Momo gasped audibly as the void wrapped itself around her, drawing her in. The sensation of the darkness spilling across her skin felt the way she imagined it would to have wasps swarm her skin, their little feet scrambling over her — not painful, but each sensation distinct and sharp. She inhaled, holding her breath as the void swept over her arms and legs, swallowing her chest, and her head last. She didn't know what might have happened if she'd tried to breathe in during those last moments. Would the void have found her lungs? Then what? The answers to that question didn't matter — she held her breath and closed her eyes against the wasps, until the feeling was gone.

She opened her eyes, reaching out for something to steady herself on. Her hand landed on Jirou's shoulder. Denki stood in close proximity, eyes big and searching for the imminent danger — and danger was close. A swarm, not of wasps but of villains, had been transported through the void with them. Momo steeled herself, digging her heels into the ground as her eyes roved the landscape surrounding them — based on what she had studied about U.S.J. before coming here, it was safe to assume they were in the Mountain Zone.

This wasn't the worst terrain for them to be in, considering their individual quirks. Most likely the structure of the mountains was built on a base of concrete — cement, air, water, sand, and gravel. The mountains themselves would be, of course, dirt, and all of it benefitting Jirou's abilities with regard to vibration. Denki's electricity wouldn't be conductive through the ground, but that also meant that he couldn't accidentally zap her and Jirou through it, too. With how much work he needed still on precision and control, that was undoubtedly for the best. They needed weapons; Momo drew a sword from her chest and handed it to Jirou. The other girl looked at her with a momentarily questioning glance, but she accepted it without pause. That's why she liked Jirou — she was confident and ready, always. It had been by chance alone that Jirou hadn't been there the night they were taken to Danchou — Momo had invited the other girls out that night, but Jirou had music lessons, Asui had plans with her family, and Hagakure had just ghosted them.

It had been three weeks since their Yakuza encounter, and things had gone back to normal as much as they could. Momo had called the police station a week ago to follow up. Their answer had been unimpressive. It had been passed on to the hero agency who handled any leads on Danchou, but nothing had been reported back to them — and it was unlikely anything would come of it. Danchou could take the trash out himself, and he cleaned up his messes well. "Yeah, I get it. He's a low priority," she'd said before hanging up. Ochako and Mina still whispered about the mysterious Danchou when they were alone. He had been bold and magnetic — he embodied that je ne sais quoi that made villains so dangerously alluring, that drew people to his ranks. More than a few times his voice had woken her from sleep.

What's the meaning of this?

What are you wanting done about it?

I assume you'd want to break them in?

Lay your hands or I'll take your heads instead.

Momo shook her head, snapping herself out of her reverie. Goosebumps had risen down her arms, and she shuddered. This wasn't the time or place to lose her focus. Real villains had infiltrated the LSJ, and the void had teleported a number of them to the Mountain Zone with them. Jirou stood ready with her sword, and Momo manifested a pole arm for herself. Denki was too far away, and the villains were closing in. A man with a sword as thick Momo's leg swung at Jirou, but she responded fearlessly in kind, fully invested in the weapon Momo had given her. Momo swung the pole arm around, shoving another villain in the chest to put distance between them.

She felt out of her depth. They were all out of their depth. She had no closer combat experience and her quirk, at this stage of learning, was better as support. The only other people in her class who she'd consider to potentially have real hero practice would be Shoto and Tenya, who came from hero families. Even Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen, Pro Heroes, were dealt hands that didn't play to their strengths. Thirteen was a rescue hero, and Mr. Aizawa — Eraser Head — didn't have a fighting style suited for multiple opponents. Deku had said as much, and they all knew it was true. That hadn't dissuaded Mr. Aizawa though.

Until today, she'd had difficulty seeing him as the Pro Hero he was. He slouched and sulked about, he slept through whatever moments of class he didn't have to actively participate in. Nothing about him said Pro Hero. But everything about his energy had changed when the void and its villains had appeared. As he slid his goggles down, it was as though he became a different person. It would be cliche to say it was as though he took off a mask — but with them, he transformed. He had lunged headlong into the mass of villains, his only thoughts were to protect his students, no matter how stacked the odds were against him.

"Stay back! This is real. Those are villains."

"Bet you can't erase the quirk of a heteromorphic-type like me, can you," a villain challenged.

"Yeah, you're right. But a villain like you is only dangerous if you can reach me."

There had been no hesitation or self-doubt in his actions. There was no room for that at a time like this; only confidence and complete assurance. Momo had seen how he had ducked under a villain's punch, maneuvering around his own capture tape, and retaliated with a kick that had put the villain on his ass. Momo remembered him, and tried to channel his confidence and energy as she fended her own villain off now with the pole arm. Denki fled from a villain, converging with her and Jirou.

"These dudes are terrifying! My whole life just flashed before my eyes!"

"Right now we need to focus on getting away from these enemies," Momo said through her teeth as they closed in, forming a half circle to corner them.

"Then pull out a weapon for me, too!"

"You're the one with electrical powers. Just zap 'em so we can run," Jirou added. But Momo already saw the flaw in Jirou's theory, levelheaded as Jirou was.

"were you not paying attention during combat training? Some partner you were," Denki retorted, and his voice was laced with panic. "I can cover my body with electricity but if I try to shoot it out it'll go everywhere! I'd take you guys down along with them!"

"New idea," Jirou interrupted. "You're my human stun gun."

