Detonate ((BAKUGOU KATSUKI X OC))

Chapter 7

Courtney felt hazy as she looked up at the blinking red lights overhead. She was laid against something firm and cold, and her wrists and ankles were bound, stifling her movement as she groggily attempted to sit up.

She weakly crumbled against the table upon the resistance, and exhaled as she slowly squeezed her eyes shut. She felt unbearably hot, and her heart raced in her chest as she restlessly struggled against the cuffs holding her in place.

"Subject B2, Courtney O'Connor, ready for testing."

A familiar voice she couldn't place made it to her ears as she writhed in discomfort, and when she turned, she could make out the blurry silhouette of a tall man walking toward her with a syringe of something black in his hand. She felt a sudden panic form in her chest at the sight, and found herself struggling even more the closer he got to her.

She tried to blink her vision into focus as she angled her gaze upward, and was met with an unrecognizable face as he towered above her.

"Hold still." He instructed, tone lacking any obvious emotion as he held up his syringe.

She did the exact opposite of what she was told, and tried her hardest to fight against her discomfort to get away from him. Her efforts were futile, and his hands gripped her right arm to keep it still. She grimaced under the pressure of his fingers, and winced as he injected her with the unspecified black liquid. She felt an immediate surge of intense pain, of which was followed by a scorching heat as her body involuntarily lit on fire. She couldn't suppress the scream that tore its way out of her throat, and felt as if her skin would melt right off as hot tears weeped from her eyes.

__

Courtney awoke with a start the following morning coated in a layer of sweat. She shot up in bed as she tried to catch her breath, and brought her fingers up to her wet cheeks once she realized she had been crying in her sleep.

She trembled involuntarily as she peered around the room, it still being dim due to the early hour. Feeling unsettled, Courtney decided to throw her legs over the side of the bed to stand. Her knees warbled as she slowly got to her feet, and she shuffled toward the window to see that the sun was barely beginning to peek over the horizon. Her window was frosted over, and slow flakes of snow fell from the partly cloudy sky. The lingering heat on her skin began to dissipate at the mere sight of it, and she felt calmer when she pressed her palm against the cool glass of her window. Steam seeped from her fingers as she did so.

"Damn..." she muttered quietly as she retracted her hand, leaving behind a clear handprint in the frost on the outside of the window.

She let out a weary sigh just as an unexpected knock sounded at her door, and when she turned over her shoulder to investigate, she could see Dani's head of vibrant hair poking in through the doorway. They appeared to look as equally surprised to see each other.

"I wasn't expecting you to be awake already," Dani said as she fully stepped into the room. "Did you have another nightmare?"

Courtney withered a bit at the mention, but nodded briefly in response anyway. Dani immediately looked sympathetic, and shut the door behind her before approaching.

"Can you remember what happened this time?" She asked, trying to smile as she set her hands on Courtney's shoulders. She winced under the heat of her skin.

"No," she said after another moment of contemplative silence. "Just woke up in a panic."

"Damn," Dani sighed, mirroring her own previous statement before pulling Courtney into a hug. She stiffened like she always did upon the contact. Dani ignored it. "Let's get your mind off it. I was coming up to see if you wanted to catch breakfast with Mina and me before class starts. How about it?"