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THUD, THUD, THUD—
Yaoyorozu Momo squeezes her eyes shut, massaging her temple with perfectly manicured nails from where she’s standing at the CCTV cameras overlooking the front door. “Must we listen to him bang on the doors all day long? I know we’ve dispatched the security officers to go deal with this man, but at this point, I’m willing to hear him out as long as it gets rid of him. Can we send a Field Agent to go talk to him? Or if someone willingly accompanies me?”
Her question gets directed at Kirishima Eijirou, the current Tactical Response Officer on site. He’s there for basic checkups (and to make fun of the younger Security Officers), but when he’s letting down his work persona, he’s a very kind man. Momo, at a solid Level 3 clearance as the Senior Researcher on the entire team, has been entrusted to give her thoughts on their current predicament.
Every single goddamn day, like clockwork, an angry blond man shows up at the visitor door and bangs on it until security escorts him away. This has been happening for about five weeks. Momo is sick and tired of it. She wants to get to the bottom of it, but if she’s willing to go out there, then someone has to watch her back.
“I’d be down to,” Kirishima offers. He stands up and stretches; Momo, at a dazzling 6’1”, only raises her eyebrows at the few inches that Kirishima beats her by. “I very much appreciate it,” she says briskly, already turning around to finally confront this annoying intruder. “Let’s see what he wants.”
When they let the man in, he looks exhausted. Spiky blond hair, bright wine red eyes, and a gorgeous muscular build. If Momo wasn’t directly into girls, then she would’ve definitely given him another lookover. As it is, Kirishima just grabs the blond man and marches him in, ignoring the spitting curses flying out of his mouth. “FUCKING LET ME GO!” He shouts, slamming his fists on Kirishima’s bulky arm. “YOU HAVE TO HEAR ME OUT, MY FUCKING FIANCÉ IS IN THAT BASTARD!”
Ah. A matter of a loved one lost to an anomaly, then. This is something that the Department of Internal Affairs could handle, or if it was a really bad case, then maybe it could be transferred to Personnel Integrity if needed. “It’s standard protocol to at least hear you out before you go back out into the world,” Momo says, taking a long sip of her coffee. She has important work to do as a researcher; she didn’t become top dog by slacking off. She has to go check on the Extrasolar and Extratemporal Departments to make sure they didn’t venture too far again, and that’s far more important than dealing with some angry blond.
He gets dropped into an interrogation room and watched over by Kirishima. Normally there would be more protocols, and having to run this by the Site Director, but Momo is absolutely done and wants this over with. “Welcome to the Foundation,” she sighs, taking another drink of her caffeine and setting it down on the table. The man eyes it like he wants to knock it off the table. “My name is Dr. Yaoyorozu Momo. I’m the current Senior Researcher in charge of the Department of Abnormalities, and this is Kirishima Eijirou, my escort for the day. What can we do for you, sir?”
The man blinks. “How the fuck did you say that with your mouth?”
Momo pretends not to hear him (and doesn’t want to admit that she practiced in the mirror) and leans forward, steepling her hands together. “You’ve been at our door for the past five weeks for nearly seven hours a day,” she says sweetly, trying not to murder him. “If you’re here that often, it must be important to you. This means that you are aware of what the Foundation does, and that you’re currently attempting connection with an anomaly. Is that correct, sir?”
“Bakugou Katsuki.” The sharp voice replies, glaring angrily. “Don’t fucking call me sir. I haven’t been able to find my fiancé for over five months, and I know he’s stuck in the goddamn Anomaly Apartments. I want to go get him out so we can go home.”
Momo blinks.
She carefully presses a red button under the table.
“I see,” she says, thinking her next options over. Next to her, Kirishima oh-so-subtly tenses up. “Well, if such a location existed, I’m sure we’d be happy to assist, but unfortunately these ‘Anomaly Apartments’ don’t exist and we can’t help. I wish we could do more, Bakugou Katsuki, but this is something out of our jurisdiction.”
Alas, Bakugou Katsuki is a perceptive bastard, and instead, his eyes flare. There’s a level of intelligence in them that Momo didn’t expect, and he seems to know way more than he’s letting on. “It definitely is not,” he retorts, sitting up straighter. “Look, all I know is that random events and creatures crop up, and when you guys show up, it tends to go away. I have reason to believe that he’s stuck there and I want him out. From this, I invoke Protocol 782537; if a civilian finds the fine print in that document, they have the right to ask the Foundation for help, and they have no choice but to comply.”
