Notes:

ATTENTION: THIS CHAPTER GETS GRAPHIC. PLEASE READ TRIGGER WARNINGS.

Trigger Warnings:

-Graphic depictions of torture

-Medical experimentation

-Flashbacks

-Mention of child neglect and suicide baiting

The really bad stuff starts at "So, fearing the worst..." and ending at "But then it was over..."

Good Luck. I'm sorry in advance.

Aizawa wasn't sure how many months had passed since his kidnapping. He was kidnapped sometime in June, of that he was certain, but without any windows in the cell, he couldn't accurately note when the days began and when they ended. Logically, he knew it wasn't more than six months, even when it felt like he had been there for years.

The days were easier now than they were when he had first been taken. The aching in his chest whenever he would think about his husband and cats had lessened slightly (it never went away, truly) and the fear and helplessness that had consumed him in the beginning was more manageable.

Of course, that was when the experiments changed.

After Izuku's stint with the Doctor (the second time), Aizawa and Izuku had been mainly left alone for the next month or so. There were a few 'examinations' every now and then, but nothing majorly debilitating or scarring. It was obvious that something big was in the works. As for what that was, well, that remained a mystery. Until today.

Normally, Aizawa and Izuku would wake up around the same time (Aizawa always woke up first), and around an hour later, two trays of food would be slid under the door for them to eat. This morning, however, no food came. Instead, the door opened fully, revealing the three bodyguards that seemed to always accompany the Doctor.

Aizawa and Izuku were in the middle of signing about a plan for future combat lessons when they stopped abruptly, surprised by the sudden entrance. Aizawa stood quickly from his place on the floor, ready to position himself between Izuku and the guards. His body was tense, prepared to spring into action at any moment. Izuku reacted similarly, on his feet instantly in front of the bunkbed and lowered slightly into a fighting stance.

Once they realized the guards weren't overtly threatening them, and knowing that fighting now would only hurt them more in the long run, they relaxed into less threatening positions. At that, the guards approached, one grabbing Izuku and the other two grabbing Aizawa.

The two shared a look as they were dragged away. Izuku's eyes met Aizawa's, and Aizawa could see in them a mixture of fear and determination. Izuku nodded at the underground hero, turning his gaze back to the hallway they were being pulled down. Somewhat startlingly, Aizawa realized that Izuku had been trying to reassure him. The thought weighed heavily in his mind as he was escorted roughly into the Doctor's office.

The office had changed since the last time Aizawa had been in it. Instead of just the one observation chair, there were now two. They sat in the room menacingly, a foot's length apart from one another. The feeling of unease in Aizawa's chest only grew at the sight. Whatever they had planned was not going to be pleasant.

Inside the room, fiddling with some equipment, was the Doctor. Donned with his goggles and surgical mask, the man stood tall in the stark white room, an air of anticipation surrounding him. Upon the group's entrance, he turned around.

"Ah, welcome, welcome. Please, take a seat."

Aizawa rolled his eyes at the Doctor's sick humor, the two guards holding his arms dragging him toward one of the metal chairs. It was the one on his right, Izuku having been taken to the one closest to the Doctor. Aizawa didn't like that. By the look of obvious discomfort and anxiety on Izuku's face, he didn't like it either.

They were strapped securely to the chairs without much struggle. Both chairs had leather restraints binding their wrists, ankles, torsos, and head, all tightened painfully taught to prevent any movement.

Being here with Izuku was making Aizawa nervous. They had never tortured them together in the same place before, always taking them one at a time previously. He was trying to understand why that was; it didn't make any sense. Was this some type of psychological torture? Why were they together? Was Overhaul going to make an appearance?

Aizawa was pulled out of his musings when the Doctor stepped closer to him, brandishing a scalpel. The underground hero tried to move to avoid such closeness, but the bindings wouldn't allow him.

