Chapter Twenty Eight: The Raid
The room was dark and its atmosphere dreary. The clock on a desk by her bed said it was only early afternoon, but she didn't really want to get up. She didn't feel like doing much of anything, actually.
Ochako lay in her bed on her side, silent and tired. She hadn't been sleeping well ever since the training camp disaster. When…when Izuku was taken from them.
She hadn't been able to do anything. From the very moment the villains attacked, she was relying on Izuku. He'd been the one who took out Dabi's clone and defeated Muscular. All she'd done was stay on the sidelines with Kota and then throw Izuku back into the fight. When Viper arrived, she'd been powerless. She couldn't fight him, even as he took Izuku and just walked away with him.
In her heart, Ochako knew that realistically…there was nothing she could've done. Viper would've beaten her even more easily than he had Katsuki and the others. She didn't have the range or power to really damage a villain like him. If she'd tried to stop him, chances are he would've just blown her away or killed her.
If anything, the knowledge that she'd had no chance of saving Izuku from being taken made things worse.
Her parents had come to see her at the hospital. They were worried sick, but relieved that Ochako hadn't been hurt. Well, not physically, anyways. It was obvious their daughter wasn't in a good emotional state at all. They comforted her as best they could, and Ochako was grateful for that.
But it still didn't change the fact that Izuku was gone. Her best friend and…
She moved her hand up to look at her fingers, recalling how it felt to playfully lace them with Izuku's when they were messing around the night before the attack. His skin had been warm and a little rough wherever a scar marred it. Their little game had made her excited and giddy in a different kind of way to what she normally felt.
Do you like him?
Ochako leaned her head further into her pillow and sighed. Did she? Did she like Izuku in a…romantic sense? She wasn't sure- this was all new to her, but…maybe. At least, she liked him in a way that was different from her other friends. She didn't think she'd go so far as to say it was love. No, that was too big of a word for what she felt. Admiration and affection, maybe?
Maybe it wasn't even that big of a deal, this…thing she had for him. When Ochako thought of it, she wasn't sure if she wanted to like…date him or something. She just liked him and their fun, goofy way of interacting. Thinking on it, they'd barely known each other for more than three months. Even then, though…he was still a little different from the rest of her friends. He was special to her, somehow.
She liked talking to him, and how he was sweet and helpful. She found it funny and cute that he was such a dork and a fanboy about heroes. She thought he was really smart and clever. She liked his freckles and his fluffy hair and his eyes.
She closed her eyes and mentally held up the white flag. Okay, she was…she was crushing on him. Izuku Midoriya was her first big crush. Admitting that to herself took a little weight off her chest, but not much.
It wasn't like her affection mattered since he was being held captive by the League of Villains.
Her phone started buzzing on the desk beside her bed and Ochako debated whether or not to answer it for several moments before sighing and reaching over to grab it. She blinked at the name on the screen. It was Momo.
She let the phone vibrate for a few more seconds before deciding to answer. "Hello?"
Ochako had to wince. Her voice sounded hoarse to her and she could only imagine what Momo thought when she heard that.
"Ochako?" Momo asked, her voice soft. "How are you?"
"I'm…" she went quiet for a second. "Dealing with everything, I guess. Mostly I'm just tired. What about you?"
"The doctors cleared me today. I'm going to be leaving the hospital later."
"I see. I'm glad to hear that."
The conversation stopped for several seconds. Momo seemed to be debating something, but she finally broke the silence. "Ochako…I called to ask if you want to help us find and rescue Izuku."
Ochako froze. She responded hesitantly. "What do you mean?"
"I managed to place a tracking beacon on one of the villains before they escaped the training camp," Momo explained. "I gave one of the locators to All Might and the police, but Katsuki and I want to try and get Izuku away from the villains in secret. If nothing else, we want to make sure he's okay."
Ochako didn't know what to say. She just tried to process the information while Momo waited patiently. Eventually, the girl on the other line spoke again. "Katsuki was frustrated and upset about Izuku being taken. You feel the same way, right? You're closer to him than anyone in the class besides Katsuki."
"…is it even possible for us to do anything?"
"I don't know," Momo admitted. "But…if there's even the slightest chance, I…I think we have a duty to try and help him somehow. We'll be careful about it and there's not going to be any fighting- that's one of the conditions I'm laying down if we go through with this plan. Even if all we do is see him, at least we'll know he's okay."
Ochako fell silent again and Momo finished the call. "I have to go- I'm due for a checkup any minute now. We're going to meet outside the hospital tonight at seven-thirty. If you want to come, we'll be there."
She hung up then and Ochako let her phone fall onto the sheets beside her head. She stared at the device for a few minutes and really thought hard about it. This would be dangerous. Probably illegal, too. Not to mention…would she be able to bear it if they were only able to see Izuku and not reach him? Just as she'd had to watch him be taken in the first place?
She looked at the time on her phone. She had about three hours to think about it.
