VACUUM

At a junction in the facility, all of 1-A, barring Izuku, finally reunited.

"Sweet, we're all here!" Sero said. "How'd you all bust out?"

"I made more arms." Shoji waved his extra appendages.

"No prison can hold darkness," Tokoyami said ominously. Dark Shadow poked out and said, "I helped!"

"The jerks never even realized I was there!" Hagakure invisibly stomped her feet.

"I thuthed my tongue," Tsuyu said as she bandaged her tongue. "Got a pather thut while pithing the loth."

"I made ice," Todoroki said.

"And I made acid!"

Aoyama flourished his hair, casting off glittering sparkles, and said, "And I, like a beautiful dame, got rescued by a valiant knight!"

"You were too useless to escape," Bakugo said flatly.

Ochako huffed at him. "You didn't have to be so mean!"

"Right," Iida said as he stepped up. "Anyone know how to escape this maze? I've been running for miles, but I always loop back to the same spot."

"Maybe we could try the viewing deck?"

The students entered a giant theater-like room, complete with cushioned chairs, cup-holders, a giant glass screen, and a plaque saying 'for optimal viewing of planetary destruction."

"Dude," Kirishima said. "Earth looks so tiny! Wonder if I could use it for an exercise ball."

"It's just a screen, isn't it?" Jirou asked.

"Yeah. We'd be floating around, like this!" Ochako slapped herself. Within seconds, she turned a vivid shade of green. "Urrp… need… trash can!"

While Ochako painted the nearby trash receptacle a new pride flag, Kaminari said, "This has to be a joke. Maybe there's something behind this glass?"

"I got it!" Mina said. She flung a glob of acid at the glass.

"Wait, acid doesn't melt-"

The glass bubbled as the acid ate through it. Yaoyorozu stared at the chemical anomaly and said, "I stand corrected."

A soft hissing noise came from the acid-made hole. Before anyone could react, more glass flew outward. The room's air blasted towards the new opening. Students clung desperately to chairs as the vacuum of space tried to suck them in.

"Plug the hole! Hurry!"

Todoroki threw ice over the broken window. The class let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Alright, new rule!" Sero shouted. "No more putting holes in things. Got it?"

A hissing noise came from the ice. Mineta paled and said, "Uh, guys? I think the ice is boiling."

"Actually, it's sublimating," Iida pointed out, "Since it's transitioning directly from solid to gas phase due to the lower pressure outside."

The hissing grew louder as the ice shrunk. Sero dashed forward and slapped tape all over it.

"There!" Sero wiped sweat off his brow. "That ought to hold."

Crystalline pops rumbled across the glass. Cracks spread outward, and hissing came from everywhere at once.

"Run!"

1-A barely slammed the door behind them when a thunderous boom announced the window's destruction. For a moment, 1-A panted and shared smiles over their narrow escape. Then Ochako stopped smiling.

"Guys, I think we're in space."

499

Deku Ex Machina… In… Spaaaaaace!

You have no idea how long I've been waiting to make that joke.

This is one of those rare entries that was hard to write because I ended up with over 600 words of material and went 'alright, how do I trim this down to under 500 words?' Many words were sacrificed in the name of brevity.

Also, great job breaking the 500 review barrier and not making a liar of me. You're the best!