Well, shit. That protocol’s mainly for semantics; it’s aptly named for “sucker”, and Momo definitely feels like one. She sighs and leans back in her chair. “Alright then, Bakugou Katsuki. I am assuming you want an escort to the Anomaly Apartments, then?”
Bakugou’s resounding smirk is sharp. “And a snack, if you could, Dr. Yaoyorozu Momo. I’ve been feeling dreadfully fucking hungry these past few days.”
“This is stupid,” Momo hisses to Kirishima, holding her bag with her and grumbling the entire time. “I should be working on something else! Something actually important, instead of trekking through Washington leading some idiot to an anomaly!”
This might be the one time Momo hasn’t properly followed protocol; she’s exhausted, wants to be somewhere else, and didn’t feel like using resources for this persistent bastard, so it’s a very small escort to the perimeter.
“On the bright side,” Kirishima had said before they left with a bright smile, “If he steps even slightly out of line, I get to put him down with those Class B Amnestics in my pocket and take him to the population center in the nearest city. Don’t worry Dr. Yaoyorozu, this’ll go off without a hitch!”
(Looking back on it, Momo wishes he was right.)
Strangely enough, Bakugou looks satisfied even with his escort composed of Momo, Kirishima, and two other Tactical Response Officers named Monoma Neito and Kaminari Denki behind them. They’ve deemed him a neutral threat since he’s calmed down since his authorized entry into the Apartments, but you never know with anomalies. Kirishima’s holding an umbrella for Momo while Kaminari has one for Bakugou, doing his best to strike up a conversation.
This might actually be a good idea to get notes out of Bakugou if Kaminari gets him to say anything, Momo thinks, and tunes into the conversation behind her.
“So! We’ve heard a lot about you, Bakugou. It’s nice to meet you! I’m Kaminari Denki, one of the officers on site.” Kaminari probably offers a hand and Bakugou sounds like he takes it, albeit a bit reluctantly. “I’m sure you’re excited to see your fiancé, yeah?”
Bakugou grunts, still determinedly stomping through the tall grass. “Idiot’s been gone for too long. I wanted him back, and after attempting a lot of shit, here I am. What, is it so wrong that I want him back?”
“Not at all!” Kaminari says, sounding like he’s smiling. “It’s honestly really sweet that you didn’t give up on him. A lot of civilians either move on or just don’t bother to find out what happened. People become blips in time, a fragmented echo of who they used to be.”
“Shut the fuck up with your stupid philosophy,” Monoma suddenly snaps, bristling on the other side of Bakugou. “I wasn’t expecting to get assigned to some idiot trying to find the ‘love of his life’ or whatever he is. We shouldn’t even be here in the first place; you should’ve moved on, Bakugou.”
Kaminari’s complaints of “c’mon dude, don’t be like that” get drowned out by Bakugou’s snarl. Momo and Kirishima whirl around to see Bakugou gripping Monoma’s collar, aiming to send a punch into his goddamn face. “Take that back,” Bakugou spits, eyes wild with fury. “He’s the love of my life, you son of a bitch! You should be GRATEFUL that you’re on this fucking mission with us! He can and WILL kick your ASS!”
“BAKUGOU KATSUKI!” Momo says sharply, grabbing her gun from her holster and aiming it directly at him. Kirishima, Monoma, and Kaminari have theirs drawn as well, although Kaminari seems a bit more hesitant. “If you provoke any more violence towards one of my officers, we have full authority to shoot you with dire consequences. If you do not comply, you will never get to see your fiancé again.”
At the mention of his unnamed fiancé, Bakugou lets go of Monoma’s collar and lightly shoves him away, growling the entire time. Kaminari leans forward to offer a comforting hand and seems to calm Bakugou down a bit, relaxing when Bakugou doesn’t bite his hand off.
Momo reequips her gun and huffs, rolling her eyes and stomping past the Endangered Plant Life signs that surround the area. There’s still another ten minutes before they reach the wire fence that separates them from 3358, and she wants to get this over with as fast as she can so she can go home and take a well-deserved nap.
