#sp: don't make me a hero i've always been the villain

[masonoftheisland]

don’t make me a hero i’ve always been a villain // self-para

“You have me Mason, June is watching and I’m still with you just put the knife down.”

Everything in the moments between the phone call from his sobbing mother to the time he stood in the local police station, watching Daisy hovering around his brother were blurred. And his brother, his best friend, looked so broken. But who was he to comfort him? Who was he to take Daisy’s place as she held a blanket around him? He was nobody. Nobody who deserved to do that, at least. Suddenly he was filled with the insatiable urge to do something to fix it. To do anything useful other than sit there feeling miserable.

His legs took him faster than he really thought possible across the island. He passed Nirvana, passed Pop’s, passed the pavilion where he’d charmed a few too many girls. But none of that registered as he hopped onto the boat Ocean had left him in his will. It was the middle of the night when he started the boat and he had no idea where he was going or how much gas was in the boat’s tank when he took off but he closed his eyes, muted the sound of the boat engine in his mind as it began revving, and asked his grandfather to help.

“Gramps? Ocean? Hey man. If you can hear me, if… if anyone can hear me, I need some help. I’ve done some shi- some bad things and I want to help someone I love. I don’t know what I’m doing or where I’m going but I know I have to do something. Please help.” And maybe it was only in his mind, desperate to fix this, but he could have sworn the boat pulled in a direction only slightly different from where he’d been steering it. Miraculously, the boat didn’t seem to use much gas on its trip and after a few more surprise turns, Mason opted to look around the boat for anything he could use as a weapon. Luckily, he found the knife Ocean used to cut his nets if necessary and it still looked sharp. He passed a couple of houseboats, stopped for the evening, but none of them made him want to stop. By the time he was getting worried about how far away from shore he’d gotten, he saw a large, old fishing boat off in the distance with a piece of pink fabric was hanging off the side. He didn’t need any spirits or Ocean’s guidance to know that’s where she was. Putting the boat in wake mode, he floated towards the other boat and held his hand out to stop himself before he ran into the boat. With hands that had been expertly trained for years, he tied his boat to a few spots on the larger one before climbing the rickety ladder, with the knife clenched between his teeth.

He rolled over the side of the other boat, landing quietly on his feet. Creeping around with his back hunched over, he found a doll that June never seemed to be far from abandoned on the deck.

“June!” He finally called out, wielding the knife in one hand and his other hand curled into a fist.

“Mason!” He rushed in the direction of the sound of her voice but hadn’t anticipated the blow that landed against the side of his face as soon as he laid eyes on the little girl.

“Fuck,” he moaned out, trying to regain his balance. Soon, his instincts kicked in and he was thankful for all of the fights he’d gotten in. His left hand, that had been curled into a fist, swung around and landed a hard blow against Dennis Young’s jaw. Another blow, this time an uppercut that finally knocked him to the ground. “June, June I want you to go to the ba-”

Dennis abruptly kicked Mason’s knee, causing him to crumple down and try not to think about the pain as he looked at June’s frantic and terrified face. “June go to the back. Go to the back, Bug it’s okay, it’s okay, I’ll be there it’s okay.” The words came out rushed, stumbling over each other as he quickly kicked her father in the face to keep him back while she ran towards the back of the boat.

“That’s my fucking daughter!” Mason moved out of the way of his heavy boot as it aimed for his head and pushed himself upright again.

“Then you should have fucking acted like it 10 years ago!” Unfortunately, the man who ruined the life of the only two people he’d ever looked at as siblings was quite strong himself. He shoved Mason against the captain’s door and held his hands around his throat. Mason told himself to remain calm, not to panic, not to blackout, to stay /there/ and be /there/.

“Tell my miserable mistake of a son his secondhand daughter will be next if you don’t let me leave with mine.”

