Chapter Text
“Get back here, you fucker!” Katsuki blasted through the air and tackled the fleeing villain.
“Get off me!” The villain struggled to break free as Katsuki put restraints on him.
Katsuki slapped him in the back of the head. “Shut up!” He noticed something clutched in the villain's left hand. He pried it open and frowned. Some kind of clear bag with pills inside.
He stuffed them inside his suit to deal with later as one of Endeavor’s sidekicks ran up. “We got it from here Dynamight!”
He nodded and blasted off again.
They had gotten a tip about a drug deal going down tonight. The villains had scattered as soon as the heroes made their presence known. Endeavor had gone after the lead villain with the case while him, Todoroki and Deku went after the lackeys.
He spotted Deku fighting one of the villains. Nerd looked like he had it under control.
Ahead, Todoroki had two of them encased in his ice. Katsuki growled. He wouldn’t let Icyhot beat him!
He flew around until he spotted another villain fleeing down a side street. He blasted down and grabbed him with one hand. “Gotcha!” He blasted the villain in the back and used his other hand to slow himself enough to land. The villain moaned on the ground and Katsuki quickly cuffed him.
In total, they apprehended seven villains plus the head honcho Endeavor captured. Stupid Deku had taken down two before Katsuki spotted him. The villains and drugs were handed over to the police.
Endeavor talked with the police for a long time and Katsuki frowned. These drugs must be bad; usually they just handed everything over and went on to the next incident. His guess seemed correct when Endeavor ordered the whole group back to the agency.
“This drug deal involved a new product that’s been hitting the streets recently,” Endeavor said once everyone was gathered. “Due to the nature of the drug, I’m creating a team to focus solely on tracking these people down. Everyone here will be on the team.”
“What kind of drug is it?” Deku asked.
“Hormone suppressants,” Endeavor said. “They are strong enough to completely inhibit pheromone production but cause a host of nasty side effects. There have been several deaths associated with this drug already.” He looked at Katsuki, Deku, and Todoroki. “Interns, I want you to find out if any of your classmates have come across this drug on their internships as well.”
They nodded.
“That’s all for tonight,” Endeavor said.
They headed for the locker rooms to change. “Why would anybody be desperate enough to take a drug like that?” Deku asked.
“I understand why,” Todoroki said, looking down. “Some people would rather be a Beta.”
“Aw, Shouto.” Deku hugged his boyfriend. “I like you just the way you are.”
Katsuki gagged.
In the locker room, he noticed something in his pocket as he was stripping off his uniform. It was the baggy of pills he had taken from the villain. Fuck, he forgot to turn them in.
“Hey Midoriya, I heard you took down three villains before Bakugou took down even one,” Todoroki said, smirking at Katsuki.
“That’s a load of bullshit!” Katsuki shoved the pills into his bag. He’d deal with them later. “I had my first villain down before Deku got that last one. He probably only caught the first two so easy because they were weak ass losers.”
“Sure, you tell yourself that,” Todoroki said, pulling his shirt on.
Deku sighed. “Shouto, be nice.”
“Fuck that, I don’t need you to protect me, you damn nerd.” He stomped over to Todoroki and poked him in the chest. “You only caught two because of your little ice trick. You couldn’t handle real fighting.” Todoroki shifted and ice crackled over Katsuki’s feet, freezing them to the floor. “Shit!”
“Shouto!” Deku shouted.
Todoroki raised an eyebrow. “Can’t handle a little ice?”
Katsuki growled and aimed his hands at Todoroki’s smug face. “Die!”
Katsuki groaned when his alarm went off the next morning. His whole body was sore. He didn’t think Todoroki had gotten that many hits in. Stupid candy cane bastard. He shouldn’t have let Todoroki goad him like that but the asshole knew just how to piss him off. At least he got in trouble this time too. They had both received a lecture from Burnin’ about destroying another locker room and hadn’t gotten back to the dorms until after midnight.
He got out of bed and immediately had to put out a hand to catch himself as a wave of dizziness hit him. Shit, he better not be getting sick. He had been feeling off for a few days now. Mostly just aches and a headache which he could power through, so he had dismissed it. He couldn’t afford to take time off from his internship and classes.
He carefully made his way to the bathroom. He looked a little pale. Fuck. He hoped he still had some medicine lying around from the last time Kirishima got sick; the idiot had a shitty immune system for an Alpha.
