Chapter 17
Nothing good lasts.
That was the first thing to pop into Izuku's head when he turned on the television, the cold dripping down his spine. He stared in horror after the text from Aizawa, telling him to get dressed and come in with Bakugo without looking at the television, but by the time he was dressed and in the living room, Kaminari was already staring in shock, the news already widespread.
24 dead in the last 24 hours from subdrop proving the existence of a serial killer
A single word was painted at all of the latest victims. Deku.
"What..." Kaminari whispered before seeing Izuku staring from behind, his eyes wide, his face pale before he turned, grabbing the trash can to throw up anything left in his stomach from the night before. "Midoriya, do you know what's going on?"
"The one who kidnapped me, he wants me back." Izuku trembled as he held tight to the trash can. "He's killing innocent people! What in the hell is wrong with him?!" Izuku sobbed, trembling before Bakugo came out, seeing the news. He stared for a moment before sighing, shaking his head.
Bakugo grabbed a hoodie, pulling it over his head before grabbing another one, walking over to Izuku. "Come on, let's go to work. We need to get you somewhere safe and see if they have a plan." Bakugo watched as Izuku looked up, trembling like a leaf. "Dammit, you were so happy." He groaned, honestly devastated at the change from the day before.
Bakugo walked him in to work, seeing Izuku with his head down, his face dangerously pale as they walked up to Aizawa's office. "Which one of us did you say would be a hero first?" Bakugo asked as a security question, and Aizawa stared for a moment before turning into the office grumbling.
"I don't think I ever told either of you you were going to be heroes. I think I said I thought you'd be arrested a few times." Aizawa sighed as Bakugo nodded, heading in with Izuku's arm looped through his, the only thing that kept him from asking him security questions constantly.
"Should I hand myself over?" Izuku asked, his voice a whimper and Bakugo reached up, smacking him in the back of the head before pulling Izuku's arm back to his.
"Bakugo is violent, but right. We can't just hand you over." Aizawa sighed.
"Even with there being a death an hour? I can't be the reason for more deaths. I became a hero to HELP people, not kill them." Izuku whimpered, hugging tight to Bakugo's side before Bakugo sat down, pulling Izuku to his lap, not wanting him to sit further away after seeing his paranoia the day before.
"Well, we're taking you to a few of the crime scenes. We need to see if there's anything you recognize that we won't. Since you were held captive, we need to know if there's something you may see that we don't know about." Aizawa explained, seeing Izuku's hair stand on end, his eyes widen as his already pale skin turned ashen.
"Do... I need to?" He whispered, and Aizawa sighed.
"We can't risk missing something. I know it's not what anyone wants, but yes, you need to go. Come on." Aizawa stood, waving him to follow. "Since you're not going as a hero but as a victim, I need you not to change. We don't want you recognized in case anyone recognizes you. Right now, no one is sure what to think since your name is at the scenes. Since we're not coming out saying you were a victim, many think you're signing your work." Aizawa watched as Izuku stumbled, grasping to the trash can again, Bakugo sighing as he moved to pat his back, though after earlier, he only ended out heaving and gagging with nothing left to vomit.
Because of the situation, Aizawa gave him a bucket, which he kept under his arm as they drove, Bakugo in the back seat, refusing to leave his side, softly patting his back or whispering soft words to try and sooth him, though he knew at this point there wasn't much he could do.
It wasn't long before they pulled up in front of an apartment, the police tape cordoning off an apartment similar to the location of Izuku's. He stared, shivering as Bakugo patted his back. "He chose someone in an apartment with a similar apartment front to ours. It's in the same location as our apartment." Izuku whispered, saying his first observation without much thought. Aizawa swallowed, nodding.
"Many of the victims were in similar locations. We were curious, but that was one of the few things we didn't think would be related." Aizawa sighed, heading up the stairs. The police raised the rope to allow Aizawa in, and he waved Izuku and Bakugo in, the police curious about that.
