Chapter Text
As Mirio had predicted, his friends had gone nuts when they saw the news.
Tamaki was ‘threatening’ to hug him to death and never let him out of his sight again.
Kacchan was yelling, swearing, and threatening to beat his ass.
The U.A staff were baffled, frustrated and exasperated over the fact that he still managed to endanger his life even with all the protections, planning, and tracking they’ve put in place.
And the plans the Dekusquad and Bakusquad were making with the rest of the 1A group chat to wrap him in bubble wrap and lock him up in U.A until graduation were starting to sound just a little bit too serious and detailed to be joking.
Morning rocked around, at which point the nurses allowed more visitors.
Moments later, Sir Nighteye and Yagi burst in, with Bubble Girl and Centipeder peeking in from their positions on either side of the door.
“So, what have we learned from this encounter?” Sir Nighteye asked once he’d made sure Izuku was healed.
“Not to attempt first-aid cleanup until I’m certain my surroundings are clear. I need to learn how to sense what I can’t see. Never underestimate the enemy,” Izuku rattled off hopefully.
“Correct. Even though it isn’t always favourable – especially with severe wounds – all medical attention is to be handled after fight is over and the villains have been secured. Even while attending to your injuries, you must remain vigilant. Sensing what you can’t see can be done by teaching yourself to hear someone’s breathing patterns. Always expect a sneak attack and, during this internship, never separate from your guards. I do not blame you for that last one this time, as Bubble Girl is the one that ordered you to do it,” Nighteye lectured.
Shouta and Yagi were nodding along to every point he made. The former glared at Bubble Girl, who meeped and returned to her post, hiding behind the wall and out of sight.
“So, can I continue my internship? I should be discharged soon, and I have dad’s permission,” Izuku asked eyes pleading.
Nighteye gave a big sigh, looking rather frustrated with him, and pinched the bridge of his nose.
“Yes, Aizawa, you can continue. However, I will not be tolerating it if you leave your escort’s side again. Am I understood?” the hero relented.
“Yes! Of course, Sir. Thank you!” Izuku cheered.
“In that case, I’ll go get your discharge papers ready. Stay put and out of trouble,” Shouta ordered.
Izuku put on his most innocent face in return.
Mirio snickered.
“We’ll keep an eye on him Eraser. Go do what you need to,” Nighteye offered upon seeing Shouta’s distrustful glare.
Grumbling, he undergrounder agreed and slunk out of the hospital room.
“So, are we still leaving today?” Izuku asked, turning to Nighteye.
“Yes, though we’ll be taking a later train than I’d intended. Idaten agency has been kind enough to offer us a place to stay in their guest rooms. Not the most subtle place to stay, but one well-guarded,” Nighteye explained, far less cautious about revealing their location than Shouta had been.
A few minutes later, Shouta came back with the nurses, who officially discharged him from the hospital.
“Here’s your stuff, take it and behave. I’ll be watching the news when I’m not patrolling or sleeping, so if something happens, I’ll be there as soon as I can. Be safe kiddo,” Shouta instructed, handing him his luggage from the agency and pulling him into a hug.
“I will, dad. I’ll stay by my guard’s side the entire time, I promise,” Izuku soothed.
The hero grunted and let go before walking them all to the train station.
* * *
Several hours later, the group of six (Yagi, Centipeder, Bubble Girl, Sir Nighteye, Mirio and Izuku) arrived in Hosu.
Iida and Ingenium were already there and waiting for them.
“Welcome to Hosu everyone! Follow me and we’ll get you settled in,” the speedster hero greeted.
Iida introduced himself to everyone along the way. To avoid confusion between the two Iidas he introduced himself as Momentium.
They quickly got themselves settled in before regrouping in a borrowed meeting room.
“There isn’t much of a choice in our patrol groups unfortunately. Mirio is the most combat-orientated member, so he’ll always be assigned to Izuku’s team. Yagi will also always be guarding Izuku. Now, it’s just a matter of the third member. Initially, I’d wanted an analyst on both teams, so I didn’t join, but perhaps you need more than a work study and a sidekick to protect you…” Nighteye explained.
