Chapter 1: Blood on the Wall

***Trigger Warning: Violence and Language

Uraraka Ochako couldn't remember a time she'd felt so frazzled. She huffed as she rushed with mounds of paperwork to the meeting room where the big conference was taking place. It was finally her time to shine and she was not going to be late. She'd spent weeks and weeks preparing for this big project, hoping to finally show the higher ups that she was meant to be a unit leader. If she got this promotion, it could lead to great changes in her life and she could finally support her parents. Her heart softened thinking about them, remembering how supportive they were as she grew up. They never had much but they made up for it in big dreams and loving hearts.

She was relieved to see she was at least ten minutes early and began preparing the room for the presentation. Some of the biggest names of the company would be present and she was determined to make herself noticed today. She'd been at the company for nearly two years and now was the time to move up. A position had just opened for a unit leader a month ago and they had told the staff that whoever showed the most initiative by the time the month ended would get the position. Everyone was working harder than ever, but none more so than Ochako.

She glanced up at the clock as she prepared the projector and was relieved to see that she still had five minutes left so she could go and greet the guests.

She was just about ready to stand by the door when she heard it; a loud resounding crash. Her heart stopped and she rushed out the door to be greeted by smoke and debris. She coughed and tried to feel her way towards an emergency exit, but it was hard to see and as the alarm blared loudly in her ears, she couldn't figure out what was happening around her. Her head was spinning as she coughed, covering her ears from the incessant buzzing sound.

Something grabbed her arm and she wondered if it was a coworker. She glanced up only to scream in horror as a tall, masked figure gripped her arm tightly and drug her back to the conference room. She was shoved inside and managed to catch a closer look at the figure who'd grabbed her. He was indeed tall, and it wasn't a costume mask he was wearing, but a gas mask. He was hooded in black and his hands were clammy and pale. She noticed suddenly that he was carrying a gun and it was pointed right at her.

"Move over to that wall!" it ordered in a hoarse voice.

She didn't hesitate and quickly crawled over to where he pointed.

Just then, more people entered, masked and hooded figures clutching one or two of her coworkers. They all ordered everyone to sit against the wall where she was.

"Hands on your head now!" A female voice roared at them as she poked her gun in their direction.

Everyone complied, giving each other nervous glances.

She managed to make out at least five hooded assailants and seven of her co-workers before one of the gunmen lowered the blinds and darkened the room. Two of the gunmen were locking the door and using the table to cover the windows. She began shaking when she realized that this was not just some robbers or petty criminals, these were professionals who were serious about what they were doing. The way they were organized enough to distract the whole building, grab who they could, keep them hostage, and now begin their operation was proof enough to her that she and her coworkers were in serious trouble.

She heard a sniffle next to her and recognized it as one of her friends who sat a few desks down from her. She carefully reached over to find her head and pat it, hoping it would calm her down.

"Hands on your head!" The female yelled again, advancing on her.

She must have some very good night vision because Ochako couldn't see a thing. But not for long as one of them turned on a lantern that lit the room up with a dim light that spooked her.

"Nobody panic." The one who had grabbed her said, coming forward. He was tall and lanky and his voice, though hoarse, had an eerie calmness to it that sent a chill down her spine, "If all goes well, this won't take very long."

A couple of her coworkers were audibly crying by now and she was shocked to realize that tears were falling down her face as well.

He suddenly surprised them by removing his hood to expose grey matted hair underneath, but what shocked her the most was when he removed his gas mask that revealed a pale jaunted face with bloodshot eyes and chapped thin lips. He was terrifying to say the least.

The others with him followed suit. The female was wearing her bright blonde hair up in two messy knots. Her face was pointed, and her eyes showed a hint of madness to them. Another one had dark hair and a nasty scar below his face. His eyes were cold and calculating.

She watched as the rest of them uncovered their faces and something inside of her grew more fearful when she realized the severity of what they were doing. It had been a long time ago, but she had read a crime drama one day out of boredom and something that stood out to her was that when criminals expose their faces, especially experienced ones, that meant only one thing; no one was leaving alive.

Tears continued to drip down her face as the obvious leader of the group walked back and forth, eyeing each of them up and down before stopping in front of someone two people down from her. He smiled menacingly at him and pointed, "Let's get started."

…..

"Bakugo!"

"What?" Bakugo yelled back from his desk. He'd been busy finishing his last report and now the captain just had to come and bother him about something. He ran a hand through his messy blonde hair to get rid of the ever growing headache as he watched his team captain, Tenya Iida, storm towards him, sharply dressed as always and glasses glinting where the light hit them.

Captain Iida rolled his eyes and handed Bakugo a paper, "What's this about getting rough with one of the suspects in the UA case?"

Bakugo had to think for a second then smiled, "Oh yeah, asshole was giving Kirishima the run around, so I set him straight. Idiot practically cried his confession. Great day!" he laughed.

