"I knew the city was huge, but this is way more than I expected!" Danny looks in awe at the huge skyscrapers and the bustling crowds. "Oh this is nothing" says Momo. "Wait until we get to the shopping district!" "It's been a while since we all went out as a group together," Uraraka tell him. "This seemed like the perfect reason for us to visit all the fun spots again!" She walks with Deku and Iida at the front with Danny. Behind them, Momo, Todoroki and Tsuyu make up the middle, and picking up the rear are Kirashima and Bakugo.
"I'm actually kinda surprised you're here with us, Bakugo", says Mina. "You finally warming up to the rest of us?" She says cheekily. "Don't get any stupid ideas", he responds, and thumbs over to Kirashima. "This idiot borrowed one of my shirts and ended up ripping it when he activated his quirk." Kirashima shrugs. "I offered to just pick up another one for him, but I guess the shop doesn't sell it anymore. So now he's coming to pick something else."
Suddenly, a loud crash is heard from further ahead. "What was that!?" Deku rushes ahead to look. "Wait up!" Iida, Bakugo and Danny keep pace with him while the others do their best to stay together. At the end of the sidewalk, a crowd has gathered. Two large vehicles have collided at the intersection, an oil tanker and a produce truck. Boxes of fruit are spilled out over the street and a street vendor's stand has been knocked over.
"Looks like a pretty bad accident," Deku tells the others. "Yeah, I think both the drivers are unconscious", Danny notes. "Traffic's getting pretty backed up too." "I wanna go help," Deku says. "Are any of you with me?" "Bakugo and I don't have our licenses yet," says Todoroki. "So the two of us can't get involved." "Hey! Don't lump me in with you, Icy-Hot!!" Bakugo angrily retorts. "Looks like we might not be needed," says Momo. "Look over there, it's the Lurkers!" She points at 3 costumed heroes leaping from a nearby roof to the crash scene. "The who?" Asks Danny. "It's a group of local heroes that teamed up," Deku explains. "The members are Edgeshot, Kamui Woods, and Mt. Lady."
"Woods, you handle crowd control", says Edgeshot. "Mt. Lady and I will check on the drivers and pull them out if we can. Once everything's cleared, she can move the trucks out of the way. "Got it", he says while Mt. Lady nods. "Excuse me, Mr. Edgeshot!" Iida calls over. "We're U.A. students with provisional licenses, do you require any assistance?" "Come over", the hero responds.
The students mix well with the pros. Uraraka lifts the heavy boxes with her quirk, Kirashima and Mina stacking them on the sidewalk, clearing the street. Edgeshot and Iida get one of the drivers out while Deku and Mt. Lady getting the other. Momo creates first aid equipment and helps Danny check them over until an ambulance arrives. "Ok, go ahead!" Edgeshot calls to Mt. Lady. She grows giant sized and effortlessly moves the trucks out of the intersection. Traffic starts moving again and the crowd starts cheering. Todoroki looks on with a small smile, while Bakugo turns away, a bit jealous.
"We appreciate your help today, you kids did good," says Edgeshot, shaking Iida's hand. Kamui Woods addresses the whole group. "That school's taught you well so far. Keep up the great work!" "If you start up internships again, be sure to look us up!" Mt. Lady says, bending down slightly to ruffle Deku's hair. "Gosh", says Deku, blushing a bit. "Alright you two", Edgeshot addresses his teammates. "We'd better speak with the authorities and take care of the paperwork. Enjoy the rest of your day." He nods goodbye and the three walk over to the ambulance.
"I still can't believe we teamed up with the Lurkers!" Exclaims Mina later over lunch. "Hagakure's gonna be so jealous! Mineta too, though more so being around Mt. Lady." "Actually, he got over his infatuation over her when he did his internship." Kirishima says, taking a drink from his side. "Apparently she's pretty high maintenance. Aw man, they forgot to put in ice..."
"Lemme see that," says Danny as he reaches forward. Kirashima hands over his cup, unsure. Danny's eyes flash a bright blue. "Try it now." Kirashima takes a drink, eyes widening. "Oh yeah, that's much better!" "So you can make ice? I saw you do it yesterday, but not to this degree of control," Todoroki said. "Yeah, I call it 'Cryokinesis'," Danny replies. It wasn't easy, took a while to get the hang of it. But I had help from a ghost called Frostbite."
