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“Kacchan, wait!” yelled Izuku as their team ran through the dark alley. He glanced over to Shouto, who nodded to acknowledge that he understood what to do next. Using his quirk, he quickly created an ice bridge, ridged to allow them to climb without slipping, that gave the two a chance to catch up to Katsuki. Using his Air Force ability, Izuku quickly destroyed the ice form after they’d safely reached the roof tops, ensuring that no villains would take advantage of their own shortcut.
Katsuki’s explosions propelled him further ahead, the speed in which he moved was practiced and honed to perfection. Taking to the air gave him the perfect point of view to make sure they didn’t lose sight of their target. “Not my fault you losers can’t keep up with me!” Katsuki shouted out as he narrowed in on the hooded figure that they were tasked with capturing.
“Always the hot-headed one,” Shouto answered back as he sent forth a thin line of flames from his left hand that cut through the hanging white sheets drying on a clothesline and blocking their line of sight to Katsuki. Rushing through the fallen laundry, Shouto was quick to douse the scorched fabric to ensure he didn’t accidentally start a fire. Izuku grinned as he dashed forward with Full Cowling activated, glad to see Shouto had learned his lesson about unnecessary property damage after their last mission.
It was hard to get the smell of burnt cotton out of their hero costumes after Shouto decided it was justified to set half the stuffed animal factory on fire just to flush out the villain that had been hiding amongst the plushies. The look on Aizawa’s face was one of exhaustion and disgust as he spent far too long explaining how property damage was one of the things heroes are supposed to keep to a minimum in every operation.
“Deku, hard left!” Katsuki shouted from above and Izuku immediately split away from Shouto to leap down to the building on their immediate left, realizing that it was time to finally catch the villain. The alley was leading out to a busy intersection, and with the information they had on the target, knew he’d take a hostage if necessary.
Slinging out Black Whip to one of the fire escapes ahead of him, Izuku swung down and reached ground level right at the edge of the alley, blocking the villain from engaging with any civilians. A flurry of sleet and ice arrived just after he landed, halting the dark figure’s advance further as his feet were encased in ice.
“Don’t think you two are gonna get all the glory just because you got here first, you’d still be back at the agency if it weren’t for my tracking skills!” Katsuki said as he landed with a rush of smoke and soot on the other side of the immobilized target.
“We all have our roles to play; yours today was a glorified spy drone,” Shouto said dryly as he approached the villain and rested his hand against his shoulder. The figure started to shake, flashing erratically before disappearing completely.
“Simulation complete,” an automated feminine voice said as the evening scene of a busy town started to fade away, replaced with a vast open space with textured gray walls that looked to be powering down. “Please exit Holographic Training Ground Beta and proceed to your instructor.”
Checking the time on his academy-issued smartwatch, Izuku’s emerald green eyes lit up with excitement. “Hey guys, we set a new record with this run!” he said as they exited the room. Shouto and Katsuki turned their attention to their watches as well, noting the statistics of their training sim had been downloaded onto their devices after completion.
“Of course we did, like I’d let any of those extras get ahead of us,” Katsuki said, smirking as he saw more improvements on his individual scores as well. “Also helps when some half n half bastard doesn't decide to go all pyromaniac and shit.”
“One time… It was one time,” Shouto said with a sigh. He was about to say more when their teacher, Aizawa, appeared in front of them.
“Yes, and once is enough to get you blacklisted from hero work, Todoroki. I saw you learn from that mistake in this simulation though, so it’s good to see my words did get through to you. Now as for you two,” Aizawa said as he gestured to Katsuki and Izuku, “There were some distinct improvements in the way you two interacted together. As much as I’m sure you’re mortified to hear it, Bakugou: Midoriya and yourself have the potential to become a strong hero team.”
The reactions to their teacher’s comment couldn’t have been any more different, with Izuku blushing a deep crimson while Katsuki’s turned red out of what appeared to be sheer anger. “I’m a solo hero, got that! Just because the nerd follows directions well doesn’t mean we work well together,” Katsuki shouted out as they made their way back to the main building and their homeroom. The rest of their class was already there since they had finished their simulations, and the room buzzed with talk of how each group had performed.
“Eyes to the front!” a deep voice uttered as it echoed through the room, everyone bringing their attention to the front of the classroom as directed. The headmaster of their academy, the hero Endeavor, scoured the sea of potential heroes with a scowl.