Thankfully, the resulting trek is faster with Bakugou on her heels, and Momo reaches the wire fence with a set jaw. It’s been a long time since she’s read up on 3358, and she personally hasn’t ever made the trip here, but she’s read up on the blueprints enough that she has a vague idea of what to expect.
“Everyone listen up,” Momo commands as she turns around. “Welcome to SCP-3358; if you’re familiar with 3008, our Infinite IKEA, the Anomaly Apartments exist in a slight pocket dimension such as that one. 3358 is home to several anomalies that could have any existing power and are properly contained in various units. If your fiancé is indeed one of these anomalies, Mr. Bakugou, then it might be too late for him. However, due to the amount of data that the Foundation could possibly gain from this adventure, we’ll allow you to attempt to reach out with contact.”
Monoma looks at her and scoffs, putting his hand on his Kevlar vest and gesturing at the empty space beyond the fence. “This is 3358? There’s nothing here! I was assuming there was an entire apartment complex located in this spot, but it appears I was wrong.”
Momo gives Monoma a stern look. Although he was with them on this mission, he’s definitely not her first choice in guarding and keeping his stupid mouth shut. On short notice, you’d take anyone, but luckily she’s prepared as she whips an adapted infrared camera out from her bag. She aims it at the empty space and takes a photo, turning around to the group to show them.
Sure enough, there’s a giant apartment complex constantly shifting in front of them. It’s as clear as day that there’s something there, and it’s alive.
“There. SCP-3358 in the flesh.” Momo rolls her eyes. “Do you need any more evidence, Monoma? Or are you going to trust in my judgment for once? Please keep close to me once we enter; the complex might try to keep you for itself. In there, you will meet several people with abilities that have been enhanced, and they may be hostile. Do not attack unless necessary. Bakugou, are you ready to find your fiancé?”
The thing is, the chances are supposed to be slim. No one’s ever been successful in bringing a resident of the Anomaly Apartments out by themselves. The last extraction team even took out a few of the anomalies with barely an apology. Since the supposed creator of 3358 was taken by the Foundation, then maybe the complex was crumbling down without her guidance. Whatever worked.
Momo unlocks a door in the fence and heads forward with everyone behind her, Kirishima loyally by her side. It takes a second for reality to warp around them before 3358 appears; the apartment complex stands tall against the dark gray clouds, and looks just as imposing as the pictures showed.
“Wow,” Kirishima breathes, staring in awe. “It’s certainly bigger than I guessed. So why’d your fiancé come here anyways, Bakugou? Most residents of this place just stay in the same spot since they can’t leave and they made their home here; what was so important that your guy trekked this entire way?”
“And how’d he get past the fence?” Monoma mutters, sounding exasperated.
Momo slightly turns to see Bakugou shrug, stuffing his hands into his pockets. “Who fucking knows. He likes to help people since he’s got a good heart, that idiot. He probably got a distress call and headed out here to work his magic.”
“Fair enough,” Kaminari agrees. “Hey, if your fiancé is that cool of a guy, how’d you end up with him?”
That gets a hint of a smile out of Bakugou, even as they make their way to the front door of the first building. “I annoyed Deku enough that he decided to stick around for the rest of my life. Trust me, it’s been pretty damn great, but he’s been gone for too long and I want him back.”
Momo tunes him out and lifts her hand to knock on the door, stepping back when she hears a noise of surprise. The deadbolt unlocks, and a green-haired man opens the door, blinking bright green eyes up at her. “Yes? What can I do for you?”
“My name is Dr. Yaoyorozu Momo, Senior Researcher, and I’m here on behalf of the SCP Foundation,” Momo says cooly, showing her badge. The man takes a couple glances at it and then smiles. “Oh, right! Okay! You’re the Foundation! I’ve heard a lot about you guys. Please, come on in! I see you’ve got a team with you as well. Would you guys like any refreshments?”
“You know who we are?” Kirishima asks, walking into the lobby with the rest of them. He’s not completely relaxed judging by the way his hands are resting on his belt, and by the smile on this man’s face, he absolutely knows that. “Most occupants of this complex were contained a while ago. Are these units still doing their job?”
“Yep! We still take in the anomalies who want to live their lives with others.” The man claps his hands together before leading them to a room on the first floor. “Oh, I’m so sorry that I didn’t introduce myself. My name is Midoriya Izuku, and I’m an anomaly here in the Apartments!”