“Hey fuck you!” Mason choked out, trying to push him away. When he failed, Mason spun the knife he held around and thrusted it into the man’s side, twisting it just a bit. Once again, Mason had the advantage and he took it by shoving him to the ground, coughing violently as he recovered from the chokehold. He kneeled on his chest, applying even more pressure on the wound he’d left on his side. “I told you I’d fucking kill you, I told you I would!! I should have killed you years ago! I wanted to, I WANTED TO!! I should have!” Now Mason could feel himself slipping, trying desperately not to lose himself. “You’re fucking scum, I should have killed you.”

“You should have,” he said with a dry laugh, not even trying to fight back because they both know he’d lose with the amount of blood he’d lost. “Maybe then I wouldn’t have seen the life leave your grandpa’s eyes while I choked it out of him.”

“No.” It was unclear who he was talking to. Mostly himself. “No. No. No no no no no.” The next thing he knew, his own hands were around the man’s throat and he was squeezing so hard he thought the bones might snap. “No! No! NO! NO!!!!” Mason screamed as he slammed his head into the floor of the boat with every word. “NO! NO NO NO!!! I’ll kill you I WILL KILL YOU!” The knife in his hand went to Dustin’s father’s throat and, had it not been for Ocean’s voice running through his mind, he would have sliced without hesitation.

“Son, this is not who you are…” Said a deep voice in a thick accent.

“HE KILLED YOU!”

“You don’t need to do this, be a better man than this.”

“Grandpa he KILLED YOU!”

“Just get up, walk away. Walk away Mason. Put the knife down.”

“I want you to be back!” He shouted.

“You have me Mason, June is watching and I’m still with you just put the knife down.”

Finally, he cracked. Maybe it was Ocean’s voice and maybe it was the fact that June was apparently watching but either way he broke. He dropped the knife and, with a final crack of his skull against the boat, his body fell limp and he went unconscious. Mason caught his breath, wiping the blood off of his face and grabbing the rope near him.

“June, June it’s okay. It’s going to be okay. I’m gonna climb into my boat and I’ll help you in. And it’s okay it’s all over now, alright? It’s gonna be okay.” Mason wasn’t sure where June was, but he rolled the older man over and used the rope to tie his hands and feet together. His heart dropped when he turned to see the girl who was too close to have not heard a large portion of the conversation or see Mason’s violent side. “I’m sorry you had to see that. It’s okay Buggy. It’s okay. Come here, you’re okay.” He left her father forgotten on the deck as he rushed to get June in his own boat, making sure she was secured in a life jacket and assuring her he’d be back in one moment.

And he was, he threw the limp body over his shoulder and climbed down into the boat. “Hold on tight, Bug. We’ll be there soon.” It was a quiet boat ride back to the shore but as soon as they docked the boat, Mason lifted June out of the boat and took the key so, if by some chance, Dennis woke up, he couldn’t get away. Picking June up, he ran his way to the sheriff station, pushing the door open with his knee.

“I have June Young, someone needs to make sure she’s okay. I need two people to come with me, like, now.” His voice was loud but gentle all at once so he wouldn’t scare June. Dustin came up and grabbed his sister, holding her tightly to his chest. “I’m not fucking around I have the man who killed Ocean in my fucking boat I need two people now.”

So he ran back to the boat, thankful that the man was still out cold. Again, he threw his body over his shoulder and walked towards the police station.

“I need one of you to go up and make sure June is not around, I don’t want Dustin there either. This man is a piece of shit who beat his son, kidnapped his own fucking daughter and killed my fucking grandfather. He killed him. So go, get them away and I’ll get him in there.” One of the people who had accompanied him ran forward, following his instructions as the other man looked at Mason as if he wanted to help. The satisfying thud of [NAME]’s body on the ground was music to Mason’s ears. “Take him out of my fucking sight.”