“Based on your latest mission simulations, we’ve determined this week’s rankings. The team of Bakugou, Midoriya, and Todoroki managed to rise to the top this week,” Endeavor said with noticeable interest in his tone. “We also have a pair of students that have qualified for their internships. Mirio Togata and Tamaki Amajiki, please step forward.”
The two older students quickly slipped through the crowd to appear before the intimidating headmaster. Mirio slyly held Amajiki’s hand, knowing his classmate got anxious when attention was suddenly directed toward him. “We’ll do our best, sir!” Mirio cried out as he and Amajiki both bowed before their headmaster. Acknowledging them, Endeavor nodded as they stood up straight and began saying their farewells.
“We’ll never forget any of you kouhai, got that?” Mirio said with a smile that brightened the facility’s main doors far more than it already was. “Study hard and hopefully you’ll get to partner up with us at the agency or during a joint mission! Look forward to seeing you all again while we take care of the darkness outside these doors!” Izuku admired Mirio and Amajiki, taking note of their quirks and talents and how well they utilized them. As his senpai acknowledged him and the rest of the students, Izuku could only show his respect and bow as the two were led away by the academy staff to pack their belongings.
It was ritualistic how each student that qualified for their internship had left, and this time was no different. There was very little notice given that those chosen had been accepted, and just as short a time for them to get their things together and clear out their living spaces before it was time for them to leave.
“That concludes the day’s lessons,” Endeavor growled out to the rest of the students, bringing silence to the room again. “Go back to your dorms and get ready for dinner, good day.”
“Wow, that’s pretty impressive for us to make the top ranking in the group mission training, right?” Izuku beamed as they walked back to their dorms. Shouto nodded in agreement, though his face didn’t share the same cheer his teammate was radiating. Katsuki only grunted before shoving his hands in his pockets.
After a quick shower and a change into their regular clothes, the three joined the others in the dining hall. The line for food moved steadily, each student grabbed a tray and got settled at their usual tables. Meals were one of the few times when the students were able to speak freely to each other.
“Never thought we’d see you three make the top team rank, at least not with Bakugou as a teammate,” Kaminari joked as they started to eat their food. Small pops lit up the end of the table when Katsuki heard him.
“Wanna say that again, you pathetic excuse for a battery?!”
Izuku quietly laughed to himself over the two bickering as he finished his meal. Glancing across the table to Shouto, he noticed that his friend had barely eaten anything. “Is something wrong, Todoroki?” Shouto looked up and saw the concern on Izuku’s face before shaking his head.
“It’s nothing, Midoriya, just tired,” he replied in a tone that still had Izuku suspect there was something on Shouto’s mind he didn’t want to talk about just yet. He knew Shouto was the quiet type that would talk when he was ready, so Izuku nodded in understanding.
He was distracted by Uraraka’s sudden question as they ate their meal. “So where do you think Lemillion and Suneater are going to be interning? I bet they’ll make it through as sidekicks quickly wherever they go!”
“I heard from someone in Class B that they were going to an underground agency, which would be perfect for Lemillion’s stealth quirk,” Iida said in reply to Uraraka.
The conversation continued on just what kind of agencies awaited them once they left the UA training facility. Izuku had wondered where he’d be sent once his training was finished.
“Where would you want to be placed, Midoriya? I’m sure there’s plenty of options available to you with how diverse your quirk is,” Iida asked.
“Oh me? Well, I’ve always looked up to All Might, so if it were possible, I’d want to intern at his agency. Hopefully we’ll finish our training soon so we can find out where we’re going and start helping the people outside with Lemillion, Suneater, and all the others that have already left. I’m looking forward to putting our training to good use!”
Suddenly, Shouto stood up, finding it difficult to disguise the pained look on his face.
“There’s no rush to leave! They all should have stayed here longer,” Shouto said with his fists clenched at his side. “You all should just stay here, internships aren’t–”
“Shouto!” Endeavor’s deep voice echoed through the hall and quickly stopped his son from continuing his emotional outburst. “I need to have a word with you, come with me.”
With a deep sigh, Shouto bowed to his classmates and quickly looked at Izuku before he whispered, “Maintenance room 118,” before he stood up and reluctantly followed his father out of the room.
“What was that about?” Kaminari wondered as the rest of the students resumed eating their meal. Katsuki caught the look of surprise and contemplation in Izuku’s expression after Shouto walked away, knowing there must have been something to their headmaster quickly reprimanding and calling away his son after being uncharacteristically chatty.
