I stared at myself in the reflection. I didn't realize it until now, but I didn't look so great. I don't know how much blood they drained, but it was enough to make the bags under my eyes noticeable. My hair needed a good comb, and I was in desperate need of some chap-stick.
"Your parents, your brother...are not your real family."
He was trying to manipulate me for his own gains. There's no way that they're not my real family. I've been with them my whole life; there are photos of me as a baby to prove that!
I sat down on the bed staring at my bare feet. My head hurt from all this thinking, or maybe it was from my blood being drained. Either way, I wasn't sure how to feel. A part of me was angry that he was trying to lie to me but another part was telling me that...
Thump...thump...thump...
My heart began to beat faster. I could feel my blood pulse through my entire body. I was mad, so very mad that I began to tremble. Or maybe...I was scared. Scared that he had a point, scared that he was telling the truth, scared that I was all alone.
My bedpost rattled on the floors, and my body jiggled on the bed. I heard a loud crash from the floor above followed by a horde of footsteps and voices. Something was happening. An attack? Or maybe...a rescue?
»»————- ————-««
"Prepare to be planted!" Strawberry Shades exclaimed. A brown seed shot out of his palm and into the villain's face. Sprinting up to him, the vigilante expertly leaped, using his face as a stepping stool. He flew up in the air and locked eyes with a Crimson Eclipse member, and he dove straight toward them, knocking them to the ground.
"Heroes are infiltrating! Grab the supplies and run!" a Crimson Eclipse grunt announcing through the intercom warned. "There's no time to fight back! Head to the tunnels and--" Before he could finish, the sound of a door getting kicked down is heard. After some sounds of struggle, a loud and jubilant voice spoke.
"Hey, y'all! I'm unlocking all the doors!"
Corvade, who had just finished assisting Strawberry Shades, winced. This was exactly the reason why she hated working in groups, especially if he's in it. Peering in the hallway, she recalled that the layout of the base was similar to the one the heroes raided months ago. That'll help in maneuvering through the place much easier.
"What's the current situation on the rescue?" Corvade asked through the earpiece.
"According to a Crimson Eclipse, they are holding the hostages somewhere in this facility," Gunhead replied amidst fighting. "We're still trying to pinpoint the exact locations, but since Present Mic and others raided the Control Room, we may be able to find where they're at."
So it seemed like her hypothesis was correct; they were in here somewhere. As Corvade ran through the hall full of heroes and villains, she asked Present Mic on their potential whereabouts. He loudly informed her that there were several secret rooms hidden in the facility. Many of them are already getting checked out by heroes.
Corvade asked Present Mic if there are any unchecked places left. He informed her that there was, one on the opposite side of the base. He began giving directions to Corvade while she speedily ran through the base, assisting some heroes on the way. She spotted a particular tengai'd man viciously fighting and ordered him to tag along. As they ran through, a voice buzzed into her radio.
"Requesting backup in the cafeteria!"
What a coincidence. They just happened to be heading straight toward the cafeteria.
Unlike the dark and somewhat unnerving design of the hallways, the cafeteria was much lighter. The walls were white with red paneling plastered onto the walls. Rows of white tables with black chairs were flipped over the floor. Along with that, three other heroes were laying unconscious. Standing in the middle was a tall and lanky man. He didn't look too muscular.
"Be on your guard," she warned. She pulled out her lightweight baton and they sprinted over.
The tall and lanky man zipped up to Corvade, ready to pack a punch. With a quick swipe, his arm gets pulled back and she jabbed her baton into his stomach. Thanks to his thin build, he moved with such speed that she didn't have time to redirect his attack. Grappling her arms, he pulled her over his head and attempted to smash her into the ground.
Masterbaiter's line wrapped around his arms. With the attack occurring, that gave Corvade time to wrap her long legs around his throat. When he let go, she flipped herself backward sending the man toward the ground. As expected, he wasn't going down with one blow, and the vigilantes went on guard.
"You underestimate me. You think I'm going down with a measly hit like that?" he growled, with blood dripping down his forehead. "You're never going to find the girl!"
He began to clash against them. Corvade packed as many hits as she could while Masterbaiter supported her from the side. She noticed that with each swing, it was getting harder to deflect the force of his palms. Physically, he didn't look strong. It's almost like he was applying some sort of outside pressure to his fists.
"Corvade, go!" Masterbaiter exclaimed, dodging an attack. "I'll hold him off! Go find the squirt and her brother!"
She obeyed without hesitation. She began to run away when the villain called out to her.
"Where did you think she's going?! She's not going anywhere!"
He followed after her when he tripped on Masterbaiter's line. That gave her the opening she needed and she out of the cafeteria.
"Present Mic. You said there was an elevator hidden in the wall. Where is it?" she asked through her earpiece.
"You're spot on, lady!" his shrill voice chirped. "So what you gotta do is take a left!"
Corvade turned to see a Crimson Eclipse waiting for her. He went to slice her with his long claws when a bullet pummels him into the ground. She speedily ran past him, while Gunhead gave her a reassuring thumbs-up.
"And then, you gotta go down the stairs!"
Skidding to a stop, she saw that a group of Crimson Eclipse was gathered at the bottom. Seeing her make her appearance, they turned to her, ready to attack. Corvade sprinted forward and leaped up as a flurry of pebbles, water, and fire charged at her. Using her Quirk, she deflected the attacks and sent them flying back at them. Crimson Eclipse members got hit while others continue to barrage her with blows. She stepped on their heads to get across.
"We got you covered, Corvade!" she heard Gunhead say from the stairs. "Duck!"