“You’re right that it’s wise for both teams to have an analyst, sir. Perhaps I could take Centipeder? He has more experience in the field than Bubble Girl. Also, pairing you and Bubble Girl on the same team would give you both a long-range and short-range fighter,” Izuku suggested.
“Hmm, that might work. The only reason Centipeder hasn’t gone pro is because he likes his position in the agency, so it’d be the same as having a hero on your team,” Nighteye agreed, writing down the teams.
“Our patrol route will start from here in the centre of Hosu and end in the suburban district. Keep an eye on the backstreets for yakuza members. Specifically, ones holding silver cases, they’ll be the ones test running the erasure bullets. If you see Stain, prioritise the rescue and call for backup before engaging as a team,” the intelligence hero explained.
Aizawa, you’re notes say that his fighting style is speed and ambush based and that he relies heavily on his weapons and paralysis quirk, correct?” Nighteye asked, receiving a nod in agreement.
“Then your best bet is to restrict his movement and disarm him. Do not let him consume your blood,” Nighteye instructed.
He got a series of affirmatives in response, so he set up the patrol route and sent it to all of them before they separated for the day.
Patrol started at nightfall.
* * *
Izuku was really starting to think the gods hated him.
Not even an hour into his patrol, horrible but incredibly familiar shrieking filled the air as three noumu were released straight into central Hosu.
Then, the city was on fire because apparently Endeavor didn’t know the meaning of restraint. Or aiming, for that matter.
The flaming idiot then proceeded to ignore the fact that his attacks on the absorb-and-release noumu were just making things worse.
“Null! If the League is here, then you need to leave. Head to the outskirts with your team and continue the mission. The other pros and I will handle the noumu,” Nighteye ordered.
Izuku really wanted to argue that, considering how easily he’d taken down the noumu last time, but he knew that he should ensure his own safety first. He’d promised his dad that he’d be careful, after all.
So, he followed Mirio and Centipeder into the more residential outskirts of the city.
They stopped running once they entered the right area.
“It’s so quiet here, if it weren’t for the fires, you’d never think there was an attack going on over there,” Mirio observed.
“Great. You’ve probably jinxed it now,” Izuku sighed.
The three – plus Yagi at a distance – continued their steady patrol pace, carefully scanning alleyways, streets, and rooftops for an erasure tester.
Not five minutes later, they heard the clang of metal on metal, gunshots, yelling, and the roar of engines in an alleyway up ahead.
“Iida!” Izuku realised.
“According to the map, that alley is a dead end,” Centipeder mussed.
“Then we take the rooftops and drop down. Mirio can attack from the mouth of the alley. We should be able to catch them in a pincher attack,” Izuku offered, getting affirmatives from both of them.
Behind them, Yagi crept closer than before.
Izuku and Centipeder ran for the closest fire escape and Mirio crept up to the alleyway, paling at whatever he saw.
Izuku paled two when he saw what was going on.
The two Iidas were defending another hero – Native, he realised – from Stain. Stain was going on about false heroes, completely ignoring the yakuza member behind him.
The yakuza member was trying to get a clear shot at Ingenium, whose helmet had been knocked off at some point.
Taking a deep, steadying breath, Izuku dropped down near-silently onto the yakuza member and knocked him out.
At the same time, Centipeder jumped down for more noisily onto Stain, sending the villain into a wall.
Mirio then rushed Native and a paralysed Tenya out of the alleyway.
“Null! Retreat and give them first aid. I’ll help the heroes,” Mirio ordered, switching out with him.
With a nod from Centipeder – the sidekick doing so mid-dodge as serrated katanas swung for his neck – he complied.
As he patched the two up, he stayed vigilant. He scanned his surrounding in every direction and listened closely for any sneak attacks or struggles with Stain.
“Thank you, Ai- I mean, Null. With a healing ability a strong as yours, I’ll admit that I never pegged you as someone who’d know first aid,” Iida admitted.
“Just because I can’t get hurt, it doesn’t mean that civilians and allies can’t. It’s always a useful skill to have, much like lockpicking, parkour, and escaping once captured,” Izuku explained.