All too soon, the Doctor had pulled the collar of his shirt down, pressing the scalpel against the area of where his neck and collarbone met, a sharp sting accompanying the action. Aizawa clenched his teeth to stifle a hiss of pain. Usually, the Doctor talked much more before actually experimenting on them.

What the hell was going on?

Aizawa's confusion only grew when the Doctor, still eerily silent, pried the incision open with his hands. Not expecting this, Aizawa let out a gasp of pain. He could hear Izuku startle beside him.

"'Zawa!? Are you okay?"

The Doctor chuckled slightly, his fingers now poking around the inside of his shoulder, almost like he was looking for something. Aizawa squeezed his eyes shut at the highly uncomfortable feeling, trying not to let it show how much it actually hurt (it hurt like a bitch).

"'M fine, kid. Just-" Aizawa had to grit his teeth from crying out again as the Doctor probed deeper into his neck. He strained his body against the bindings, his brain screaming at him to get away.

He could feel the Doctor's fingers close around something embedded in his shoulder, and, ignoring the sting of pain at the movement, he realized why the Doctor was digging into his neck, what he was currently pulling out of his shoulder. The quirk suppressor. The one they had implanted when Aizawa had been kidnapped. His eyes widened in understanding, mind racing a mile a minute. The feeling of dread in his stomach only worsened.

With a sickening 'pop', the Doctor finally managed to pull the quirk-suppressing device from Aizawa's shoulder. It was a small metal lump, coated in blood and entirely unassuming. All at once, Aizawa could feel his quirk return to him. He gasped, too overwhelmed in his quirk's return to stifle the noise.

He felt whole.

This entire time, he had felt so, so empty. It was easy to move past, but now that his quirk was back, he realized how much he had truly missed the feeling. Aizawa could feel the power coursing through his bloodstream, Erasure alive at a single thought. Reflexively, he activated his quirk. He almost wept when he felt the familiar power emitting from his eyes, felt his hair lift and float around his face. Still in his own world, he didn't hear the Doctor's satisfied preen, or Izuku's worried "'Zawa!".

Only after a solid minute of Aizawa having Erasure activated, when the burning of his eyes finally forced him to blink, did he deactivate his quirk and tune back into his surroundings. The elation at having his quirk back was replaced with cold, gut-wrenching fear.

Because why else would the Doctor give him his quirk back if not to experiment with?

Almost as if reading his mind, the all-too silent Doctor spoke up. "I'm sure you're both wondering why you're here. And why I gave dear Eraserhead his quirk back. Well, Overhaul found something very interesting when collecting data on young Izuku."

At the mention of Overhaul, both Aizawa and Izuku stiffened. The Doctor continued, now pacing the length of the floor, footsteps echoing loudly in the otherwise quiet room.

"Well, while Izuku is quirkless and therefore does not have a quirk factor, Overhaul detected an interesting… presence… in the boy's brain. Determining one's quirklessness can be done through observing the lack of an extra toe joint, yes, but deeper examinations presented a minute difference in the brain of a quirkless individual vs that of a quirked. Located in the Cerebellum, the brain's control center, is a cluster of neuropathways that are otherwise absent in the brain of a quirked individual."

He paused, speeding up in his tangent, becoming more audibly excited with every word.

"After digging further, they serve no apparent purpose. However, we believe them to be a sort of- how do you say... possible quirk transmitter, one that, if presented with a quirk base, could bind to said factor and act as a bridge between the body and the quirk, similarly to how a quirked individual's brain is already wired to do so."

The Doctor stopped his rant as well as his pacing, choosing instead to walk over to Izuku. Reaching the edge of Izuku's metal observation table, he leant over the side, peering down at Izuku with glistening eyes behind his shining goggles. Izuku could only stare upwards at the man's face, eyes wide in fear and anticipation as he waited for the Doctor to continue. "Simply put, my boy," the Doctor leaned even closer, barely a few inches away from Izuku's face. The child would have flinched away if possible.

"You have the possibility of gaining a quirk."