Izuku woke up with a gasp, his body jolting into consciousness. He started coughing as he sat up quickly and immediately regretted the motion, as his head spun and pain flared over his body. He jumped when a hand touched his shoulder and snatched it by the wrist, whipping his gaze towards the owner.
"Well, you're doing fine, I guess," Himiko muttered as she pulled her arm away from his grip. He tried to mutter an apology, but his throat felt dry and painful, and all that came out was another cough. The girl sighed and offered him a water bottle, which he took gratefully.
After drinking almost half of the bottle, he looked at her again. "What happened?"
"I dunno," she shrugged, stepping away from his bed as he turned to swing his legs over the side of the bed. "When Viper brought you back, you were out cold. You're still kinda burnt and bruised up."
Izuku looked himself over and winced. Just as she said, his arms had minor burns all over and from how his tender his back felt, he guessed that Hisashi had put a definitive end to their spar at some point. What had…
All he really remembered was trying to close in on Hisashi and then being slammed by a really powerful attack. He'd hit the ground so hard, he must've been knocked out in an instant.
He went to stand up and instantly groaned. "Oww…"
Himiko snorted, smirking a bit. "He beat you up pretty good, huh?"
"Thanks for the support," he retorted sarcastically, forcing himself to stand and stretch his arms over his head. He heard several pops along his spine and in his shoulders that both hurt and felt great all at once. "Damn, damn, damn…"
"You want to get something to eat? Kurogiri probably just finished cooking."
"Yeah, that sounds fine," Izuku admitted. Himiko lifted her hand to teasingly pat his cheek, then turned and led him out of the room.
The bar was a little more active than normal since everyone was eating and Izuku noticed with some annoyance that Hisashi was still around, indulging in Kurogiri's cooking. As he followed Himiko into the room, Magne looked up at them and laughed.
"Sleeping beauty woke up, eh?"
Izuku half-growled at Magne, who only snickered with the majority of the other villains. There were only a couple of seats open at the bar, one beside Hisashi and another next to that one, but Himiko got there first and took the seat furthest from the older villain. So reluctantly, Izuku was left with the seat between Himiko and Hisashi as Kurogiri set plates of food in front of them. Hisashi didn't say anything and continued to eat, though he seemed a little more satisfied with himself than he normally did. Izuku felt an incessant urge to punch the smug look off his face.
As he sat down, the teenager winced, his spine protesting the movement painfully. He reached over his shoulder to massage the muscle and bone beneath his neck. Tomura was chuckling at his obvious discomfort, much to Izuku's irritation. Behind them along the wall, Twice, who was lying on his side while he ate, decided to comment. "Damn, Viper messed you up! Must feel great!"
"Not the first word I'd choose," Izuku groaned and winced as he pressed on another tender spot. "How the hell are you only number three?"
Hisashi gave him a sideways glance while he chewed on his food and waited to swallow before he grunted a reply. "I don't know what you're complaining about, I went easy on you. The others wouldn't have been as lenient."
"I don't even know what you hit me with at the end."
"I only knocked you out. Be grateful."
"Gee, thanks. If the other Chimeras are as…generous as you, I can't wait to meet them."
Tomura snorted at that. Hisashi didn't respond outright, though his voice became slightly annoyed. "They'd be more useful if they were trying to help kill All Might, but instead they seem to enjoy spending time on their own personal endeavors. Well, most of them, anyway. I don't know what that damn woman is up to at all these days. She's too skilled at hiding for her own good."
He huffed and took a drink, apparently irritated by the thought of this elusive female Chimera.
Izuku glanced at Hisashi and wondered how much more information he could get out of him. If he kept things casual and didn't ask anything directly, then maybe…?
He thought about how best to approach it for a few minutes as he ate and then finally asked another question. "Can't imagine you'd be better at hiding than whoever this lady is."
Hisashi shot him a dry look. Yeah, he had a feeling Izuku would try to get something else about the Chimeras from him in a roundabout kind of way. "I can't imagine you'd ever find out."
Irritation bubbled up inside the teenager. Hisashi had already caught him, dammit. He averted his gaze and continued eating, much to the older man's amusement.
"What is it with you and killing All Might, anyway?" Izuku muttered, feeling the need to get even with Hisashi for spoiling his chance at getting more information. As he expected, Hisashi's forehead creased with annoyance. "Are you just pissed that he beat you?"
Hisashi's eyes became cold as he turned his head to glare at Izuku. On the teenager's other side, Himiko stopped mid-chew and watched the man warily. The other villains in the room paused and observed the interaction as Hisashi's temper visibly worsened and the air grew tense.
"…did All Might tell you he and I knew each other when we were younger?"
"Yeah, he did," Izuku replied, watching Hisashi's face carefully. "He said you guys were rivals or something like that. And that you met my mom at the Sports Festival when you were first years at U.A."
That was a bit of a bombshell for several of the villains in the room, though Kurogiri and Tomura didn't look surprised. Hisashi's face twisted into a sneer. "Is that all he said?"
