By the time they reached the edge of the plaza, the situation was already dire.

  Aizawa was on the ground, his face being held by the brain-exposed creature—the Nomu, she heard Shigaraki call it. His elbow was bent at a wrong angle, blood pooling beneath him.

  Hancock's breath caught. Their teacher—the man who'd pushed them to be better—was being crushed.

  "AIZAWA-SENSEI!" Midoriya's scream came from near the water's edge, where he stood with Asui and Mineta.

  "Well, well," the hand-covered villain—Shigaraki—rasped. "More little heroes. Nomu, we have guests. Be polite and kill them."

  The creature dropped Aizawa carelessly and turned toward Midoriya.

  "DEKU!" Bakugo's roar was pure rage. Without thinking, he launched himself from their position, explosions propelling him forward.

  "WAIT—" Hancock started, but he was already gone.

  Idiot! She enhanced her legs and ran after him, her mind racing. That creature withstood everything Aizawa threw at it. We can't fight it head-on!

  Bakugo reached the Nomu first, blasting it with a massive explosion directly to its exposed brain. The creature's head snapped back from the impact—

  And then it looked at Bakugo, completely unfazed.

  "Oh, how wonderful! Another sacrifice!" Shigaraki clapped his hands together. "Nomu, kill this one too!"

  The Nomu moved with terrifying speed, its fist swinging toward Bakugo.

  Hancock's body moved before her mind could catch up. She slammed into Bakugo from the side, both of them rolling away as the Nomu's fist cratered the ground where Bakugo had been standing.

  "WHAT THE HELL—"

  "It's too strong!" Hancock snapped, dragging him to his feet. "Didn't you see? Your explosion did nothing!"

  "Then we hit it harder!"

  "That's not a strategy, that's suicide!"

  Midoriya, Asui, and Mineta had retreated closer to them. Shigaraki watched with a tilted head, amused.

  "How precious. The students are trying to protect each other. Nomu, kill them all. Start with the loud one."

  The Nomu lunged again. This time, all five students scattered. Hancock grabbed Midoriya's arm and pulled him away from a strike that would have decapitated him.

  "Thank you—"

  "Don't thank me, move!" Hancock pushed him toward Asui. "Get to the entrance! Find Thirteen or Iida, get help!"

  "We can't just leave you—"

  "GO!"

  An explosion from Bakugo punctuated her command. He was attacking the Nomu relentlessly, but each hit was being absorbed or regenerated almost instantly.

  "Regeneration," Hancock analyzed aloud. "And shock absorption. That's why physical attacks don't work."

  "Your boyfriend is quite feisty," Shigaraki said, suddenly appearing beside her. His hand reached for her face. "Let me give you a matching set of scars—"

  Hancock's eyes widened. She could see the decay Quirk activating on his fingertips. If he touched her—

  She caught his wrist, just barely, her fingers glowing pink with her emotional manipulation.

  Terror. She pushed pure, primal terror into him.

  Shigaraki's eyes went wide behind the hand on his face. He stumbled back, scratching at his neck frantically.

  "What—what did you do?! What did you DO?!"

  "Stayed away from me," Hancock said coldly, her heart pounding. That had been too close.

  "EMPRESS!" Bakugo's shout made her turn.

  The Nomu had him by the leg, lifting him into the air.

  Time seemed to slow.

  Hancock saw the creature's other hand rising, preparing to crush Bakugo's skull. She saw Bakugo struggling, explosions doing nothing against the Nomu's grip. She saw Shigaraki recovering from her Quirk, starting to laugh maniacally.

  I can't petrify it, she thought frantically. It doesn't feel attraction. It doesn't feel anything. Physical attacks don't work. What can I—

  Her eyes fell on Shigaraki.

  An idea formed. Desperate. Dangerous. But possibly their only chance.

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  "RELEASE HIM!" Hancock shouted at Shigaraki, her voice carrying across the plaza.

  "Why would I do that?" Shigaraki giggled, still scratching his neck. "That fear you made me feel—I didn't like that. I'm going to watch Nomu crush him slowly for that."

  Hancock's mind raced. She needed leverage. Needed something he wanted more than killing Bakugo.

  "You came here for All Might," she said, forcing her voice to stay steady. "But he's not here. Don't you want to know why?"

  "I'm listening." Shigaraki stopped scratching, interested.

  "Let him go, and I'll tell you."

  "HANCOCK, DON'T—" Bakugo's protest was cut off as the Nomu's grip tightened.

  "Tell me first," Shigaraki countered.

  "No. Release him, or I'll use my Quirk to make you feel things you can't imagine. Fear. Despair. Loneliness so deep you'll wish for death." It was a bluff—she couldn't use her Quirk from this distance—but her voice was absolutely convincing.

  Shigaraki tilted his head, considering. Then he gestured. "Nomu, drop him."

  The creature released Bakugo, who fell hard but immediately scrambled to his feet, explosions ready.

  "Now talk," Shigaraki demanded.

  "He used up his time limit this morning," Hancock said, repeating what Aizawa had told them. "He won't be coming."

  "WHAT?!" Shigaraki's scratching intensified. "No, no, no! That's not how this was supposed to go! We planned everything! The schedule said—"

  "Your information was incomplete."

  "KUROGIRI!" Shigaraki screamed. "Where's Thirteen?! Where's—"

  "I'm afraid Thirteen has been incapacitated," the mist villain's voice echoed. "And one of the students escaped. He's likely bringing reinforcements."

  Shigaraki went very still. Then he started laughing, high and unhinged.

  "This is terrible! Everything's ruined! But you know what?" He pointed at Hancock. "You're interesting. That fear Quirk. I want it. Nomu, bring me her head."

