Chapter 4

Bakugo sat up with a sharp breath, the bedsheets twisted around his legs like restraints. For a moment, the unfamiliar ceiling threw him off. Too high. Too quiet. No smell of miso soup. No blast of morning TV. No yelling from his mom.

Then it hit him he was in the Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

The freak zone.

He ran a hand through his hair, eyes narrowing. One month. That was the deal. Just one damn month to see if this place was worth anything.

"Still here," he muttered, hauling himself out of bed.

The hardwood floor was freezing. The pipes groaned when he twisted on the hot water, and the shower hissed with a mind of its own. The steam built fast, fogging up the mirror as he stood under the water, silent and still.

Memories of the past few days flickered in his mind Xavier's offer, Gambit's smug smile, the strange way this mansion hummed like it was alive.

He didn't trust it.

And he sure as hell didn't trust the people.

Wrapped in a towel, he stepped back into his room, hair damp, still drying his face—

—and a girl phased straight through the door.

"What the—!?"

"Ahh! I'm sorry!" she shrieked, slapping a hand over her eyes like it'd help. "I didn't …I thought…I knocked!"

Bakugo's palms crackled instinctively. "You phased through a locked door, dumbass!"

"I swear I knocked! You didn't answer, and breakfast's ready and I didn't mean to …..I'm Kitty Pryde!"

She phased back through the wall like a ghost vanishing into air, her voice trailing behind her.

Bakugo stood there, shirtless, dripping water onto the floor, towel in one hand, the other sparking.

He blinked once.

Then rubbed a hand down his face.

"…This school is cursed."

Fifteen minutes later, Bakugo stomped into the cafeteria. His shirt clung slightly to his still-damp skin, hair spiked up like usual, eyes sharp and half-daring someone to look at him wrong.

Mutants filled the room laughing, shouting, telekinetically floating tater tots. He grabbed a tray without a word, dumped cereal into a bowl, ignored the rainbow smoothies, and scanned for the emptiest table.

Far back corner. Perfect.

He sat down, head down, spoon clinking against ceramic.

For half a second, he almost relaxed.

Then he felt it.

A stare.

He looked up.

Laura. Sitting three tables away, tray untouched. Watching him with eyes sharp as glass.

They locked eyes. No words. No movement.

Just tension. Pure, unspoken threat.

Bakugo didn't blink.

Neither did she.

Round two was coming.

Then—

CLANG.

A tray hit the table in front of him.

He didn't even look up. "You again?"

Kitty Pryde sat down with a nervous smile, dressed in an oversized hoodie and still radiating awkwardness. "Hi. Again. Super sorry about this morning…"

The bench groaned as a metal titan took the seat beside her. Shiny, armored skin. Built like a tank.

"Greetings, comrade," said the man in a deep Russian accent. "I am Piotr Rasputin. Colossus."

Bakugo shoveled cereal into his mouth. "Cool. Don't care."

Kitty chuckled nervously. "Right. Not a talker. Got it."

Colossus smiled, unfazed. "He has fire. It is good. One day, it may be tempered."

Bakugo downed the last spoonful, stood, and dumped the tray in the bin with a sharp clatter.

He glanced once more at Laura, who hadn't moved.

Then muttered, "Not here to make friends. Just counting days."

He walked off.

Kitty winced. "That could've gone worse."

Colossus gave a soft chuckle. "It will. But not today."

SLAM.

Xavier's office doors flew open with a thunderclap. Charles didn't even blink.

"Alright, Baldy," Bakugo barked, fists clenched. "Where the hell can I blow something up before I snap and incinerate your rose bushes?"

Scott Summers turned from beside the desk, arms folded, expression stony. "We knock before entering."

Bakugo scoffed. "Didn't hear that rule when your lecture face was on."

From the corner, a gravelly voice cut in.

"Kid's got a mouth on him," Logan muttered. He stepped forward from the shadows, arms crossed, boots heavy on the floor. "You want to hit something, I volunteer."

Bakugo turned, grinning. "Pint-sized fury, huh? What are you, the school's emotional support wolverine?"

Logan's fists clenched. "Say that again."

"Gladly. You growl like a chihuahua."

"Enough," Xavier said sharply, his voice slicing through the tension.

Bakugo didn't move, still smirking. Logan looked a hair away from murder.

"I believe," Xavier continued, "you're looking for an outlet, Mr. Bakugo."

"Tch. Yeah. If 'Knife Hands' here doesn't mind."

Logan growled.

"Scott," Xavier said. "Take him to the Danger Room."

