what remaining air was in him out. Ida tried to call everyone to calm down, but people were flaming. Momo was shaking in anger, trying her best not to join in.
Mina had yet to respond. She descended upon him in a rage of righteous fury; he managed to get his arms up to try and defend himself.
"IT IS ALL YOUR FAULT, YOU MOTHER FUCKER; THEY TRIED TO RAPE ME, THEY TRIED TO FUCKING RAPE ME, I WAS ALL ALONE. I HAD TO KILL TO SURVIVE, YOU SON OF A BITCH." She screamed as she rained down wild blows; he created some distance and slapped her, knocking her off him.
"Get the fuck off me, you psycho bitch." He cried. As he struggled to his feet, he felt a brutal kick to his back from Mezo.
"I lost fucking limbs because of you,"
Denki grabbed him and let loose an electric jolt. "You tried to sacrifice me to save yourself, you piece of shit."
Brighton screamed as he tumbled, desperately reaching for his quirk only to find that block in place. Dark Shadow erupted and grabbed him violently before throwing him into a wall, causing it to spiderweb from the impact.
"You did all this because you couldn't handle rejection!" Momo yelled as she dragged him to his feet. "You disgust me; I would rather have soiled myself with a villain from the attack than let you touch me." She reared back and slapped him. Ochaco stepped in and punched him.
"I hope you burn in hell, you piece of shit." She spat out.
"FACULTY!" Izuku shouted. Everyone stepped back with their hands in the air as Vlad King, Ectoplasm, Midnight, and President Mic burst in with Nezu on their heels.
Izuku was holding Mina back, desperately trying to break free to keep attacking; it took considerable effort to calm her.
"What the hell is going on here?" Vlad King roared. "After what just happened, why would you attack one of your own?"
"He threw some of us into portals during the villain attack, delayed opening the manual override in hopes of getting a student seriously injured or killed, put two students directly in the path of the weird monster thing, and threw another into the villains to save himself, he could have prevented all of us from getting pulled apart, and he chooses not to," Momo said. "And that was just during the attack."
"Why would he do such things?" President Mic asked. "And how do you know all this?"
"Because he wanted to try and get me to spread my legs," Momo spat out.
"We know this because I used my quirk on him," Hitoshi said, stepping forward. "I know it was wrong, but I knew he was hiding something; I accept full responsibility."
"Vlad King, take Mr. Freadom to the infirmary but make sure to place him into custody before you do," Nezu said.
"Sir?"
"While I cannot verify their claims, the evidence suggests they are correct. He has already given a partially false statement to the police detective."
"That's a lie!" Brighton yelled.
"Mr. Freadom, before you utter another syllable, you should be made aware that the detective's quirk is called Lie Detector."
Brighton froze. Vlad King did as he was instructed, if not only to remove the boy for his safety but if their claims were correct, leaving the young man here would be a death sentence. And Vlad King could find minor fault in that case of mob justice.
Brighton desperately looked for a sympathetic face; at last, his gaze fell on Bakugo, who looked away in disgust. "Bakugo?"
"Don't look at me, you piece of shit; I agreed with you that Deku was a piece of trash and had probably coerced Ponytail somehow; in no way was I going to agree with you in sacrificing any of these extras to a bunch of villains. Fuck Deku, yes, any other bullshit you were up to, you can just fuck off."
Izuku looked at Bakugo and shook his head. The class could hear Brighton ranting as the cuffs were placed on him and he was dragged out of the dorms.
"Food will be delivered soon; you will all be confined to dorms pending a thorough investigation, and do expect some form of punishment. I can only imagine today's trauma and stress placed upon you all. Then to find what amounts to a traitor in your midst that could have turned the tide of events today was probably more than you could process. Do try to get some rest. We will address this later." Nezu said as he led the teachers out of the dorm.
"Sir, is it wise to leave them like this?" Ectoplasm asked as they walked away.
"They are lucky to be alive, and mentally they are hanging by a thread; the only thing holding them together is each other; finding out such a terrible thing shook them even more. If we attempt to step in and separate or punish them now, we would be doing even more harm than good. We failed them today; they had to make decisions and take actions that most pros will never have to in their entire career. We need to focus and provide them with all the support they need; after the report gets out, the Commission will come after us in full force for the injuries and deaths that occurred. We need to know precisely what happened to the best of our abilities. I first want to know how these bastards got into my school." Nezu finished with a growl.
