I Was A Teenage Vigilante

Death Trap for Cutie

Katsuki Bakugo had already encountered his host Andreas Richter on Instagram, going under the username "rockulikeahurricane". The two were part of the Heavy Metal Trash Gang, a small friend group which messaged regularly on Spinsta.

Andreas took Bakugo out to the parking lot where his car, a beat-up grey Ford Fusion with a "honk if you see parts fall off" bumper sticker on the back, was parked.

"Right. I forgot you American teens can drive."

"Yeah, but this car makes me wish I couldn't," Andreas joked. "It's my dad's old car. It's like 14 years old, accelerates like hell, always has a warning light on, and drives like the tires are about to fall off. I personally like to call it the Death Trap."

"Just get a new one. You have money, right?"

Andreas shrugged. "I don't have a credit score. Dad's planning on getting me a new one though. Since he gave me the Death Trap, it's cost like $4000 in repairs. He thinks buying me another used car would be way cheaper."

"Then why doesn't he?" Bakugo asked.

"Oh, you'll see the reason when we get to my house." Andreas got in the driver's seat and beckoned Bakugo to follow him. He claimed the passenger seat just as Andreas started up the Death Trap. Or at least attempted to.

One jump from another student later and the Death Trap was up and running. As Bakugo realized, Andreas wasn't kidding about the car running a dumpster fire on wheels. The car constantly bumped, jerked, and shook like the axel was about to snap in two. There was a flashing light that said that the tire pressure sensor was broken which Andreas told him not to worry about.  After a full stop, the car took a solid 5 seconds to accelerate to full speed. To make matters worse, the air conditioner was busted, which meant that Bakugo was constantly mopping himself off to ensure that the car didn't explode with them both inside. The whole ride was like taking a taxi cab to Hell, not made any better by the hills they had to traverse.

Still, despite the harrowing ride in the Death Trap, the two teens made it safely home. The house wasn't much to look at, since it was just a single-family house made of brick. Pretty humble as expected. Bakugo had seen pictures on Spinsta and it looked pretty accurate. Andreas unlocked the door to the house and nearly tripped over a small white cat.

"Hey, Riff Raff. How's my favorite kitty?" he cooed, giving the cat a kiss on the head.

"Hey, cat," Bakugo mumbled, reaching over and giving Riff Raff a scratch behind the ears. "Damn, he's smaller in person."

"Yeah. We think he's got some kind of dwarfism. Look at these stubby little legs."

Before Bakugo could say anything, someone caught his eye. An attractive woman with blonde hair and neatly-done makeup was sitting in the living room reading the newspaper. Or, she was holding the newspaper and giving both of the kids a dirty look. She shut the paper and walked over, looking absolutely furious.

"Andreas, when I said that we could be a host family, I didn't mean you could house other... delinquents like you," the woman said, clearly disappointed at Andreas. Bakugo crossed his arms in disgust.

He groaned in anguish. "Get off my back, Tiff. This is the guy we're hosting. This is Katsuki Bakugo, from UA High School. Bakugo, this is Tiffany Stanton, my dad's fiancee."

"Yikes, Andreas wasn't kidding. You've got a worse attitude than my mom, and that's saying something. The bitch slaps me around like a damn punching bag."

Tiffany gave a scoff at Bakugo's remark. "You'd better behave, young man. This is my house, and that means you're under my rules, you punk," she snapped, poking a sharp finger into his shoulder before sauntering off somewhere.

"Fucking bitch," Andreas muttered once Tiffany was out of sight. "Don't let her get to you. She's an entitled money-hoarding asshole who my dad somehow decided to marry."

"God, you live with her?"

"Yeah. Tiff hates my guts. She tried to ship me off to boot camp last year before I got my part-time job at the escape room place downtown." Andreas set Riff Raff gently on the ground before continuing. "Believe me, she'll threaten you with the same thing. When Dad's not here, she rules the house with an iron fist."

"...Great." Bakugo glanced at the doorway to the other room where Tiffany was probably lurking. "And do I get a room here or what? If you tell me that we're sleeping in the same room, so help me..."

"Wow, someone's impatient. It's upstairs. Follow me."

Bakugo followed Andreas through the house, taking in all the sights. It was a pretty humble family home with family portraits all over. There weren't very many with Tiffany in them, probably because of her recent addition to the family. There were a few small pictures with one other person. A woman with flaxen hair and soft brown eyes held what looked to be a young Andreas. They were both smiling.

"Alright, Napalm Death, we're here."

Bakugo's new room wasn't much to look at. The walls were a shade of sage green and a map of the state of Missouri sat across from the bed. The bed itself was somewhat firm, which Bakugo was surprisingly okay with. A window looked out at the street below, where cars and people would occasionally pass by.

"Man, this is plain. You couldn't even spring for a decorative rug or anything?" Bakugo taunted.

"Look, asshole. I didn't know who was gonna be living here. And it was a pain getting all the junk out of here," Andreas snapped, leaning on the doorframe.

"Fine. Room aside, I have another question." Andreas gave a grunt which roughly translated to "go on". "Who's the other lady?"

Andreas raised an eyebrow in confusion. "What other lady? The only other lady here is Tiff."

"The brown-haired one. Always seen with you as a baby or whatever. Who the hell is she?"

As he said that, Andreas got a wistful look in his eye. "That's... she's my mom. Daisy Richter." Bakugo seemed to notice the look in Andreas' eye and backed off a bit. "Don't worry, she's not dead or anything. She just lives all the way over in Branson. Missouri. Back where I was born."

Bakugo wasn't very familiar with the United States, but he had seen internet posts about just how massive it was. And to make matters worse, the states of California and Missouri weren't even close to being near each other. Who even knew how often they'd see each other in person?

"Oh, shit. You're a divorce baby," Bakugo said, half teasing and half sympathetic. "That's gotta hurt."

"Yup. It kinda sucks." Andreas turned around to leave the room. "Anyways, get comfy. I have some shit to attend to."

"Alright, don't cry too much, Hard Rock Hallelujah," Bakugo taunted.

"Oh yeah, and don't piss the bed your first night, Master Exploder," Andreas sneered back as he left. As he did, he pulled out his phone. He scrolled through his contacts until he found Izuku's, humorously labeled "green is not a creative color". He tapped on it and waited a bit for Izuku to pick up. It took three rings for him to pick up. Way too long for the impatient Andreas.

"Moshi moshi?"

a/n: fun fact: the death trap is based heavily on my current car, the family 2010 ford fusion. it's not as bad as the car here, but it does have a few of the same problems, namely the tire pressure sensor, the lack of air conditioning, and the shitty acceleration. Fun Moth Facts!!