Flea

Chapter Thirty Eight

Hi sorry for the late update with Xmas and I'm travelling so the jetlag is hitting hard. It should hopefully pick up again soon. As ever, thanks for reading xx

"Let me through," Maeve commanded with so much confidence it was almost like the thing she was asking was reasonable. Almost.

"You know we can't do that, love," one of the heroes in charge of evacuation sighed, directing a pair of hysterical women away from the disaster zone.

"You just got away from them, why do you want to go back?"

Maeve closed her eyes, thinking. When they opened again, they flashed with blue fire.

"Because I'm the only one who has a chance of saving All Might- don't interrupt-" She snapped when they opened their mouths to laugh at her "-He's not as powerful as you think he is, and that villain is more powerful than you can imagine. I'm the only one he won't squash who tries to interfere. None of them think I'm a threat, that's the biggest weapon I have. Let me through or what happens is on your head."

He and his partner glanced at each other and then back at Maeve with pained but affectionate expressions.

"Love, you're not a hero. You can't even use your quirk to help fight. If you want to do something, go to a hospital."

"Do you trust me?" She asked, raising her chin.

"No, not really. Definitely not when it comes to your sense of self-preservation."

Fair enough, Maeve wouldn't either.

"Listen, I could go to the hospital and try to minimise our losses, but once the villain's finished off All Might he'll just keep killing until he finds me. He won't stop. Let me do this; I need to."

The heroes were getting overwhelmed with a sea of citizens needing protection. As soon as they turned to address the crowd, taking their eyes off her, Maeve disappeared in a flash.

"Wait, where did she-"

They frantically searched for a short while, but it was too much effort to be worth it. If Maeve wanted to commit suicide, be it on her head. There were so many people needing help, who actually wanted protection, that it just wasn't worth it.

Maeve elbowed her way through the crowd, coughing and choking on dust. The road cleared of people as she rounded the corner into a true disaster zone. Helicopters ripped the sky to shreds overhead, obviously televising the incident worldwide. Great.

She stumbled over to a wall separating her from the fight. Peeking around, it was made clear All for One was calculating how best to kill the symbol of peace. Toshinori lay on the ground before him, bloodied and barely breathing. He'd been exposed as the skeleton he really was, which Maeve could relate to. Maybe once this was over they could go to group therapy together. A possibly pregnant rape victim and the former number one. What a combination.

She wondered if she'd be able to use her quirk if she had a kid. Maeve couldn't even keep herself healthy, let alone a foetus. Fuck.

Don't think about it. Stay focused.

"Oi, I'm back, peasants," she called, hobbling from behind the wall and waving her cuffed hands.

"Maeve," All for One breathed.

"Maeve..." All Might groaned.

"Maeve!" Gran Torino yelled.

"Maeve," Maeve agreed.

"I have a proposition for you," she addressed All for One calmly, approaching him and ignoring everything else. The girl practically felt every television camera in the three-block radius swivel to rest on her. She lifted her cuffs over her head in a painful stretch.