-Infirmary-
Yuga awoke in a panic in the infirmary; he bolted upright screaming; it took several minutes for Recovery Girl to calm him down, as his senses slowly returned to him, and his mind was able to process that he was no longer in the forest. He had been warped to that area to give a report and supposedly be roughed up a bit.
You see, Yuga had been born quirkless; his parents, witnessing their dear boy's suffering, had used their wealth and connections to do anything they could to help him. Unfortunately, that had brought them into contact with the Devil himself.
The Devil had been able to give him what he needed a quirk, his navel laser. He didn't have as much control as he should have because it was foreign to his body, and his body had not had time to adapt and mutate to handle it properly. Hence his "tummy aches"; it was intense pain as his body constantly suffered from using the quirk. The cost incurred for his gift was more than money. It was servitude to spy on U.A. and his class and report in.
He thought he could do it so that it would be easy to distance himself emotionally, to report as asked. He never thought it would go as far as it did, that their lives would be jeopardized in the first week. It was naïve of him to think so, if not outright stupid, but it was a hope he had clung to. But then he had met his contact, and the beating took on such a vicious turn that he could hear the man talking to someone about "saving him some meat" and that they could go all out. That he had the contract and as long as he survived the deaths of the others was acceptable. It was then that Yuga fought back, he may have made a deal with the Devil, but that was his price to pay, not the others. They had been nice to him, humored his outlandish behavior, and even played along somewhat. He couldn't sit there and let them die; his soul could only bear so much.
It had been futile; the man was a trained fighter and a trained killer. The man promised Yuga pain and delivered on his promise. Rikido was not supposed to be there when he saw his classmate; he panicked.
Rikido after hearing how much Yuga was missing his family after moving in, the boy had gone through all the trouble of making Macaroons as a getting-to-know-you gift. Now he was trying to save him, trying to save a person who was a traitor. The gunshots echoing through his mind, he knew he had to act, and he did. He killed their attacker with a laser blast through the head. He didn't know if they would survive, but he prayed that at least Rikido did; Yuga was unworthy and if he was dead, he was free.
After they calmed him down, they reported that all his classmates had survived, that the worst of their wounds had been healed before the faculty had even arrived, and that it was due to his mental state that he was the only one in the infirmary. They would hold him for observation and release him to return to the dorms tomorrow if he felt up to it, though he would have to state the school and the police before doing so. They would arrange for it tomorrow, and they also told him that his parents had been notified and were on their way from France. Yuga nodded and picked at the food they brought him; he knew he needed to eat, but the will to do so was lacking.
The worst was when he was left alone in the dark with only his mind for company, he tried to distract himself with television, but it just couldn't hold his attention; all that could be his mind—screaming at him, TRAITOR, over and over again. His mental torment was broken when he felt the pressure of something landing on the bed; his scream was silenced when he noticed sitting there was the very principle of U.A., Nezu.
"Hello, my dear boy; I wanted to chat with you off the record. When examining the villain's body, you battled, I found something interesting. A flash drive with all kinds of neat little bits of information. Now I want you to start at the beginning and be a good boy and not leave a single thing out!"
It was the sadistic smile on his face that caused Yuga to break into a sweat and nearly piss himself; he was looking at a monster playing at being human. A guise worn to keep people pacified, which was not present anymore, had been set aside so Yuga could know what he was dealing with.
-The Common Room of Class 1-A-
Izuku lay on his back, Momo cuddled close on his right and Mina on his left. The pink girl had clung to him since the USJ, and at night, it was no different when Mina first went to sleep; it was next to him and Momo, but she was tossing and shaking before she lifted his blanket and snuggled in. He looked at Momo, who nodded and then drifted back to sleep.
When Morning found them, it was an unusual feeling being held like he was, but what he found interesting is Momo and Mina were holding hands on his chest. He didn't have to wait long for them to stir as they did; they released him, allowing him to push himself up to a sitting position. People were still asleep all around the room; the girls were beside each other under the blankets while the boys they had fought beside were near them. Izuku floated himself up and away from the group, using the chance to go the restroom and wash his face before returning and moving to the kitchen and as quietly as possible, brewing himself some coffee while watching over the group; once he saw more stirring towards being awake, he turned to begin making breakfast.