He was forced to make a statement, made sure everyone who needed to know knew that he had admitted to killing Ocean and knew he’d been choked, a secret hidden from the public. It wouldn’t be hard to book him on several charges, it seemed. Still, Mason’s hands shook and he walked past a crying Daisy, who was being told that Dustin’s father had threatened Lola, as he walked past the cell where the shitbag was being held, as he rushed past his siblings, trying not to look at them know what June knew now - what he was capable of. He walked past all of them before collapsing in the sand, the loss of his grandfather fresh and the cuts he felt deepened. Still, for the first time in a long time he didn’t feel like he needed to cry. He’d done something good. He’d saved June and his grandfather was really still there with him. Things would be okay. He tried desperately not to replay Dennis’ words over and over again in his mind, tried thinking about the good instead.

By the time there was another pair of hands on his shoulders he hadn’t decided whether it had worked or not. Whether he was in a good place or not. He couldn’t tell. So he just reacted to the hands like a normal, person in a good place, kind of person would do.

“Hey man, is she okay?” Upon realizing it was Dustin, Mason wrapped his arms around his best friend and patted him on the back. “It’s okay, brother. She’s here now and she’s okay. It’s all better now brother.”

[super-predictable98]

Her Hero Academia | MHA/BNHA AU

Chapter 3: Alma's Fangirl Frenzy

Warning: Strong language

(Her Hero Academia Masterlist)

Iida arrived ten minutes before the bell rang to start homeroom. He prided himself on being extremely punctual and was used to being the first one in the classroom. Only this time, he wasn't.

"Iwazaki-san?" he poked her shoulder carefully, not wanting to startle the girl who was asleep, using her purple backpack as a pillow. "What are you doing? Sleeping on the desks is very disrespectful! Don't you think about the people who made it for studying? Or our upperclassmen who-"

"Relax, dude, our upperclassmen probably slept on this desk before me," Alma yawned, fixing her blazer and looking once more at her reflection on the cellphone camera to make sure she looked okay.

"How long have you been here?"

"About an hour... I came in when they opened the gates."

That morning when Carla came into her room to wake her up, she was already dressed and ready to leave. Her uniform was impeccably ironed, her hair had been brushed and styled to perfection, she even made sure to wear brand new shoes. All that in hopes to impress All Might.

"Why?"

"I couldn't sleep at all last night, so I thought I might as well come in early and get some work done, only I ended up falling asleep here instead."

"You're nervous about meeting All Might, aren't you?"

Before she could answer, Yaoyorozu arrived, followed by Todoroki.

"Hi there, Yaoyorozu, Ice Boy," Alma took the chance to escape the question and forget how nervous she actually was.

"My name is Todoroki," he mumbled as he took his seat next to her.

The way she reacted to him was weird. He was probably one of the most handsome guys in school, his voice was mysterious and charming, his hair was awesome, his scar was attractive, he was talented and strong, but she didn't feel lighter at all. It was almost like a gloom around him, a seriousness, stopped her from feeling anything.

He wasn't a bad guy and she didn't dislike him, he was just cold (no pun intended). He didn't seem like he was there to make friends, he got in through recommendations, so of course he would be serious about school, which was admirable. Yet he reminded her of someone she didn't like, she just couldn't remember who.

"Do you know Endeavor by chance?" Alma asked and this time Todoroki was the one saved from answering the question when another group of students walked in, grabbing her attention.

"Big day, huh, Iwazaki-san?" Midoriya smiled. "How are you feeling?"

"Like three trucks ran me over, but in a good way, you know?" she perked up, a glowing aura covering her entire body, she was shining like a...

"Glowstick! Turn that shit off, it's distracting!"

"Kacchan, you didn't burst a blood vessel yet, that's good," she countered, enjoying the way his face contorted upon hearing that nickname. "Aoyama-kun, sparkly as always!"

"Merci!" the boy exclaimed with a flourish.

"Kiri-kun, ready to lose today?" she teased.

"In your dreams, Iwazaki!" Kirishima flashed his sharp fangs.