At that, Izuku's world stopped. He could feel the pounding of his heart against his chest. He could hear his own rapid breathing, growing faster with every second. He could see the Doctor, still poised above him, like a predator watching its prey before pouncing. But his brain had… stopped. It was frozen for a breathtaking moment of shock before suddenly, all too soon, everything made sense.

Why he and Aizawa were together. Why they had taken so long to experiment on them again. Why the Doctor removed Aizawa's quirk suppressant.

And Izuku wished, with every atom in his being, that his brain could go back to being frozen once more.

Beside him, Aizawa was a little slower on the uptake. "What the hell do you mean by that?"

The Doctor laughed, a short and mirthless "HA" that had Izuku almost jumping out of his skin. "I guess you'll find out, won't you?"

While the two captives couldn't see the Doctor's ruthless grin, they could hear it in his voice, could hear the satisfaction and sly sarcasm practically oozing out of his tone.

Izuku went to warn Aizawa, his voice shaking and cracking violently, "'Zawa, he's going to-"

"Now, my boy, why don't you keep quiet, yes? I don't want you spoiling the surprise for our dear hero. Otherwise, I can make this process much, much more painful than it needs to be."

The threat in the Doctor's tone had Izuku snapping his jaw closed and clenching his teeth tightly. He was terrified - not for himself, but for Aizawa. Truly, he didn't know what the implications of such an operation (if you could even call it that) would be. Would Aizawa lose his quirk? Just the thought had Izuku struggling not to cry. The image of Aizawa losing his quirk, of him living quirkless, just like Izuku had been living, was far too painful. He didn't want Aizawa to go through that- not now and not ever.

Aizawa was just confused. He could barely pay attention to the Doctor's ramblings, too focused on the fact that his quirk was back his quirk was back his quirk was back. He knew that what was going to happen next wasn't good, a fact only reinforced by the fear in Izuku's voice. That scared him. Izuku hadn't sounded that t in…terrified a while. In fact, Aizawa didn't think he had ever heard the kid sound that scared. That, in itself, was a feat.

So, fearing the worst, he braced himself, squeezing his eyes shut. He expected the pain of a scalpel, the sharp stinging of cutting flesh, the dragging of a blade against his skin. He didn't expect the strangled cry of pain on his left. It was more like a scream, starting as a hoarse yelp and turning into a full-throated wail, filled with an agony that made Aizawa's instincts flail to go, help, save!

His eyes were wide open now, frantically searching his field of vision but he could only see the ceiling and he couldn't see his kid but he could hear him screaming, crying, begging. Panic filled every part of his body and he struggled fruitlessly against his bindings, wanting only to run to Izuku's side because he was being hurt, the Doctor was hurting his kid.

"'ZUKU! IZUKU!! YOU GET YOUR GODDAMN HANDS OFF HIM, YOU MOTHERFUCKING BASTARD OR I'LL-" Shouta's cries of rage were cut off by a horrifying squelching sound, followed by a resounding popping noise.

The screaming had stopped. The room was now filled with the sounds of Izuku's choked sobs and erratic, heaving breaths for air.

Aizawa was absolutely livid. He struggled harder against the leather straps tying him to the table, growling with increasing aggravation as he made little to no progress. Without realizing, he had activated his quirk in a defensive measure. His eyes burned with the strain, but he could barely feel the stinging sensation behind the massive bouts of pure rage encapsulating his being.

He could hear the Doctor sigh, a pleased-sounding noise that only served to fuel Aizawa's fury. "Now, now, Eraser. I ask that you calm down. Otherwise, your yelling may cause me to slip and hurt the boy even more. We don't want that, now do we?"

Aizawa grit his teeth. He could see red, and it wasn't his quirk's doing. He took a deep breath to steady himself.

"Kid, Izuku, can you hear me? I'm right here, okay? I know you're hurting but we're going to make it through this-"

"I work better in silence, Eraser. Be a dear and stop blabbering, would you?"

