Art Drawn By Me! My first concept for Lucio!
Unit 001 speaking: "It will look like this, hum..."
Unit 001 thinking: It will look like this.
Others who are NOT Unit 001 thinking: 'It will look like this.'
Unit 001's mainframe/AI: [It will look like this.]
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-1 Hour Prior-
It was a completely normal visit for Katsuki... if you excluded the fact that he had three add-ons: Sero, Mina, and Kaminari. Kirishima was also at this hospital after the Shie Hassaikai Raid, so the other three self-proclaimed "Bakusquad" members wanted to come with him on this particular weekly trip to the hospital.
"So, Bakugo, I was just a little bit curious," Sero started, "What changed your mind this time? Usually, you vehemently deny letting us come with you to see Robo-bro."
That was the nickname the squad had decided for our beloved Unit 001, promoted by our resident advocate of manliness, Kirishima.
"Yeah! You never let us come." Mina added, "And we can't visit him without you because of the top-notch security here."
"Mhm," Kaminari nodded, "If you aren't a doctor here, a hero, or you, they won't let you pass! Not even a peek."
Bakugou's eyes squinted at that, "You say that like you tried before."
"Uh... You're just imagining it."
"Yeah, we totally didn't try it."
"Nope, we would never."
Of course, they tried it before. Everyone in Class 1-A was curious about Unit 001. No, a lot more people than just them were curious. But the hospital and heroes close to the case weren't letting anything about the bot out into the open. Media? They'd only get a scoop in their dreams in regard to this hospital.
That was just how tight their security was. Especially on the ICU floors.
The squad couldn't even get passed the gate, let alone enter the ICU where Unit 001 was. The most they could do was send the child cards and flowers, hoping that portrayed their gratitude to him for saving their friend.
Bakugou had made it abundantly clear that he wouldn't be able to even answer them anyway. It was a sore spot for the ash-blond. He'd never admit it, but he wasn't happy for a long while after he was rescued. It was only recently that he began acting like himself more.
They had a hunch that it was because Robo-bro's health was improving in ways he could actually see it. That must have been why he finally let them come along, too. His health had gotten to a point that Bakugou wasn't... worried anymore.
It was that, and he mentioned something that made them stop asking.
Their self-proclaimed robot little bro was afraid of people. Them visiting most likely wasn't something that he would have wanted.
The group had gotten together, thinking about all types of activities they'd try to do with the little guy to help him with his fear. As his self-proclaimed older siblings, they couldn't let him live his life scared, could they? No way!
Now, they were all standing outside the door to the first floor of the Intensive Care Unit of the hospital.
Before they went in, Katsuki turned around with a serious scowl on his face. "Don't be stupid when you go in there." He said, "No loud ANYTHING, no stupid shit, got it?" He repeated
"Huh?" Denki was the first to voice his confusion over Katsuki's flip in mood, "Why are you—"
"GOT. IT?"
"Yep. Got it. Totally got it." He shut up quickly. Smart boy.
They continued down the hall after going through the short hallway. In the lobby area for the ICU was the reception desk, where Old Lady Lin sat with that same amiable smile on her face.
Bakugou withheld his grimace.
"Oh? You brought more friends with you, Bakugou? How lovely!" She said, her smile widening in joy. "I'm Nurse Lin, I work the registration here on the ICU floor. It's nice to meet you all."
"Hello, ma'am," "Hi!" "Wassup!" They all said with enthusiasm, earning a chuckle from the older woman.
"I'm going to assume you're all here to visit the child in room 101 and your red-haired friend? He's mentioned you all before, such a sweet boy he was." They all nodded. "Wonderful! Before you go through, I must lay down the rules okay?"
She went on to explain the no quirk usage rule and how the floor must be as quiet as possible. No horseplay and any other things that could cause a disturbance as it could bother the patients on the floors or even be harmful. The ICU was called Intensive Care for a reason and they must abide by the rules if they want to stay and visit.
"Does everyone understand?" She said gently, but firmly.
"""Yes, ma'am!""" They all nodded, and she gave each of them a pass. Without the pass, they would not be able to get through the hall that leads to the patients' rooms.
"Have a wonderful visit." With that, they all followed Bakugou to the hall.
But before they could get anywhere significant, a stampede of doctors ran past them.
"What the hell?!" Katsuki exclaimed, almost blowing them up in surprise. When he spotted a certain sparkling head of hair in the crowd he managed to grab him, "Sparkles, what the heck is going on?!"