"I hope you like my ass cause that's all you'll be seeing when you're behind me!" just as she started the sentence everyone stopped talking, leaving her voice as the only sound that could be heard in the entire class. "Wait, that didn't sound right..."

"I'll pretend like I didn't hear that," Aizawa walked in and Kirishima had to cover his laughter.

Mornings were usually pretty boring at UA, at least for the hero course students. Before lunch, they had normal classes every other student has, which Alma was enraged by ("when will I ever use those stupid mathematical equations while fighting a villain?"), she didn't understand yet how important some of that info would be against all sorts of crazy quirks. Heroes have to know a bit of everything.

"You speak English fluently, right, Iwazaki?" Present Mic asked as soon as their lesson started, the last period before lunch.

"Yes, sir, I've spent the last ten years living in the US."

"Alright then, in my class you are only allowed to speak English, are we good?"

"We're good, sensei."

"No no no, not sensei!"

"We're good, teacher," she grinned.

"AWESOME! Since we're at it, tell us a bit more about what it's like living in the US."

"It's pretty much all I've been used to. Most of the schools don't have uniforms or anything, they are way less severe and formal. The heroes are totally different, It's still a little weird for me to be here, when I left I was still in kindergarten. In California, where I lived, there was a huge Asian community, so I kinda grew up knowing about our culture. I grew up speaking English, but also Japanese with my father and Spanish with my mother."

"Show off..." Bakugou muttered.

"Sounds incredible! Because you're so smart, I have special material prepared just for you. You'll be taking advanced English all through secondary school," Present Mic placed a different book on her desk. "For you, Shakespeare."

"Aww, come on!" Alma whined.

"With great knowledge, comes great responsibility, my dear listener."

"Oi! I wanna take advanced English too!" Bakugou protested. "And I'll be better than you!"

"Sorry, but you probably wouldn't be able to keep up," Present Mic turned to write a series of sentences on the board.

"WHAT ARE YOU SAYING? ARE YOU CALLING ME STUPID?"

"You know... You're right, Bakugou," he smirked. "Why don't you sit next to Iwazaki and read a chapter of Too Much Ado with her? If you can keep up, I'll give you the same book."

With a huff, the boy pulled a chair to sit next to Alma, she planted her feet firmly to the floor despite how light she felt when he was near. After one look at the first page, a scowl formed on his face.

"These words don't fucking exist!" he mumbled under his breath. "This book is lame anyway!"

"Something wrong?" she tried not to laugh. "Too hard for you?"

"Nothing is too hard for me!" Bakugou growled, shoving his finger on her chest.

"Iwazaki-san!" Todoroki put both hands on her shoulders when she nearly flipped the desk by floating off her seat. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, thank you," Alma cleared her throat. Why did her body keep doing that?

"You get embarrassed by anything, that's ridiculous," Bakugou rolled his eyes. "I just looked at you, no need to get your panties in a bunch, nerd... I'll read this lame book if it's the last thing I do!"

——————————————————

Alma was barely able to eat anything during lunch, even though the Lunch Rush food was really good. She was too nervous and excited at the same time.

"Hey, Midoriya-kun, do you want the rest?"

"Are you sure? There's like half of it left... If you don't eat properly before exercising you could faint or something!"

"I had a big breakfast, don't worry about me! I'm just gonna get back to class, I forgot my- I- I'm going."

"Iwazaki! You look so pale, like a ghost or something, do you need anything?" Kirishima insisted. "I can go to the infirmary with you."

"No need, Kiri-kun, I'm totally fine."

It felt like forever until everyone was finally reunited and ready for the first afternoon class. She started at the door without even blinking until it finally opened and a rush of wind came in with their sensei.

"I am... WALKING IN LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!" he exclaimed.

"All Might," she breathed, holding back her tears, she didn't want him to have a bad first impression of her.

