Two weeks later.
Katsuki Bakugo stood alone in the clearing, stripped down to a black tank top and combat pants, his palms smoldering faintly as sweat rolled down his neck. But today… something felt off.
He paused mid-combat stance, narrowing his eyes at the tree line.
"I know someone's out there," he called out, voice sharp and dangerous. "So if you dumbasses wanna breathe through your faces, step out now before I blow you all to hell!"
Branches rustled.
One by one, figures emerged from the shadows.
First, a tall man in a sleek black suit, a red horizontal visor covering his eyes.
Next, a shorter, broad-shouldered man with wild hair, claws peeking out from his knuckles, and a scowl that could crack concrete.
Then, from above, a regal woman descended gracefully, her white hair billowing like a cape, the air swirling unnaturally around her.
Finally, a girl with a rebellious streak in her brown hair. Literally, a white streak running down one side. Her green eyes studied him like she was reading a page in a book.
Bakugo dropped into a stance, palms already hissing with heat. "Who the hell are you supposed to be, the circus?"
The man in the visor stepped forward, speaking slowly in broken Japanese. "My name is… Cyclops. These are… Wolverine, Storm, and Rogue. We're the X-Men."
Bakugo squinted and said in English. "Your Japanese is ass, by the way."
Wolverine chuckled under his breath. Storm cracked a small smile. Rogue arched an eyebrow. Cyclops just sighed and looked away. "Still learning," he muttered.
Bakugo folded his arms, unimpressed. "So now I know your names. What the hell do you want?"
Storm answered, stepping forward, her voice smooth like rolling thunder. "We're from Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. It's a place where mutants can learn, grow, and control their powers. A sanctuary. One you clearly need."
Bakugo scoffed. "A school? You want me to sit in some classroom while people get stronger than me out here? Pass."
Wolverine stepped closer, face inches from his. "Kid, you've got fire. No doubt. But fire without control? That's not strength. That's a ticking time bomb."
Bakugo's eyes flared. "Say that again, grandpa, and see what happens."
Logan grinned, claws sliding out with a metallic snikt. "Gladly."
Storm raised her hand. "Enough."
The wind surged for a moment, swirling between them with electricity humming in the air. Bakugo flinched but just barely.
Rogue stepped forward, softer now. "You wanna be the best? You need more than just muscle and attitude. You need control. That's what Xavier's gives us."
For a moment, Bakugo hesitated. He looked down at his hands, smoke curling from his palms. His heart beat in his ears.
Then he clenched his fists and barked, "I know who I am. I don't need some school to tell me."
He stepped forward, eyes burning.
"I'm Katsuki fucking Bakugo! And I'm gonna be the strongest there is! Mutants will get respect when I make the world kneel!"
A slow clap echoed from behind him.
Bakugo spun around.
A silver-haired man in a blue and white suit leaned against a tree, smirking. "Nice speech," he said casually. "I agree, respect comes through strength."
Bakugo narrowed his eyes. "Who the hell are you, Hair Gel?"
The man twitched. "Alive. Alive. Father said alive…" he muttered. Then, in a blur, he vanished just as Cyclops fired an optic blast toward him.
Quicksilver reappeared, grinning. "Missed me, laser-face."
"Quicksilver," Cyclops growled.
Things went to hell in an instant.
A blonde juggernaut tackled Wolverine from the side named Sabretooth, roaring with bloodlust.
Rogue was blindsided by a spinning kick from a woman with blue skin named Mystique.
Storm was blasted off her feet by a surge of scarlet chaos energy by Scarlet Witch, her eyes glowing red as she descended from above.
Then a man in a green bodysuit stepped in front of Bakugo, smiling like he already won. "You must be the newbie. Let's dance."
"Another extra," Bakugo sneered.
But then the man split into two copies of himself. Then three. Then six.
"Name's Multiple Man," he said, all voices speaking in unison. "Try to keep up."
The forest exploded into chaos.
Bakugo twisted, driving his fist into the nearest clone's face. It popped and then multiplied. Another slammed into his side. A third swept his legs. He hit the dirt hard.
"Son of a—!" he growled, launching himself backward with a blast from his palms. BOOM!
He landed on his feet, breathing hard. His hands smoked.
"Okay. Screw this."
Dozens of clones charged at him like a wave.
Bakugo moved like lightning, weaving through them with explosive force. He launched himself into the air with a burst, twisting mid-flight to drop a rolling blast into a knot of clones, scattering them like leaves.
But they kept coming.
For every clone he knocked out, two more appeared. One cracked him across the face. Another drove a knee into his ribs. He hit the ground again, coughing blood, the edges of his vision turning red.
He screamed through clenched teeth. "ENOUGH!"
And something inside him snapped.
His eyes widened, pupils burning orange. His breath steamed like smoke from a furnace. Veins of light glowed beneath his skin. His entire body shimmered with heat.
Then—
BOOOOOOM!!
A shockwave exploded from his body, vaporizing clones in a fifty-foot radius. The forest floor cracked, trees trembled.
Bakugo rose from the crater, a storm of power swirling around him. His shirt was torn, body streaked with soot and blood but he wasn't done.
He was just getting started.
He tore through the clones like a force of nature. Every punch detonated on impact. One kick sent ten flying. His movements were blindingly fast, devastatingly precise. The air itself rippled with each blast.
Sabretooth turned, claws stained with Wolverine's blood but just in time for Bakugo to scream, "DIE, YOU HAIRY BASTARD!"
A focused blast hit Sabretooth square in the chest, launching him into a boulder that cracked on impact. He didn't get back up.
Mystique transformed mid-run, trying to confuse him with Rogue's face but Bakugo didn't hesitate. "Nice try, fake-ass!" he roared, blasting her point-blank into the treeline.
Quicksilver blurred toward him but Bakugo anticipated the pattern. He launched a blast behind him, propelling himself into the speedster mid-run. His knee collided with Pietro's chest with a brutal crunch. Quicksilver tumbled across the forest floor, groaning.
Scarlet Witch floated above, hands glowing. "You're a child! You don't understand your power—!"
"I'M A GODDAMN GOD!" Bakugo screamed, hurling a massive blast upward.
The explosion hit her shield and shattered it, sending her screaming into the trees. She vanished in a cloud of splinters and smoke.
Then… silence.
Charred trees. Smoldering ground. Broken bodies scattered across the forest.
At the center of it stood Bakugo, steaming, shoulders heaving, barely conscious but still on his feet.
His legs trembled. His fists unclenched. The orange glow faded from his veins.
And then, finally, he dropped to his knees unconscious, but undefeated.
The X-Men regrouped.
Cyclops looked around in stunned silence. "That… was him?"
Rogue's voice trembled. "He did all of that?"
Wolverine wiped blood from his mouth, shook his head. "Damn kid's got more bite than a rabid wolf."
Storm stepped forward, looking down at Bakugo's unconscious form. "He's a force of nature. Raw. Untamed."
Cyclops adjusted his visor. "He needs control."
Wolverine crouched beside the kid, lifting him onto his shoulder. "Then let's give it to him."
They carried Katsuki Bakugo away from the battlefield he created, the forest behind them still glowing from his fury. The ground bore his mark.
And whether he liked it or not…
He had just become the center of a war.