The Hero and the Genie

Chapter 25: The Mind Trick of Hypno Baron

Bolo was holding his weapon tightly with a nervous look on his face. He was scared of what was coming up. He took a glance at Bakugou and Ochaco. Bakugo had a small smirk, showing that he was ready for whatever was gonna come his way. Ochaco looked focused and ready for the unexpected.

How can they be so brave while I'm so cowardly? Bolo thought. What if I mess everything up? Do I really have what it takes to be a hero? I'm not very brave, strong, or even smart. What good can I possibly do?

"Bolo?" Ochaco's voice snapped him out of his daze. "Is everything okay?" He saw how the sweet pink-cheeked girl was looking at him with concern.

Bolo shook his head. "Yeah, I'm fine," he answered. "Just have a lot on my mind."

"Oh," said Ochaco as she decided to walk beside him. "Would talking about it help?"

Bolo took a deep breath before replying. "Well, it's just that... you and the others are so cool in being heroes. Meanwhile, I tend to mess things up for everyone. So, am I really important to this mission?"

Ochaco gave him a kind smile. "I believe that you are," she said. "Even if you mess up a little, you can still be a hero. So don't doubt yourself!"

Bolo felt a little better. "Thanks, Ochaco," he said. "I needed that."

"Oi," Bakugo called out. "Are you two done talking back there? We need to be ready to kill whoever tries to get in our way."

Bolo shuddered. "I'm still not used to the way that he talks," he whispered to Ochaco.

"I can tell," Ochaco whispered back. "It'll be a while till you're used to his attitude."

"Well, well, well," said an ominous voice. "Isn't this a rather lovely sight? Three little heroes coming by to face me!"

Bolo shivered nervously at the sound of the voice. The three heroes looked up and saw Hypno Baron slowly floating down towards them. Bolo shook away his fear and readied his weapon. Ochaco stood in a fighting position, ready to put her skills to good use. Bakugo stood his ground while his palms crackled with small explosions.

Hypno Baron laughed quietly. "You three look quite brave," he said. "But I'm curious about something. How will you three be able to overcome your fears?"

Before they could react, Hypno Baron fired a beam at them. The three heroes found themselves paralyzed as they stood there, frozen in place. The evil baron smiled and began to mess with their minds.

Bolo's Mind...

Bolo was on the ground, groaning. He opened his eyes and slowly got up. He looked around and saw nothing but darkness.

"Hello?" He called out.

No answer.

"Ochaco?"

No answer.

"Bakugo?"

Still no answer. He was about to call again when the darkness disappeared and revealed Scuttle Town. However, to the young boy's dismay, it was in ruins!

"What's going on?" He asked himself. "What happened to Scuttle Town?!"

"I can answer that," said an angry voice. Bolo turned and saw Shantae glaring at him. "You! You caused all of this!"

Bolo gasped. "What are you talking about?" He asked with fear in his voice.

"Don't act like you don't know," said another angry voice. Bolo saw Sky approaching with an extremely angry stare. "You caused all of this! All you had to do was let Shantae do her job! Instead, you threw yourself into the mix and caused all of this. All you ever do is make mistakes! Why do you even try?!"