Izuku pondered Shouto’s short message as he tried to place where in their facility the room he mentioned was. The maintenance rooms weren’t near the main classrooms or training grounds. Why would Shouto mention such a specific room? Could it have been related to what he was starting to say before Endeavor interrupted?
“I can see those gears turning from here, nerd,” Katsuki said, crimson eyes focused solely on Izuku. “There something going on or what? It’s not like that walking candy cane to start running his damn mouth like that.”
Kacchan had always been observant, Izuku acknowledged as he felt himself relax. There was no point in keeping Shouto’s words or his suspicions a secret to him, so Izuku quietly shared what was on his mind with Katsuki. Once he was done, the blonde sat in silence for a moment before standing quickly from the table, lunch tray in-hand.
“Sounds like we’ve got somewhere to be, Deku, let’s go.”
Maintenance Room 118 was at the end of a secluded hallway, the entry a set of double doors with the windows blacked out. Katsuki and Izuku crouched by them, silent as they listened for any hint of what could be in the next room. The whir of electronic equipment was faint but noticeable, though there were no voices or footsteps to accompany it. Nodding to each other once they felt ready to proceed, Katsuki reached up and opened one of the doors, only sparing an opening wide enough for them to both peek in.
Izuku’s breath caught in his throat, nearly choking him as he saw Amajiki strapped into a chair that had wires running haphazardly in what he could only describe as controlled chaos. A metal half-sphere was strapped to his head and under his chin, their classmate struggling against the bindings on his arms and legs, fear plastered over his face as he first looked to the person in the lab coat that stood at the control panel for the device, then to his far left.
Following his attention, Izuku saw that Mirio stood at the far end of the room. The smile that had been a constant existence on Mirio’s face was gone, with only a blank, passive expression in its place. Izuku knew how close the two older students were, childhood friends that both wanted to follow their dreams together, not that much different from him and Katsuki.
Seeing Mirio stand still as Amajiki was so obviously frightened shook Izuku to his core. This wasn’t normal at all. Izuku felt his legs start to move, ready to insert himself in whatever scenario was playing out before them. A tight grip on his arm halted him, as Katsuki looked over to him with a knowing expression and a quick shake of his head, telling him to stay put.
The person in the lab coat stepped away from the console for a moment, coming into Izuku and Katsuki's view clearly, the two shocked to see it was their teacher, Aizawa. They watched in mute horror as his finger hovered over a button at the far right corner of the panel. “Good night, Suneater,” Aizawa said, his voice lacking emotion before pressing it. Amajiki immediately felt the reaction as he bucked and shook in the chair. Katsuki’s grip tightened as their senpai struggled, Izuku’s eyes brimming with tears as he watched helplessly.
“Shouto meant for us to see this,” Katsuki whispered, easing Izuku’s anxiety only slightly. No less horrified, Izuku settled down, taking in all the details from the room no one was meant to find. Several minutes passed since Aizawa activated the chair, now Amajiki wasn’t fighting anymore. He went slack where he sat, his expression now as blank as Mirio's.
“Wipe is now complete. ‘Heroes’ Suneater and Lemillion are ready for their imprinting," Aizawa said as he blindfolded the two. "Shame they’re getting sold off to different buyers, they’d be better off as a set,” he added while he powered down the device and freed Amajiki from the straps that kept him in the chair.
“Shows over, we need to go,” Katsuki said quietly as he carefully shut the main door. Izuku couldn’t manage to make himself move at first, the scene they’d just witnessed was more overwhelming than either of them could have expected. He snapped out of his spiraling thoughts as Katsuki tugged him to his feet, rushing behind him as they left the horrors of that room and returned back to their dorm.
Shouto was seated at the main table in the common room, a book open on the table in front of him, though they could both tell by the look in those mismatched eyes, Shouto hadn’t read a single sentence. “Took you long enough to get back,” were the only words he said before Katsuki slung his arm back and punched Shouto in the face, sending both him and his chair backwards.
“Kacchan!” Izuku exclaimed at the sudden violence. Rushing over to help Shouto up, Katsuki beat him to it, grasping Shouto's collar and wrenching him back up until he was mere inches from Katsuki’s face.
“What the fuck was that?! The chair, the weird brainwashing shit, did you know about it all this time? Is that where everyone that makes it to an internship ends up?!”
Shouto’s eyes didn’t reflect anger and rage as Katsuki’s did, even after the surprise attack. He carefully slid his sleeve across his nose to wipe away the trickle of blood that slowly ran down his upper lip before answering. “Of course I did, as if my monster of a father would spare me from this Hell. He's been using me for years as an extra set of eyes to ensure his little operation ran smoothly.”
