Mortem ad Wrens

Chapter 28: Into the Lion's Den

Summary:

tw: dead name, being found by past abusers, trafficking, starvation, torture, threats of death and violence, fear, the uncaring nature of abusers, coercion, lack of autonomy, eugenics, experimentation, medical torture and torment, mutilation, death of children, emotional abuse, a scene that mirrors the torment of indigenous, Jewish, BIPOC, and disabled folks during times of extreme eugenics and hatred for marginalized groups

Akira and Bakugo try to survive their kidnapping

Notes:

The mirror of the last trigger warning is separated by [MIRROR START] and [MIRROR END]. It's not necessary to read or be summarized, so skip it if you need/want to. This is a heavy, dark chapter, so do what you need to and be kind to yourself.

'text' JSL
Text thoughts

"-cut the small talk and die!"

Akira slowly came to painful awareness, their entire body throbbing and shaking. They cracked their eyes open, surveying Bakugo strapped into a chair with bulky restraints covering his hands and the League standing around a bar. At least the lights are low, Akira mused, barely registering as Dabi met their eyes with concern.

"Pipsqueak's awake," he drawled.

Twice brought a bag of jerky, at which point Akira realized they were also restrained as their bony, too-thin wrists scraped against the cuffs. The villain dangled the bag in front of them as Shigaraki turned his attention to them.

"Sensei wants you alive, but it's not mandatory for the process," Shigaraki rasped. He frowned and stalked forward, grabbing Akira's chin while keeping his pinky lifted before pinching one of their contacts and removing it. There was a small red dot on the lens that wasn't normally there. "Can't let the npc's cheat now, can we," Shigaraki muttered as he disintegrated the contacts.

"It can't be..." Akira looked up as Mr. Compress strode forward and took off his mask. They flinched into the back of the chair as he grabbed their chin. "It is! That's the Inoue kid I was telling you about."

Akira froze, fear flickering in their eyes as they tried to keep their face neutral. Mr. Compress studied them with keen, worried eyes as Bakugo jerked against his restraints.

"The hell are you on!" Bakugo snarled. "Their name is Mori, not Inoue."

Kurogiri pulled a file from seemingly thin air and nodded, "The resemblance is striking. And would explain the other bidder."

"Why did you leave your family?" Magne asked. She straightened slightly, hints of curiosity peeking through her tight expression.

"They don't have to tell you shit," Bakugo growled, "and they can't anyways. They're mute, dumbass."

"Spinner, release their restraints. They can't move in their state anyways," Shigaraki ordered. The gecko cautiously stepped forward as Mr. Compress backed off, Spinner eyeing the explosive blonde warily as he released Akira.

Wincing at the movement, Akira used their capture weapon to guide their arms forward so they could sign as Dabi interpreted, 'None of your fucking business.' They hesitantly took the bag of jerky and forced themself to start eating, the lack of hunger amidst their pain a testament to how far along they were.

"They abandoned you, didn't they? You were failed by heroes and yet you try to walk the path of your oppressors. Why not tear down the system, watch it burn so you can start anew?" Shigaraki grinned.

'I ran,' Akira glared. 'I intend to rebuild the system you only seek to destroy.' They could feel Bakugo staring but couldn't bring themself to look.