"Iwazaki-san!" Midoriya cheered, unable to look away from her and her starstruck expression.

"This is the best day of my life!" she whispered to herself, making Todoroki shake his head with a smile. It was wholesome how a simple moment like this could mean so much to her.

"I teach basic hero training, you are all going to practice a lot to get better every single day and learn the fundaments of being a hero," All Might started, but she could barely pay attention, the only thing in her mind was her father's voice:

Do you hear that, Alma? That's All Might! One day when we go back to Japan we can meet him!

"And today's task is... Combat Training!" his thunderous voice echoed all over the classroom. "Of course you'll get to use your costumes made specifically for your quirks according to the requests you made before the year started. Now take the case with your number and when you're done changing, let's all meet up at the Ground Beta."

"Yes, sir!" everyone exclaimed.

Alma jumped from her seat, making her way to the front to get her case, and ran like never before to the locker room. Before all the girls arrived she was already dressed and heading to the Ground Beta.

Her costume wasn't too elaborate, something she could easily move around with: a white bodysuit with pink and purple lines that worked as a resistance enhancing technology, built-in wireless earbuds that connected to her phone, gauntlets that allowed her to direct and diffuse her light if needed, and boots with jet propulsion to increase her flying speed.

To tie it all together, a belt and a matching necklace with the initials CV, which stood for the hero name she always wanted since she was a little girl. The necklace was a special request, a device to stop her from floating when she didn't want to and accumulate the energy used to lift her body in case of an emergency.

"Hello? Where's everyone?" All Might looked around confused as a single girl stood in front of him, panting and trying to catch her breath.

"They are getting ready, sensei. I was in a hurry, I've been waiting all day to meet you!" Alma explained as the glow around her grew brighter and brighter.

"Alma Iwazaki, isn't it?" he chuckled, Midoriya had mentioned her after the entrance exam.

"That's me! It's a pleasure- no, an honor to meet you! When I found out you'd be my teacher I nearly had a heart attack! I'll do my best to make you proud, I'll try to be the best student you will ever teach, and one day I'll be just like you!"

"So energetic, I like that," he placed one hand on her shoulder and upon taking a better look at her face, he realized something that scared him, but comforted him at the same time. "You look so familiar, your eyes remind me of someone I knew a long time ago. Iwazaki is your name, right? Is that from your father?"

"Yes, sensei, my mother's name is Hernandez."

"Huh..." he noticed how bright her glow was and it was heartwarming. She had dark circles starting to form under her eyes, she probably didn't sleep all night because of that moment, she was shaking with excitement. "The honor is all mine to teach a brilliant young lady like you," he opened his arms to offer a hug which she quickly ran into.

"All Might," Alma sighed, her eyes filled with happy tears. "My father would've loved to meet you. But I'm sure he'd be happy I can."

"I'm sure he would! Your quirk, the vibe... You glow, you get super strength, super resistance, and you float, is that right? That's a huge range."

"I guess so, it's a hybrid quirk. My dad's family is quirkless, completely, my mom doesn't have any quirks either. But my grandma passed me the strength and resistance, my grandpa passed me the glow."

"And the floating?"

"Nobody else has it. As far as I know, I'm the first. The doctors blamed it on a hidden gene from my dad's side, but I don't know."

"Interesting..." he mused, feeling a weird tightness in his chest, but quickly pushed it aside when the others arrived. "Oh! They say clothes make the person, now you are all heroes! Very well, you all look great!"

"What the fuck is she doing there already?" Bakugou groaned, unreasonably annoyed.

"Now let's get started, you zygotes!"

While All Might explained about the nature of the training and how it would help them fight actual villains in the future, Alma did her best to pay attention, but all the different costumes around her were extremely distracting.

Iida looked more like a Transformer from the movies her grandad liked so much, Aoyama looked like a knight in (literally) shining armor. Deku was absolutely hilarious with his improvised jumpsuit. Bakugou had probably the nicest costume in there and his arms just looked so nice with that tank top on, but the one really stealing her attention was Kirishima.