“Then why clue us in, huh?” Katsuki yelled angrily, finally letting go of Shouto’s collar and sending him sprawling backwards until he hit the ground. He thought not just of the two older senpai that just had their minds wiped, but also the numerous students that had gone to ‘internships’ before them. “If you were content to be daddy’s little spy, why bother sending us to find out about it now?”
“Because you two were next!” Shouto screamed as he launched to his feet. He looked between of his friends, noticing the shock on their faces as he rarely raised his voice. “I’ve been going along with my father’s plans to keep him believing he could trust me. To that end, I’ve slowly been gathering information on his operation, intending to put a stop to it. He sells the students that excel during training, not caring whether the buyer wants to use their quirk for something good or evil. I've seen evidence of villains buying students, politicians getting their hands on quirks that can manipulate their careers, and my bastard father only cares for the money and status he gets from this place. With Lemillion and Suneater gone, the next highest ranked would be you two, and I couldn’t stand the thought of either of you being used by someone with bad intentions.”
“But everyone that’s left here before us was an acceptable loss?! Give me a fucking break, Todoroki,” Katsuki yelled. “Don’t think you can grow a fucking conscience now because you got to be all buddy-buddy with us. You knew all this time and didn’t do shit to stop your old man.”
“Kacchan, he just said that he was trying to learn all he could before acting,” Izuku said calmly, trying to settle the angry blonde down. “So I assume that by allowing us to learn what’s going on means you’re prepared to stop Endeavor?”
Shouto nodded uneasily, Katsuki’s anger leaving an unsettling vibe in the room. “I’ve managed to work out a plan that I feel will work based on what I know about the faculty and its patrol routes. It’ll take precision, but we can use the smartwatches they attached to us when we enrolled here to synchronize our movements.” Shouto hesitated, silence filled the air around the three before he finally spoke up again.
“I know I’ve let far too many good people be manipulated for my father’s gain, that’s a weight I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. But if you’re willing to help me, we can stop him from hurting anyone else.” Shouto slowly dropped to his knees before bowing before the two, prostrating himself in his plea for help.
“Get up idiot, of course we’re gonna put a stop to the shit your dad’s been pulling,” Katsuki said, his tone far less heated than either Izuku or Shouto expected as he held out his hand. Accepting it cautiously, Shouto rose to his feet, his expression finally relaxing as he saw his friends were still on his side.
Encouraged and motivated, Shouto grabbed the book on the table, pulling a neatly folded sheet of paper from between the pages before unfolding it for Izuku and Katsuki to see. The diagram was meticulously drawn, displaying a map of the facility with notes written in until there was no open space left on the page. It was obvious by looking at the document that Shouto had spent a very long time working on it.
“Okay,” Shouto said as he ran his hands along the paper to flatten it against the table. “Now here’s where we begin…”
The day of the escape, the three went over the plan and their roles before splitting up. Izuku was tasked with getting into the control room and ensuring the outer doors would be unlocked by the time the other two were done with their parts. Getting in was easier than expected, Izuku found as he gained access to the unoccupied control panel with multiple monitors displaying various locations around the facility.
“Hmm, Shouto said to expect someone here, could it have just been luck for them to have stepped out?” Izuku muttered to himself as he unlocked the main doors and any that would prevent the other students from getting out once they were told of the evacuation.
It wasn’t until he had finished his task that Izuku noticed the clock in the corner of one of the monitors.
There was a five minute difference between that and his watch.
Putting that together with the lack of a guard, Izuku felt dread sink into his chest. Their devices could easily be manipulated by Endeavor and his staff. “They know!” Izuku exclaimed as he thought of where Shouto and Katsuki would be in their part of the plan now, realizing that Katsuki would be closer since he was sent to distract Endeavor.
Ensuring that no one would be able to undo his work, Izuku exited, then destroyed the access panel for the control room. Satisfied no one would be able to get in, he rushed over to the maintenance area where he expected to find Katsuki. The doors to Maintenance Room 118 was carelessly left open, attracting Izuku’s attention immediately.
Within the room, he found Endeavor operating the chair that had rendered Lemillion and Suneater blank slates, with Katsuki weakly struggling in the chair. “Kacchan, no!” Izuku yelled out, giving up on any sense of stealth in order to free Katsuki. Pulling off the helmet, electrodes, and straps, Izuku carried him as far from the chair and Endeavor as he could.