"H-He's up!" Lucio said, his hair flaring up in glittering light. It began to turn yellow from his roots, giving off sparks. His star-like freckles started changing colors too, "Your robot friend, he finally woke up!"
His eyes widened, sound almost drowning away to silence. Katsuki found himself running with the doctors. The trio wasn't far behind him, but when they got to the room...
Unit 001 was gone.
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The hospital was put on lockdown the moment they realized Unit 001 had gone missing. At first, they thought that he had been kidnapped from the hospital. It wasn't the first time someone had attempted to do something like that, sadly. So, they went to the security cameras they had stationed around his room.
Katsuki and his group had to wait outside, but they were permitted to stay since they were already there.
The doctors and floor security searched the footage thoroughly, watching for any sign that the child had been taken, who took him, and where they went.
That's when they saw him, and they almost spit their drinks when he began to shrink.
"He's tiny!"
"Why is he becoming tiny?"
"...He's so cute."
"Lucio, now is not the time to gush about how cute he is."
"But he is! Look at those round eyes and chubby cheeks! He's adorable."
"He's not wrong though," One of the security guys agreed with him. With his input being the end of the conversation, they continued to watch the screen.
Unit 001 continued to get smaller—No, younger—until he was the size of a toddler. Three or four at best. They saw as he snapped into a sitting position and sadly watched as he began to panic. Doctor Silvan, knowing thoroughly how deep his amnesia went thanks to his wife, knew that this sudden transformation most likely scared him.
'No, he isn't scared. He's terrified right now.'
Accordingly, as soon as his heart monitor began to give off its erratic readings doctors came rushing to his room. They could see that this did not help his panic, and he bolted before they got there.
Waking up in a body you aren't used to, as well as being surrounded by humans you do not trust, in a place you don't recognize? It would have been abnormal for the child to not be scared out of his mind.
Sighs of relief and concern were released. While they were thankful that he wasn't kidnapped, they now had a completely different reason to worry: Unit 001 was somewhere in the building. most likely hiding, and definitely terrified.
Doctor Silvan got his walkie-talkie from his coat pocket, pressing a number on it before speaking into the crackling static, "If you are not with a patient, we have a Code Pink emergency," He said calmly.
Every Doctor in the hospital had a small radio on their person, especially on the special floors, for emergencies like these. There were patients on the more severe floors who would be affected by the alarms, and there were cases where a panicked patient would respond very negatively to outside stimuli.
This was their way of being stealthy, and they also contacted heroes in the area to help with the situation.
He explained the situation in a calm manner, and the security team changed the lights on the floors on lockdown from normal to pink. The colors mean different things: Blue was an emergency where a patient was on the brink of death; Red was an intruder or visitor who became hostile; Yellow was an out-of-control patient via quirk; Orange was an out-of-control patient for other means; Purple was a kidnapping; Pink meant that the patient is missing in the hospital by other means.
The color alarm was for those who could see, and it blinked in a certain way for those who were color blind, and for those who were blind, there was music playing signifying which alert was sounding off, and subtle vibrations were going through the walls for those who were blind and deaf. It was a very thorough system, which was one of the reasons this place, Silvan Central Hospital, was one of the highest-rated hospitals in the country.
Heroes frequent this place because of its high security and wonderful healthcare.
It was Doctor Silvan's pride and joy. His eldest daughter took over the business aspect of the hospital when he returned to the field after starting it. It was a wonderful thing having so many capable children.
When he finished his message, he made lots of calls. He knew that certain heroes and a certain detective would want to know that the child was awake. When he was done, he was going to make his way outside the room.
He had to stop though. He sighed, and for a specific reason, put on shades as he turned. "Luci, I know you are extremely happy the kid is awake, but turn down the light."
"But Pops! He's up! He woke up! As soon as we find him and calm him down, we are throwing a celebration! Moms will love this, Remedy will be so happy to hear the news, too! I-I gotta call her—"
Doctor Silvan sighed at his son again, "You're going to blind everyone in the room, son... again."
And that's when he noticed everyone shielding their eyes. Some of them were even on the ground writhing, all of them screaming the same name. """Lucio!"""
Lucio looked at them for a moment, took notice of his out-of-control hair that was shooting light and sparkles and glitter, and then to his father, who had on his protective shades because he knew how his son got when he was happy.
Little stars were bouncing off of Doctor Silvan's less than sparkly expression. Lucio let out a nervous chuckle, his hair calming down to normal, "...Oops?"
Doctor Silvan sighed again, "Besides, we have to find him first before any celebrating can be done. Put on your cap and let's go. Security, keep a lookout on the cameras for the little guy. Everyone else, I want you to team up and search the halls of each floor of the ICU. Got it?"