The sounds and smells began to rouse the group as they sat up and gathered their blankets, but not taking them to their rooms, they folded them and stacked them against the wall, indicating that the return to bed this evening was not on the table.
Surprised, he turned to grab something to see Kyoka looking at him. "You ok, Kyoka?"
"Your phone never rang; you didn't even look at it once."
"Anyone who cared was in the room with me except Mei and Melissa, but I had already talked to them; I am sure they will be by later anyways."
"Why didn't your parents call?"
"They don't care. They disowned me when I turned 18."
"That's fucked up, but thank you Izuku."
"For?"
"Healing us, all of us. You could have just healed yourself and Momo. She is your girlfriend, but you healed everyone, even Dr. Dickhead."
"I didn't heal him. He wasn't seriously injured."
"Either way, some of us would be dead without that, especially if the heroes hadn't arrived when they did, we would have had to keep fighting, and that would not have ended well, so thank you."
"Anytime, Kyoka," he said, smiling while cooking with his telekinesis.
"There is more going on with you than you let on, but I want you to know that if you ever need backup on anything, you can call on me."
Kyoka hugged him briefly, "Thanks for saving my life, Izuku." She stepped back, blushing slightly, before exiting the kitchen.
The morning light seemed to help banish some darkness for everyone as they sat and ate. Soon the girls broke apart to all shower, Mina still seemed scared, but when Momo and Itsuka took her hands, she willingly followed them.
He was washing a few dishes that hadn't fit into the dishwasher when Bakugo came and leaned against the counter, "They may have believed your bullshit, but I don't fucking trust you. And I didn't need any bullshit healing you were dishing out. Mr. Stuck Up was right that you are not trusted, and I will show everyone what a piece of shit you are."
"Really, how about I show them what you are?"
Before Bakugo could speak, his mind was flooded with images of him attacking and abusing Izuku and that faithful day, "Why don't you take a swan dive off the roof."
Bakugo went to step back but couldn't move. "How do you think they would react? How do you think the school would respond? I know all your tricks Bakugo; you have no idea what mine is. You can hate me all you want, but if you get in my way, it will be the last thing you do. Did you know that there are these glands called Eccrine Sweat Glands? They serve a thermoregulatory function. They release your sweat to your skin, which is what cools your off, or in your case, it allows the release of your nitroglycerin. I wonder what would happen if all the ones in your arms suddenly got ripped out. Or if a small explosion was to occur inside them, are they filled with Nitroglycerin? Do you want to find out?"
Bakugo stared at him, genuinely terrified. "I told you in the battle trial that I am better and more powerful than you. I don't give a fuck what you do here, little man, but you fuck with me and mine…"
Bakugo felt his body release, he immediately thought to attack, but then he felt a tug on something under his skin. "Have a good day, pumpkin," Izuku said, putting the dish on the drying rack.
Ida came around the corner from the area of the door. "Izuku, Mei Hatsume, and Melissa Shield are here to see you. Are you up to it?"
"Yes, Ida, please let them in." Izuku walked away.
-Mei and Melissa-
They practically bulldozed him when they saw him come into view. Once he returned their affection, they began to look him over, making sure he was, in fact, ok. They asked where Momo was, and he directed them to the baths but asked them to hold off until she emerged. When they asked about what happened, he told them that he wasn't allowed to talk about it at the moment; when they found their way to a couch, he instead filled them in Telepathically on everything he knew that had happened and what he had heard or learned some from the others. Mei kept her composure much better than Melissa, who had to excuse herself.
Mei: Look, Izuku, I want to make this clear that I care about you, and I believe in what we are doing; I don't want you to think otherwise just because…
Izuku: I believe you, Mei; I wouldn't expect you just to let me burn the world. Most normal people won't. You may be the first, but I know you won't be the last.
Mei: I need to get that jammer up and running, I got the prototype up, but I don't know if it covered anything before it burnt out, so someone may have picked up the energy signature.
Izuku: Then we need to make sure we are prepared just in case; maybe we can drop an anonymous tip or something; I want to know what took back up so damn long.