Momo takes out her notebook from her bag as they walk into the room; presumably Midoriya’s. “Is it alright if I take some notes, Midoriya? It’s been quite a while since the Foundation’s updated their data regarding 3358 and I’d like to make sure that some of it is still accurate, if I can.”
“I love research, so please go ahead!” Midoriya gestures for them to sit at a lovely oak table and sits on the other side, beaming at all of them. “So all of you are from the Foundation, but that guy’s wearing civilian clothing. Do you have a purpose here?”
Bakugou’s eyes gleam with an emotion that Momo can’t decipher. “Yeah, I’m looking for my fiancé Deku. He traveled here after getting called to this place. Have you seen anyone new around here? Some annoying ass guy who’d probably talk your ass off?”
Midoriya lets out a loud, barking laugh that makes Kaminari stifle his own laughter. Monoma sighs loudly. “Oh yeah, that’s a pretty accurate description. If you’d like, I can show you where he normally goes around this time of the day—”
“If you don’t mind,” Momo interrupts, feeling only slightly apologetic, tapping her pencil on her pad of paper. “We just need some information before we can reunite Bakugou here with his fiancé. If you’re here, Mr. Midoriya, then does that mean you’re an anomaly as well? Can you tell us what your official title is?”
Midoriya’s smile finally wavers, and he looks down at the table. “I’m a Class V Reality Bender,” he says quietly, and everything in Momo’s body turns to ice.
The official creator of 3358 was an older woman who was only a Class IV, and she made the damn thing. If Midoriya Izuku was a rank higher, and had an idea of the Foundation’s plans…
Kirishima stiffens next to her, attempting to calm himself down. “So, you’re pretty powerful then, yeah?” He smiles at Midoriya, who looks up and smiles weakly back. “I can be! I usually keep my powers dormant if I can; my first and foremost priority is to take care of my residents. One of my kids has a strong Rewind power, y’know? I’m keeping her safe alongside everyone else, and no one on this planet can take them away from me.”
It’s a bold claim to make, even for someone who knew what the Foundation was. Momo’s smile turns a bit more clinical, leaning forward with her pencil as she takes in his words. “Are you in charge of the Anomaly Apartments, Midoriya Izuku?”
“If I answer yes, are you going to attempt to drag me out of here like the woman you call SCP-3358-1?” Midoriya smiles widely back at her. “I’d be very careful with your next words and actions, Dr. Yaoyorozu Momo. Three Tactical Officers and yourself will not be enough to take me down. I don’t go down without a fight anymore.”
(Weirdly enough, Bakugou seems to be proud of him?)
“I’ll take that into consideration,” Momo sweetly replies. “Onto the prospect of Bakugou’s fiancé. You said he was here and you knew who he was; could you possibly tell us about him? Why did he come to the Apartments of all places?”
“I’d love to answer your questions, I truly would, but unfortunately I know you don’t intend on letting the two meet.” Midoriya’s fingertips drum on the table, rage starting to flicker in his eyes. “The moment I bring him here, you will either shoot both of them dead to cover your tracks, or administer the amnesia drug that’s sitting in Kirishima Eijirou’s pockets and drop the love of my life off at some fucking center where he’ll wander around clueless for the rest of his life. If you had any idea of what it took for him to get here, you’d be more grateful that he didn’t burn your fucking facility to the ground.”
Well.
Before Momo can say anything and decipher that entire speech, Bakugou stands and grabs Kaminari’s arm, dragging him to Midoriya’s side. Midoriya smiles at Bakugou, but wilts when Bakugou smacks him upside the head. “Moron. You’re not supposed to reveal it early, Deku.”
“But Kacchan,” Midoriya whines, and alarm bells start going off in Momo’s head. “I missed you! I didn’t want to waste any more time like they’re wasting mine. It’s getting on my nerves already.”
Oh.
She quickly slides her notebook back into her bag and stands up, Kirishima and Monoma at her side. “Thank you for your hospitality,” she says, hoping he doesn’t notice the perspiration beading on her upper lip. “But we really must be going.”
Midoriya stands up, and all the shadows seem to bend towards his entire being. Kaminari watches in horrified awe and Bakugou gives the most genuine smile they’ve seen all day, looking proudly on.