He walked back into the room to find the pills and froze. He could smell something sweet. Omega pheromones? He squinted up at the air vents. Each room had a separate ventilation system so pheromones didn’t spread. It was strong enough an Alpha in rut could stay in their own dorm room instead of using one of the special rooms in the infirmary. In theory, it should work the same for Omegas but Omega heroes were extremely rare. If the system wasn’t working, it could flood the whole dorm with pheromones.
He climbed up and sniffed the vent. Nothing.
Maybe he had brushed against an Omega on the way home last night? He pulled out his clothes from yesterday and sniffed. Nothing.
He sat on the bed and frowned. Where was the smell coming from? He sniffed again. It seemed stronger over here.
A feeling of dread settled in Katsuki’s chest. He bent down and smelled his sheets. A sweet scent flooded his nose. “Fuck!”
The soreness. The headaches. He had been more tired than usual too. These were all signs he was about to present as his secondary gender. Alphas presented early, and once Katsuki turned 16 he had given up on being one, shoving the information about presenting to the back of his mind. But Omegas presented at a later age and the last symptom they showed was a sweet scent several days before their first heat.
He was an Omega.
“Fucking hell!” He ripped the sheets off the bed and blew them up. Then he grabbed the pillow and did the same. White feathers blew out all over the room. “This is not fucking happening!”
He gripped his hair and sat on the stripped bed. What the fuck was he going to do? Nobody respected Omega pro heroes. He would never be able to make it to the top as one. He had already missed out on being an Alpha; did the universe really have to shit on his dreams this much? This couldn’t be happening. He had to find a way to fix this.
He looked at his door. As soon as he took one step outside this room, everyone would know. There were no other Omegas in the class. Everyone would figure out the smell was coming from him. He would be a laughingstock. He would have to drop out of school. His goal of being a hero would be over. He couldn’t let them find out. He couldn’t. That could never happen. They can’t know the truth.
He gasped, pulling on the neck of his tank top. His chest felt tight and he couldn’t catch his breath. Darkness crept into the edges of his vision and the room started to spin. He slid off the bed and hugged his knees to his chest. Fuck, come on, breath you idiot! He took in a stuttering breath and let it out with a whoosh. Come on, you can do better than that!
He forced in another breath. In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4. Now, out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4.
Good, now again. In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4. Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4.
He choked, air getting caught in his throat. He gasped. Fuck, what was he, some loser extra? Focus! In . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4. Out . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4.
Slowly, he got his breathing back under control. He leaned back against the bed and covered his face with his hand. He hadn’t had a panic attack that bad in months. His skin still tingled from the after effects and he felt exhausted. Could he be any more pathetic? Maybe he deserved to be an Omega if he was this weak.
He groaned. What was he going to do? Even if he went on suppressants, everyone would still smell the difference. He couldn’t even start them until after his first heat anyway. Something about it helping the hormones to stabilize. Maybe he could get a hold of some another way and take extra. If he did that and sprayed himself in some disgusting perfume like Aoyoma did, nobody would notice. No, he didn’t think he could stand reeking like that. He had to think of some other way to hide this.
He suddenly sat up. There was another option. Slowly, he got up and went to his bag. He opened it and pulled out the little bag of pills he had taken off the villain last night. These suppressants completely blocked pheromones. Nobody would be able to tell he was an Omega if he took these.
He walked back over to the bed and sat down. He stared at the pills in his hand. They were illegal for a reason. There was no telling what kind of side effects they would cause or what kind of damage they would do to his body. Was he really so fucking desperate he was going to try something like this? If he did this, he would have to keep doing it. He’d have to keep taking the pills, or ones like them, for the rest of his life. Or take other, more drastic options. He had heard rumors of doctors who did surgeries to change someone’s secondary gender. It was dangerous, not to mention illegal.
He wanted to be a Hero. If he did this, he would have to be very careful. He would be dealing with the very people he should be trying to arrest. If word ever got out, he would be finished. Heroes were not above the law. He would need to constantly watch his back to make sure nobody found out the truth. Was it worth it? Could he really live his life like that? But what other choice did he have? He couldn’t let everybody else find out.
He glanced at the clock. Everyone would be waking up soon. He didn’t have much time.
He looked at the pills again. Maybe, he could just delay things for a bit. Nobody had to know he presented today. He just needed time to think of a better plan. He ripped open the bag and popped one of the pills in his mouth. He hoped they worked fast.
He dug around in the back of his nightstand until he found the clear scent gland patches. They were designed to be unnoticeable unless you were looking closely. They wouldn’t complete block scents but would hopefully help until the pill started working. He had never needed them before but he kept some around in case Kirishima forgot to buy them. He put them on the scent glands on his neck and wrists.