Melissa: Fucking Power loader didn't believe us and wouldn't check the feeds. We were supposed to go out tonight, but we can reschedule.
Izuku: That may be for the best, Mina is fragile right now, and I know Momo has been holding some stuff back, but I don't want to push her.
Mei: We will get it out of her later.
Melissa: So, what's going to happen to Brighton?
Izuku : I don't know. But I know he can't come back here if I don't kill him; I am sure the others will ensure it's done within 10 seconds of him walking in.
Mei: Well fuck that guy, such a piece of shit.
Momo: Mei? Melissa? Are you here?
Melissa : Yup, we are downstairs with Izuku. Where are you?
Momo : I am heading to my room, Izuku. Can you stand outside Mina's door as she gets dressed? She is better but still afraid.
Izuku: On it.
Mei: and we are coming to see you, Momo.
-The Three M's-
They bulldozed Momo, but unlike Izuku, who could withstand the assault, Momo was tackled back onto her bed while they fussed over her.
Melissa and Mei then just pulled her in tight.
"Are you OK?" Melissa asked.
"Yes, shaken…"
"Your lying; he isn't in here."
Momo's voice faltered, and she started crying. She was so scared while fighting, but seeing that the world would burn terrified her. They hadn't even tried yet, and the world was about to burn. It was so scary because of how lost Izuku felt; his rage and grief had overwhelmed him. He needed more anchors; he needed to be grounded. She wasn't afraid of him; she was worried for him. Mei and Melissa comforted her while she regained her composure. When that was done, they emerged so Izuku could go shower. Mei and Melissa didn't stay much longer, wanting to return to the workshop.
-The Arrival-
After a slightly understandable security check and escort, the parents descended on the dorms. Izuku stood next to Mina till her parents, Max, and Kara, got to her, and she sobbed into their arms. Izuku, at that point, retreated outside as parents focused on their children. When the door opened, he saw Mitsuki step out.
"All you need is a cigarette and a balcony rail to lean on while you gave out over the school," she said, walking over to him. "You good kid?"
"For the most part, my girlfriend got hurt pretty bad that scared the shit out of me, but we were able to get her healed."
"Did that bitch even call and check on you?"
"No, I don't know how they would even get a hold of here; he disconnected the phones; I don't have their numbers, and they disowned me."
"Fuck them both. Are you ok?"
"Yes, I am Aunty; it sucks that at times like these, you know…"
Mitsuki stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, pulling him in tight. He slowly wrapped his arms around her, and they hugged tightly for a minute before she stepped back.
"Look, kid, if you ever need me or someone to talk to, call me. Day or night, I will be there for you."
"Thanks, Mitsuki, I mean it. Thank you."
"I know that you and my brat hate each other, he won't tell me what he did, and I am pretty sure you won't either. So please don't shut me out."
"I won't, I promise."
The two made their way inside as Izuku glanced at her walking up the stairs in her rather tight jeans; he made his way to the kitchen to grab some water, only for Kara to come and grab him in a fierce hug.
"Kara?"
"I just want to say thank you for keeping your promise. Thank you for saving her."
"She saved herself; she fought so damn hard; I just got there at the end if I had gotten there sooner," he stopped as his voice choked up. He felt guilty for all of it; he shouldn't have been caught out like that if he had taken better precautions.
"I don't know what's going on in that head of yours but stop it." She said. "You saved our daughter when she could no longer save herself. You were there when it mattered. Don't you think anything different? I just wanted to say thank you. I will let you get back to your parents."
"Thank you, Kara." He replied, not wanting to bring Kara down with his circumstances. He just walked away. Surprisingly, as he attempted to leave, some other parents stopped and thanked him for healing their kids; Rikido's parents were very thankful. Izuku smiled, not for the praise, but it did feel nice, but for the fact that they had all lived.
He was eventually summoned to Momo's room, where her father shook his hand and told him thank you. Her mother hugged him, and he politely excused himself to give them privacy. Thankfully he made it to his room and hid away for a while. Sometimes solitude is a good thing.
-The Unwanted-
"Sir," Midnight's voice sprang to life over the intercom.
"Yes, Midnight?" he replied.
"Dominic Freadom has just arrived."
"Is he alone?"