“D-Deku,” Katsuki muttered softly in Izuku’s arms. Crimson eyes that Izuku had known all his life carried a different expression now when they focused on him. There was reverence there, as well as concern and need. “You’re not hurt are you? Are we still on schedule with the plan? What is it you need me to do?”
Endeavor laughed as the two young men tensed at the sound. “Looks like the conversion process only partially took effect. If it had been allowed to finish, Bakugou would have lost all sense of self, only focused on following the orders of whoever bought him. This is good data, now we know at least a partial imprinting is possible if the process is interrupted. As disappointing as the two of you are, there was at least something to learn from your pointless attempt to escape.”
Izuku looked to Katsuki, realizing what Endeavor had insinuated. His childhood friend had been made to at least partially obey any commands Izuku made since he’d been the first person Katsuki saw after breaking free of the conversion chair.
“Kacchan, you remember me, right?” Izuku asked carefully.
“Course I do, nerd,” Katsuki replied. “We still need to get out of here, right?” Izuku responded with a quick nod, letting go of Katsuki now that he could stand on his own.
Endeavor started to walk toward the door, intent on blocking their exit. “You know it’s useless, none of you are capable of causing harm to me or any other faculty members. The use of your quirks is only permitted during training, after all.”
Sensing the danger he represented, Katsuki pushed Izuku behind him with one arm, raising his other in preparation to use his quirk.
“Fuck your training!” Katsuki yelled out as he set off an explosion with enough force to send Endeavor flying back as debris fell onto him from the blast. “C’mon Deku, we need a head start,” he said as he tugged on Izuku’s arm to get him moving.
“Kacchan, h-how did you manage that?!” Izuku called out, though the only response was for Katsuki to run faster, still holding Izuku’s hand. Looking down, Izuku realized that Katsuki’s watch was missing, the skin lighter where it used to rest, accentuating that it was gone. The facility issued them to everyone, once they were attached, there was no removing them.
The devices gave them statistics about their training and provided reminders for their schedules, among other features similar to smartwatches. Izuku considered the possibility that they restrained their abilities as well. He’d tried using his outside of their training classes and could hardly activate it, others had been curious and had the same result. The reason had been on their wrist this entire time and no one had a clue.
“Kacchan, wait! There’s something we need to do,” Izuku said through ragged breaths, pulling in a different direction that eventually got Katsuki to slow down until they found an empty room and locked the door.
“I figured out why we couldn’t use our quirks at full force, it’s the watches! They have a nullifying effect unless we’re in class.” Izuku held out the arm his watch was attached to and looked up to Katsuki, “I need you to destroy it for me, Kacchan.”
Katsuki’s brow furrowed, a fearful look that Izuku had rarely ever seen reflected in his eyes as he shook his head to refuse. “No. I know it needs to be done, but Deku… The thought of using my quirk that close to you is making my stomach churn. It’s frustrating as hell, but I can’t risk hurting you. That damn imprint won’t let me take the chance!”
“You have to, there’s no way any of us can escape if we can’t defend ourselves with our full power. I promise that it’ll be alright, Kacchan.”
“Order me,” Katsuki whispered as he avoided Izuku’s gaze. “That’s the only way I can, is if you make it a command.”
Tears filled emerald eyes as he realized how difficult the conversion process had been on Katsuki. He didn’t want to take advantage of him, but Izuku had to focus on the more important task of breaking free of the facility. Time wasn’t on their side anymore now that Endeavor was aware of their plans. “I’m sorry to have to do it, Kacchan, it isn’t fair to you at all. But… I order you to use your quirk to destroy the watch, now.”
Sparks flickered at the end of Katsuki’s fingers as he raised his hand to where the weakest part of the watch would be. The explosion was small, carefully focused as the band warped at the heat and pressure. Katsuki stepped away as soon as it was done, turning away as Izuku pulled at the damaged watch until it broke off and fell to the floor, where he promptly stomped on it repeatedly.
“You did it, Kacchan, thank you,” Izuku said as he flexed his free wrist and shook out his hand and fingers. He saw Katsuki wipe at his face before turning to face him once more. It was obvious that he’d been crying as Katsuki gently held Izuku’s arm and pulled it closer. There were red splotches and slight burns left on his skin, and as soon as Katsuki saw them, his eyes welled up again.
“I hurt you,” Katsuki whimpered as his fingers grazed around the burns as teardrops fell onto Izuku’s skin like warm rain.