Before Aizawa could bite back with a retort, Izuku spoke up. His voice was broken from screaming, barely above a whisper. He could hear Izuku sniffling, still biting back sobs.

"'M fine, 'Zawa."

And that really just tore Aizawa apart. To hear his kid mimic the words he himself had spoken not so long ago, trying to conceal such horrible pain, was worse than any physical wound you could inflict on Aizawa.

"I believe I said," The Doctor spoke from his position at Izuku's side, still out of Aizawa's line of sight. Aizawa could hear something metallic clang, likely a tool being wielded by the Doctor, before Izuku cried out in pain once more. "I work better in silence."

The room fell into a tense and anxiety-filled quiet, only interrupted by Izuku's sniffles and sobs. Aizawa was a ball of nerves. He had no idea what was happening to his kid; all he knew was that he was being hurt, and that the only thing stopping him from tearing the Doctor limb from limb was the leather bands holding him down.

The Doctor walked over to the side of the room farthest away from Aizawa, carrying a medical bowl over to the cluttered countertops, littered with tools and various equipment. He took a minute to study the bowl's contents, leaving Izuku to adjust for a moment before continuing. He didn't want the boy passing out just yet.

--

Izuku was no stranger to pain. He had first felt its harsh touch when he was young, after falling on the playground and scraping his knees on the mulch. He was familiar with pain's not-so-tender embrace in the form of Kacchan's explosions, could remember vividly the cold caress of pain's hand when his mother would turn her back on him after he'd asked for her help in bandaging his wounds. When he had been kidnapped, pain became even more hands-on (if at all possible), showing its tough love through incisions and experiments and awful, horrible tests. And even though it stung or burned or ached, pain was always familiar to Izuku.

Until now.

Because when the Doctor had taken a scalpel to his eye, pain was no longer familiar. No, this was a feeling so foreign to Izuku that he hesitated to even call it pain. It was something far, far worse. The word 'pain' was too mild of an adjective to describe the feeling, the absolute violation of self, that occurred when the Doctor plunged the scalpel into Izuku's eye socket, cutting the connective tissue and muscle that surrounded the fragile organ. The consuming sensation of pure, bone chilling hysteria that took over his body when he felt the man's hand, his fingers, pry open his eyelid and reach, digging into his eye socket and closing his fingers around his eye and pulling, yanking his eye out.

There were no words to describe the emptiness that followed, the horror of blankness because he could see the nerves still connected to his eye, could see with his other eye as its brother was held in the hand of the Doctor. And Izuku wretched and screamed and sobbed. He writhed in his confinements and struggled against the bands holding him in place, but it didn't stop the Doctor from severing the string of his eye socket with a grin, didn't stop the man from placing the eye, his eye, into a metal bowl and carrying it off to who knows where.

Izuku was pulled out of his state of delirium when he heard Aizawa calling for him. His heart stuttered in his chest. For a beautiful second, he was distracted from the pain. It was enough that he choked out a reply, a reassurance that he was there and alive (not okay, not okay).

It was a mistake, though, because the Doctor came back and reached into his eye socket with something metal and scraped and Izuku screamed because it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt it hurt IT HURT.

But then it was over and Izuku was left heaving for air on the metal table, so utterly exhausted and in pain that his previous attempts at getting out of his restraints were since abandoned. He could only lie there, black dotting his vision as his head swam and his eye (eye socket) ached with a vengeance. He didn't even notice the tears and snot streaming down his face, or the quiet sobs forcing their way out of his body.

Several minutes passed, both Aizawa and Izuku lying in silence as the Doctor tinkered with Izuku's eye.

After what seemed like hours, the Doctor appeared at Shouta's side, brandishing a familiar scalpel and metal bowl.

And repeated the process.

When Izuku awoke, he was immediately assaulted by a feeling of strangeness. Followed by a feeling of aching pain. Opening his eyes, he blinked at the harsh, cold white light beaming down above him. He blinked again. And again. His brain slowed down.

