A particularly stubborn villain with a wind quirk held us up at the waterfall, Tsu got him in reach and I sped myself up, tying him to my floatie. So much for making things easy on me. We swam.

Though fully exhausted, we washed up on the right shore. We kept low and peeked though a bright red wooden fence to see what the current situation was.

All of the smaller villains in the area were down. Mr. Aizawa, or should I say, Eraser Head was panting, but standing ready. We'd struggled with about four, but he'd gotten them... all? All of the people unconscious around us were his doing?

The only one left was a spindly looking man who looked like he stepped right out of a horror movie, covered in bandages and disembodied hands. Also, there was something I wasn't entirely sure was human. It towered twice as tall as any of us, like a crow on steroids. Its eyes were lifeless and it looked like Frankenstein's monster. I hoped it was less murderous but that certainly didn't seem to be the case.

The skinny one sucked in a wet breath, then said, annoyed,

"I hate it when heroes live up to their hype."

With that, he flew into battle.

It was hard to follow, actually. I'd never seen our sluggish professor move so fast. But he side-stepped and parried and attacked. At one point though, Horror Movie grabbed his elbow.

We heard a crackling and yell, and soon they were all standing off again. Eraser Head's arm was limp at his side.

"Oh, you took my quirk away before I could complete destroy your arm." Said the villain, "Point to you. There may be some tissue and bone left. Might slow you down though." He gave a cocky grin, "Point to me."

But Eraser Head paid it no mind, simply saying,

"You talk too much."

And then they were fighting again. Didn't it hurt? From what little I could see, it seemed he couldn't move it all, not to mention he was trailing blood. Asui poked me and I realized I'd gotten distracted. Right, I had to sneak past, get Thirteen out of here. I nodded at her, but her eyes widened. I heard a crash and turned.

Eraser Head was on the ground, the Frankenstein monster had hit him, it seemed. Hands laughed.

"Do you like him? I've called it a Nomu. Dumb as a rock but strong enough to kill All Might."

Strong enough to what?!

"I'd say it's an honor to be its test drive. Now die." Eraser Head looked up, clearly taking away the thing's quirk.

It punched him in the head. The concrete below him cracked. I gasped. It was just that strong, quirk or not.

It hit him again. His goggles flew off him and skidded away, bloodied.

And again.

And AGAIN.

Asui yanked me underwater right as I prepped to scream. I struggled against her but she had a determined look in her eyes.

"Stay still." She said, voice clear as day, even underwater. I barely had any air, but I stilled when I realized there was movement above us. It passed and Asui let me surface, ever so quietly. I didn't let myself cough as I sucked in air as silently as I could, swallowing far too much water. Then I looked at her fiercely. We'd have seconds here.
"Go find Bakugo and tell him the situation." I said, and her eyes widened. Talking was a bad idea, "There's no telling when help will arrive. Go. I have a plan." A shadow loomed over us, "GO!"

She sped off.

I prepared to breathe in, but a giant hand was suddenly grabbing me by the shoulder and throwing me out of the water. I landed hard; wet skin slapping and scraping on the concrete as I rolled. Outed, I allowed myself to cough and groan.

"What's this?" Asked Hand, "A student? Where's your revered All Might now, hm?" Not here. "Maybe killing one of you will get him to show up!" I met his manic gaze and smiled. I breathed in.

Time to dance.

I pushed myself up, and when I was nearly standing, I twirled on the balls of my feet and kicked the crazy bastard in the stomach. I used the momentum to cartwheel toward the crumpled form of Eraser Head. I wasn't great at transporting other things just yet, much less people, but I doubted I could do more damage than staying would do.

I'd get him and Thirteen out of here. Then I'd help Bakugo take these villains down.

There was no doubt in my mind.

I reached an arm forward, toward Eraser Head, letting my shoulder follow, torso and head, hips…

Leg?

I looked back.

The Nomu. It… it was grabbing my ankle. How?

My focus broke and time resumed and I cried out as it yanked me up into the air, then brutally down onto the concrete. I must have briefly black out on collision, because I felt immediately disoriented and rattled. I wondered numbly if at least Creepy Hands had been hurt by my kick. I hoped he had.