Izuku sighed, his heart heavy at seeing Katsuki in so much pain. He closed the space between them further, using his free hand to cup the side of Katsuki’s face and swipe away at the wetness. Leaning forward, he tapped his forehead lightly against Katsuki’s, the comfort something the latter wasn’t expecting. They stayed still, sharing the moment in silence before Izuku answered back, “You saved me, Kacchan. And now we need to finish what we started so we can save the others, okay?”
Katsuki nodded, ridding himself of the tears on his cheeks with his sleeve. “Yeah, I’m ready, Deku.”
It took all of Izuku’s strength to hold Katsuki back from slugging Shouto a second time after they met up at their planned location. As soon as Shouto admitted to knowing the true purpose of the watches, Katsuki lashed out at him, furious that Shouto still withheld crucial information from them.
“I wasn’t expecting him to be able to manipulate the clocks on the watches, I swear to you,” Shouto said as he stepped out of Katsuki’s range and collected himself before he continued.
“Did you know I tried this before? Not long after Endeavor planted me here and I saw what was happening, I tried to stop him. I was only five years old and poorly prepared to challenge him, he beat me until I was unable to stand, then burned and scarred my face as a visible reminder of my failure. Then the old man laughed in my face as he told me I’d regret my actions. After that day, my mom and older siblings disappeared without a trace. I spent years after that coming up with a plan that wouldn’t fail so I wouldn’t lose anyone else.”
“We’re not losing anyone else, okay? But we need to keep going with the plan, so let’s focus on that for now, okay?” Izuku said as he looked between his two friends. Katsuki’s expression relaxed as the two nodded in agreement. After Shouto demonstrated the process of removing the watch to Izuku and Katsuki, they each split up between the three separate dorms to gather the other students and explain the situation.
No one questioned their story and each dorm’s common room soon had a pile of discarded watches on the floor. Some of the students tested out their quirks, finding they could be used to their full potential once again, further confirming what they were told. The three led their groups back to the main entrance, reaching the doors that Izuku unlocked earlier.
“This is as far as you all go, for now at least,” Endeavor yelled as he stood in front of the exit. “Are you even aware of the state the outside world is in? I was doing you all a favor keeping you here to train until you were prepared to handle the chaos and disorder that is on the other side of these doors.”
Izuku stepped forward, “It isn’t up to you to decide any of that for us! We have a right to make our own decisions on what we can handle. You’ve only been taking advantage of that chaos in order to profit from us! We’re done, Endeavor.” Shouto and Katsuki joined Izuku just in time for Endeavor to force them back with a blast of fire and heat.
“I’ll deal with him, you all go on ahead,” Shouto exclaimed as he quickly produced an ice shield to take the impact of his father’s attack. The ice slowed the rush of flames but was melting quickly, Shouto adding more layers to buy time. When both Izuku and Katsuki shook their heads, Shouto continued.
“Please, this is something only I can do, for myself and the family he stole from me,” Shouto said, his gray and blue eyes misting over as he pleaded for them to go. “I’ll make sure everyone else is safe, and then I’ll follow.”
Izuku only strengthened his fighting stance, determined to stay put to aid his friend. Katsuki, on the other hand, realized that their window of escape was closing by the second. He glanced over to Shouto and nodded, wordlessly relaying his intent. Shouto mouthed a silent ‘thank you’ before Katsuki grabbed Izuku’s arm and pulled him away from the shield.
“No! We can’t just leave him here, Kacchan! We’re his team!” Izuku yelled out, only to be held by Katsuki as they retreated back to where the rest of the students had gathered.
“I know that, Deku!” Katsuki screamed. “But you heard him, he’s got it handled so we gotta trust him, right? We still have a mission to finish and he’s trusting us with that, too. Besides, this fucking imprint won’t leave me alone until I make sure you’re safe. Please give me the chance to do that, Deku!”
Izuku looked up to Katsuki to see the concern and determination in his crimson eyes and knew the man was right about everything. Even as a team, heroes had to be able to trust their teammates to be able to handle their roles in a mission. This was no different than the simulations they’d run hundreds of times together.
No longer fighting to stay, Izuku took several deep breaths to regain his composure before Katsuki let him go. “Alright, I’m ready. We'll see you out there, Todoroki!”
“I’ll get the door for you!” Shouto said over the roar of Endeavor’s flames, sweeping his right arm out to create a massive ice wall that prevented Endeavor from getting to the class as well as break through the side of the building to create an escape route.
“Show off,” Katsuki yelled back as he grabbed Izuku’s hand and started for the opening. “Kick his ass, Icy Hot!” The other students quickly followed them beside the wall of ice and climbed through the hole to the outside. Once everyone was out, Shouto left the safety of his ice to confront his father.