"Is that considered a costume if you're almost naked?" she held tightly to her necklace, thanking the support team from the bottom of her heart.

"You don't like it?" he looked down at his bare torso covered only by two bulky shoulder pads and the thinnest sash known to man. Thankfully (or unthankfully) his bottom half was well covered. He also had a special belt with an R that she assumed would stand for Red, and a mask (muzzle?) that didn't seem to have any purpose besides making him look badass.

"N-no, that's not it, I just wonder if you won't get hurt," Alma looked down, the necklace did stop her from floating, but nothing could stop her from blushing. "That doesn't seem like it would protect you too much."

"No worries, with my quirk I don't really need any armor, I'm the armor! See?" Kirishima hardened his chest and his abs. "Punch me, as hard as you want."

"Are you sure?"

"Go ahead!"

Despite having her strength enhanced at that moment, she decided not to use it, scared to send him flying across the field, but that might've been a mistake. His skin was hard as a rock and her hand would've been broken if it wasn't for her resistance.

"Oh my..." Alma hissed. "That's amazing!"

"Thanks, you didn't get hurt, did you?"

"No, I'm fine," passed the shock, she realized she just touched his muscles, which made her red in the face once again.

"How will win and loss be determined?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Can we beat them up anyway?" Bakugou growled.

"Is anyone at risk of expulsion like with Aizawa sensei?" Uraraka mumbled.

"How shall we be split up?" Iida raised his hand in a robotic manner.

"Isn't this cape crazy?" Aoyama drawled.

"Yes! I like the cape Aoyama-kun," Alma took the opportunity to look away from Kirishima. "It suits you."

"Merci! I knew someone in here had to have good taste."

"Calm down, I'll answer all your questions!" All Might seemed overwhelmed already, very different from the cold, standoffish vibe they got from Aizawa.

"Is that a script?" Midoriya murmured as their sensei pulled out a piece of paper to check the instructions.

"That's his first time teaching, cut him some slack," Alma quickly jumped to his defense.

"Y-yeah, you're right, Iwazaki-san. It must be hard."

All Might explained the mechanisms of the battle, two teams of two would compete over a fake nuclear weapon. The villains would try to defend it while the heroes would try to retrieve it or capture their opponents.

"Teams and opponents will be determined by drawing lots," he grabbed a box with their names inside.

"They will be decided like that?" Iida protested. "Haphazardly?"

"Pros do it all the time, makeshift teams with heroes from other agencies," Midoriya explained.

"I see... Sensei has the discernment to look ahead. Please excuse my rudeness!"

"No problem, let's do this quickly!" All Might reached into the box to pull the first name.

As the teams were randomly picked out, Alma was hoping to be paired with Midoriya, Jiro, or Kirishima, but she ended up with someone she didn't even notice until that moment, even though he sat right in front of her:

"Alma Iwazaki and Koji Koda against Yuga Aoyama and Mina Ashido."

"Koda... Koda... Who is that?" she looked around until she found the sweetest-looking guy with his hand raised. "Oh, Hey! Looks like we're together. Nice to meet you," she shook his hand.

"Hi," he responded in a whisper.

"You don't talk a lot, do you? That's okay, I talk too much so I can make up for it," she laughed. "Why don't you tell me a little bit about your quirk so we can come up with a plan?"

"I- I can talk to animals and they do what I ask," he said softly.

"Nice! We're gonna need birds, lots of them, let's make that room into a scene from a Hitchcock film," she smiled mischievously. "Don't worry about the other team. I'll take care of them, you just keep an eye on the weapon, and when I say Blinding Love you close your eyes. Is that okay?"

He simply nodded in response, happy he wouldn't have to engage in direct combat.

"Ganbare, Koda-kun!"

tag list: @elliethesuperfruitlover @seanfalco