She lowered her head just as a block of cement flew over. Instead of crashing into the wall, it froze in place. Stepping on another villain's face, Corvade jumped onto the floating cement block and smoothly landed behind the crowd. Peering back, she saw that Gunhead was with several other heroes. The one who assisted her, Rock Lock, gave her a stern frown clearly unpleased that he was forced to work with a vigilante. Corvade didn't bother reacting and sprinted off.
"Where next?" she asked, looking around her. She was in another hallway that looked exactly the same as the one before. She didn't see any signs of an elevator.
"Stop, stop, stop!!" Present Mic's voice blared. His ear-piercing screech made the inside of her ears ring, and Corvade winced once more. "Go back a bit! About four steps!"
She did as she was told. Her heels clicked on the metal floors as she turned toward the walls. There was nothing. She let out an annoyed huff. In response, he asked, "What's with the upset face? Smile, lady! Let out a battle cry to pump you up!"
He was met with complete silence. She peered up at the black camera that was sitting on the ceiling, assuming that he could see her look of disapproval.
"You're no fun, my gal. Just like Eraserhead!" Present Mic piped not at all affected by her lack of vigor. "Anyway, I'll open it for you!"
The wall that Corvade was standing in front of suddenly began to dissemble as a steel elevator emerged. It let out a ding! She quickly went inside. To her surprise, there were no buttons to press for the floors. There was only one, which she assumed was for closing the door. She didn't get the chance to test that theory because the door closed immediately after she walked in.
"Here we go!" Present Mic excitedly said. The elevator began to descend before the sound of electricity crackling occurred, shaking the entire elevator. The light flickered off and the elevator groaned to a stop.
Corvade pressed her earpiece and asked him why it wasn't moving. The only response she heard was the sounds of static. She figured the radio signals were getting jammed with how low underground she went. Since the elevator wasn't working, she was going to have to find another way down.
Standing on top of the metal railings lined on the walls, she began to pry the air duct on the ceiling with her baton. Within seconds, it popped off and she climbed up into even darker blackness. Luckily her baton was equipped with light, and it illuminated throughout the pitfall. Then without hesitation, she jumped off.
Pulling out her zipline device, she sent it surging on the wall near the doorway. It latched just as she neared the ground. Then shooting an explosion at the steel door in front from the tip of her baton, she swung into a dimly lit room. She nearly got hit by a flying dagger when disconnecting her zipline. Smoothly avoiding the attack by kneeling on the ground, she watched as the dagger flew back at a dark figure who had a hold on its shadow. There was a glass window behind him looking into a very bright room. Inside was a white bed and Rin.
"Furutani," Corvade muttered numbly, standing up. She flipped the switch on her baton and it extended. "What a pain."
Furutani let out a sigh. "Corvade... You should just give up."
Corvade's eyes hardened. "I'm not leaving without the hostages."
Furutani charged at her. She swung the dagger at her frightening speed. Corvade stepped back and ducked toward her torso. She goes to jab her stomach when a dagger came flying at her. When did she throw that? But Corvade didn't have time to think about that. On cue, the dagger lowered, only grazing her chin. While that happened, her opponent kneed her in the chest. The air was knocked out of her lungs but nevertheless, she could still fight.
With the help of Furutani's knee that sent her upward, she used that as leverage to hit her in the chin. Her head collided with her chin, and she stumbled back. She sends a flurry of baton attacks that Furutani avoided and blocked. Then jumping back, she pulled out another dagger and hurled it at her. Activating her Quirk, it surges left and Corvade caught it with her hand. She sent it back to her. It grazes the side of her cheek and hit the glass behind, forming a crack.
Corvade peered at Rin whose back was facing them. She found it strange that she wasn't acknowledging the commotion outside her cell. Was it soundproof? Whatever it was, she didn't have the time fighting this villain. Her top priority was rescuing Rin.
"I'm busy. Now if you'll excuse me," Corvade spoke. Within a second, Corvade surged past the villain and jumped through the window. Glass shattered everywhere but not a shard pierced her skin. Upon landing in the room, she heard static muffling in her ear.
"Cor... We... Locate... The..." Eraserhead's voice crackled.
"I cannot understand," Corvade replied.
The sound of electricity charging was heard. She heard the elevator begin to descend down to the floor. Along with that, Eraserhead's voice became clear. "We have found Onishi Rin. She's being held by a Crimson Eclipse. We require backup, immediately."
"What? She's here with me."
That's when she noticed that something looked off about the girl. Marching over, she inspected her. Her body looked hazy and fuzzy, almost as if it was a casted image. Swiping her hand across her face, Corvade's hand went through her body.
Eraserhead's voice came back on the radio. "What are you talking about?"
Before she could reply, she spotted Furutani standing in the elevator. In her hand was a button. Upon clicking it, she heard the sounds of a timer begin to tick. Sprinting through the broken window, she attempted to reach the elevator but was too late. The heavy doors shut on her, and it began to ascend.
The ticking began to quicken. Corvade speedily inspected the room for any kind of bomb she could deactivate. But as she searched, she couldn't find anything. She let out a curse.
"Corvade? Are you still here?"
"Yes, I am," she replied as she stood at the edge of the empty doorway. It was way too late for her to latch onto the elevator now. She was going to have to aim as high as the zipline could reach. The line flew out of her device and into the darkness. The sharp pins latched onto the wall. "There's a bomb that's about to explode, so prepare for the aftershock."
"Wha--"
The ticking stopped and when it did, the underground cell and the shaft went up in flames.