"He said you guys all grew apart for a while after school, but not much else," Izuku said, meeting his sneer with a steady scowl. "Seeing where you are now, I don't really wonder why."
Hisashi snarled, eyes smoldering as he glared at Izuku. "I suppose he never mentioned that he was the one who set a trap for me the day I fought him, did he?"
He hadn't, but that information didn't change anything. "You were a criminal. Still are."
"That so? Even though I offered to give him information about All for One in exchange for your mother's protection?"
That caught Izuku off-guard. "What?"
"You heard me. I was going to defect for your mother's safety and I said as much to All Might," Hisashi growled bitterly. "But I guess he just couldn't stand seeing his ex-lover with his former friend. He set me up and I retaliated accordingly."
Lover? As in…his mother? Inko?
The closeness All Might and his mother shared suddenly made sense. The way they interacted, how his mother knew about All Might's secret true form…the natural kind of comfort they had with one another. It was different from the kind of closeness he had with his friends…like…like they understood one another on a much more personal level…
It shocked him, but Izuku took the information with a pinch of salt- Hisashi wasn't exactly a source of wisdom he really trusted, for obvious reasons. He forced his roiling thoughts aside and managed to put some strength back into his eyes and voice. "Even if that were the case, you didn't have to kill all those people. You didn't have to destroy the city. That was you and nothing you're telling me justifies that."
"Really? You're telling me that after all those things you said about doing something to check her psychopathic tendencies? What difference is there between us? Where's my so-called chance at redemption?"
His glare flicked to Himiko, who stiffened under his gaze. Izuku's scowl returned. "You burned it to the ground."
There was a hand squeezing his throat in an instant and Izuku winced as his breath was forced out of him. He glared at Hisashi, who only looked to be growing more infuriated with every second. It took him a minute to get his temper back under control and until then, the room was alight with nerves.
After a few tense seconds, his grip loosened, but he didn't let go completely. Izuku managed to take a breath of air and hissed at the man. "After everything you've done, you don't want help…That's the difference between you two."
"No," he growled back. "The difference is I know what I want."
He let Izuku go then and cast a glance at Kurogiri. "Send me back. I've had enough of this for one day."
Kurogiri complied and Izuku just scowled at Hisashi until the man was gone.
"Asshole," Izuku muttered, lifting a hand to massage his throat. But even then…he wondered if there was any truth to what Hisashi had said about his mother and All Might. Izuku seriously doubted All Might would betray Hisashi out of jealousy, but…it would explain why Hisashi was so bitter and determined to see All Might dead.
There was more to the story. There had to be. And he just knew it was going to drive him crazy thinking about it until he got answers.
Katsuki glanced at his phone to check the time and frowned slightly. They'd have to leave soon.
He and Momo were standing outside the hospital, waiting for the other members of their class whom they'd asked to take part in their secret operation. Tenya had had some pretty harsh words for them, so Momo wasn't sure he'd come, but…if they were going to do this, all five members of the party had to come along.
They weren't outside for long before two of their chosen members arrived- Shoto and Tenya, the latter of which surprised Katsuki. He'd almost gotten into a fight with the other teenager over this until Momo more or less ordered them both to cool their jets.
Momo looked at them steadily. "What are your answers?"
"I'll come," Shoto agreed quietly. Katsuki didn't have it in him to complain about the other boy's addition to the group- if things went to shit, they'd need his firepower to escape.
Tenya fixed his glasses, shifting about nervously. "I'm only coming along to ensure that you don't do anything foolish. If I catch even a hint of violence, I'll pull you all away."
"Of course," Katsuki muttered, averting his gaze. "That was the plan from the start."
They were all edgy and shifty, nervously eyeing each passerby as though someone might discover their plan and stop them. It was a nerve-wracking three minutes, but finally their attention was drawn to the last member of their squad as she walked down the street towards them.
Katsuki studied her slumped posture and popped the inevitable question. "You gonna come?"
Ochako nodded, her eyes still a little dull. She'd been powerless to save Izuku before and doubted that they could really do anything on this secret mission of theirs, but even so…she wanted to come along. "If there's a chance we can get Deku back, I want to help…I want to save him…"
Momo dipped her head and pulled out the tracking device out of her jacket now that they'd all agreed. "It seems that the homing beacon is originating from the Kamino Ward of Yokohama City, in the Kanagawa prefecture. We'll have to board a train and it should take us about two hours to get there…we'll probably arrive at ten pm."
Katsuki grunted and started walking for the nearest station fifteen minutes away, lightly clapping his hand on Ochako's shoulder on the way. "We couldn't reach him last time. Let's go get him back."
Ochako nodded and walked after him. The rest of the group followed suit, all of them tense and paranoid about the secret trip ahead of them. It felt like a wave was building up, slowly growing to such size and power that none of them would be able to stop it when it finally came crashing down. They all kind of sensed that something huge was about to happen, though they didn't have the words to acknowledge it to one another…but even knowing that, they didn't stop.