He cleaned his room and remade the bed with fresh sheets, waiting as long as he could to give the pill time to work. He jumped when he heard a knock on his door. “Hey man, you ready yet?”
It was Kirishima. Usually Katsuki woke up early to go for a run and they met up after to go to class together. He hadn’t realized it had gotten this late.
“Give me a minute!” He quickly got dressed and grabbed his bag. He slipped out of the room, quickly closing the door before Kirishima could smell anything.
“You okay man?” Kirishima held a hand to Katsuki’s forehead. “You look a little pale.”
Katsuki swatted him away. “I’m fine. Just tired.”
“Okay.” Kirishima grinned. “Try not to push yourself too hard today.” He sniffed the air and frowned. “Hey, do you smell – ”
Katsuki grabbed his arm and yanked him down the hallway. “Come on or we’ll be fucking late.”
“No, I told you to use this formula!” Katsuki glared at Kaminari. “Seriously, how stupid are you?”
“Math is hard,” Kaminari whined, erasing the work he had done on the problem.
“Bakugou, is this right?” Kirishima held out his notebook.
Katsuki looked it over. “You screwed up the addition at the end.”
“Oops.” Kirishima fixed it and held it back out. “Good now?” Katsuki nodded. “Yay, halfway done!”
“You’re that far already?” Kaminari leaned over the table. “Show me your notes.”
Katsuki pushed his face back. “Figure it out yourself!”
Kaminari pouted. “But I’ll be here all night!”
“Tough shit. Get smarter.” Katsuki groaned and rubbed his forehead. He could feel a headache coming on. These idiots got dumber by the day. Why had he ever agreed to tutor them?
The suppressants were working so far. He hadn’t noticed any more sweet scent since that first day and nobody else had commented on it. He was still a little sore and tired, but he could deal with that. He had been getting headaches more often too but that could just be from dealing with his idiot classmates. The only probably was that he was down to his last three pills. He had to find a way to get more.
“Bakugou, how’d I do with this one?” Kirishima asked.
Katsuki looked it over. “Good. Now do the next one.”
“What about me?” Kaminari asked, thrusting his notebook at Katsuki’s face.
He grabbed it and looked it over. Then he rolled it up and smacked Kaminari on the head. “How many fucking times do I have to tell you? You’re using the wrong formula!”
After another hour, Katsuki was fucking done. His head was pounding and his right eye was twitching. He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. At least Kirishima seemed to get it; Kaminari was just sneaking peeks at Kirishima’s work when he thought Katsuki wasn’t looking. Whatever. Let the electric dunce fail.
“Hey, have you guys heard about that new drug going around? The hormone suppressant?” Ashido asked.
His ears perked up. He glanced back toward the couches.
Deku and Todoroki were sitting together on one couch, as usual. Sero was playing a game on the TV. Ashido and Iida were sitting on the other couch. Katsuki squinted. Was Ashido actually painting Glasses nails?
Deku and Todoroki shared a look. “Actually, Endeavor has been trying to track down the suppliers,” Deku said. “Do you know anything?”
Ashido shook her head. “Just rumors. Apparently a couple of people near our patrol route got really sick taking them. They had to be rushed to the hospital.”
Katsuki felt his stomach drop. They probably just took too much. Katsuki was being careful. It would be fine.
“What does the drug do?” Sero asked.
“It completely shuts down hormone production,” Deku said. “It can lead to some really nasty complications.”
“I can’t understand why anybody would want to take an illicit substance,” Iida said. He waved his arms. “This drug is banned because it is unsafe. There are plenty of medically approved options to choose from.”
“Stop moving around, you’ll smear it!” Ashido cried, grabbing Iida’s hand. “Ugh, now I have to fix it!” She started dabbing at Iida’s fingertips with a paper towel. “So Midoriya, Todoroki, you guys are on suppressants, right? Does this new one work differently or something?”
“Umm.” Deku scratched the back of his head. “Sort of?”
“Suppressants just lower hormone production; they don’t stop it,” Kirishima called out. Katsuki glanced at him. Guess the red-head had been listening too.
“Have you heard about the drugs Kirishima?” Deku asked.
Kirishima nodded. He stood up and walked over to the group. Katsuki sighed and followed. They were about done anyway.
“Hey, where are you going Blasty? I need you!” Kaminari whined.
“I told Bakugou about it already,” Kirishima said, sitting next to Ashido. “Fat Gum found a couple people dealing in his agency’s area.” He leaned over and looked at Iida’s nails. “Hey, nice color!”