  Hancock's blood went cold.

  The Nomu turned toward her with single-minded focus.

  "LIKE HELL!" Bakugo threw himself between them, but the Nomu simply swatted him aside. He crashed into rubble, groaning.

  Hancock enhanced her legs and ran, but the Nomu was faster. It appeared in front of her, fist already swinging.

  She couldn't dodge. Couldn't block. This was it—

  A massive wall of ice erupted between them.

  Hancock stumbled back as Todoroki appeared, flanked by Kirishima and Yaoyorozu.

  "Sorry we're late," Todoroki said calmly, though his eyes were serious. "We saw the explosion and came to help."

  "ABOUT TIME, HALF-AND-HALF!" Bakugo shouted, pulling himself from the rubble.

  The Nomu punched through the ice like paper.

  "That thing's a monster!" Kirishima hardened his arms, readying for combat. "What's the plan?!"

  "Survive," Hancock said bluntly. "Until the pros arrive."

  "Boring!" Shigaraki complained. "Nomu, kill them all! Starting with—"

  The doors to the USJ exploded inward.

  "I AM HERE!"

  All Might's voice, powerful and furious, echoed through the entire facility.

  He appeared in the entrance, his expression darker than Hancock had ever seen. "I apologize for being late, class. But worry not. Because I AM HERE!"

  Shigaraki's demeanor changed instantly, his scratching stopping. "All Might! You came after all! How wonderful!"

  All Might took in the scene—Aizawa broken on the ground, his students scattered and injured, the Nomu standing among them.

  "STUDENTS!" His voice cracked like thunder. "GET YOURSELVES AND AIZAWA OUT OF HERE! LEAVE THIS TO ME!"

  "But—" Midoriya started.

  "NOW!"

  Hancock didn't need to be told twice. She ran to Aizawa, using her enhanced strength to lift his unconscious form. Bakugo appeared beside her, taking some of the weight without being asked.

  "Can you move him?" she asked quietly.

  "Yeah. Come on."

  Together, they carried their teacher toward the entrance while All Might engaged the Nomu. The sounds of their battle were deafening—each punch creating shockwaves that shook the entire building.

  As they reached the stairs, Hancock looked back once.

  All Might was fighting the Nomu with everything he had, and it was holding its own. Trading blow for blow with the Symbol of Peace.

  What kind of monster is that thing?

  "Stop looking!" Bakugo snapped. "All Might's got this! We need to get everyone out!"

  He was right. Hancock turned away and focused on escape.

  The pros arrived minutes later—a flood of heroes led by Snipe and Present Mic. They secured the area, evacuated the students, and provided backup to All Might.

  By the time it was over, Shigaraki and Kurogiri had retreated through a portal, the Nomu defeated but the villains escaping.

  Aizawa was rushed to Recovery Girl in critical condition.

  And Class 1-A stood in the aftermath, shaken but alive.

  Hancock sat on a bench outside the USJ, her hands trembling slightly from adrenaline crash. She'd fought real villains. She'd nearly died. She'd saved Bakugo, and he'd saved her.

  "Hey."

  She looked up. Bakugo stood in front of her, hands in his pockets, looking uncomfortable.

  "You saved my ass back there," he said gruffly. "With that decay bastard. And when you pushed me out of the way."

  "You would have done the same."

  "Yeah, I would've. But still." He sat down beside her, maintaining a careful distance. "Thanks."

  Hancock stared at him. Bakugo Katsuki, thanking her. The world really had gone mad.

  "You're welcome," she said quietly.

  They sat in silence for a moment, watching as paramedics loaded Aizawa into an ambulance.

  "That thing you did," Bakugo said. "Making that hand freak feel fear. That's part of your emotional manipulation, right?"

  "Yes."

  "You could've done that to the Nomu. Made it afraid. Why didn't you?"

  "It doesn't feel emotions," Hancock explained. "It's been modified. Engineered. There's nothing inside it to manipulate."

  "So your Quirk doesn't work on things without emotions." Bakugo leaned back. "Another limitation."

  "Yes."

  "You're still strong though. Eighth place doesn't do you justice."

  Hancock glanced at him, surprised by the genuine assessment in his voice.

  "You're stronger than second place suggests," she replied. "If you learned to control your emotions instead of letting them control you."

  Bakugo's jaw clenched. "I know that. I'm working on it."

  "Are you?"

  "YES!" He caught himself, took a breath. "...Yeah. I am. Today proved that. I shouldn't have rushed in without thinking."

  "But you came to help your classmate," Hancock said. "Even though you claim to hate Midoriya, you rushed to protect him."

  "I don't—" Bakugo stopped. "Tch. Whatever. Deku's still annoying."

  "But he's your classmate. Your..." Hancock struggled with the word. "Your friend?"

  "ABSOLUTELY NOT!"

  Hancock almost smiled. Almost.

  "If you say so."

  They lapsed into silence again. It should have been awkward, but somehow it wasn't.

  "We fought well together," Hancock said eventually.

  "Yeah. We did." Bakugo stood up, stretching. "We should do it again sometime. Training. You and me. I wanna see your full strength."

  "Why?"

  "Because you're still holding back, Empress. Even today, even in a real fight, you hesitated." His red eyes were intense. "I wanna know what you're really capable of. When you stop being afraid."

  "I'm not—"

  "You are. But that's fine." He started walking away, then paused. "Everyone's afraid of something. The trick is not letting it control you."

  He left her alone with those words.

  Hancock sat there, processing everything. The battle. The near-death experiences. The way Bakugo had fought beside her. Trusted her. The way she'd trusted him back.

  I'm not afraid, she told herself.

  But she couldn't quite make herself believe it.