"No sir, his daughter is with him and his bodyguard. Prodigy reports that Justice is in high orbit, just outside our airspace."
"Interesting please join me in greeting our guests and have Misery and Mistress on standby."
"Understood."
Nezu got to his feet and hopped down from his desk to meet their guests. As he reached the front of the building, he found Midnight waiting for him. The stretch limousine pulled up and outstepped an impressive man standing 6'5, 385 lbs. of solid muscle. His short black hair was neatly pulled back, and his tailored suit was impeccable.
His hand extended inside, and out stepped a beautiful blonde with blue eyes, standing 5'9 with a figure that would rival Midnight's. After she stepped out, next was the main event.
Dominic Freadom emerged standing at 6'4, 245 pounds, with blondish grey hair and storm grey eyes, just like his son. As the man appeared, he looked at Nezu and his escort, "Devin, stay with the car."
"Yes, sir." The man replied.
As they approached, the blonde stepped forward. "Nemuri, how are you? Or is it Midnight right now? Either way, it has been too long," she said, moving to faux kiss the hero's cheeks.
"Elizabeth, it has been ages; for you, it is whatever you like." The pro responded, delivering the faux kisses.
"Nezu," Dominic said in a clear, commanding voice.
"Dominic." The principal responded with a smile.
"Imagine my surprise to hear that not only was U.A. attacked, but in the hours after such a horrible event, my son was attacked again by his class and taken into custody for some strange reason. Now is there some logic to this chain of events that will not see your school suddenly under the new name of Freadom University for Heroes?"
"Well, that does have a unique name to it. Let us hold off on any name changes for the moment. Shall we walk and talk at the same time?" Nezu countered.
"Sure, we wouldn't want to make a scene now," Dominic responded as they walked with Nezu leading the way.
Midnight and Elizabeth fell into step behind them, "I trust my brother has been healed of any wounds that he has received?" the woman asked.
"Yes, he has Elizabeth; what kind of monsters do you think we are?" Midnight replied sweetly.
"You a monster, no, those you keep locked in the basement." The woman responded with the same level of sweetness.
Nezu stopped at his office, "Dominic would you care to step into my office while Midnight takes Elizabeth to check on your son."
Dominic turned and nodded at his daughter as he followed Nezu in.
-Elizabeth and Midnight-
Once they were in the elevator, Elizabeth let out a deep sigh. "So, what did the dipshit do now?"
Midnight raised an eyebrow, "No love for your brother?"
"Half-brother first off, and he is a dipshit; tell me I am wrong, and are you going to be all Midnight on me."
"Depends are you going to go Elemental on me."
"Not unless I have to, Nemuri; hopefully, my father and your principal can work something out because I would hate to ruin our friendship by going to war with you right now."
"Do you think you can win?"
"I would place money on it being much more difficult than you think, and unlike you, my father won't care who gets caught in the crossfire. I am not trying to threaten here, Nemuri. I am just telling you what it is."
"How many of the Marauders are here?"
"All of them, plus some of the elite enough to at least force Nezu to unleash the Dark Stalkers if he wants to survive. My father is not here to play games."
"Would you risk an international incident?"
"What incident? The Marauders are a wanted group; the elite was responding to American Civilians in danger; more importantly, they came in to save Dominic Freadom, the head of Freadom Enterprises, a highly ranked global corporation beloved by the American public. Even IF you guys win, will you survive the incident? So, I ask again, not Midnight the hero or Midnight the leader of the Acolytes but Nemuri, the woman I spent years with, what did he do?"
"He betrayed his class, purposely delayed them seeking help, and instead of using his quirk to save anyone, he sent some to fight for their lives. On top of that, he was an elitist jerk who purposely threw another student into a group of villains and put two others between him and some Frankenstein beast." She responded.
"Do you have any actual evidence? Beyond circumstance and theory? We can plead that his quirk faltered when he went to activate to save his class, that he saved his friends first and before he could do anything else his quirk failed. If you had hard evidence of the other things then we would be having a different conversation and you would have charged him before we even landed."
"I hate that your a lawyer on top of everything else, he did lie to a detective with a truth quirk."