“I should have done this a long time ago, right after Mom and my siblings disappeared. Where are they?” Shouto asked, closing their gap until he was only inches away from Endeavor. The only answer he got was a heavy punch to the side of his head, knocking him off balance before Endeavor followed it up with a fist to his chest. Gasping for air, Shouto looked up to see an evil sneer run across his father’s face.
“You obviously didn’t learn your lesson from that last rebellion you attempted, Shouto,” Endeavor said as he wrapped a huge hand around Shouto’s throat and pulled him off the ground. Fire licked around his fingers as he squeezed tighter around the young man’s neck. “Helping with this escape is going to cost you dearly. If you’re wondering if I’ll let you die, you’re wrong,” Endeavor said as he threw his son to the ground like an unwanted rag doll. “Once I get those foolish children back, I’m going to make sure Bakugou and Midoriya are wiped clean right before your eyes. They’ll never even know you exist, all too happy to obey whoever wants to make use of their quirks.”
A whistle cut through the air as a blur of red soared past Shouto before catching Endeavor in the shoulder, a thick red feather firmly embedded there. Turning toward the source, Shouto saw a man with expansive red wings poised at the top of a pile of rubble near the exit he’d made.
“Long time, no see Endeavor,” the man said as he hopped down and joined Shouto. “I’m Hawks, a ‘former student’ of your fathers that managed to figure out what's been going on here. Why don’t you join your class, kid, while I settle my business with Endeavor.”
“Absolutely not!” Shouto said angrily. “I need to know where my family is and he’s the only one that can tell me–”
“That’s not true," Hawks interrupted. "I know where your mother, Touya, Natsuo, and Fuyumi are. Touya is actually one of my closest friends, aggravating as he can be at times, I'm sure you can understand that. But you won’t get that info unless you get out of here, understand?”
Shouto stared at the man, trying to detect any hint of deception in his words and found none. The mention of Touya brought a glimmer of hope that he'd be able to reunite with his family. He glared at Endeavor once more before he turned away, pausing beside Hawks briefly. “You’d better not be lying to me, or what I had planned for my father will be nothing compared to what I’ll do to you.”
“That’s just what I’d expect a Todoroki to say,” Hawks said as he clapped his hand against Shouto’s shoulder a few times as he gave him a smirk. “But I’m sure you can do better than that. Better than him .”
The young man’s expression relaxed after considering whether taking revenge against his father was truly worth possibly losing the only other way to find his lost family. Shouto relented and stepped away from the fight. He left a brief nod of acknowledgement to Hawks before walking away, leaving Hawks to glare at Endeavor, who had started a low, rumbling laugh as he tugged the feather blade from his shoulder and threw it aside. Hawks summoned the blade back to him, slicing it through the tense air to rid it of any remaining blood.
“You’re just as much a pain in my ass now as you were as a student here, Hawks. The clients that bought you told me you were too fast for your own good, and all I told them was that you weren’t my concern anymore. You were one of the first, the hold of control hadn’t been perfected at that point, so defects like you were common.”
“I am not a defect, I’m a human being with a quirk! We deserve free will and the ability to choose our own paths in the world. This abuse of power has gone on for too long, Endeavor.” Hawks’ expression grew serious, his brow deeply furrowed as he sent a cascade of razor-sharp feathers out along the entrance doors and nearby windows of the facility. They ripped through brick, mortar, and glass, giving the other members of Hawks’ team more places to enter. They scattered through the facility to evacuate any remaining students as well as secure the data that would ultimately condemn Endeavor once he was taken into custody.
Familiar with each other's fighting styles, Endeavor and Hawks began to pace in a circle before engaging in their long-overdue fight. Endeavor moved first, setting off a barrage of fire blasts that kept Hawks moving in an effort to evade the heat.
“Always were one to go all pyromaniac first and think strategy later,” Hawks yelled over the roar of flames as he evaded another flare by using the heat to rise as he spread his massive wings. Taking advantage of the blind spot that Endeavor’s flames created in his line of sight as he looked up, Hawks tucked his wings in and dove down, his hands clutching two short but fiercely sharp bladed feathers.
Hawks plunged them both into Endeavor’s chest as their bodies collided, the momentum nearly enough to knock the larger fire-user off of his feet. Nearly, but not enough, even with his red blades dug into his enemy, Hawks found himself caught in a corner now. In similar fashion to how he’d caught his own son earlier, Endeavor clutched Hawks’ throat within a shaking, tightening fist.