Perhaps they should have, but they didn't.
"Well then, Izuku…"
The teenager looked down the bar towards Tomura, who took the remote and turned the tv on as he started flitting through the channels. "I've kinda put this off for a few days since Teacher and your dad wanted to spend all that time with you, but now is as good as any to officially ask you to join the League of Villains."
Izuku responded with the most sarcastic tone he could manage. "Really?"
"Don't be a smartass, just take a minute to think about it," Tomura slouched against the bar and gestured to the tv. "Why don't you mull it over while we watch a special little something?"
All eyes trailed to the television and Izuku blinked curiously. It was a press conference with U.A regarding the attack on the training camp. The media were really firing every shot they could at the school, almost as though the heroes in charge were criminals. Izuku found it unnerving how eager the news was to attack U.A with all they had, but he also had a feeling that wasn't why Tomura was showing them this.
His hunch was right.
One of the reporters, a middle aged man specifically, seemed to be throwing all the big punches in the form of damning questions and suggestions. He probably knew that Mr. Aizawa, who was with Vlad King and Principal Nezu, had a reputation for disliking the media and was trying to rile him up.
"Mr. Eraser Head, you speak of the students' safety, but the reports say that during the incident, you urged the students to fight, did you not?" The reporter asked. "Please explain your intentions regarding that decision."
Aizawa, in a suit and tie with his hair combed back, not at all like the scruffy teacher Izuku was used to, replied in the same, calm manner he always did. "Because we were unable to fully grasp the situation, I made the call in order to avoid the worst possible scenario."
"The worst possible outcome? More than twenty students injured and one kidnapped…Could you enlighten us of this "worst possible scenario" you imagined?"
"Of course," Aizawa responded. "The worst possible scenario, in my mind, was one in which the students became murder victims."
Nezu interjected. "The majority of the injuries were caused by the gas attack, which we've ascertained possessed hypnotic properties and was created by a villain. Thanks to the swift actions of out students, that particular villain was stopped and prevented any further injuries. We are also seeing to the mental care of the students, but at the present moment, we have no indications of severe emotional trauma or other such things."
"And what of the kidnapped student, Izuku Midoriya?" The reporter queried.
There it was.
"He was targeted by the villains for obvious reasons," the man continued. "The son of the escaped super villain Heat Viper and one of the top sixteen from the Sports Festival. He displayed a willingness to use excessive force back then and was overwhelmed by his own power, but during this latest incident, the reports say he was responsible for actually killing one of the villains, Muscular. The picture he's given us so far is of a boy with power who is unafraid to use it as he so chooses. His behavior is rather similar to that of his father, would you not agree? One could even argue that his so-called "kidnapping" was merely Heat Viper reclaiming his child- and it would be awfully easy for him to simply lead Izuku down the same path as him. With all this, please tell us on what basis you can say he has a future."
Izuku felt a kind of rage and despair in his stomach. He knew that he wasn't popular with the media or most of the public, but even so…that stung. He was always uneasy about how the public received him, but the rage came from them assuming he was just like his father and would follow him like some damned loyal pet.
He felt Himiko elbow him and realized his fingers were digging into the wood of the bar and leaving burns. Izuku immediately dropped the temperature and he did his best to ignore Tomura's quiet laughter.
"What occurred at the camp was the result of my own shortcomings."
Aizawa had stood up and bowed in front of the crowd of reports. He lifted his head however, and stared at the reporter who had put all the fire on Izuku with a steady look that barely seemed to hold back a full-on glare. "But I speak for every single member of the staff and Izuku's immediate family that Heat Viper does not, and will never have legal custody of him. In regards to what happened with Muscular, I would add that the villain in question was responsible for multiple first-degree murders, including the Pro hero team Water Horse, and attempted to kill a five year-old child at the campsite. He was a powerful enemy that most Pros would have difficulty dealing with, much less students. Izuku may have had no choice at the time but to respond with deadly force and he also severely injured himself in the process. If that was what it took to protect the civilian boy, I can say with a clear conscience that I do not regret the decision he made."
"And his connection to Heat Viper? What are your thoughts on him following in his father's footsteps down the path of a villain?"
"Speaking frankly, those accusations are completely absurd," Aizawa replied flatly. "Izuku does not view his parentage to Viper as a good thing. When we were testing the Quirks of the students for the first time, he was reluctant and afraid to use it at all for fear of being ostracized. He was only able to use it fully during the Sports Fesitval. Evidently, his concerns were not unfounded because there appears to be a number of people who are incapable of seeing the difference between a child and a parent. If the villains assumed he would join them simply because of his parentage…then Heat Viper's involvement regardless, I would call them fools."
Izuku felt his lips curve up slightly. Mr. Aizawa was more than ready to defend him from those people. It felt good knowing he had teachers who wouldn't hesitate to shut down any of the unfair accusations against him.
"Do you have a concrete plan for the matter?" The reporter asked, unabashed by the strong words. "This is not a question of your feelings. What actions are you taking from this point on?"