“Didn’t I ever tell you my fiancé’s name?” Bakugou asks, pressing one finger to his cheek. “Shit, my bad. His name’s Midoriya Izuku and he’s the coolest motherfucker out there, and you just got on his bad side. You might get lucky and make it out alive if you run fast enough.”
Momo keeps putting the pieces together as she starts shoving Kirishima to the door, hands shaking as her lab coat whips around her legs. Midoriya’s eyes are a blaze of green fire and there’s weird black tendrils starting to crackle with electricity coming out of his hands. Reality seems to warp around them, and the doorknob cracks in her hand. This is a Class V Reality Bender at its absolute prime, and it is pissed.
The horrible truth finally sets in after reviewing the details and understanding why she wasn’t fast enough. Momo’s been trying to gather signs of why Midoriya was in charge and what made him special, but this is too much. It’s something she never would’ve been able to comprehend in a million years, since the original creator is gone, but something (or someone) took her place.
“You’re not in charge of SCP-3358,” she breathes out, staring at Midoriya in shock. “You are 3358.”
“Translates roughly to DEKU,” Midoriya says with a sharp smile. It has far too many teeth in it, and Kirishima sucks in a startled gasp at the reveal.
“So he never got stuck in here, but he is 3358?” Kaminari whispers, trying to get his bearings next to Bakugou. “How the fuck do you even accomplish that?! Wait, are you going to kill us? I’m so sorry dude, I just got dragged on this mission, I didn’t know it’d be this serious!”
For looking like an Eldritch being, Midoriya surprisingly looks sympathetic even as his tendrils sharpen to a fine point. “I know. That’s why you’ll be the only one to live outta this whole thing. You were actually nice to my Kacchan, and I’ll remember that. Just close your eyes for the next few minutes!”
Sure enough, Bakugou turns Kaminari around just as a tendril shoots out and stabs Monoma right through his Kevlar vest. Monoma lets out a cry of shock, hand still on his gun, and looks up at Midoriya. “What the fuck?”
“I hated you the most,” Midoriya says cheerfully, and lets him drop to the ground in a pool of his blood.
Around them, the Apartments seem to be coming alive. The walls crack and groan, and the room twists to whatever Midoriya wants it to be. Portals keep opening and closing, cosmic dust drifting down, and Momo feels the entire complex shift on its axis.
“You come into my home,” Midoriya says, rage twisting his features to something that’s not human, “and you DARE to threaten everything I’ve worked for? I was ENTRUSTED with this place, and it chose ME, and I am NEVER letting you take my home and my Kacchan away from me ever again!”
“Holy shit,” Kirishima gasps, trying to get Momo through the ruined front door. “Holy fucking shit. He’s going to bring down the entire place. If you can distract him, I can shoot him with one of the tranquilizers we’re forced to carry. Can you do that?”
Momo nods, her black hair flying everywhere in the slight hurricane that’s starting to form. Green electricity crackles and she fights for her voice to be heard over the wind. “MIDORIYA!” She shouts, cupping her hands to her mouth. “WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM US!”
“To leave us ALONE!” Midoriya snarls, claws splitting from his hands. He’s turning into a horribly grotesque creature before their very eyes. Kirishima’s hands only slightly shake as he loads the tranquilizer gun. “Get the fuck out of my house and LEAVE!”
“You have to understand that we do this for the safety of others!” Momo keeps trying to buy time as Kirishima finishes and keeps it hidden for a few extra seconds. “But for the record, we don’t care about your shitty fiancé! He was an asshole the entire time! Kirishima, FIRE!”
Kirishima raises the gun and fires immediately, aiming for the optimal shot. He’s not going for Midoriya; that would be too easy, and he’d miss due to the hurricane forming. He’s going for Bakugou, the weakness that they’ve both identified in a mere matter of minutes.
The tranquilizer shoots straight for Bakugou and Midoriya roars, a portal opening in front of the sharp needle. With a very impressive maneuver, Midoriya warps the needle out of mid-air and sends it around to shoot at Momo. It’s a direct shot to her heart.
Momo faces her death head-on.