He was blinking. Normally. Well, semi-normally. His left eye, the one the Doctor had taken (?), was… not normal. It felt weird, out of place. But… it was there. It pulsed with the beat of his heart, an ache he was slowly getting accustomed to the more he was awake. He didn't feel the emptiness he had felt previously, didn't feel the gaping spot of his eye socket exposed to open air. He could see out of both eyes. He reached up to touch his eye, wanting to see if it was real, if maybe everything was just a horrible nightmare, but couldn't move his arm.

As his brain was waking up more, he noticed he was still in the Doctor's office, still strapped to the cold metal observation table. He couldn't hear anything other than the sounds of his own breathing. Hesitatingly, he called out.

"...'Zawa? Are, are you here?" His voice broke painfully, his throat raw from having screamed so loudly.

No response.

His panic rose. He couldn't remember much. The last thing he could remember was the Doctor taking his eye, and something about 'Zawa talking? Screaming? Izuku wasn't sure. But whatever it was, he was sure it wasn't pleasant. It only worsened his rising distress, thoughts of an injured (or worse, his brain whispered) Aizawa racing through his mind.

He struggled against his restraints, feeling for any sort of leeway. There was none. Eventually abandoning his efforts, he relaxed slightly against the table, inhaling and exhaling deeply like Aizawa had taught him. He needed to think things through; Izuku knew that his biggest asset was his brain. Time to use it.

Quiet muttering filled the otherwise silent room as Izuku pieced together the day's events. He started with the things that he knew. He knew that he and Aizawa had been taken to the Doctor's office together. He knew that Aizawa's quirk suppressor had been removed. He knew that the Doctor had talked about his possibility of gaining a quirk, something about neural pathways in the cerebellum. He knew that the Doctor had… Izuku squeezed his eyes shut, his mumbling coming to an abrupt halt.

He could feel the pain, the sickening intrusion of the Doctor's hand in his - Izuku grit his teeth. Now wasn't the time to panic.

He took a moment to steady his breathing before continuing.

He knew that the Doctor had removed his left eye (Izuku fought against the bile rising in his throat, trying to push away the wave of intrusive thoughts). He knew that, for whatever reason, he had two eyes at the moment. He knew that he was in the Doctor's office now, presumably having blacked out previously.

He knew that he was alone.

The thought brought tears to his eyes, which he quickly blinked away. Onto the things he didn't know.

He didn't know where 'Zawa, or the Doctor, were located. He didn't know how long he had been unconscious. He didn't know why he was in the Doctor's office, still strapped down. He didn't know if 'Zawa was okay. He didn't know how he got his eye back.

A voice in his head whispered that he did know, that he never got his eye back, that it was a question of who and not how, but he pushed those thoughts down a stairwell in his brain and locked the door to keep them out. He didn't think he could handle thinking about that right now.

So, he retreated into the safer places of his mind. Away from the metal table he was strapped to, away from the cold, harsh light of the Doctor's office. He thought about happier times, before he had been kidnapped. Before he had been diagnosed as quirkless.

He thought about his mother, who would always play heroes with him. He remembered her warm, bright, and joyful laugh that could make anyone smile. He remembered how, whenever he was sick, she would make him Katsudon and they would watch old All Might movies on the couch together, pajamas donned and stuffed animals held tightly. He remembered her inquisitive eyes whenever he would talk about things no four-year-old should know about; the look on her face when he asked for a book about bioengineering for his birthday was priceless. He remembered her hugs, how she would envelop his whole body in her warm arms and rock him back and forth, humming softly to a tune only she knew.

He didn't think of the blank look in her eyes that grew ever darker after his diagnosis. He didn't think of how she was always gone - working, she would say with a sneer, to pay for you. He didn't think about the empty fridge or the dark apartment because his mom didn't pay the bills. Didn't think about how he had to sell his hero merchandise to buy dinner. No, he didn't think about that.