"By no means are we standing by and doing nothing," Nezu replied. "We are currently carrying out an investigation in collaboration with the police. We will get our student back, make no mistake."
Izuku tilted his head in Tomura's direction as the villain switched the tv off, looking irritated, but not angry. "You heard him."
"You don't really get a choice, you know," Tomura retorted, standing up to approach Izuku at his seat. "I'm offering you the chance to join us peacefully so you don't have to get dragged to Teacher's place every day and get beat half to death. Joining us wouldn't be so bad, would it? You wouldn't have to deal with those people who hate you all the time, you can just get rid of them as you please."
"I don't really have a thing for killing people," Izuku snapped back.
"No? Then what about Himiko? You two have gotten pretty chummy the last few days, don't deny it. If you join us, you can keep helping her, or whatever it is your dad talked about earlier."
That made him hesitate and he glanced at the girl, who didn't seem to know how to respond and was twirling her knife in her hands to keep herself occupied. If he was honest…Himiko was the only reason he even considered what Tomura was saying. He had no interest in being a villain, but…she wanted- needed- his help. He'd promised he'd help her. At the same time, he needed to get away from here, but Himiko couldn't go with him without losing her freedom and he knew she didn't want that.
He was stuck in a stalemate and it frustrated him so much.
Tomura let Izuku take his time thinking about it, able to recognize the conflict on the boy's face. He'd been debating for the last couple of days whether or not to do something about Himiko for getting too close to his "trump card" but she was turning out to be more valuable to the League than he'd initially thought she'd be. Her presence and the closeness she'd formed with Izuku alone had made a connection he couldn't easily break. And he knew that she would stay with the League to keep her freedom.
He was chained to the League and Himiko was the key to his shackles.
Momo stopped in her tracks and looked up at the building they'd arrived at. After taking the train ride to Kamino, the group of students had snuck through the city as unsuspectingly as they could, following the tracking device to the location of the transmitter. It was nighttime now and everything was dark save the dim street lamps. The area where they arrived was a quieter section of town with only a few people, which was both a good thing and nerve-wracking at the same time.
It really felt like they were behind enemy lines and deep in their territory now.
The building in question was a worn-down looking warehouse, large and seemingly out of use. From what little she could see through the windows, it seemed like the inside was dark and empty.
"This is it," she told the others quietly.
Katsuki studied the building in question and raised an eyebrow. "Sure looks like a dump."
"They'd want to hide somewhere inconspicuous, so it makes sense they'd choose a place like this," Shoto pointed out. "The question is what do we do now that we're here?"
"Some of those windows higher up are broken," Ochako told them as she spotted an opening about twenty feet up. "If Momo makes a rope, I can float them up there to take a better look."
Tenya shook his head. "No, it's too risky. At that height, whoever goes up there will be visible for the entire street and someone might think we're trying to break into the building. And if one of the villains sees them floating outside…"
"What do you think?" Katsuki asked Momo. She pursed her lips and frowned at the tracking device.
"From what I can tell, the villains haven't moved from here the whole day," she replied. "They're definitely here, but that doesn't necessarily mean that Izuku is as well. We need more information."
"This would've been a lot easier if we brought Toru," Shoto remarked.
Momo shook her head. "I would never send Toru in there with as little information as we have. Invisible or not, it's just not worth the risk. No…we should try and find a way around the back. We'll stand out too much just standing around the front of the building like this."
They found a narrow alley between the target building and one of its neighboring constructs and slipped through. It was a tight fit, but they made it work and stopped about halfway after spotting a large window close enough to give them a good look inside. The concrete wall was too high for any of them to look over it individually, but it would be possible to take a look if they gave each other a boost.
"I'll make Shoto float," Ochako said once they decided to try and take a look from their position. "Tenya can hold onto his ankles and he can look inside from there."
"It's pretty dark. Will you even be able to see anything?" Tenya asked Shoto, who wasn't certain about the question.
"Here," Momo held her hand out and concentrated, producing a simple night vision scope for one eye. "That should help you."
Ochako made Shoto float and with care, they got him up on Tenya's shoulders after Momo gave him the night vision scope. Once Shoto had righted himself and held onto the concrete wall with his free hand to keep his balance, he brought the scope up and peered through the window.
"Anything?" Katsuki asked somewhat impatiently while keeping his voice down.
"…there's not much to see," Shoto responded. "It's pretty messy in there. There's a lot of mechanical equipment and broken crates, some barrels…I can see a generator that seems to be online and some pipes…Wait."
He focused for a few moments and zoomed in with the scope as far as it could go, leaning forward slightly. "Yeah. There are some of those Noumu things from USJ and Hosu inside. They're not moving…it looks like they're dormant or something."
"So they are here," Tenya muttered tensely.
"How many, Shoto?" Momo queried.
"Give me a second," he licked his lips and slowly scanned the inside of the warehouse, specifically looking at a number of large containers filled with liquid. Within each one was a Noumu. "Four, six, eight- wait, that's Ragdoll!"