Or, she would, if Kirishima wasn’t an idiot and jumped right in front of her. There’s a very startled yelp as Kirishima goes down at her feet, and Momo stares down at him in shock. “You idiot,” she whispers, trying to keep Midoriya in her sight. “What the hell were you thinking!?”
“I gotta protect you,” Kirishima wheezes, going slightly limp. “It’s my job as a Tactical—FUCK!”
3358 is not kind to the Foundation, nor should it be. Midoriya warps reality around them and promptly snaps Kirishima’s legs in the resounding shockwave. As Kirishima paws at his thighs, white in the face, a chunk of rubble falls from the ceiling and crushes his entire skull in. Even Bakugou winces at the sight as Momo screams, blood splattering her lab coat and trying to avoid another piece of rubble.
“GET ME THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!” Momo screeches, all forms of professionalism gone. “PLEASE! LET ME GO! I’LL MAKE SURE TO LET EVERYONE KNOW TO LEAVE YOU ALONE!”
“And they better stay out,” Midoriya spits. “Can you do that, Yaoyorozu Momo? Get the Foundation and their dirty fucking hands out of my home? If you don’t, I will level this entire fucking state if it means keeping my loved ones safe.”
Momo’s covered in blood and dust and all she wants is to go home, so she nods frantically, trying to avoid the sections of floor that are starting to dip down into the Earth. “Please,” she sobs, tears staining her cheeks. “You have my word.”
Bakugou sticks his tongue out and flips her off. “Whatever,” he says, turning away to smack Kaminari on the shoulder. “You’re the only one I think is okay, so you’ll be fine. We’ll drop you off somewhere on vacation if ya want. Deku, you can do whatever you want to her.”
Midoriya approaches, and there’s a flicker of determination in his eyes underneath all that rage and monster form. “You better keep your word.” He warns her. “If not, you know the consequences. Thanks for giving my Kacchan back to me, though. We couldn’t have done it without your help.”
It’s the only warning he gives before a portal opens under Momo; she falls through it screaming, trying to clutch onto her bag as the Apartments disappear from her sight. The portal ends up depositing her outside the fence, where she lands in the grass and on her knees.
It’s been forty-five minutes since they landed in Washington. Momo’s lost her professional demeanor, an SCP, and two Tactical Officers. She also has an unreasonable amount of blood on her clothes, and she’s pretty sure she inhaled a bunch of dust at some point.
…
It’s going to be a lot of paperwork to fill out.
“Y’know,” Bakugou says with a wicked glint in his eye when the researcher vanishes, “that was the coolest thing I’ve ever seen you do, Deku. You think you can do some other stuff with these powers?”
“Kacchan,” Midoriya admonishes him as he shrinks down from the monstrous form to his normal human form. “We have guests. Stop being gross. You really don’t change after months apart, I guess.”
“Can I ask a question?” Kaminari asks, looking like he’s trying to process what happened. Midoriya rearranges the room and sends Kirishima and Monoma’s bodies somewhere else, disposing them in the void. “Was this your plan all along, Bakugou? Did you know he was the SCP?”
“Of course I did,” Bakugou says, looking disgruntled. “Deku legit did get called out here to help, and the former creator of the Apartments wanted someone to take her mantle after the Foundation didn’t let her see her kids ever again after getting captured. Deku was the perfect fit for the job, apparently.”
Midoriya blushes, waving the compliment away with a claw. “That’s so sweet of you! But yeah, I was gonna become the next creator, but something pushed me over the edge to Class V and then I accidentally became fused with 3358. It’s okay though! It doesn’t hurt and I like staying here. All my residents are super sweet to me too. We all bake on Sundays.”
Kaminari opens his mouth and closes it again. “That’s…pretty nice, actually. Well, it was great meeting you guys, and I hope you live long lives together. Is it okay if you warp me to Canada? I heard those snowboarding slopes are awesome this time of the year, and I wanna do some cool tricks.”
“Thanks for being nice, Kaminari!” Midoriya says cheerfully, like he didn’t kill two of his co-workers about five minutes ago. Kaminari gives them a shaky peace sign as he exits through a portal, reality bending back to normal.
Bakugou looks over at the love of his life and waggles his eyebrows. “You wanna make up for lost time?”
"For the last time, shut up Kacchan.” Midoriya sighs exasperatedly, but still leans in for a well-deserved kiss, feeling more complete than he had in months.