Searing blue eyes grew wide with rage as Endeavor smashed Hawks against the wall, his flames flickering and burning along the winged man’s neck and face. “This whole rebellion is pointless, Hawks!” Endeavor yelled as he let his fire burn hotter. “You’ve only caused a minor setback for me. Once you’re all handled, I can have another facility built and running within a year. You’ve accomplished nothing but your own painful death here, failure.”
Red feathers wilted and seared black as Hawks cried out in pain while Endeavor focused on burning his wings, intent on keeping him grounded permanently.
A sudden blast of air pressure hit Endeavor with a force strong enough to launch him into a growing pile of debris from the damaged building. The hit freed Hawks of the punishing grip, giving him a chance to catch his breath. Hawks looked toward the source of their interruption, finding Izuku standing a few feet away, gasping for breath.
His hand was red, swollen after releasing the full extent of his quirk for the first time, but even through that pain, Izuku remained steady, moving toward Hawks once he saw the opportunity. “Shouto told us what was going on once he met us outside,” Izuku said as he pulled Hawks up and supported his weight. “He told us you were in this facility once. We swore that we’d get everyone out of here. That counts for past students just as much as the present!”
“You kids’ve gotten bolder since I was here, gotta say,” Hawks muttered as the two slowly made their way out of the nearly collapsed building. Just at the threshold to the outside, they paused to look back. Explosions roiled through the facility, threatening to bring it all down at any time.
For a brief moment, they saw familiar flames flare up in the distance right before the ceiling above started to crumble, extinguishing the fire as the debris fell. “Leave him for the recovery team, I doubt even the collapse of the operation he put so much of his life toward would bring about that man’s death. Least we’ll make damn sure he won’t build a new one, right?” Hawks said to the green-haired kid that saved him from Endeavor’s wrath.
Police and military officers started to pour in through the multitude of entrances both Shouto and Hawks had created. And as they took control of the scene, members of those factions all reacted in horror to the discoveries they’d found within what remained of the facility. Leaving them to their investigations, Hawks and Izuku carefully exited the building.
A medical team quickly stole Hawks away and brought him into their makeshift treatment area. Izuku considered entering the tent to keep him company when an angry, yet familiar voice filled the night air.
“Deku, you damn idiot!” Katsuki yelled as he rushed to meet Izuku near the medical tent. “You can’t just disappear on me like that! Y’gotta give me a head’s up before taking off!”
Even through the seemingly harsh words, Izuku understood what Katsuki had to say, loud and clear. The partial imprint had a strong influence over him, his mind focused on Izuku's well-being far more than it ever had before. He hoped they’d find a way to reverse the procedure, feeling it unfair to manipulate Katsuki in such a way.
But as Katsuki’s expression softened and gently pulled him close enough to touch their foreheads together once more, Izuku couldn’t help but hope that Katsuki would want to continue this closeness once he was free of his imprint. With his uninjured hand, Izuku slotted their fingers together and gave himself over to their brief reprieve from the chaotic scene around them.
Shouto finished speaking with the lead detective when he saw Izuku and Katsuki walk away from the building, their hands intertwined as they approached the edge of the cliff where their facility resided. A long dirt road that provided access to the property winded down the steep ledges. They hadn’t considered the conditions outside while planning their escape, especially when they hadn’t been outside in years due to the horror stories they’d been fed about the atrocities taking place beyond their doors.
“It’s such a long way down,” Izuku said as he slightly leaned over the edge before Katsuki quickly pulled him back into the safety of his arms, with little resistance from Izuku who welcomed the comforting embrace. Shouto joined them then, looking out at the forests below them that gave way to a haze of city lights at the horizon.
“You kids look just the same as I did when I first left this place,” Hawks said, his voice slightly hoarse as he rubbed gingerly at his bandaged throat, stepping up to the other side of Shouto. “It’s overwhelming to see so much in front of you for the first time in your life. More so for me, considering I had both land and air open for me to explore.”
Looking out over the vast landscape, Shouto finally found his voice. “Where do we go from here?”
“Anywhere you want, kid. Despite what you were taught to expect, it’s not as terrifying as you may think. There’s a million different paths for you to take from here, all you need is the courage to take that first step.”
With the slight hint of the rising sun challenging the brightness of the city in the distance, the three heroes looked at each other with determination and courage as their shoes scraped along the gravel of the road, taking the first steps toward their own futures.