"We were told to allow you, but we weren't told about anyone else." One of the officers mumbled, a bit nervous and Izuku looked up, the bucket still tucked under his arm. He looked like a ghost, the dark circles under his eyes, the pale color of his skin, it left the officer staring, half wondering if he should call for an ambulance.
"I was a survivor of this killer. I'm here to see if there's something I can find that's familiar." He nearly whimpered, the tone breaking Bakugo's heart. "I need him to come with me."
"He was held captive for a day and barely escaped, and that's his security." Aizawa said softly, but the officer stared, the connection already made, the realization already made.
"Deku. That's why your name is on the walls." Izuku whimpered, stepping back, and the officer, stepped back, realizing how easy to startle the hero was. "I'm sorry. I didn't know." He swallowed his nerves, lifting the police tape to let them through. "If you see anything, please, tell the chief. He's the one in the trench with the coffee." The officer said before looking to Izuku, who could no longer meet his eye. "I'm sorry."
Izuku nodded, not sure what to say to that. He felt so awkward and cold, and he hated every bit of this as he came in, looking around.
The instant he saw the scene he collapsed, the bucket under his arm clenched tight to his chest as his stomach fought to expel anything, though with nothing inside, it turned into sobs before apologies. Bakugo knelt down, wrapping his arms around him before looking up to Aizawa. "He isn't ready for this. He'll need a bit." He knew time was in short supply, especially since there was a chance that there were already other bodies waiting to be found.
Aizawa nodded and looked around, going to talk to the chief, talking to him about a case he'd helped with a week before, checking his memory on it before he took him outside and explained the situation.
The chief stared, surprised before he realized what was happening, and who the young man was with the bucket sobbing inside the door was. "That's Deku, isn't it? The hero?"
"He is. Was. I don't know if he'll be able to continue after this. He's been assaulted by them twice, and one of the times he was taken captive for twenty hours. We had the perpetrator, but after being knocked unconscious, they kept popping back up after a few seconds, and with Deku being a sub, they were able to give him glares to help them escape." Aizawa watched as the man stared, realizing how messed up the situation really was.
"He's here to look for anything we don't know to look for." He said in a stiff tone, but all the same Aizawa nodded in reply. "If you see anything-"
"We'll let you know. We're not here as heroes. We're not here to stop the investigation or take it over. If you need help, please call me, but Deku won't be on this case. Neither will Ground Zero." He sighed, and the officer looked over, realizing that's who was with him.
"Ground Zero. Not cussing and blowing shit up. Didn't expect that." He sighed, and Aizawa nodded, just as surprised as he was.
"I've known him since he got into high school, and let me tell you, I never expected this." He chuckled as he turned, heading back towards the door. "And since this one is a shapeshifter, you may want to do security questions. Change them often so they don't hear the answer and just jump in. And make sure to put checks in for yourself as well." Aizawa sighed, and the chief stared.
"Isn't that being a little paranoid?" He asked softly, and Aizawa shook his head.
"The time he was kidnapped, he was taken out of our agency's headquarters. He was wearing my face. He used his familiarity with me to chain him up and rape him and torment him for almost a full day. It may seem paranoid, but sometimes it's worth it." Aizawa watched as the officer stared, nodding uncomfortably.
"Alright, that's fair, but still, we need to see if he can look around." The chief sighed, looking up, seeing the space where the man had been empty and perked up, sneaking closer to lookin, seeing the man pacing and muttering, the man with him now had his hood pulled down and his hand on his face, looking more dismayed than the worried man he'd come in as. "Is... he alright?"
Aizawa looked in and chuckled, relaxing a little. "He's looking thoroughly. He's a master strategist when it comes to picking apart fights and skills, so maybe his close attention will pay off here." He walked in, crossing his arms. "Just stay out of his way and see what happens."
Izuku walked around, checking everything on the walls, inspecting the paint closely before looking down, seeing if anything was dropped. He gave an inquisitive hum as he waved one of the officers over, pointing. "The paint drip here, is there one like that at the other scenes?" He asked, and the man shrugged, going to ask the chief before Izuku looked down again, looking around. It didn't look like much, a simple receipt balled up next to a trash can, but it was right at the bottom of the drop, and if he looked closely, it looked like the end had been smeared into an arrow. He called another officer over, pointing out the paper, and the officer got gloves on, pulling out the paper before he opened it, a small burst releasing into a puff of smoke as soon as it was opened to see what was inside.