"What?!" Ochako exclaimed.
"Are you sure?" Momo demanded.
"That's definitely Ragdoll," Shoto focused on the container holding the woman. He couldn't see much since the glass was dirty, but he could tell that she wasn't moving and seemed to be unconscious.
"How is she?" Tenya asked. "What's her condition?"
"…" Shoto bit his lip as he studied what little he could see of Ragdoll, trying to think of a way to respond. "…I'm not sure. She doesn't look hurt, but she's not moving. She's being kept in one of the containers with the Noumus."
They pulled Shoto down from Tenya's shoulders and Ochako released her Quirk as she looked at Momo. "What should we do? We can't leave Ragdoll here."
"I'm tempted to agree," Shoto nodded. "She was in one of those containers, so…I wonder if they're trying to turn her into one of those Noumu."
"We can't just break in," Tenya interjected. "Each of those Noumu things has different abilities and there's more of them than us. We have no idea what we're getting ourselves into and we aren't allowed to fight. What if they wake up as soon as we enter and attack?"
"But Ragdoll might not have much time left!" Ochako protested.
They were quiet for nearly a minute as they contemplated the situation. Katsuki was rapping his knuckles against the concrete and finally cast a glance at the building, or what he could see of it peeking over the wall. "We don't even know if Ragdoll is alive. Those Noumu things are brain-dead, so if they're making her into one of them…"
"She looked normal," Shoto reminded him, hesitating. "But…we have no idea what kind of state she's in. If we break in there and alert the Noumus only for her to be beyond saving, we'll just be giving the villains a chance to capture or kill us."
"…" Katsuki continued to stare at the building for a few more moments. "I think we should back off here."
Momo looked at him in surprise. He was the last person she'd been expecting to call the mission quits. "Why?"
"This has been bothering me for a while," he said, lowering his voice. "Out of all these League of Villains guys we've fought the last few months, not a single one of them had a Quirk that could turn someone into those weird-ass Noumus. If you think about it, even their self-proclaimed leader, that fucker with all the hands, has a Quirk that lets him disintegrate whatever he touches. These Noumu things pop up at their beck-and-call, but who the hell is making them in the first place?"
He let that sink in for a few moments and went on. "It might be nothing, but…That hand guy, Shigaraki or whatever the fuck he's called…Don't you think it's kind of weird for someone like him to be able to manage all this stuff on his own?"
"What do you mean?" Ochako asked with a frown. She hadn't ever actually met Tomura before, so she didn't understand. Tenya seemed to be a bit confused as well.
"When I saw him at USJ, he acted like a bratty rich kid showing off that Noumu like it was something he got from his dad. And he threw a fit when Izuku defeated it," Katsuki muttered, glancing from Momo to Shoto. The other boy was deep in thought and Katsuki didn't even shoot an insult at him. "You guys saw him, too. What do you think?"
"…it's a good point," Shoto replied, looking at Momo. The girl was taking Katsuki's wariness (and if that didn't say something about Katsuki's concerns, he didn't know what would) seriously and really considering it. "At Hosu and even at the training camp, when I think about it, Shigaraki didn't actually show up. If he's their leader, he's being awfully careless about the way he's throwing his forces around, isn't he? I can't imagine an organization who follows a leader like that growing large or lasting for long. Even more unusual is why a big shot villain like Heat Viper would join such a group."
Ochako exchanged a glance with Tenya, who shook his head. They didn't see what the other three were getting at. "I don't understand. Where are you guys going with this?"
"…you think there's someone running the League behind the scenes," Momo concluded as she turned to Katsuki. Tenya's eyes widened and Ochako froze.
"It's the only explanation I can think of that makes sense," he answered with a slight nod. He looked noticeably tense and his fingers clenched now and again, like he was wary of a fight. "There's no way a guy like Shigaraki was able to get all these resources and recruit Heat Viper on his own…The way he behaved at USJ, all these Noumu things, Viper joining the League…No, someone with damn big influence is keeping this shit together. And since whoever it is hasn't shown himself, I'd put money on him being smart enough to stash the Noumus here and hide the League somewhere else."
He paused for a moment and almost growled. "I don't think Deku is here. But the fucker running the League behind the scenes…he might be."
Tenya swallowed and a bead of sweat trailed down the side of his face. "If there really is someone like that…someone that even Heat Viper would follow…"
"He wouldn't be any ordinary villain," Shoto finished, glancing up at the building warily. "It's still just a hypothesis without any concrete evidence, but I'll admit that I don't like how much it seems to fit."
"So what, we just…we leave Ragdoll here?" Ochako asked in disbelief.
"Use your head," Katsuki told her bluntly, but not rudely. "This guy running the League would have to be someone as powerful as All Might to keep Viper in line. We can't fight that, even between the five of us."
"You don't even know if he exists!"
"Do we wanna chance running into Viper, though?"