"Misdemeanor, punishment will be deportation, but I am betting that he didn't tell Brighton about his quirk before questioning him, and if he did that kid is fucking dumb and I don't know why we are having this conversation. Anything your detective learned will be in admissible in court, it will be the testimony of whomever vs his. And I can drag this out in court for years not to mention the whole incident will have to investigated and discovery. The best option is for you to release him.
"I am sure Nezu and your father are dealing with that; but he can't stay in this school rumors will get out, and someone will take him out. I must know how you ended up with such an elitist for a brother; you are nothing like that?"
"Like I said, half-brother."
-Nezu and Dominic Freadom-
"When are you going to release my son?"
"I thought I would charge him with some crimes first," Nezu responded.
"Nezu, you and I know you have no evidence. You may know what happened but can you prove it."
"We can hold him on falsifying a report to the detective."
"And how do you know he lied?"
"Truth Quirk."
"Did your Detective notify my son that he possessed this quirk during the interview? Even if he did, I could get the charge thrown out of court in under 2 minutes. Try again; I highly doubt your surveillance cameras were up and running during the incident. If so, your response time will be dragged further into question. So, your grounds are hollow. At most, even if the charges did stick, you and I know I have enough pull to see he would be deported, which would bring him home regardless. So, either you release him, or those two you have lurking as backup won't make the door before something terrible happens."
"I don't appreciate being threatened in my own house."
"That wasn't a threat, Nezu; this is. I still owe you for the black site and will repay you. I am not afraid of your heroes or the monsters in the basement; I will live should they be unleashed, but your school and you will not. So, either you give me my son back, and we will sort this out another day, or everyone in the dorms of 1-A will meet an untimely end before you can blink. Would you care to call my bluff?"
"Sooner or later, Dominic, this will come to an end. But that day is not today."
"Careful, Nezu, I am not the one playing with fire. Are you aware of what is walking your school truly? I know they are here and were at the USJ, and I will find them. Why don't you turn them over so I can do the world a favor and end them."
"You think such a thing is within your power, Dominic; how has your ego grown over the years."
"At least I don't play at being human; I know what you are, Nezu. What you really are? Not this lie you put forth. Sooner or later, you will revert, and I will watch everything here crumble till they beg me to come in and clean it up."
"We will see in the end, Dominic; we will see," Nezu said as he picked up the phone. "Release Brighton Freadom and have him brought to my office."
-Elizabeth and Nemuri-
"You heard your boss," Elizabeth said. "Before it gets too crowded," she handed Nemuri a flash drive. "I think I found a lead for you by accident."
"Why are you doing this, Elizabeth?"
"Because we did have fun, and before all this shit, we were friends. I don't know if this world will ever allow that again, and if not, I want you to get at least what you are looking for."
"Thank You, Liz."
Their facial expressions shifted back to neutral as they entered the holding area. Brighton sat up. "Elizabeth, what are you doing here?" he questioned. "Is Father with you," he added with a note of fear.
"Yes, he is the one I am sure that secured your release."
"But I am not done. I can fix this and claim what is mine."
"The only thing that is yours, Brighton is a conversation with Father; now, let's go. I don't want to be in this country longer than necessary. You failed, and now you answer for that failure like all the others have."
"Brighton, you could have been an amazing hero if you weren't such a prick with your quirk."
"I already am amazing, Professor Midnight; I don't need some piece of paper from someplace that harbors freaks and inferiors; I will just return home and get my paper there. This is just a bump on the road to my greatness." The boy responded.
Midnight shook her head; "he is all yours, Elizabeth; we will remove the quirk suppression cuffs once we get outside."
As soon as they were outside, they removed Brighton's cuffs, and the boy was face to face with his father; there were no tearful or even heartfelt words. Instead, Dominic said, "Car."
Brighton said nothing and stepped inside, followed by Elizabeth.
"I am sure we will see each other again, Nezu, but heed my warning, you are dealing with something you either are too stupid to comprehend or believe you can tame; your hubris will doom the world."
"I would say the same to you, Dominic. Have a safe trip home." Nezu said as they departed. Turning to Midnight, "Have prodigy track them till they leave the country."
"Yes, sir. Why did you let him go?"
"He is not worth the fight to keep, I allowed him here to see what game Dominic was playing, and I believe he has tipped his hand. Call Izuku Midoriya to my office, please."
"Yes, sir."