"You little bitch." He spat, walking over. Heh, he was pissed. That probably meant I did something right... right? Dazed, I realized I was probably concussed. I tried to sit up, blinking rapidly. Every muscle and instinct in my body screamed in protest. "You may think you're fast but my Nomu will always be able to catch up." I tried to stand but cried out. My ankle was clearly broken.

Shaking from head to toe, I forced a grin as the villain kneeled beside me. I knew I was scared, he knew I was scared, but I liked pissing him off. Felt satisfying.

"You've got some serious anger issues. Ever thought about therapy?"

"Let's see you talk without a throat." His hand reached out and he wrapped his gross thin fingers around my neck, just as he had when he'd melted Mr. Aizawa's elbow. I braced myself, apologized to Moe.

Nothing happened.

We both instantly turned to Eraser Head, who somehow was giving us his best red-eyed glare. I started to laugh, dizzy with fear and relief.

"Oh, a hero to the very end, are we?" The villain squeezed and I found myself unable to breathe. "Let's see which lasts longer? Your gaze or her air supply. This should be fun, don't blink" Aizawa gave a pained gurgle.

I realized what this reminded me of.

No way to really breathe in, I focused and actually exhaled a bit.

It was the game; get the rock before he takes my quirk away, just backwards. Get away before he gives this guy's quirk back. I just had to keep the Nomu in mind this time.

I had more time now, all the time in the world. Like he said, I was thinking so fast, it was like everything else had stopped. That meant it didn't matter that I couldn't breathe just now. I had plenty of time.

Even my pounding heart slowed.

The cocky idiot had forgotten to restrain my hands. Maybe standing was out of the question, but his face, unlike Kirishima's, wasn't made of stone.

I grabbed at the disembodied hand on his face and pulled until it came free. I threw it toward the Nomu. Then I pulled the villain's hair as hard as I could, away from me. Now his arms.

I knew how to break arms.

I grabbed his elbows and pushed them in the wrong direction. His hands around my throat, though, they wouldn't let up. I couldn't pry his fingers off.

Crap! The Nomu was coming. Moving in slow motion. I used my good leg; raising it and wrapping around the villain's waist, then rolling as hard as I could, so he'd be between me and the beast.

What now? What else?

The sensation dropped suddenly and I mentally cursed. I was too tired for this.

Crazy Hands, however, cursed very loudly as his head jerked back and arms buckled. The Nomu reared to a stop to avoid hitting its master.

His grip loosened.

I tried to reactivate my quirk. It wouldn't work. Tears welled up in my eyes. I clawed at the man's face. I managed to grab one of his fingers and I yanked back as hard as I could. He let go.

I gasped for breath and backed away, shaking, dragging myself back. The concrete was slick with blood and I didn't know whose it was.

"Come on, come on." I hissed, crying openly now, "Come on!" Time slowed only a little then continued. I felt dizzy. Another try like that and I'd pass out. Then they'd kill me. The villain advanced slowly now, scowl morphing into a smile.

"All out of juice?" He teased. My hand hit the bloodied goggles and I gripped them tightly.

No. It wasn't just about me.

"Fuck you." I inhaled sharply. Time stopped. I'd feel less pain like this, so I pushed so I was standing, putting all my weight on the foot that still worked.

I had a decision to make: which terrible option did I pick?

Did I try to escape? I couldn't just go alone.

Try again to get to Eraser Head? But I'd told Tsu to get Bakugo. I hadn't realized how tough this guy was. What if they were killed because of me?

Or did I try to fight? Go out swinging?

I saw a figure at the entrance and realized. Ah. Option number four.

Distract.

I jumped with my one functional leg, using the momentum to soar. On my way, I grabbed a sort of gun that one of the fallen villains had left behind. I slammed it against the Nomu as I passed it. With my other hand I grabbed a handful of the villain's hair, yanking as hard as I could so his skull would meet the concrete with me.

Their attention had to be as far from the door as possible.

Inches from the ground, I closed my eyes, and let time resume, landing in a heap.

I thought I was unconscious, but I could certainly feel the Nomu close its hand around my leg with the injured ankle and agonizingly lift me in the air.

Somehow, through the pain and fear and adrenaline, I mercifully blacked out.