Iida sighed exasperatedly, "That is the third time this month you've roughed up a suspect in an investigation. We could have a serious lawsuit on our hands."

"Hey, the creep was a wanted rapist, if you ask me, one less of those on a school campus is good enough for me." Bakugo shrugged.

"This is serious, Bakugo, you could get suspended from the force, we could all be in jeopardy because of this, you can't let your temper get the best of you." Iida tried reasoning.

"Look, I do my job and I do it well." Bakugo argued, "Try firing me and see how many criminals you can catch by yourself without me."

Iida realized he was getting nowhere and he usually never could when it came to Bakugo Katsuki. The captain sighed in frustration, wondering why he still kept Bakugo on his team of detectives. However, Bakugo did have one point and it was that he did do his job. He was a hot head and a complete blaggard at times but he was smart, probably one of the smartest of his four detectives. By now they all knew their strengths and weaknesses but he couldn't keep voucing for him for long and he had to realize that.

But before he could even continue his argument, another of his detectives, Midorya Izuku, burst in, his green shaggy hair becoming sweaty from his rushing, "Captain!" he yelled, practically panting.

"What is it Midorya?" Iida asked.

"Hostage situation down at the Publisher's Capital building." He said in a rushed voice, "Todoroki and Kirishima are already headed down."

"Let's go." Iida ordered to both Midorya and Bakugo who immediately grabbed their jackets and took off behind him.

"Shotgun!" Bakugo yelled, shoving Midorya aside to get beside the captain in his police SUV. They turned the sirens on, and Iida immediately called Todoroki to find out more about the situation. Bakugo and Midorya listened intently.

"It looks like eight hostages were taken and trapped in some conference room on the ninth floor." Todoroki said over the loudspeaker, his usually calm and bored voice taking on an edge, "Someone mentioned seeing at least four gunmen. They set off a bomb at about forty-five minutes ago and grabbed a bunch of people."

"Is it money they're after?" Midorya asked, his brow furrowed over his green eyes in concentration.

"We're not sure, no ransom or call for money has been made. It's just…odd." Todoroki admitted, for once sounding a tad apprehensive.

Iida looked quickly at both Bakugo and Midorya nervously and then became more focused, "We should be there in a few minutes, be prepared for anything."

"Yes Captain!" Todoroki agreed before hanging up.

"Sounds like a pretty bad situation for those people." Midorya commented.

"Hope I get to shoot someone." Bakugo admitted, "I'm having a shitty day."

"Kaachan!" Midorya hissed in annoyance. He was usually able to handle his childhood friend's ego at times but when he needed to, he wasn't afraid to put him in his place, much to Bakugo's annoyance.

"Shooting won't solve anything." Iida commanded, "We are going to need information and we need those hostages alive, so the cooler we keep our heads the better."

Bakugo shrugged in annoyance but narrowed his crimson eyes with focus. No bad guys ever got away from him, ever and he would love to see this crew try it now.

…

Todoroki glanced nervously at Kirishima as they looked up at the building. It was chaos on the street with roads blocked, SWAT units everywhere, news reporters clamoring to interview police and civilians and all the while, eight poor souls were trapped in a mysterious situation that even he couldn't explain.

He considered himself calm most of the time, but for some reason, this sent a chill up his spine. He'd been involved in a lot of hostage negotiations. There was always some reason and usually, no one was killed or harmed to the point of no return. But to not be able to know what was happening, it made him uneasy.

He wiped a few sweaty strands of red and white hair from his eyes, showing his red burn scar on the left side of his face a little more clearly, his blue iris practically glowing with intensity as it contrasted the red on his face and hair. Kirishima tightened his bullet proof vest and adjusted the ear piece by his spiky red hair and gave the police behind him a determined look before admitting to Todoroki, "I don't like this at all, man."

"Neither do I." Todoroki admitted back, feeling a knot in his stomach.

"Todoroki!"

He turned to see Midorya, Bakugo, and the captain all headed towards them, putting on bullet proof vests and adjusting their guns.

"Any news?" Iida asked as he finished putting in an ear piece.

Both Todoroki and Kirishima shook their heads, looking grim.

"Does anyone have any clue what's happening?" Midorya asked as he looked up towards the building where smoke and debris were falling from the eighth story windows.

"All we know is, eight people are trapped up there with gunmen, four or five I think." Kirishima said with a slight shake in his voice as he pointed.

Iida then turned to his team as they huddled, trying to come up with a plan when they heard someone in the street scream, "Oh my God, look!"

Everyone looked up and they watched in horror as a body came hurling down at them from the eighth story window. People were screaming and officers pointed their guns, ready to shoot at the windows while the five of them watched the body slam to the ground, the thud as it hit the ground resounding in their ears. They rushed forward to find a male's body, dismembered and bleeding, lay before them in a heap. It was like someone tossed down a piece of trash with a lack of total disregard for human life and it made them both sickened and angry.

