Pollux's expression was detached with disbelief as your bullet fluidly found its mark between his brother's eyes. Time seemed to slow, freezing the room in a moment of suspended tension as Castor's form gradually slumped to the ground.
"Castor?" Pollux's voice quavered with worry; his face contorting with panic. He knelt by his fallen twin, desperately trying to rouse him. As seconds turned to agonizing moments, Castor remained motionless, Pollux's cries grew more desperate, his voice cracking with heartbreak.
Your attention shifted to Shiro keeping your gun steady, blood pumped between your fingers as Shiro struggled to breathe.
Pollux's voice slicing through the air drew your gaze back to the twin, his chest heaving with rage.
"You took his life!" Pollux's accusation rang out, his voice trembling with a mix of fury and grief.
"You shoot my brother, I shoot yours." You shrugged, "Not my fault I have better aim."
"You called me your brother-" Shiro choked, "-you do love me."
"Shut up."
The room seemed to contract, the weight of the moment pressing down on Pollux who stared wide eyed with tears flowing down his abnormal face. Amidst his turmoil, Pollux's sneer deepened as he produced something from his jacket. A syringe filled with crimson liquid glinted in his hand, his sinister intentions laid bare.
"You were right about our quirk," Pollux jeered, a sinister edge to his tone. "While it can only absorb quirks, with the assistance of this serum, it will gain the power to absorb anything and anyone."
"Shit." Dread settled in your gut as you recognized the threat before you, your eyes fixated on the syringe stabbed in Pollux's thigh, the crimson liquid poured into his body—your eyes narrowed in on the liquid, your mouth watered as old urges pressed against your brain.
"(y.n)-!" Shiro's voice strained, his bloodied hand reaching for your arm snapping you out of your thoughts. "-you need to-to go!"
You snapped your attention to him as mixture of frustration and annoyance painted your expression. "I'm not leaving you."
Shiro coughed weakly, flashing a crimson-stained smile. "You have to find Gray and the kid... make sure they're safe."
"Shut up-" Your eyes locked in with determination. "-I'm not leaving you."
Before the exchange could continue, a guttural cry erupted from Pollux, his body convulsing as a gruesome transformation overtook him, multiple inky eyes sprouted across his form, an agonizing spectacle as Pollux was being ripped apart from the inside out—it's what trigger did best.
"Shit." You exhaled, your grip on the gun tightening. A fleeting glance at the window's shadowed outline presented a risky option—you could plummet into The Deep. But with this came the grime realization it would kill Shiro, he couldn't endure it; he would bleed out in seconds or die from lack of oxygen.
Cursing under your breath, your thoughts raced against the mounting threat. Your weapon was useless, quirks would be ineffective, fleeing wasn't an option. You looked down at Shiro--sweat coating his skin. You couldn't remove your hand—just as you turned, Pollux's agonized screams reached a crescendo, before the two bullets stood a chilling abomination of twisted flesh and bone.
The room seemed to tighten around you as you locked eyes with Pollux, the multiple orbs littering his body seemed to all focus onto its sole target—you.
Your throat tightened, and you felt a surge of adrenaline as you squeezed the trigger, sending a barrage of bullets towards Pollux. He charged towards you relentlessly. One of the bullets grazed the side of his arm, causing one of his sporadic eyes to burst into a gory explosion, however this did not faze him. He firmly gripped the front of Shiro's jacket, hoisting you up.
"No-!" Pollux grunted, spittle flying from his mouth. "-you will watch him die!" He roughly seized your arms, forcibly dragging you across Shiro's body, making you turn around to witness Shiro bleeding out.
"Let her go—!" Shiro choked, weakly striking Pollux in the leg with his fist.
"You will watch your brother die as I did mine!" Pollux growled, his nails digging into the fabric of the jacket as you struggled in his iron grip. Eye fluid dripped onto your shoulder as you pushed against the deranged monster, desperation gripping your heart as blood pooled on Shiro's chest.
Shiro's eyes gently drifted shut, his grasp on reality slipping away.
The room shattered with the deafening blast of a gunshot, your lips parting in shock as Pollux crumbled to the ground beside you, his lifeless gaze fixed on you.
You dropped beside Shiro, quickly pressing your hands to his chest in an attempt to stop the bleeding. You turned your head and took a drawn-out second to register the sight – a towering figure, standing at an imposing six foot something, strode purposefully towards you. He dragged a grotesque, insect-like creature behind him.
A gasp escaped your lips as your gaze locked onto the mask's faceplate—a seamless expanse of polished metal encircling his head, leaving only his piercing eyes visible through the narrow slits.
"Tank!?"
"(y.n)-"
"What the fuck!?" You exclaimed, staring up at him in utter disbelief.
