Katherine Ride: Battlefield *BOOK TWO*

Season Three- Ace in the Hole

The sun seemed to set faster than usual as Katherine prepared for the rescue mission.

She slipped on her leather jacket, turning to see her hero name, WildCard, sewn across the back in bold red lettering.

Still not very inconspicuous, but it looks pretty cool. Maybe when we go back to school I can get a jacket with a hood...

Katherine grabbed her fingerless gloves and slipped them on, admiring the card suits on the four fingers of each glove—diamond, spade, heart, and club. She pocketed her black mask and grabbed a hair tie, pulling her hair back into a ponytail. Katherine then grabbed the earpiece for her Data Specs and affixed it into her ear, the piece adjusting automatically to fit more snugly. As she was about to walk out of her room, she saw a stray eyeliner pen on her desk. She stared at it and smiled.

Well...it's what Mina would want.

She quickly grabbed the eyeliner and applied it. Finally, she felt she was ready.

When Katherine walked out of her room and into the living room, her dads were standing in the middle of the floor, staring at her. Aizawa, she could see, had shaved and straightened up for the press conference. She gave them a small grin. "So? How do I look?"

Mic chuckled, but Katherine could already see tears forming in his eyes. Sighing, she held out her arms and the two immediately wrapped her in a group hug. "I'm going to be fine, dads," she promised. All the same, she hugged back tightly.

"We should be going with you," Aizawa murmured.

"No, you shouldn't. None of us would be objective."

Mic sniffled but nodded. "She's right, Shota. This is something she'll have to handle on her own."

Katherine pulled away. "I won't be on my own. All Might will be there, and so will Kamui Woods, I think," she mused. "Besides, I'm not going to be near any of the action."

"We know. Just—Katherine, please be careful. If something goes wrong–" Aizawa began.

"It won't. And if it does, I'll try my best to stay safe."

There was a knock at the door. Katherine took a deep breath and looked at her dads, the slightest hint of hesitance in her eyes. Mic smiled at her and kissed her on the top of the head. "You're gonna do great, kiddo. Don't let us freak you out."

She nodded and made her way to the door, opening it, and there on the front steps was All Might. "You ready for this?" he asked.

"Ready as I'll ever be."

"Katherine," Aizawa interrupted, "one more thing before you leave."

She turned, and he held out a stun blade, Katherine's preferred weapon from U.A.'s weapons closet. "Just in case."

Katherine smiled, taking the stun blade and putting it in the weapon hold on her belt. "I'll see you soon. Good luck with the press conference."

"Love you!" Mic called to her as she walked off the porch to All Might's car.

She waved, then got in the passenger's seat. All Might turned to Aizawa and Mic with a serious expression. "I won't let anything happen to her," he promised. "I swear on my life, she'll make it home safe."

Aizawa nodded. "She'd better."

As All Might made his way to the car, Mic leaned his head on Aizawa's shoulder. "She's worried about something, Shota," he whispered. "And she's not telling us."

"I know," he mumbled. "Let's just hope it's not too serious."

...

The drive to the police headquarters—where the briefing for the mission would be taking place—was quiet. Katherine was more solemn than All Might had ever seen.