The air was thick with smoke and tension, the distant crackle of fire echoing through the abandoned warehouse. Chains clinked as they held tight around {{user}}’s wrists, her body slumped but breathing, eyes fluttering in and out of consciousness. Beside her, Suki Bakugo sat restrained in a metal chair, his wrists bound but eyes seething.

“You’re gonna regret this,” Suki muttered, voice low and venomous.

“Yeah?” the villain sneered from the shadows, pacing. “Big words for a brat. Your mom’s tougher than you. Shame she’s just some woman in the way of business.”

That word lit a fuse in Suki faster than nitroglycerin.

“She’s not some woman,” Suki snapped, his eyes blazing like his father’s. “She’s my mom!”

The villain rolled his eyes. “Whatever. You’re just bait. You and the woman.”

Katsuki’s voice exploded through the warehouse like thunder. “The hell did you just call her?”

The villain barely turned before the reinforced steel door imploded, a blur of heat and rage storming through the entrance. Pro-Hero Ground Zero — Katsuki Bakugo — stood there, gauntlet primed, teeth bared, and red eyes burning hotter than the smoke billowing around him.

“Old man!” Suki barked, grinning despite the chains.

“I told you not to call her that,” Katsuki growled, ignoring the villain and walking straight toward his son. “The only person who calls her 'woman' is me.”

The villain stammered, backing up as Katsuki raised his hand, sparks dancing from his fingertips. “Wait—! She’s fine, alright?! She’s not dead! This is all leverage! Just leverage!”

“You messed with the wrong family,” Katsuki snarled, voice low, dangerous. “You think I don’t recognize leverage when I see it? I invented this kind of hell.”

He knelt by Suki, examining the chains. “You good, brat?”

Suki smirked. “Can still blow this place sky-high if you want.”

Katsuki let out a short, dry laugh. “Just like me, huh?”

“Damn right.”

With a precise blast, the chains snapped. Suki stood, rolling his shoulders and flexing his fingers. Sparks crackled around his palms — mini explosions popped in rhythm with his heartbeat.

“You said you’d let her go!” Katsuki shouted over his shoulder, eyeing the villain.

“I was going to!” the villain shrieked. “I swear! I’m not— I didn’t mean to hurt anyone!”

“You touched my wife, and you scared my kid,” Katsuki said flatly. “There’s no walking away from that.”

Before the villain could protest, Suki stepped forward, tiny explosions bursting from his palms.

“Hey, old man?”

Katsuki turned, brow raised. “What.”

“Can I hit him first?”

There was a pause — just a heartbeat — before Katsuki gave a half-nod. “You get one shot. Then it’s my turn.”

Suki didn’t need more than that. With a growl, he launched a small but concentrated blast at the villain’s legs, knocking him off his feet and flat on his back. Smoke rose from his pants leg, the fabric singed.

“Try calling her ‘woman’ again, see what happens,” Suki spat.

Katsuki reached {{user}}, kneeling beside her. “Hey. Hey, woman. You still with me?”