She sent Denki flying directly into a villain, and electricity crackled and snapped loudly around them. The wretched smell of burning hair filled the air. Jirou held off another villain with her Earphone Jack quirk. Behind her, Momo was intensely focused. What kind of insulation was used against electricity? Rubber, but it had to be one hundred percent pure. That would be made of latex — polymers of isoprene, harvested from the rubber tree. It needed to be big; it would take a lot of her energy to produce. Momo closed her eyes, focusing. She felt it expanding and growing from her, and she exhaled a shuddering sigh of relief when it came to fruition. She felt her clothing tearing to accommodate it.

"It's ready," she breathed. "It takes me a little longer to create and object this big."

"A blanket?" a villain said, confused.

"You're looking at a sheet of insulation, one hundred millimeters thick!" she declared, whipping it open, and she and Jirou dove underneath. "Go, Kaminari!"

It happened quickly from there. She stayed in the dark with Jirou, listening to the sounds of Denki letting it pop off. She could smell the carnage even under the blanket. She created herself a new set of clothes and changed into them as quickly as she could. When it had quieted outside the blank, Jirou flung it aside. Denki was blank-eyed and jittery from pushing himself too far. Momo and Jirou took him between them and headed for the entry to the Mountain Zone — they needed to regroup with the others before the villains came to their senses, and she didn't know how much time Denki had bought them.

"This way," Jirou said, tilting her head in one direction, her earlobes poised in the air, listening. Momo acquiesced to Jirou's expertise and they turned that way.

"Should we go into any of the other zones?" Jirou asked as they hurried, huddling close to a wall.

"No. Denki isn't clear headed and he would be a liability if we were to engaged with more groups of villains. Most likely the void cleared the majority of us from the vestibule because he and the dude with the hands wanted to deal with Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen on their own before All Might shows up — if he shows up. So the plan is to get to the vestibule with Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen, get Denki somewhere safe, and back up the teachers if necessary."

The door into the main hall was slightly ajar, and they crept in quiet as mice. Momo and Jirou's eyes surveyed the entrance, searching for the safest place for Denki to recover. There was a pillar that sat near flush the wall, and they headed for it. The girls set Denki down in that corner, propped against the pillar. Below, in the clearing near the water, all she could hear was chaos.

"Stay with him," Momo ordered to Jirou, and the other girl nodded. Immediately her earlobe went to the wall, to listen for if someone were to come.

Momo crept around, and the hall came into view. Mr. Aizawa was facing the man with the hands — she thought she remembered one of the other villains calling him Shigaraki. He seemed to be their leader. She noticed, absently, that in physique the two were equally matched. They were both tall and broad shouldered. Of lean, sinewy muscle. Quick. Strong. Shigaraki caught the end of Mr. Aizawa's capture tape as they came in close and, although it seemed as though Mr. Aizawa had the upper hand as he landed a blow, the atmosphere changed.

"I've found your tell," the man with the hands said menacingly. "It's your hair. When it drops, it means you've stopped using your quirk. Don't push yourself too hard now, you might just fall apart."

The material of Mr. Aizawa's shirt disintegrated before her eyes. Momo's lips parted in so much horror as she watched his skin crumble away next — the red, raw muscle was fully exposed. Mr. Aizawa struck him and doubled back, putting distance between himself and Shigaraki — but more villains closed the gap. Momo watched as Mr. Aizawa fended them off, even as he covered the gleaming wound with his other arm.

"Don't you think you're a little out of your element, Eraser Head? You're known for surprise attacks, not fighting head-to-head. But you didn't hesitate to jump into the middle of this fight. To put your students at ease."

More villains came at him, and he fought them off singlehandedly. Momo could only watch him in awe, realizing how immensely she had underestimated him. She'd had no right to — for him to be a teacher at UA, he had to be more than highly qualified. But somehow he had never seemed to fill the role of Pro Hero. Now, however, those shoes were more than too small.

"And look at you, you're still standing!" Shigaraki lauded. "You really are so cool."

Mr. Aizawa turned to the villain, and when he spoke it was through gritted teeth, his voice low and rough. Merciless. "You have no business with children."

Cold shot down Momo's spine, and she dropped flat onto the ground, covering her mouth with one hand. She felt like she'd been struck, and her skin crawled. She remembered smoke rings and the glowing end of Danchou's cigarette. The wet sound of the screwdriver in Jiro's head. The blood on the desk. She couldn't breathe. She no longer saw nor heard the scene playing out in front of her — only the scene that had transpired weeks ago.

"This is your only warning, too. Stay out of my business."

Momo looked up as Shigaraki reached out toward Asui, and her heart suddenly dropped. She didn't know what his quirk was, but it had devastated Mr. Aizawa's elbow. It would kill Asui! Momo began scrambling to her hands and knees, even though she knew she would be too late, even though she knew she was too far to intervene — his hand touched her.

Nothing happened.

"You really are so cool," Shigaraki said, turning back...

To Aizawa.

Momo released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, but her thoughts were a blur. They raced through her head on wings as she began placing pieces together. It couldn't be — but his voice...His tone. It sounded so close. So close. She had barely accepted that her teacher, Mr. Aizawa, was indeed a Pro Here of UA caliber. It seemed impossible to fathom that he—

She could barely bring herself to string together the thought, but she managed, and it was her last thought before All Might breached the entrance.

Could Aizawa be Danchou?