2 Weeks Later
WHAM!
Bakugo slammed into the padded wall of the Danger Room, the impact leaving a dent in the reinforced foam. He dropped to the ground hard, coughing as the taste of iron coated his tongue. His tank top was half-singed, clinging to his sweat-soaked skin. Bruises bloomed beneath dirt and ash.
Logan stood across from him, arms folded across his broad chest, claws retracted but tension coiled in every muscle. He looked like he could go another ten rounds without breaking a sweat.
"You done yet, Princess?" he called, a wolfish grin curling his lips.
Bakugo growled, spitting a streak of blood to the side. "Keep runnin' that mouth, old man…"
He rocketed forward again with his palms flaring with explosive force. The chamber lit up with detonations and smoke. Bakugo twisted mid-air, feinting left before launching a blast behind him to change direction. His boots skidded across the slick floor as he closed in.
Logan ducked, sidestepped, and slammed his shoulder into Bakugo's gut. The teen grunted, flipping onto his back but he caught himself mid-roll and rebounded with another blast that forced Logan to block with his forearms.
The impact left shallow scorch marks on Logan's skin. He grunted more impressed than hurt.
"Gettin' faster," Logan muttered.
"Damn right I am!" Bakugo snapped, blasting off the ground into a spiraling kick aimed at Logan's jaw.
Logan caught him mid-air and slammed him down hard. Bakugo's breath whooshed out of him as he hit the floor, but he gritted his teeth and rolled with the blow.
The Danger Room flickered around them with projectors adapting to their speed, simulating a ruined cityscape now. Rubble. Dust. Smoke. Just like a real battlefield.
Bakugo lunged again.
Logan ducked low. This time, he didn't counter. He let Bakugo swing. Let him pour his fury into each blast. Dodged. Weaved. Studied him.
Bakugo wasn't just fighting harder.
He was fighting smarter.
More measured. More focused.
Logan saw it and approved.
Then, before Bakugo could overextend—
SWOOSH.
The chamber doors hissed open, and Cyclops stepped through, fully suited, visor glowing.
"Logan."
The name cut through the air like a command.
Logan didn't turn. "What is it?"
"Recon op. Xavier wants you wheels-up in five."
Logan exhaled through his nose and finally stepped back. Bakugo stood hunched, panting hard, smoke rising off his arms.
"Tomorrow, same time," Logan said. "We're not done."
"Damn right we're not," Bakugo muttered, chest heaving, a smirk twitching at his lips.
Logan nodded once with respect, earned. Then he and Cyclops were gone, leaving Bakugo alone with the humming silence of the room and the echo of his own heartbeat.
In the hallway outside, Bakugo walked slowly, a towel draped around his neck, phone pressed to his ear. His voice was tight, annoyed but not at the person on the other end.
"—and you're telling me you almost blew up a girl!? AGAIN!?"
His mother's voice was loud enough to make passing students wince.
"Hag, for the last time—"
"I swear to God, Katsuki, if you keep acting like some delinquent demolition boy, I will fly over there myself and drag you home by your ears!"
Bakugo groaned and scrubbed a hand down his face. "It's training! I'm not fighting people in alleyways! Chill!"
"I will not chill!" she barked. "You better not be skipping meals. Or sleep. Or basic hygiene, you little troll."
"I'm fine, okay!? I'm fine."
Silence on the other end. For a beat, only the static of her breathing.
Then Mitsuki's voice softened.
"You're not. But you're trying. And that matters." She sighed. "You always were a stubborn brat. Always had to win. But you keep getting up. That's something real."
Bakugo blinked, breath caught in his throat.
"Yeah?" he said quietly.
"Yeah. And I'm proud of you, Katsuki. Even if you still act like a gremlin with anger issues."
His grip on the phone tightened.
"…Love you, brat."
"…Love you too, old hag."
He clicked off, sliding the phone into his pocket, chest aching with something he couldn't name. Something warm and heavy.
Then—
"Awwww…"
Bakugo froze.
He turned slowly.
Bobby stood there with a frozen smirk, leaning on an icy railing of his own making.
Next to him, Nightcrawler crouched on the ceiling like a smug gargoyle. "Such tender affection," he purred in that lilting accent. "It brings a tear to the eye."
Bobby put on a falsetto. "'Love you too, old hag.' That's so cute I'm gonna hurl."
Bakugo's eye twitched.
"You frostbitten jackasses…"
BOOM!
He blasted forward in a blur, palms sparking. Bobby yelped and slid away on a conjured trail of ice. Nightcrawler vanished in a puff of sulfur and brimstone, appearing down the hall with a snicker.
