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“Remember! Don’t let him make eye contact.”
“Don’t tell me what to do, Deku!”
Izuku pressed his lips together as he raced after his friend. Kacchan was being reckless, of course. They were after a villain named Phobus, who had the power to make someone see their worst nightmare if they looked into his eyes.
“Midoriya!” Todoroki easily caught up with him, leaving a trail of ice in his wake.
“He went this way,” Izuku explained, putting on an extra boost of speed now that his other friend was here. Between the three of them, they’d be able to take Phobus down.
“I’ve got you, you damn villain!”
“Kacchan, no!” Izuku rounded the jagged corner of a dilapidated building just in time to see the bright red beam from Phobus’s eyes flash across Bakugou’s face. “Shut your eyes!”
Bakugou reeled back, biting back a yelped as his momentum suddenly dropped. Izuku rushed forward, eyes focused on the ground, intent on putting himself between his friend and the villain.
“You think that’s gonna stop me?” Kacchan snarled, his voice so full of malice that it brought Izuku up short. He could only stare as Bakugou brought his hands together, the explosion building between his fingers. “AP shot!”
Phobus whirled out of the way as Bakugou charged him, displaying that unbridled wrath that Izuku hadn’t seen in a long time now.
“K-Kachan?” Izuku took a step forward, reaching a hand out toward his friend, but something moved in between them. He looked up and met the villain’s gaze, and red washed over his vision and….
He was going to hurt someone again.
He couldn’t control his power. He was going to lash out with Black Whip, or lose his restraint on One for All, or explode with some new power he couldn’t even hope to master.
His friends were in the way. Innocent civilians. He had to run. Had to get away from them. He was going to lose it again, to seriously injure someone this time. Kill them.
No one could stop him. Black tendrils were shooting out of his body. Someone was screaming in the distance. The metallic tang of blood hung in the air. The bodies of his classmates were around his feet and it was all his fault.
He had to run.
He couldn’t let this happen. This power was his to control, and he couldn’t even do that much.
He never should have taken it.
He should have stayed Quirkless.
It was all his fault. This had all happened because of him, and it was going to keep happening.
He should have passed the power on. He couldn’t control it.
He had to run.
Had to run.
Had to…
“Snap out of it, Deku!”
A backhand caught him across the cheek and sent him tumbling. He skidded on the rough pavement and rolled onto his backside, staring up at his friend. “Kacchan?”
“Don’t look him in the eyes,” Bakugou growled.
Izuku rubbed his bruised cheek, not daring to say a word as he climbed back to his feet. “Where is he?”
“Icyhot’s chasing him.” Bakugou took off without another word, leaving Izuku to follow. It was easy enough to track them down—Todoroki was still leaving a trail of ice behind him, and they only had to weave through a few more damaged buildings until they found them again.
Todoroki was holding his own, using his ice to defend himself and his fire to break Phobus’s sightlines. The others were only a few yards away when it happened.
Somehow Phobus got around Todoroki’s flames. It only took a split-second, but their eyes met across the battlefield. A familiar red light washed over Todoroki’s face.
“No!” Izuku lunged forward, careful to angle himself to keep his eyes away from the villain’s.
Todoroki seemed frozen in place. His eyes were focused on Phobus, though his expression was nearly void of emotion.
“Dammit, Icyhot,” Bakugou growled. He thrust his hands back to launch himself forward, easily zooming past Izuku. “What the hell did we say?”
Todoroki still hadn’t moved. Phobus was closing in on him now, scooping up a length of rebar off the ground and holding it over his head like a club.
They wouldn’t make it in time. Izuku stretched out his hands, trying to call on a power he still hadn’t mastered.
His own fears flashed through his mind, and he hesitated.
Then Todoroki, expression suddenly icy and lip curled in a sneer, twisted his right foot. Ice shot out from beneath him, surrounding Phobus and pinning him in place. Bakugou shifted directions effortlessly, yanking a roll of duct tape out of his belt pouch and slapping a strip over Phobus’s eyes.
Izuku approached Todoroki as Bakugou began yelling into his radio, demanding backup and transportation for the prisoner. “Are you okay?”
Todoroki glanced at him, his face almost unreadable. Izuku could tell he was a little uneasy, and he had to wonder what kind of nightmare his friend had seen.
“It’s okay,” he said, trying to reassure him. “Everyone’s afraid of something, even Kacchan.”
“That was nothing,” Todoroki finally said, turning his back on Phobus to walk away. “He would have dodged.”