Scott didn't need to be asked twice. "Follow me," he said, already heading toward the hall. "And try not to detonate the hallway."

The corridor leading to the Danger Room was long, metallic, and cold. The lights flickered faintly, casting silver shadows across the floor.

Scott walked ahead like a soldier. Bakugo followed, hands in his pockets, posture lazy but the heat radiating off his body said otherwise.

"This Danger Room," Bakugo said, "just a gimmick? A big box where you guys pretend to be heroes and call it training?"

"It's an adaptive simulator," Scott replied without turning. "We use it to prepare for everything. Combat. Rescue. Team coordination."

"Teamwork?" Bakugo spat the word like it burned. "You don't need a team when you're the bomb."

Scott stopped at a massive steel door. Turned. His visor caught the light. "Let's see if your bark matches your blast."

The doors slid open.

Inside, the room was a vast dome of metal and silence. Reinforced steel. Emitters along the ceiling. The air vibrated with potential energy.

Scott entered the control booth. "Welcome to your proving ground."

Bakugo stepped in, cracks of heat already sparking from his palms. "Bring it."

Scott keyed in the command.

Difficulty: Very Hard.

The ceiling opened.

THUD.

Five Sentinels dropped into place, ten feet tall and humming with deadly power.

"TARGET ACQUIRED. COMBUSTION SIGNATURE IDENTIFIED."

Bakugo's grin turned savage. "Oh hell yeah."

The first Sentinel charged.

Bakugo flew upward in a burst of smoke and heat, twisting in midair—

"HOOOOOWITZER—IMPACT!!"

A fiery explosion erupted from his hand, blowing through the Sentinel's chest and ripping it in half.

The second fired a laser.

Bakugo twisted, taking the burn across his arm and blasting downward, twin palms detonating against the metal monster's skull.

BOOM-BOOM.

It crashed like a building.

On the platform, Scott muttered, "He's… adapting. Fast."

Two Sentinels flanked him. Bakugo dropped low, sliding between their legs and launching a flurry of midair blasts.

"CLUSTER BLAST!!"

The storm of explosions lit up the room like a war zone. One Sentinel toppled. The other lost its head.

One remained.

It fired a net.

Bakugo caught it midair, incinerated it, and launched himself like a rocket—

"DIIIIIIEEEE!!!"

The final blast shook the entire dome. Steel melted. The Sentinel collapsed.

Silence.

Smoke hissed across the room. Bakugo stood in the ruins, chest heaving.

Scott walked in slowly. "That was… something."

Bakugo smirked. "Still breathing. Got anything harder?"

Scott narrowed his eyes. "You want a real fight?"

Bakugo nodded once. "Throw it."

Scott hesitated then keyed in a new simulation.

Simulation Loaded: Brotherhood of Mutants.

The air shifted. Buildings rose around them. A ruined city, fire and rubble everywhere.

Then they appeared.

Magneto hovered, arms wide. Sabretooth crouched. Pyro lit up. Scarlet Witch's eyes glowed. Quicksilver vanished in a blink.

Bakugo's smirk vanished.

"…Okay. That's more like it."

The next ten minutes were pure hell.

Bakugo took Pyro's fire head-on, ducked under Sabretooth's claws, and countered with a palm blast that sent the feral mutant flying.

He struck like lightning. Exploded like war.

But they didn't stop coming.

Blob grabbed him. Slammed him. Scarlet Witch warped reality around him. Quicksilver blurred and battered his ribs. Magneto crushed him midair with steel.

"You are reckless," Magneto said. "Power without purpose."

Bakugo screamed.

And then—

His palms exploded with blinding light.

His eyes turned molten orange.

A shockwave burst from his body, shattering the simulation's grip. He dropped to the ground, eyes wide, heart hammering.

He moved.

Faster than ever.

He demolished Sabretooth.

Shredded Blob.

Outsped Quicksilver.

Tore through Pyro.

Snapped Scarlet Witch's spell with a roar that shook the simulation.

And then—

He launched at Magneto.

Final blast.

KA-BOOOOOOOM!!!

When the smoke cleared, nothing stood.

Bakugo swayed.

Collapsed.

From the booth, Scott watched in silence.

"…That power again," he whispered. "It's more than just explosions."

He keyed in the emergency medical team.

Below, Bakugo lay still, steam rising off his back, blood trailing from his lip.

But a smile played at the edge of his mouth.

Like he knew just for a second that he belonged in that fight.

And maybe…

Just maybe…

This place wasn't a total joke.