Bakugo gave chase like a missile. "Come back here and I'll show you how explosions feel up close!"
Students dove out of the way as Bakugo tore through the hallway, smoke trailing behind him. Pictures rattled on the walls. Ceiling tiles shook.
Upstairs, Storm barely glanced up from her tea and muttered, "Boys."
In the hangar, Logan tightened his gear bag and smirked as the tremors shook the walls.
"Kid's adjusting just fine."
Five minutes later, Bobby was in a headlock, his face turning a darker shade of blue.
"I warned you!" Bakugo snarled. "I warned you, Icebrain!"
"C-couldn't resist… worth it!"
Nightcrawler tried pulling Bakugo off, legs wrapped around his waist, tail lashing in protest. "He's dying! Let him go!"
Bakugo didn't let go. "Not until he apologizes in Morse code!"
Across the corridor, Laura stood with arms folded, expression unreadable. She watched as Bobby flailed and Kurt begged and Bakugo raged.
She wasn't amused. She wasn't annoyed.
She was… intrigued.
Bakugo was chaos. Fury wrapped in muscle and fire. But beneath that heat was something she recognized pain tempered into purpose. He didn't just fight. He burned for something.
And he never, ever, backed down.
"Hey, Laura!"
She didn't flinch as Kitty Pryde popped up beside her, Rogue just behind.
Kitty followed her gaze, raising a brow at the chaos.
"So… is this flirting?" Kitty asked.
Rogue chuckled. "Should I be takin' notes?"
Laura didn't answer. Just kept watching as Bakugo finally released Bobby, who collapsed dramatically to the floor, wheezing.
Nightcrawler checked his pulse like a medic. "He lives. Barely."
Bakugo stormed off, palms still smoking, muttering curses.
Kitty nudged Laura. "You've been watching him a lot."
"I watch everyone."
"But you don't glare at him," Rogue said. "Not anymore."
Laura's eyes lingered as Bakugo disappeared around the corner.
"He's irritating. Loud. Rude."
"Keep goin'," Rogue smirked.
"But… he fights like he means it. Not for pride. For purpose. He wants to be stronger because he's afraid of being weak. And I get that."
Kitty blinked. "Wow."
Rogue grinned. "That was almost… poetic."
Laura glanced at them, the edge of something soft in her voice. "He's got something."
Then she turned and walked away. "I have training."
The two girls stood in stunned silence.
"Did she just—?" Kitty began.
"Compliment him?" Rogue finished. "Yup."
Kitty stared. "You don't think…"
"Oh, I do," Rogue said, eyes gleaming. "Girl's got it bad."
Kitty clasped her hands dramatically. "Explosive romance! Forbidden fire!"
Rogue nodded. "We helpin'?"
"Operation: Exploding Heart?"
"Hell yes."
Far above Earth, stars shimmered like dying fireflies.
Inside a warship forged from salvaged Sakaarian tech, the air thrummed with power. Dim green lights pulsed in rhythm with the engines.
At the center of the chamber, he sat massive, still, terrifying.
The Hulk.
Not the beast of chaos the world remembered. Not anymore.
He sat in silence, fists clenched on the armrests of a throne carved from shattered armor and bent steel.
On the holo-projector before him, five faces rotated in sequence.
Stark. Richards. Strange. Xavier. Black Bolt.
The ones who called themselves heroes.
The ones who sent him away.
He remembered their voices. Their rationalizations.
"The Hulk is too dangerous."
"He'll be safer off-world."
"He'll thank us."
He didn't thank them.
They exiled him. Tried to kill him.
He survived.
Built a new life. A home. A family.
And then—
Fire. Screams. Ash. His wife. His son. Gone.
His world turned to dust.
And now…
Now he was coming back.
The ship trembled as it entered Earth's orbit. A red targeting reticle blinked into view.
The Hulk rose.
Armor scraped against his skin with gladiator gear from a broken world. A battle axe hung across his back, etched in Sakaarian runes.
He stepped to the viewport, casting a shadow large enough to consume stars.
"I'm not your monster," he growled.
The ship's AI confirmed, "Atmospheric breach in sixty seconds."
He narrowed his eyes.
"I'm your punishment."
The hatch hissed open.
And Earth shuddered beneath the roar of the Worldbreaker.
(A.N: THATS ALL FOLKS! First arc finished now it's time for worldbreaker hulk arc and you can probably guess what's about to happen. Drop some reviews and tell me if I'm doing Bakugo justice and are you excited to see Bakugo vs Hulk?" Till next time.)