He thought of Kacchan. His mischievous smile and crimson eyes. He remembered how he was always covered in dirt or mud, unable to stop himself from getting dirty when they played. He remembered the light in his eyes when they would talk about being heroes together, and that whenever Kacchan saw something cool or funny, his head would whip around, looking for 'Zuku because look, it's a fuzzy caterpillar!

He didn't think about the crackling of his palms, the look in his eyes when Bakugou found out that he was quirkless. Didn't think about the starburst shaped burns on his arms or the scorch marks littering his belongings. He didn't think about all the stolen lunches or tender bruises or the harsh words. He didn't think about that fateful day, when Kacchan became Bakugou after he had told Izuku to take a swan dive off the roof and pray for a quirk in his next life-

Izuku was ripped out of his memories by the sound of a door closing, the metallic 'click' echoing throughout the room. He hadn't realized he was crying until now.

Footsteps could be heard approaching the table Izuku was strapped to, and the Doctor's figure appeared in Izuku's peripheral vision.

"Ah, you're awake! Good, good. It looks like the eye has taken to you nicely. Even the tear ducts are working! It was quite tricky to revert such tiny nerves back to a previous state, especially when trying to connect them with a foreign eye, but everything has gone precisely as planned." The Doctor was rooting through drawers, eventually finding a small flashlight which he shone directly into Izuku's left eye.

Izuku blinked at the sudden light, trying not to cringe at the Doctor's uncomfortable closeness. After a second, the man clicked the light off with a satisfied hum. He put the light down and pulled up a chair next to the table Izuku was on. Izuku trembled slightly, fear coursing through his system in waves. His whole body tensed up - he was in panic mode.

The Doctor took note of his terror, chuckling lightly. "Now, now, I'm not going to hurt you. No, these tests will be much less… intrusive."

Izuku just glared up at the ceiling. He was angry and scared and he wanted to be with 'Zawa. He didn't care about the Doctor or his stupid tests; he wished the man would just shut up.

As if sensing Izuku's rising indignation, the Doctor shifted tactics. "I'm sure you're wondering where your dear hero is…"

Izuku's fear was gone after hearing those few words. He was mad. "What did you do with 'Zawa," Izuku growled out, voice full of hatred. It wasn't a question - it was a demand.

The Doctor bit back his surprise. He wasn't used to seeing the kid so… spiteful. He adjusted his position on the chair, grateful that Izuku wasn't able to see the slight drop of his mask.

"Don't worry, my boy, the man is alive. Actually, he should be arriving any minute now. Along with… company." The Doctor grinned at that, amusement evident in his tone. It only made Izuku more resentful. He opened his mouth to spit out a cross retort when the door opened once more. Izuku couldn't see who walked in, but if he could, all of the blood would have drained from his face.

In walked Guard #1, carrying a limp Shouta Aizawa in his arms, flanked by none other than Kai Chisaki.

Izuku heard the Doctor rise from his seat, the squeaking of the chair echoing in the quiet room. "Welcome, welcome. Please, set him down there."

Izuku's eyes widened. "'Zawa! 'Zawa is that you?! Are you okay?!" His cracking voice was frantic as he pulled fruitlessly against his bindings.

No response.

"I swear if you hurt him I'll make you wish you were never born you bastard-" Izuku's rage-filled outburst was cut off by a cold, eerie voice. A voice he was all too familiar with.

"What a filthy mouth you have. It seems the hero has started corrupting you already. Shame."

Izuku snapped his jaw shut so hard his teeth clanked together painfully. His breath hitched, and his heart rate spiked. A horrible blanket of cold, mind-numbing fear washed over him. Overhaul's voice was able to inspire terror in him the way no one else ever could.

He heard him click his tongue, humming approvingly. The sound made Izuku sick.

"And yet like a dog, he can be trained. Good."

Izuku normally would have been outraged by a comment like that. But all he could think about was what was going to happen next. Why they had Overhaul here of all places, with 'Zawa. The feeling of dread tearing apart his insides made him nauseous. He just wanted to disappear.