"So not all ghosts are bad then?" Tsuyu asks curiously. "Nah, there's just as many good ones." Says Danny. "That's good to know, ribbit." Mina looks over at Danny. "So, who're some of the strongest ghosts you've fought?" "Yeah man, I'd like to know too!" Says Kirishima. Deku whips out his notebook clearly interested. Danny puts down his burger.
"Hmmm, well it's not a matter of pure strength," He taking out his cell phone, bringing up a data app Tucker and Jazz made a while back. "Even some of the less powerful ones could make things annoying, like the Box Ghost or Youngblood." He presses a stylized "F" button and small hologram projection of the two appear in the middle of the table. "Some of them I tangled with on more than once, like this one." He reveals a girls with flaming blue hair and an electric guitar.
"Whoa, she kinda reminds me of Jirou!" Uraraka says. "Her name's Ember McClain. She can hypnotize others with her music. The more who chant her name, the stronger she gets." "Who's the mad scientist looking guy?" Asks Tsuyu. "Technus, 'master of all things mechanical and destroyer of worlds', or so he says. He was still tough to fight, but not as tough as Skulker." He brings up an image. "Think of him as a bounty hunter of rare and unusual ghosts. Being a 'halfa', I was his target a few times." "Pardon, a 'halfa'?" Says Iida, confused. "Halfa Ghost, Half a Human," Danny replied.
"In terms of raw power and ambition, these guys were probably my strongest enemies." He brings an image of Pariah Dark. "The former King of All Ghosts." Next up is Dark Danny. "A version of me from an alternate future timeline." And finally, Vlad Plasmius. "And of course, this fruit loop." "I recognize him," says Deku. "That's Vlad Plasmius! The one who sent the Disasteroid!" "Well he apparently didn't mean to, but it was one of his satellites that blew up and knocked it out of orbit and towards Earth. He saw an opportunity, but ultimately blew it. Honestly, I don't like talking about him, the guy was nuts." Danny finishes his burger. "Not bad, but still doesn't compare to Nasty Burger."
"You mentioned that place before," mentions Iida. "What kind of restaurant advertises with such a negative name?" "The kind that's one letter away from 'tasty'," Danny replies, joking. "And on that note, I should probably wash my hands. Which way's the bathroom?" "Back and to the left," grunts Bakugo. "Great. Midoryia, can you watch my bag? Where I'm going, there's no need for that much power." "Of course!" says Deku. With that, Danny leaves the table. "Make sure to scrub for 20 seconds with the soap for maximum cleanliness!" Iida calls after him.
"You seem to be getting along better with him, Bakugo", notices Momo. "Whatever, the sooner we're done here, the sooner I can get my new shirt." "Don't worry bro, I haven't forgotten," reassures Kirashima. "If we're going to walk down to the mall, I'm going to use the restroom before we go." Momo stands up and heads towards the back of the building.
Danny exits the men's room and is about to round the corner back to the open area of the restaurant when his ghost sense goes off. He looks around sharply. "Something's here," he thinks. "But where-aaghh!!!" From behind, Danny is electrocuted in the back by some kind of taser. It's held by a green figure that watches the boy fall over.
"Danny, is that you? We deci- What the!?" Momo sees the figure picking up Danny's unconscious body. It turns and hisses at her, eyes glowing green before going intangible and flying through the ceiling. She runs back towards the others. "You guys! Danny's been kidnapped!!" They're understandably freaked out. "What?? How??" Asks Uraraka. "I don't know, but it went outside. If we hurry, we might be able to catch it!"
Deku grabs Danny's bag and starts running. "Come on, let's go!!" Todoroki and Iida follow with Momo. The others run behind. "There it is!" Momo points, and there's the creature flying in the sky. It goes intangible again, flying straight through a building, rapidly gaining ground away from the group. "Damn, it's getting away!" Yells Kirashima. "Iida, can you catch up?" Asks Momo. "I'm on it!" He speeds up the street and manages to catch up underneath the creature. It spots Iida, however, and acts quickly. Seeing a couple on the observation deck of a skyscraper, it flies over and pushes them off the ledge. They fall towards the ground screaming.
"No!!!" Iida shouts as he sees them fall. "I'm sorry Danny, but I've only got one shot at this: Recipro Burst!!!" The engines on his calves supercharge as he accelerates at a tremendous speed. He runs up the side of the building, past the falling couple. He makes a u-turn and speeds down, grabbing them and running into the street. He skids to a complete stop, leaving skid marks in the road. The couple look like they've been through a wind tunnel, but are otherwise ok.
Danny, however, is gone.
End of Chapter Seven