"Yes, sir..." They all said, rubbing the sparkle out of their eyes. One of them grumbled as they spoke up to the young intern, "Why do you not keep that cap on all the time, Lucio...?!"
Lucio looked at them with a serious expression, "Because it's ugly."
"..." They blinked.
"..." He blinked.
Another moment of silence passed before the same nurse spoke up, "...You got a point. That thing is really ugly. To you. But if it saves our eyes from being blinded every five minutes? Then it's the most beautiful thing in the flipping world to us."
"But—"
"It is beautiful." Everyone else said, completely agreeing with the nurse.
Since Lucio had been there, there had been a lot of cases where people were literally blinded by his happiness; it was one of the main reasons the hospital had to implement so many means of visual and audio-related alarms.
"But it's so—"
"Beautiful."
That ugly light-sealing cap was the most beautiful thing in the world to them.
Doctor Silvan and Lucio walk out of the security room, and the group of teens left waiting there look at them expectantly. Doctor Silvan leans down, his pink eyes giving off a soft glow, his expression completely serious. "You guys are heroes in training, right? You all got your licenses?"
"Yes, sir."
He knelt down, looking at them on an eye-to-eye level, "I'm going to enlist your help in this. The child is missing in the hospital, he is scared, and he is confused. We don't have enough hands-on duty to deal with this, and it must be as stealthy as possible. Are you up for this?"
"Of course!"
"No problem!"
"My first hero job... Neat."
"Bakugou," He called, getting the boy's undivided attention, "The child will most likely run from everyone but you, so I would like you to be the one to find him, if possible."
"I know." Katsuki knew exactly what he was talking about. Unit 001 was scared of everyone, and it took a few hours during his capture for him to no longer be scared of him. And he wakes up in a hospital full of nothing but strangers?
He's probably scared shitless.
With a look of determination blazing in his vermillion eyes, he left without another word. His three not-minions followed close behind him with a determination that almost matched his.
If a kid was lost and scared in a hospital, they would take something like that seriously. And this kid was Bakugou's friend, the one who saved him... when they couldn't.
This was the least that they could do. Unit 001 was their unofficial little brother, they were going to find him and reassure him that he was safe now.
"We're coming for you, Robo-bro!"
And so the search began.
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Meanwhile, little Unit 001 was utterly lost. He was lost, confused, and mostly scared out of his processors.
He wasn't used to this new form, at all. His limbs became so small that it was awkward walking around with them. Humans that were already taller than him for the most part were like giants now. Though there were some good points to this form.
He did not feel drained as he had before. In this form, the energy that he had was more than enough for him to function normally. He did not have to sacrifice any system to save energy. It was no wonder this form was named 'Energy-Efficient'.
But the good did not outweigh the bad in this situation. Most of his common functions were either severely impaired or completely inaccessible, like his AI Assistant and Combat Systems. He could only do things in a limited range in this form.
He had no time to think about his new form further than that.
"Little guy! Please stop running!" Another human had spotted him. Taller than him by leagues, they ran at him with a desperate gusto, "We aren't going to hurt you!"
To this statement, he only had one thought: Lies.
Humans were a hostile species that always hurt him since he encountered them. These humans currently chasing him was no different, he didn't have his AI assistant to help him discern otherwise. All he had to go on was his previously gathered data, and all of it except one speck pointed to humans being monsters.
He was afraid of humans, all except for one.
But that one human wasn't here right now. The bit of blue blood he'd given him had already circulated out of his systems. He could not track him anymore.
'I... do not like this lonely feeling.'
He could not concentrate on that right now. There was a big security human chasing him. He was really tall, extremely muscular, and to the tiny Unit 001? A monster out to get him.
Unit 001 took off with surprising speed, turning corners faster than the humans could follow him. When he got far enough, he did the same thing he'd done in the hideout. He dislocated his limbs until they allowed him to fit in the vents that were plentiful in this strange place.
"W-where did he go? Kid?! We just want to help you! It's gonna be okay, buddy!" They called, searching the entire corridor for him. But Unit 001 remained silent. He didn't move one fiber of his being. He didn't vent out any breaths as his eyes whirled with life. It was like a reflex to scan every person he encountered.
He made sure to replace the cover just as easily as he'd removed it, watching as the humans passed him by. They were so sure that he'd gone through the door, instead of the small decently sized vent by their feet.