Native grunted in agreement, voicing his thanks as he kept watch on their surroundings and strained against the paralysis quirk.
“Don’t try to struggle against the paralysis, Native. It will only damage your muscles. Relax, only fight it when it’s weakened enough for you to move your fingers,” Izuku instructed, exasperated.
Sure, not every hero had someone like Recovery Girl to teach them these things, but not straining locked body parts was just common sense, right?
The hero sighed, but reluctantly complied.
Moments later, the sounds of fighting in the alleys stopped.
“POWER!!!” Mirio cried triumphantly, making Izuku shake his head.
Peaking around the corner, Izuku used his quirk on just his eyes, cancelling Stain’s quirk.
Native and Iida were up in an instant, despite their injuries, and happily started stretching their muscles.
Mirio and Centipeder started disarming the villains, Izuku listing off the places he could have hidden more weapons while he searched the yakuza member.
Based on the dealers’ M.O, he’d have a handgun, the erasure bullets, chloroform, a rag, a sleep grenade, a phone/radio, and the keys to the van.
Izuku found the radio, the erasure bullets, the gun, a secondary gun with armour-piercing bullets, and a dagger.
“sh*t. Guys, this dealer wasn’t here for a test subject. He’s got no capture gear. He’s not the one who drove here, either. Unless he came on the train,” Izuku explained, showing off what he’d found.
“Wait, you mean they were here on a kill mission? Those bullets would’ve been enough to get through my suit,” Ingenium asked worriedly.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying. You’re lucky these erasure bullets can’t get through your armour, you’d be dead by now otherwise,” Izuku agreed.
Tensei paled and Tenya stiffened, face hidden by his helmet.
Sighing, Izuku wrapped Stain up in his capture weapon and Centipeder grabbed the yakuza grunt.
They dragged the two to the mouth of the alley, Cnetipeder calling for the paramedics and police.
“…Mirio… where’s Yagi?” Izuku asked, suddenly realising he hadn’t seen the man anywhere since they first entered the alleyway.
Mirio paled and searched the area around them, telling Izuku to stay put, but found nothing.
“sh*t, he’s gone!” his senpai panicked, but Izuku wasn’t really paying attention.
No, he was focussing on the sounds of footsteps and wingbeats heading their way.
Turning around, he watched Endeavor and several of his sidekicks round the corner.
“Noumu! Get down!” the group yelled, just as something large and grey swooped down and drabbed Izuku.
Izuku, who’s scarf was still wrapped around Stain. A scarf that was now unravelling as the two of them we pulled into the air.
He hissed as the noumu’s talons dug into his ribs and yelped as he was almost hit by one of Endeavor’s balls of fire.
“Oi! Don’t fry the hostage!” he yelled at the hero.
Then, there was a flash of metal, and his scarf was a lot lighter. The noumu was screeching in pain, dropping him as it crashed into the ground.
‘sh*t, I’m falling! That bastard shredded my scarf!’ Izuku panicked.
Said bladed bastard, who’d gone on and on about true heroes, had apparently decided that killing the heroes he had a grudge against was more important than the child falling to his death. No one could get past him.
Just as he was angling himself, hoping to land in a less damaging position, he heard the roar of an engine once again.
Any hope that it was Iida saving him died in less than as second as a large steel net closed around him, reeling him into a too-familiar black van with a six-pointed roundel on the side.
“Hello little ingredient!” a voice greeted, sounding far too pleased with themself.
Rolling over to see them, he was met with the sight of Beros, Overhaul, and Chronos all in the same van.
‘sh*t. I’m screwed.’
* * *
The van had been speeding along to who-knows-where for a good fifteen to twenty minutes before the villains got tired enough of his constant silent glaring to stop paying attention.
Looking around, he found Yagi unconscious in the back with a Humarise grunt gleefully watching him.
Across from him was a small albino child with a single tiny horn – the other ‘ingredient’ if Izuku had to guess. She was silent and terrified, eyes darting between him and Overhaul with thinly veiled terror and concern.
