Energy (D.P./M.H.A.)

. 4 6 .

The warping sensation from Kurogiri felt more like falling than teleporting. It was too vertical, unlike the Infi-Map or the portals in Amity. Or Clockwork's time-warping, for that matter. Where those were a simple step forwards or a swift throw of your body and consciousness through dimensions, this was freefalling forever through a black hole.

Danny hit the floor with his hands first, sending a flash of pain up his arms through his wrists. He yelped as he rolled onto his back, his left shoulder pressed to a wall as he rolled to a stop. The portal closed above him, and Danny coughed once.

Immediately, he was grabbed by his collar and pulled upwards. He yelped and scrambled to gain a footing, and grabbed at the hand holding him up. Barely able to see, being just warped across a large distance and now being hauled around, Danny could just make out a screaming blob. 

Bakugou.

Shit.

Danny phased through his hand in a panic and fell back, coughing violently. Ruins zone. Great for training disasters, not so great for trying to breathe. Dust from the debris was hanging in the air, and Danny's airways and lungs weren't too happy about it. 

Above him, Bakugou was yelling at him. Probably profanities and demands for an explanation, but that could wait. Danny lifted his arm and shot a villain that was about to jump Bakugou from behind. Bakugou whirled around, connected the dots, and whirled back.

It would have been funny if they weren't about to die.

"On your right!" Danny yelled. There seemed to be a delay of half a second before Bakugou turned and fired as well. Danny slowly got back on his feet with a hand to the wall while Bakugou jumped at another villain that had come from another side. 

The room was somewhere between a decent bedroom and a classroom in size, with three openings from old doors and new damage. Danny had his back to the only complete wall, which was the outside of the building. The glass was dusty and not too solid. Probably breakable for an escape if they needed it. It was also the only source of light, casting the room in dull light.

"I'm gonna need an explanation from you real soon," Bakugou stated as he roundhouse-kicked a villain straight in their face, "or I'm gonna punch one out of you!"

"Save it for later!" Danny retorted as he blasted another guy single-handed, the glow on his hands bright from frustration. "I have an escape plan if you wanna hear it!" The energy on his hand slowly dimmed out, and Danny wondered if it would have if he wasn't wearing the gloves. 

Not a good thought. 

Bakugou's hands were almost at his throat again, the villain having been taken care of, and Danny stepped to the side with wide eyes to avoid being grabbed again. "Dude!" he exclaimed, now dodging a full-blown punch to his head. "What are you doing!?"

"I'm getting some answers from you, and I'm getting them now!"

Danny expertly twisted out of the way and blocked the jab at his ribs. "I can explain later! We gotta--" he dodged another blow-- "get to the central plaza!" Danny caught sight of a villain lurking behind the wall, waiting on the right time, and Danny just managed to hit the wall beside him with an Ecto-Blast as he ducked under a right hook from Bakugou. "There are still villains here!"

"I'm looking right at one."

It stung worse than it should have.

Bakugou thought he was a villain that had infiltrated the school. It wasn't a far fetched thought when Danny imagined it from Bakugou's perspective. Three kids from very far away suddenly appearing in one of the most prestigious hero schools, with no credit to their name, and getting into the most high-stakes class immediately. Making friends with everyone, seeming a little too invested with the teachers. Not soon after they appeared, the school was infiltrated by villains, and now, their class was under attack.

It wasn't a very good look for the three of them. Nezu and most of the teachers could vouch for them if they really got in trouble with the class or even the authorities, but if they could avoid having to expose themselves, they'd have to take some risks.

Especially now.

The thinking got Danny's brain scattered, giving Bakugou the opportunity to seize hold of Danny's collar again. "Dammit, Bakugou!" Danny yelled, prying at the gloved hand yet again. "If you don't let me go now, there's gonna be people dying!"

Bakugou's eyes flashed with an emotion Danny couldn't quite make out that fast, and the grip tightened. Danny scrambled for air, and it seemed to set something off in Bakugou. He let go, and Danny fell to his knees again.

A gloved finger prodded at his chest, making Danny flinch. "Why did you try, emphasis on try, to hold me back, huh? Think you were gonna beat me to the punch? Didn't want me to have the fame? The glory of beating the villain!?"

"No!"

"Then why did you do it!"

"Because I didn't want you to die, dammit!"

Danny's hands had formed fists against the dusty floor, a bright green glow coming from within the gloves. It burned. A single tear fell on the glove and it fizzled out immediately. His shoulders shook with a lot of emotions at the same time, and the hand on his shoulder felt like it weighed a ton.

Danny didn't expect Bakugou to from an eloquent speech on feelings of guilt and shame. The lone gesture already felt out of character for him, but it was appreciated nonetheless. Danny sniffed and mustered up the courage to look up and meet Bakugou's eyes. 

"You wouldn't kill anyone. You're too much of a dumbass."

Danny breathed out a laugh.

"I'm serious. You just don't kill anyone and you wouldn't lie about those kinds of things. You're too...puppy-like. I know you wanna seem all mysterious and powerful to everyone here, especially to Deku, but you're not some big wolf that's lurking in the trees being all creepy. You're a tiny rabid dog that just wants to make friends."

"Thanks." Danny frowned. "I guess."

Bakugou pulled his mouth into a devilish grin and walked towards the window, hands casually on his hips as he went. "What can I say. I'm the best. Now, let's go beat some ass!" The glass pane shattered easily when Bakugou's gloved hand made contact, shards flying over the broken-up roads below. Bakugou jumped out without looking back, tiny explosions slowing his movement towards the ground.

Danny had picked himself up from his spot on the floor and rubbed at his face. "You know how dangerous that is when you don't warn people! Someone could get hurt!"

"Everybody's knocked out because I kick ass! Let's go!"

'I kicked ass too, thanks very much,' Danny thought as he jumped. He felt his core sigh in relief at finally letting go of some pent-up energy and had to fight it from making him glow. He did not need to expose another secret right now. A cloud of dust formed around his feet as he landed and Bakugou merely raised an eyebrow. "I don't need to warn you."

"I thought you cared about me."

The pout finished the look.

Danny pushed his shoulder away with a smile and started walking. "Try to keep up, slowpoke!"