From there, he continued to wander the vents silently, clumsily. Now that his frame wasn't in any prior pain, he was able to properly recognize damage as it was received. It was... jarring. He was of the mindset that the damage signals his body had constantly sent him were normal.
But... it wasn't.
Constant pain had not been normal.
Because he'd been in a healthy state before entering the vent, he was able to properly compute how much pain his body had been in prior, and how much it hurts now that he'd dislocated everything to fit here.
But if it meant he could escape, then this pain did not matter.
Though he was surprised to find that there were blockades within the vents as well as the doors that he'd already tried prior. There were also locks on the windows, and every other opening he'd found thereafter.
He truly was... trapped.
Again.
He felt his frame shake with a familiar emotion. Suddenly, the vents he was hiding in felt all too small. Everything felt like it was closing in on him. With a reflex unknown to him, he pushes on the nearest vent opening, prying it open and tumbling out onto the floor.
"Ah! Who's there?" He heard a voice exclaim, surprised. When they spotted Unit 001, they gasped louder. "Kid, are you okay?!" The voice cried.
Unit 001 felt the sunlight hit his frame, a comfortable warmth wafting over him as his body healed from the self-inflicted damage. Within moments, he was back to his normal state, as if he hadn't been a disjointed mess just seconds before.
Now healed, Unit 001 searched to find where the voice was coming from. It was a bit muffled, but he was able to understand it just fine. It didn't take him long to locate it.
In the corner of the room he'd landed in was a youth almost completely wrapped in bandages, casts, and braces. He was staring at him with wide and concerned eyes, which aside from his mouth was the only thing that was visible. That, and the small tufts of red hair that poked out from the bandages wrapped around his head. It must be difficult to speak with all of those bandages on him, thus why it sounded muffled.
He was trying to get out of the bed to assist him, but his own injuries and the bandages prevented him from doing so.
This human... looks familiar.
It seemed that the human teen had the same realization, as his eyes widened further than before. With astonishment and another emotion he couldn't identify, the red-head spoke softly, "Y-you're the kid who helped save Bakubro! Robo-bro!"
There was a sparkle in his eyes as he looked upon Unit 001, as if he'd waited for this moment for a long time. It seemed he wanted to say so much, but didn't know how to express it with just words. He wanted to stand, but alas, could not because of his injuries.
Unit 001, however, could not care less. Though there was subtle confusion on his little face at the name 'Robo-bro.' Was that another nickname? But it was not from Bakugou, Katsuki. It was not the same.
Even if he recognized this human, that wasn't going to stop Unit 001 from escaping. No, he was making his way to the door as if he hadn't heard the red-head speak to him at all.
He was nothing but air to Unit 001.
While he may have known his only human friend, that did not mean that they were suddenly amiable to each other.
But he hesitates at the door when he hears the teen say something else.
"I'm so sorry," He said, his voice thick with emotion, "and thank you, for keeping my friend safe."
For a while, the little unit didn't say anything. He wasn't actually sure what to say.
It was the first time he'd received thanks for anything he'd done, or an apology.
What was this human apologizing to him for? Why was he thanking him?
He is strange, this human.
Despite it all, he felt that he should respond to these words. So, he did, in a voice so quiet the red-head wouldn't have heard him if it hadn't already been extremely silent in the room.
"W-wel...come...?"
And with that, he continued on his way. He didn't look back, not noticing the widened eyes of the human at his acknowledgment.
For a minute, Kirishima just sat there. He was almost in tears, being able to express his gratitude as well as regret for not being able to save him, too.
He felt so guilty that night, especially the moment they made eye contact when he threw Katsuki toward them. That look... it wasn't the expression of someone who was expecting to be saved.
It was the look of someone who'd accepted that they weren't.
He'd felt so guilty. And with the way Bakubro was acting, he'd felt it too. It was probably even worse for him. Bakugou had been quiet for weeks after the incident. Him, quiet. That spoke volumes about how he was feeling.
It was only after Aizawa-Sensei had some type of talk with him that he started acting like himself again. From what the class could gather, he and All Might-Sensei had visited Robo-bro just the day before.
Their eyes had been suspiciously puffy then, but everyone respectfully decided not to ask any questions.
So, seeing him now, up and running around, it was a relief that almost made him cry. No, scratch that. He was crying right now. Definitely crying manly, relief-filled tears.
Though, something felt a bit off. Why was he a baby?
'I just met a baby version of Robo-bro? Wait a minute—'
"The alarms must have been because of him! Robo-bro, wait—"
But Unit 001 was long gone, unknowingly making his way to the room of a certain little girl.