"Oh." The officer went pale, looking around as he tried to figure out what had happened, before he ran from the scene calling for an ambulance just in case. Izuku sighed, looking at the receipt before seeing it was for a restaurant and swallowed nervously.
"Aizawa, I know where he's going to be, and when." He turned, looking over his shoulder.
"How?" He walked over and Izuku pointed.
"The receipt. The smoke more likely than not was just to say 'you found it'. The receipt is for a restaurant not too far from here at midnight. They'll be there at midnight." He looked up. "I have to go."
"No." Bakugo stepped in before Aizawa had the chance, though honestly it was the same thing he was planning to say. "I'm not letting him get away with you again."
"Then don't let him get away with me." Izuku watched him with a sigh. "Keep an eye on the place. Watch every person. Have the whole place locked down. Surround it. I don't care, just let me go. I can't let him do this again!" He yelled, pointing at his name painted on the wall and Bakugo sighed, walking over and hugged him, feeling Izuku's anger radiate.
"We'll take more precautions than that." He mumbled, and Izuku swallowed hard, his arms moving to wrap around him as he realized Bakugo was giving his permission.
And that's what lead to him sitting in a restaurant at eleven fifty at night. The place smelled like stale coffee and burnt eggs, but Izuku didn't pay it much mind, as long as he got out of this alive and with less deaths.
He felt nervous as could be. He was dressed down, in case he was checked, sweatpants and a hoodie with AllMight's logo across his chest. He made sure to take extra precautions. If he was taken, there was no way they couldn't track him this time.
He swallowed a GPS tracker. That hadn't been easy, but he did it.
He had a hidden knife in the heel of his shoe, and a taser in his hoodie's pocket. He felt a bit more comfortable knowing there were close to two hundred officers around the restaurant, with Bakugo and Aizawa at the back, waiting to welcome him when he got back. He felt confident.
He ordered a coffee and sat to wait, wondering who would be sitting down. The coffee came and he put in sugar and creamer, drinking it rather quickly before the waitress came by to give him a refill.
Izuku did the same, putting in sugar and creamer and sat back, sipping this mug a little slower as he looked around, growing a little more curious as he looked down at his watch.
Three minutes until midnight.
He sighed, sipping down more of it until there was almost none left before he looked over, seeing the waitress pouring him more before walking off, though as Izuku looked down at his watch he realized it was now past midnight by almost five minutes.
He leaned back, sliding his hands over his eyes before he was hit with a wave of fatigue. He sat up, blinking away the darkness that crept into his vision with a bit of surprise before he looked over, seeing the waitress smiling at him.
"You?" He asked softly, and she leaned back, stretching her back as Izuku walked over, though the fatigue hit harder, causing him to collapse to the ground.
"It's me, but don't worry, your friends will still see you here for a bit." She smiled, pulling out a small canister and hit a button, another Izuku materializing right beside himself. "There's scanners around the door. They scan your clothes and anything the light can see, so no one will know for the two hours it lasts." She smiled, seeing as Izuku stared before he tried to stand up, only managing to make it a few inches before completely collapsing flat to the ground. "By the time they realize everyone in here is fake, we'll be long gone." She crouched down, hitting the button on another canister, this one with a strip of blue tape on it, and a copy of her came out. "Open the back door." She told the copy, who opened the door to the back as if she were yelling to the cook, giving the other plenty of time to drag Izuku through.
"There's no way you can get me out. We're completely surrounded." Izuku grinned chuckling. Even as weak as he was, he had faith.
"Yes, and I'm certain they're monitoring the subway lines under the restaurant, aren't they?" She looked down, seeing the grin dissolve off of Izuku's face as he realized she had this planned out.
She was going to get away with him again. But before he could do anything to fight, the two cups of drugged coffee he'd chugged kicked in, leaving him completely blacked out.