"Language." Tank turned his back to you while nonchalantly discarding the insect-like creature as he strode across the room.
"You're the one who threw me into this trap!?" Your voice is laced with venom.
Tank crouched beside Castor, prying the 'collection eye' from his skull.
"I thought you'd handle it better." Tank's reply was absent, his attention focused on the task at hand. "I forgot your allergy to my fog quirk."
"How the fuck do you forget something like that!?" You exclaimed.
"Language." Tank repeated, moving to repeat the removal process with Pollux—you stared at Pollux.
"What did you use to kill it?" You breathed but were ignored. "What are you doing!?" You demanded, your patience waning.
"These eyes have cameras installed in them." Tank calmly explained.
"Of course they fucking do." You breathed, glancing at Shiro whose condition was deteriorating rapidly, you weren't applying enough pressure.
"What are they teaching you at that school?" Tank questioned, gaze shifting to his little sister as he stood, not thrilled with your choice of language.
"Why would you throw me in here if you were just going to show up!?" You glared as your grip on the gun tightened as its aim now pointed at your brother's heart.
"I didn't factor in your injuries." Tank replied, cautiously crouching down in front of you, focus placed on Shiro.
"Factor in what?" You questioned as Tank produced a metal can from his jacket, setting it on the floor beside him.
"I tried to warn you not to come." Tank says, reaching his hands out, he waved for you to remove. You stared at the familiar mask with hard eyes, but slowly...you pulled your hand away and lowered your gun.
"Not to come..." You trailed off chewing over his words. "...the flyer in my jacket, that was you?"
"Yes." Tank affirmed, ripping Shiro's shirt to reveal the bullet wound.
"It-It said to come!"
"It was supposed to say 'don't'-" Tank admitted, his fingers delving into the wound to extract the bullet. "-but my pen ran out of ink."
"Your pen ran out of ink!?" You shouted, eyes darting between Shiro and Tank. "You-You couldn't have found a fucking pencil or a crayon!?" You continued your rant, "I'm sure you still got some blood left in that mechanical body of yours!"
"We don't have much time (y.n)." Tank says, pulling out the bullet. "Puzzle can't know I'm here; you'll need to take credit for bringing the twin's guard dog down." Tank nodded towards the bug-like creature.
So that was what the twins were stalling for—reinforcements.
"Why are you here?"
"Puzzle paid the League of Villains to put a hit out on you."
"That mismatch bunch of pixie sticks?" You furrowed your brows, "I'm not worried about them."
"You should be." Tank warned, picking up the metal can, spraying the strange substance on Shiro's shoulder—within moments the bleeding began to slow.
"They're not even on our radar." You stared at Shiro, brows furrowed in puzzlement, having no clue what Tank was doing but whatever it was, it was working. Your attention shifted briefly to your brother, and for a fleeting moment, it felt like time had reversed. You were a child again, and your big brother had stepped in to tend to your wounds.
"They're not on your radar because Shooter made it so, the League of Villains is becoming a real threat."
"Why are you telling me this?" You asked, "If you're on their payroll shouldn't you be sucking them off or something?"
"Your language has gotten more colorful." Tank chuckled, pulling a gauze packet from his jacket.
"Yeah, that happens when your sold off twice like a piece of discounted meat!"
"Hm." Tank hummed, placing the clean bandage on Shiro's shoulder where the bleeding had ceased. "I see your still holding resentment about that."
"You bet your ass I'm-!"
"(y.n)-" Tank interjected; "-we're running out of time. You need to pull your attention and resources off Shooter and onto the League."
"Why?"
"They have a plan."
"And I care because...?"
"Because their plan involves freeing Shadow Jack."
"Wh-What?" You shake your head, heart sinking into your stomach. "They-They can't, he's locked up-"
"It's true (y.n)-" Tank confirmed, his tone serious. "-that's their next move."
"Why are you telling me all this?"
Tank wiped his hands on his pants, rising to his feet. "I am proud of the hero you made yourself into."
"Tank..."
"I have to go."
"Don't-!" You jolted up, shooting Shiro a glance before stepping after Tank. "-come to U.A. with me, we can-"
Tank held a bittersweet smile under his mask as he cupped the side of your face. "I can't."
"Why!?" You breathed, eyes filling with desperation you didn't know you still held—you missed your brother.
"I will be in touch-" Tank began to say, but abruptly jerked his hand away, his movement swift as a blur of blond hair shielded you. Powerful hands pushed you back, out of harm's way.
"Don't-!" You started, but your words trailed off as Bakugo's controlled explosions pierced the air. Reacting instinctively, you pushed Bakugo aside, your eyes scanning the room. When the smoke cleared, only a faint trace of purple fog remained, and Tank was gone.