-When the purple mist appeared around her, Star had been alarmed. When she was ripped out of Mashirao's grasp, she had been panicked. When she felt herself falling into purple nothingness, she thought she had died. Turns out, she would end up wishing she had. -
-Then she wouldn't have had to see the crazed eyes of the masked lunatic as he held her temples in his black and red fingers. She wouldn't have had liquids injected into her arm, making her quirk amplified beyond her control. She wouldn't have felt him force her quirk to ripple through her entire being, through his entire being, and out into the world. She wouldn't have had to hear every voice, every feeling, every sorrow, every dream, every everything in existence. -
-It went on for what could've been an hour or a second, she didn't know, couldn't think. Even if she could think, she wouldn't be able to hear it over the thousands of voices in her head. The sound was debilitating, and it felt like she wasn't there anymore. Like she was buried underground and breathing in dirt except instead of dirt it was sound and she felt claustrophobic as the voices closed in and breathing was--
-It stopped, and Star hadn't realized she had been screaming until the voices faded. Her throat was raw, and she was on the ground somehow, sweat covering her body. She could barely hear the man over the ringing in her ears and could barely see him through the swimming of her vision, but his voice rang clear in her mind. -
-"I have located the one with shock absorption. Their name has changed and they had their quirk pulled from the registry in a futile attempt to avoid their fate…." They would need the brainwasher soon.-
-Star registered that her hands, feet, and neck were all chained to the ground. As her vision cleared, the man was across the room, talking to a TV. If she wasn't touching him, why could she still hear him? She tried rattling the chains, but still heard nothing outside of her mind over the ringing in her ears. She's aware of what happens when she over uses her quirk. She's used to the low ringing in her ears that signals her limit... but this was so much worse. It was like her ears were contracting into themselves at the sheer volume of it. -
-She put her hand by her ears, holding them as ringing increased. Feeling something wet, she was shocked to see blood on her hand as she pulled them away from her ears. For a second, she thought the scientist's quirk had caused it. It wasn't until she saw the red under her own nails that she realized. She shuddered as realization washed over her, shaking violently.-
Star finally pulled herself out, gasping from the effort as she maintained the connections. Clenching her teeth as her ears began to rang, she focused on a new memory.
-Person after person was located as her quirk was used again and again. It was so cold... Her breathing quickened as she collapsed to the ground like a ragdoll. Her head hit the concrete as she landed, causing the ringing to sharply increase. She felt the familiar wetness around her ears, the familiar sting that reminded her just how out of her mind the overuse had driven her. Hitoshi was next to her in the lab, chained up. Weakly she cried out to him as the scientist approached him. -
-"Hito-" -
-She tried to block out the pain and overexertion as the masked scientist's fingers turned into black tendrils with red cracked spikes and pierced into Hitoshi's temples. She could feel his agony as the same pain she just endured ripped through him. Person after person was called, and when they answered, it was too late. Hitoshi yelled until his throat was raw, and the scientist would activate the quirk the second the person on the other line heard his voice. The people never stood a chance… They'd hide, and the scientist used Star to find them. They'd lock themselves away, and Hitoshi would be used next to bring them out... -
The ringing in her ears became a loud roaring as she pulled out of that memory. After 5 hours of projecting, this was beyond pushing her limits, and she felt her grasp over her control weakening. She was so close to done though… Gritting her teeth, she struggled to hold on to the next one.
-The cold seeped into her bones as she sank to her knees on the concrete. She relentlessly tried to pull against the chains as a child with bright blue eyes and messy brown hair was hooked up to the machine, under Hitoshi's unwilling command. As the tubes were inserted, the boy fell into an uneasy sleep, struggling in vain as the machine took what it needed. Hitoshi hit the ground hard next to her as the masked man released him from his quirk, moving to stand in front of the creature in the giant tube. -
-The Anti Symbol of Peace, bioengineered to kill the one called All Might, Symbol of Peace. She could hear the masked scientist's mind clearly. They would transfer this one to the warehouse soon with the rest of them… but first… -
-"NO!" Star gasped, standing up as she fought harder against the chains. Hitoshi looked at her in alarm, eyes widening as he recognized her reaction. He opened his mouth, eyes wide in horror, but an immature voice from the TV cut him off. -
-"Nomu, kill the spares." -
"Wait, what happened?"
Star could no longer feel Bakugo by her side. Instead she felt the chains biting into her skin, the cold concrete against her knees. She was in the lab.
=Hitoshi's screams of horror mixed with the Nomu's terrible screech=
"The projection is flashing in and out, this didn't happen before."
=as the people fell one by one, dead, her own scream ringing in her ears. =
"Olivia's breathing is too fast."
"A flashback is probably mixing with Chickadee's quirk."
=They watched as the children were hooked up to machines and drained, the life fading from their eyes. =
"Olivia? Can you hear me-"
"Get the fuck away from her, Icyhot!"
=She felt Hitoshi's agony and guilt on top of her own, they were the reason these people died. =
"You don't understand, she's having a-"
"I don't give a fuck! You don't think I know that?! Move!"
=And when that group was done =
"Pilot-"
"Fuck off, Pigeon!"
+she had to find more=
"Red."
=and he had to bring more=
"Red!"
=the agony of their quirks being used for them=
"FRECKLES!"
=ripping their minds apart=
"Fuck this."
=they would've been better off dead, then those people would've lived=
"BAKUGO, NO!"
She was suddenly doused in ice cold water and she gasped, blinking and removing her hands from her ears.
Bakugo was in front of her, empty water bottle in one hand, the other in Todoroki's face, crackling. Todoroki also had his hand pointed at Bakugo, who had ice running up his body and a feather was at both men's throats. They were both panting.
No, wait. Star was panting, not them. She breathed in deeply, feeling starved for oxygen and looked around. She wasn't in the lab. She wasn't there. She was safe, and Hitoshi was safe, and-
"UNFREEZE ME NOW YOU ICY HOT BASTARD!" Bakugo roared, and Star could feel his frustration at being frozen, unable to move to her.
She could feel the need in his mind to reassure himself that she was here, the need to remind himself that the horror he just went through was in the past.
The images flickered erratically in his mind. How much he hated Todoroki for his power- for being as powerful as himself- possibly even more powerful- how he had managed to catch him in his ice despite his skill level- he hated him for it- he hated feeling powerless-
She was distracted when she heard her name.
Olivia, calm down. I'll handle this. Todoroki mentally said, not taking his eyes off of Bakugo.
She hesitated, shivering as she wrapped her arms around herself. The feather's by the men's throats left and flew back to their owner who was walking towards her as Endeavor approached the two male students.
Hawks shrugged off his giant jacket, putting it around her. For once... he didn't look laid back. She could feel how he had been caught off guard by living through her memories, how he was steeling himself for what was yet to come.
She shivered more at the thought of him willingly walking into a place like that, and decided he was the bravest Pro Hero she knew. Even if he was kind of a jerk sometimes.
A handkerchief suddenly touched the side of her head, around her ears, and she gasped as it stung. Sir Nighteye was next to her. When he moved the handkerchief to her other ear, she caught sight of the blood on it.
Looking down at her nails, she saw the red under them as well, and her breathing stopped.