Ochako hesitated and bit her lip. He had a point and she knew it. It would be different if they knew exactly where Viper was, but…
At that moment, the back of the warehouse exploded.
Izuku looked back up at Tomura, who was still staring at him and waiting for an answer. He really didn't have a solution for his immediate problem with Himiko, but he also had no intention of doing what the League wanted.
"I'm not joining you," he declared simply. "No way."
"I see," Tomura didn't seem overly bothered by the response and merely shrugged. "Ah, well. It's just the first time I'll ask you, after all. We'll see if you change your mind after Teacher works you another dozen times."
Someone suddenly knocked on the door. They heard a voice on the other side. "Pizza delivery!"
Everyone in the room stared at the door dubiously for a second, and then the wall opposite the counter exploded.
"SMASH!"
The blast of wind and debris sent Compress, Magne, Twice, and Spinner sprawling over the floor. Tomura, Kurogiri, and Dabi spun towards the source of the attack with shock, but even they weren't able to respond fast enough as thin tendrils of fibers shot into the room and suddenly, the clothes they wore were pinning them in place. Izuku yelped as his own clothes entrapped him as well, but released after a moment.
"What the-?!" Dabi snarled in surprise and began to emit blue flames. "You think you can hold-"
"Don't get ahead of yourself, kid!"
A blur of movement shot into the room and delivered a powerful kick to Dabi's head, knocking him unconscious in an instant. Gran Torino backed off and landed on the floor as the man who had first charged in stood up with a large grin on his face.
"Infiltration complete!" All Might declared. "As expected of the number four hero Best Jeanist and the veteran Gran Torino! You aren't getting away from us this time, League of Villains, because we are here!"
Jeanist looked over at Izuku as he retracted the fibers that he'd launched at him. "My apologies, young man. I threaded everyone in an instant to prevent Viper from retaliating. Couldn't risk it."
"I-I-It's fine!" Izuku managed shakily, still shocked by the sudden entrance.
Compress couldn't believe his eyes. "They found us?! Then the press conference…the timing was planned!"
"Oww, pants guy!" Twice complained. "You're squeezing too tight! More pressure!"
"This time around, we won't be so careless," the voice which had first got their attention at the door said as he slashed through the lock and opened the door, leading a squad of riot police. It was the rank five hero, Edgeshot. "It's not just us. We've got other skilled heroes outside as well with the police."
Himiko winced as she struggled against the restraints. "Owowow…"
Izuku glanced at her and almost reached up to try and help, but he stopped himself. There wouldn't any escape for her and he couldn't justify freeing her, no matter her wishes. She looked up at him and he could tell she'd realized the same thing, and she was starting to panic. Her eyes started to lose the clarity he'd associated with her when she was behaving normally and grew hazy. His stomach lurched. How long would it take until she snapped and became psychopathic?
He jumped as he felt a pair of powerful arms wrap around him and then All Might was hugging him firmly. "Thank goodness, you're alright."
All Might knelt in front of Izuku and looked him over. "Are you hurt?"
"I…" Izuku swallowed and looked down at the floor. He was feeling choked up with relief and happiness that All Might had come to save him. "I'm f-fine…"
"You did well lasting this long. I'm sorry you had to go through this," All Might stood up, squeezing his shoulder one more time. "We'll talk later. For now, I still have a job to do."
Tomura seemed to have come to his senses and glared at All Might. "Hey…why the hell did the last boss come and hunt us down? It's usually the other way around, isn't it?"
"Did you expect us to sit by idly after you attacked our students and stole away my pupil?" All Might asked him with a wide smile. "We came here for payback, League of Villains!"
"You say that like the fight is over," Tomura sneered. "Well, we're in a bit of a bind, so I can see why you'd think that…but it doesn't matter. Kurogiri, bring as many of them here as you can! Bring the Noumu!"
They waited in tense silence for several moments, but Kurogiri's warp portal didn't activate. The villain's glowing eyes narrowed in confusion. "Forgive me, Tomura…but the Noumu that should be at the designated coordinates…they aren't there!"
"As I thought, you're still just a rookie, Tomura," All Might told him, towering over the villain. "You underestimated us too much. Izuku's spirit, the diligent investigation of the police and our fury! The Noumu storehouse is already being raided!"
"What?!" Tomura sputtered in furious disbelief.
"No more games," All Might declared, eyes gleaming dangerously. "It all ends here, Tomura Shigaraki!"
The students all yelped as the side of the warehouse exploded. They ducked down and waited for the debris to settle before they dared stand back up and find out what was going on.
"What the hell was that?!" Katsuki spluttered.
Ochako made Shoto float again so he could peer over the concrete wall and see what had happened, holding onto his ankles to keep him from flying away too far. Shoto peered through the night vision scope again and stared for a few seconds.
"What just happened, Shoto?" Tenya asked. "What do you see?"
"It's the heroes!" Shoto exclaimed. "Mt. Lady is there- I think she was the one who busted the place open. Kamui Woods, Gang Orca, Tora from the Pussycats…Even my old man is there!"