Todoroki went to check for a pulse but knew before he even tried he wouldn't find one. This man's eyes were open and seemed fixed in a permanent state of shock as it stared blankly at them. He looked horrible, like someone had taken a baseball bat to him, cutting him open to flay him alive. His left arm was missing, and he was almost unrecognizable.

He shook his head sadly and looked up to the building. None of them saw a thing.

"Move!" A firm demanding voice said and they stood to see the police chief, Yagi Toshinori storming over with some more men. The look on his face when he saw the deceased man was a look of shock, disgust, and anguish. His piercing blue eyes then turned to the building, "Get this man covered up, give him some shred of dignitiy." He hissed as he stormed back and grabbed the megaphone from another officer. Someone came over with a sheet to cover the man. They couldn't move him yet due to it being a crime scene, but with all the onlookers and journalists intermingled with photographers and police, it was evident that there was savagery going on in the building.

"We have to get in there." Kirishima said firmly, his face turning green as they walked away from the body.

"We don't know the full extent of the situation." Midorya explained.

"The amount of time that's gone by, if this is just one of the victims, there's seven more in there, who knows how long this will take and we need answers and they need help." Kirishima argued.

Iida seemed to weigh his options as Midorya and Kirishima argued. Todoroki glanced at Bakugo who for the first time since knowing him in his career, looked deathly calm. He wasn't his normal cocky self, ready to shoot at random; he was pondering something. It was a moment like this that did give Todoroki pause because when Bakugo became serious, the situation was serious. It was the only thing he truly trusted about the hot heads work ethic.

The four of them started at the force together, all with different backgrounds but the same level of intensity to do their job well. They normally worked in pairs but stayed a group.

Iida, their captain, kept the order and played by the rules when they couldn't.

Midorya usually followed the rules, but when it came to rescue, he was impulsive and headstrong. He was the one Todoroki followed instinctively as Midorya was very methodical and logical. Todoroki was the one they always sent in if it got chaotic at any time. He had the ability to stare down an opponent and make them cringe without saying a word. Whether it was the burn scar on the left side of his face or his cold eyes, he didn't know, but he was always able to keep a level head even in times of crisis. Kirishima was the one everyone on the force called 'the muscle'. He could tackle any criminal and still have a smile on his face. He was usually the good cop when everyone else felt like they couldn't handle the stress. He usually got partnered with Bakugo as his good nature usually came in handy in calming down the hot-headed blonde who seemed to explode with every syllable.

This was a team Todoroki could count on and he could usually predict how each would handle a situation. But much like the current hostage situation going on, he had no clue what was going on inside the mind of Bakugo.

"This is taking too long and who knows what's happening up there!" Kirishima nearly cried.

"I think I have a pretty good idea." Bakugo suddenly chimed in.

They all stared at him and he pointed. Looking up they suddenly noticed a large white banner, most likely made from some table cloth being hung out the window. It was covered in red markings and between trying to figure out what it was and see if they could spot the criminals they were able to catch what it said; WE'RE DONE FOR NOW

…..

Ochako felt dizzy but above all felt nothing but pain. Her swollen eyes blinked open, her throat trying desperately to work as she heard muffled voices around her.

She couldn't move and every breath she tried to take caused her whole body to shoot pain in every direction. She tried to figure out where she was and what was happening. She suddenly felt something put on her face and felt clean air for the first time since that horrible blast in the building.

"Ma'am!" A voice called to her, "Ma'am? Can you hear us?"

She felt fingers prodding her and she wanted to tell them to stop but could barely move her lips. Fuzzy images started to come together, and she could start to see a little more clearly.

The first thing she saw was a severed arm; her friend's arm. She knew it was hers by the watch she always wore…used to wear.

A single tear fell down her face as horrible images flooded her memory, images of watching her coworkers and friends beaten, burned, dismembered, and tossed around like garbage. She remembered the laughter mixed in with the screams of pain. She remembered when it was her turn.

Her ears began to ring, and she felt lifted off the ground and realized that she was on a stretcher and finally leaving that hell hole. She prayed she wasn't the only one leaving just barely alive. At least she'd see the sun shining one last time.

She managed to glance over at the voice and saw a head of green hair and soft green eyes staring down at her. It was the friendliest face she'd seen all day and she was relieved to know she'd at least have someone kind tending to her as she took her final breaths.

"O-Ochako Ura-Uraraka." She breathed out.

"Uraraka?" He repeated.

She blinked and he nodded, "Don't worry, we're taking you to the hospital now, you're safe."

"My-my friends…" she breathed again.

His face fell for a fraction of a second before putting on a comforting smile, but it was too late, she'd seen the look on his face and knew, no one else was getting out of that building alive.

As bright sunlight hit her face, flashes of blood pierced into her mind and the horror of what happened sunk in. She didn't want to think about that before she died, she wanted to see the sun, she wanted to see her friends…she wanted her parents.

But with that final thought, darkness overtook her, and she took it willingly, not wanting to feel pain anymore.