He glanced once more at Yagi. If he pressed the tracker button now, it would set off the alarm on everyone’s phones, including the one in Yagi’s pocket.
That’d give up their plan in an instant. No, he’d have to wait until Humarise took the hero. They’d strip the man off all electronic devices at their base in Japan before shipping him off to Otheon.
He’d wait until Humarise and Overhaul were separated enough that the former wouldn’t be able to inform Overhaul about the tracking – presuming they even realised what it was – fast enough to do anything.
They’d need Yagi’s thumb print to even unlock the phone and see what was being broadcasted it, and Humarise’s rules stayed that they weren’t to be returned to their quirkless owners under any circ*mstance.
Sighing, Izuku sat up in the net, getting himself comfortable while everyone tensed.
“What? I’m not stupid enough to fight you all in a moving vehicle with two hostages, even if a can eraser your quirks. Beros, the right-hand-gal of Humarise’s leader; Overhual, leader of the Shie Hassaikai; Chronos, Overhaul’s assistant; two Humarise grunts; and I’m assuming that backpack in the passenger seat is Mimic. I’m not going anywhere. Yet,” Izuku admitted, glaring at each of them in turn.
“Hmph. Smart kid,” Mimic stated from the front.
“Considering what you know, I’m assuming you also know what we want you for?” Overhaul prompted; eyes narrowed at him.
“You said it yourself, I’m an ‘ingredient’. Not sure if you’ll succeed, though. Not with how my quirk works,” Izuku said with a grin, staring back at him defiantly.
The little girl whimpered when Overhaul frowned and took his glove off.
The villain reached through the net and grabbed hold of him, but nothing happened.
“Release your quirk, or I’ll do it to Eri instead,” Overhaul warned, making the girl whimper again.
“I can’t. Not even quirk suppressors can do that,” Izuku said grin widening.
Overhaul’s eyes widened.
“A mutation…? I see. You don’t just emit an erasure field. You are the erasure. Which means I need to extract your DNA the slow and quirkless way. No matter, that’s what Humarise’s labs are for,” Overahul mussed.
Oh. Looks like Yagi wasn’t the only one headed for Otheon.
“Don’t forget; we need to drop their electronics along the way,” Beros interrupted.
Overhaul just waved a hand to Chronos, who carefully disarmed Izuku and took his phone – who made it as difficult as he could get away with – before doing the same with Yagi.
All of it was then tossed out the window.
“That good enough?” Chronos huffed.
Beros sighed, grumbling about how they treated Yagi’s belongings but otherwise didn’t protest.
Izuku pretended to scratch his ear, setting off the tracking signal.
He frowned as his stomach grumbled, drawing everyone’s attention. It’d been several hours since he last ate, and he probably had another five before he started losing weight.
Sighing, he dug a high-calorie snack bar out of his utility belt.
“…Are you seriously going to sit there and eat like there’s nothing wrong?” Chronos asked, wary and confused.
“I consume roughly three times the normal calorie intake on a regular basis just to stay healthy and haven’t eaten since dinner at six. What do you think?” Izuku snarked back.
“Why the hell are you even telling us all this?!” Beros asked, just as confused as Chronos.
“I told you the first bit so that you don’t kill me later for something I can’t turn off. The bit about my diet is necessary for you to keep me alive and in captivity. I’d rather not die of cell degradation, so fuelling my regeneration is a must,” he stated calmly.
Overhaul growled in frustration and curled his hands into fists, likely just realising how much of a pain his quirk was going to be.
“We’ve arrived,” the driver stated.
They’d arrived at a private runway, a private plane already warmed and waiting.
Overhaul grabbed Eri, Beros grabbed the still unconscious Yagi, and Chronos dragged Izuku out by the net – he’d tried to grab him, but stopped when his hand was almost bitten.
Police cars could just be heard approaching them as they were loaded up.
Mic, Snipe, and Midnight could only just be seen arriving as they took off.
They appeared to be swearing quite violently.
“Damn it,” Izuku muttered while Mimic laughed.
Well, it seemed he was on a trip to Otheon.
