Supernova

Chapter Fifty Three - Hook, Lie, and Sinker

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

My voice sounded angry, because I was. I was fucking livid. It was bad enough that Bakugo had insisted on gluing himself to my hip despite my attempts to deter him, but Midoriya was not coming with us.

"I'm coming with you," he said back, and he raised his chin to me.

His fists were clenched. I would be lying if I said I didn't think about fucking decking the kid right there. Todoroki was loitering with Kirishima over on the back wall, ceasing their early morning chatter to watch this battle of wills I was about to win.

"No," I told him coldly. "You're not."

"Claeson invited me," he said.

"I don't care," I said. "As far as this mission goes, Claeson is my sidekick and I outrank him, so I'm uninviting you."

"But Miss Stronghold," he started.

"No." I cut him off, raising a hand. "Actually, none of you are invited. This is between Elias and I."

"We're going to be on the mission too, sis," Kiri interjected from the back wall.

"Kiri, I love you," I started.

"Tch." Oh my god, shut up!

"But shut up."

"You're not allowed to be alone with them," Todoroki said to me. My eyes widened. What the fuck was going on right now? Who the fuck did these guys think they were talking to? "Aizawa said you should have at least two chaperones at all times."

"I don't need babysitters," I told him back. He didn't say anything, but his silence was not one that indicated that he was backing down. "I spent a year and a half alone with them at the SHA."

"Why'd you leave the SHA, again?" He asked back. He'd clearly been talking to Momo more than I cared to entertain.

That question, being none of his business, didn't warrant an answer, so I didn't bother providing one. This whole exchange was accomplishing nothing but wasting time. It was a stalemate, and I didn't have the time to be childish about this. Elias and I needed the preparation, or I was going to get the entire family killed with more reckless behaviour and needless failures.

"Get over here," I told Midoriya harshly, grabbing a handful of the front of his shirt and dragging him around the corner.

Once I was sufficiently satisfied that nobody would be able to eavesdrop, and once I'd confirmed I didn't hear the footsteps or the heartbeat of someone trying to, I looked Midoriya right in his wide green eyes and made sure he was looking back at my black ones so he could see how serious I was.

"Listen to me when I say this to you, alright?" He swallowed hard, but he gave me a nod anyways. I considered it as much of a victory as I was going to get. "Claeson is not your friend."

"I know," he told me back.

His voice sounded solid when he said it, but even so, I didn't believe him in the slightest.

I headed off towards the front door and pushed it open, my posse of four in tow. I didn't like this. It was too many footsteps, too many eyes, too many liabilities. Too many opportunities for things to go wrong. No, Cassie. It's not. You're Cassie Stronghold. Princess America. Cassanova. Supernova. North Star of the Concrete Heart Jungle. Reigning Deathmatch Champion. The best hero to ever move through The Switzerland Hero Academy. The most powerful creature in America. Future Head Councilwoman and Stronghold Heiress. If anyone can do this, it's you. You can. You can save everyone. I pushed the uneasiness out of my mind all the way to the front gates. I kept my arms crossed and mindfully placed myself a few paces away from the warmth. No openings and no weaknesses. That was the absolute last thing I needed.