"They're attacking now!?" Momo gasped.
"Yeah, it looks like they've already suppressed the Noumu," Shoto said as Ochako pulled him back down and deactivated her Quirk. He let out a sigh. "Well, we should get out of here now. They'll definitely be able to handle this on their own. We don't have to worry about Ragdoll or the Noumu anymore."
They could hear the heroes talking from their place and took a moment to just listen to them, to find out what was going on.
Mt. Lady had a Noumu grasped tightly in each of her gigantic hands and stuck her tongue out at them in disgust. "Blegh…these things are actually alive?"
"Noumu storehouse suppression complete," Kamui Woods declared, having entrapped a number of Noumu in his branches. He glanced at Endeavor, who was pinning a Noumu to the ground with his foot. "But this part of the job was pretty easy, wasn't it? Shouldn't we have gone with All Might, Endeavor?"
"Don't confuse the degree of difficulty of what we're doing with its importance, rookie," Endeavor retorted, letting his foot burn the skin on the Noumu's back. "These damn things would be a problem if that warping villain brought them over to All Might's location. Though I admit I would've liked to pulverize a few of those League of Villains punks myself."
"There's no helping it," Gang Orca told him, squeezing the head of a Noumu with his powerful hand to force it unconscious. "There's a high chance Heat Viper is over there. Your Quirk would making taking him down more difficult."
"I know that," Endeavor snapped. He glanced over his shoulder at Tora, who had retrieved Ragdoll from the tank. "Is that your teammate? What's her condition?"
"She's breathing," Tora replied, cradling the unconscious woman in his arms. "But…something is off about her. What did they do to you, Ragdoll?!"
Ochako looked at the other teenagers, eyes gleaming. "Did you hear that? All Might's attacking the League of Villains!"
"They must've found out about another hideout and hit it at the same time," Momo nodded. "The heroes here will take care of Ragdoll and All Might probably already has Izuku back. Let's get moving…"
"Forgive me, Tora."
Both the concealed students and the heroes in the warehouse froze as a distinctly male voice echoed from a dark hall in the warehouse. It sent chills down their spines, for it held an absolute certainty, eerie calm, and utter authority in its tone.
"I thought Ragdoll had a useful Quirk a long time ago. Since the opportunity fell into my lap, I decided to take it…"
"Don't move!" Orca ordered, holding his hand up towards the villain despite being unable to see him. He sent out a series of echolocating clicks and his eyes narrowed. "There's two of them…"
"Members of the League of Villains, eh?" Endeavor grinned widely. "This job might be more fun than I thought, after all?"
"Is that so?"
Katsuki felt a sense of horror creeping over him. He recognized that second voice. He knew it all too well. Beside him, Shoto and Ochako were also stiff with fright, their eyes growing wide.
"I'll handle these guys," the second voice chuckled. "It's been too long since I got to really let loose. Don't strain that body of yours, All for One."
Another laugh. "Very well, have your fun if it so pleases you."
Endeavor's eyes bulged. "Kamui!"
Kamui Woods launched a massive branch at the two villains as they emerged from the shadows, entrapping the one at the front as he emerged into the moonlight. Emerald flames suddenly blazed up around the man's body and a pair of long, fiery horns flowed at the top of his head. The wood was incinerated in an instant as the man's lips curved into a wide grin, baring his teeth.
"Well hey there, Endeavor," Hisashi sneered. "You come here to get destroyed again?"
"Heat Viper?!" Endeavor snarled furiously.
"I thought he was supposed to be where All Might was!" Orca scowled.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I have better things to do than laze about with the rookies," Hisashi started to lift one of his hands up, the flames changing to white as the temperature soared.
Endeavor blanched. "Take cover!"
"Now then…"
The sclera of Hisashi's eyes shifted from white to black in an instant and his green irises glowed with a kind of primal glee. Flames began to wisp from the corner of his mouth as his grin widened further.
"Let me kill some time until All Might gets here…"
Nobody was prepared for the blast that came next.
In an instant, everything in front of Hisashi, the heroes, the buildings, the street…everything was simply blown away by a superheated shock wave. It roared out, making the ground and air shake with its power, and created a trail of devastation that scorched the earth. Every single hero, policeman, and Noumu in its path was burned mercilessly.
Endeavor alone amongst the heroes managed to remain capable of rising up after the blast and stood up with a furious snarl on his face, his body still trembling from the raw force that had slammed into him. He'd done his best to intercept the Pyroclasm with his body and soften its effect on those behind him, but even that wasn't enough to mitigate the damage much.
He started to push himself off of his hands and knees, only for a foot to stomp on his back and drive him into the blackened dirt again. Endeavor twisted his neck to glare up at Heat Viper, who smirked down at him and tilted his head to one side playfully. The rank three Chimera's eyes glowed, illuminated by his black sclera and the full moon above him.
"…and burn you to death, 'O fiery hero."