“I told Endeavor about it.” Katsuki shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the couch.
“I still don’t understand why people would take something like that,” Iida said, holding his hands very still for Ashido.
“Not everyone likes their secondary gender,” Todoroki said. Deku leaned against his side and kissed his cheek.
During the first year Sports Festival, Katsuki had heard Todoroki and Deku talking. It was hard to believe all the crap Todoroki went through, from his parents’ quirk marriage to his mom and his abusive dad. Not only did he get his flames from his father, Todoroki was an Alpha just like Endeavor too. Katsuki could understand why he hated that side of himself so much, even if he personally would kill to be an Alpha.
“I don’t know about an Alpha,” Sero said, putting his controller down and turning to face them. “But I could understand why an Omega would want to take them.”
Katsuki clenched his hands in his pockets. “Why’s that?” he asked sharply. Kirishima glanced up at him with a frown.
“There’s still a lot of prejudice against Omegas.” Sero scratched the back of his head. “I mean, how many Omega pro heroes do you know?”
“There’s Crimson Riot,” Kirishima said.
“But that’s just one,” Ashido said. She blew on Iida’s nails. “I can’t think of any others.”
“There’s Recovery Girl but she was a support hero. Most of the ones I know were either support heroes or sidekicks,” Deku said.
“See?” Sero said.
“That may be the case for heroes but surely it’s better for the average citizen,” Iida said.
Sero shrugged. “I’m not an Omega, so I don’t know. Oh, what about you Bakugou?”
He flinched. “What about me?”
Sero frowned. “What do you mean? Isn’t your mom an Omega? Does she have any problems?”
Shit, calm down Katsuki. Of course they don’t know. “She says people are bastards but it’s hard to tell if it’s her gender or her shitty personality.”
Kaminari snorted as he came to lean on the back of the couch next to Katsuki. “That’s an understatement. She’s a female you. She clearly should have been an Alpha; we are the superior gender after all.”
Katsuki glared at him. “Then why the fuck is a Beta tutoring you and kicking your ass in training?”
Kaminari shrugged. “Freaks of nature happen.”
Kirishima hopped up to sit on the back of the couch just as Katsuki turned toward the electric freak, blocking him from view. “I don’t think any one gender is better.”
“I agree,” Deku said. “Your secondary gender shouldn’t matter. It’s who you are as a person.”
“Says the Alpha.” Kaminari winked.
Deku flinched. The nerd hadn’t presented as an Alpha until right after starting high school. It was late, but not entirely unheard of. Katsuki suspected it was because of One for All.
“Still, Omegas have to deal with more crap than the other genders.” Sero shook his head. “I’m just glad I’m not one.”
This conversation was making him feel sick. He pushed off the couch and turned away. “Later losers. I’m going to bed.”
“Wait, Bakugou, I still need help on my math homework!” Kaminari cried.
Katsuki flipped him off and kept walking.
Katsuki blasted through the air. They had found another group dealing the suppressants. Endeavor had managed to grab the lead villain and one of his lackeys. The other two had run.
He spotted one of the villains but Deku was right on his tail. Fuck, he needed to find one of them alone. Katsuki had taken his last pill this morning; he hoped one of these had some on them he could pocket without anyone noticing. It turned his stomach stealing evidence like this but he didn’t have a choice. He couldn’t have anyone knowing he was an Omega.
He turned and blasted down another street. There. He put on a burst of speed and grabbed the villain. The man screamed as he was lifted into the air.
Katsuki used his free hand to slow down and land. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he spun the villain and shoved him face-first into a wall. “Where are the drugs?”
“I d-don’t know what you’re talking about,” the villain said.
Katsuki rolled his eyes and cuffed him. He patting the man down and found a bulge on his side. He ripped his jacket open and found several packets of pills in an inside pocket. He held them up. “Still deny it?”
“Great work Dynamight!” Onima ran up to him. “That’s the last one.” He grabbed the villain by one arm and held out his hand. “I’ll take the drugs to give to the police with this guy.”
Katsuki pulled at his glove, palming two of the packets, then dropped the rest in Onima’s hand.
“Thanks,” Onima said. “Endeavor wants to talk with everyone. I think he has another lead. Hopefully we can get rid of this drug soon.”
Katsuki clenched his hand, feeling the packets crinkle. “I’m on it.” He turned, slipping the pills into his pocket, and blasted off. He felt like scum but he had to do this. He didn’t have a choice.