Yet some higher power seemed to love torturing Izuku, and so he regretfully remained right where he was. He could hear movement throughout the room, could hear metallic clanking noises and the shuffling of bodies but he couldn't actually see anything other than the ceiling.

That was, until the Doctor pressed a petal with his foot, and the table Izuku was strapped to started to move. Izuku was maneuvered into an upright position, finally able to see what was happening in the room. All too soon he wished to return to staring at the ceiling.

There, strapped to an identical metal table across the room from him, was Aizawa. The man looked horrible. His pale skin shone in the harsh light, speckled with blood. His long, greasy hair hung limp around his face. Even unconscious, his brows were furrowed, his lips pulled taught. Deep bags lined his eyes… Well, eye. The entire left side of Aizawa's face was covered in blood-stained bandages. Only his right eye could be seen. The churning in Izuku's gut only worsened. He yearned to leap forward and run to help him, to hold him, to do something, but his hands were tied. Literally.

Standing next to Aizawa was Overhaul himself, in all his Muppet glory. Still in the same green jacket and bird-beak mask, the man painted an intimidating and eccentric figure. Izuku refused to meet his gaze, focusing instead on seeing if Aizawa had any other visible injuries (Izuku found none).

After finishing up the adjustments to Izuku's chair, the Doctor cleared his throat. Izuku glared at him darkly. "Now, my boy, I'm sure you've put two and two together by now. Today, we're going to be testing if the experiment was a success. I want you to activate Erasure."

Izuku's heart stopped.

Tears threatened to spill from his eyes, and he could feel the room around him start to fade slightly.

He knew this was coming from the beginning. He knew. But that didn't make the reality any easier to accept, to hear from another person.

Didn't make it any easier to bear the fact that Shouta Aizawa's eye was in his skull.

And apparently, part of his quirk?

Izuku choked out a sob. He didn't want any of this.

Distantly, the Doctor sighed.

"I guess we'll have to do this the hard way, then. You're familiar with Mr. Overhaul's quirk, of course?" The question was cruel and pointed, meant to scare Izuku into submission. Izuku was ashamed to say that it was working.

He looked up at Overhaul's silent form, meeting his calculating gaze. Golden eyes met Izuku's, and he flinched, looking away quickly. He wanted this to be over.

"Look, I-I don't know h-how, okay?! I can't feel a quirk or anything and I don't have any experience with this so I can't just use it that easily," Izuku's voice was shaking and cracking with every word. He was tired and hurt and upset and so very disturbed.

At that, Overhaul narrowed his gaze. Izuku watched with widening eyes as the man reached to unclasp his glove, tilting his head in Aizawa's direction.

"Wait, stop! I just, I-I need time, or something, or we, w-we could wait for him to wake up to tell me how to use it!!" Izuku pleaded, desperately trying to get Overhaul to stop what he was doing and step away from Aizawa.

It wasn't working. One by one, Overhaul pulled his fingers out of the glove, not breaking eye contact with Izuku.

Izuku was crying at this point, chest heaving for air. "Please, just, don't- don't hurt him, I can't-"

Izuku's his begging was cut off by the Doctor's monotonous voice. "If you don't want him getting hurt, my boy, then activate the quirk. It's really that simple."

The panic rising in Izuku's chest was suffocating. "I'm, I'm t-trying , it wont- I can't! "

Overhaul's glove was off now, and his hand was reaching towards Aizawa.

"Stop, STOP IT, GET AWAY FROM HIM, STOP!" Izuku thrashed against the leather bindings, crying out in vain, just wanting everything to go away, go away, GO AWAY, GO AWAY, GO AWAY"

Izuku felt something inside of himself snap. It was like someone had been pulling back a rubber band and waiting, just waiting to let go and they finally did. Warmth surged through his entire being. He felt powerful. He glared at Overhaul, who had his fingertips resting on Aizawa's forehead, and screamed.

G̵̥̫̯̰̣̈́͘Ơ̷͖̟͕͊́̅̈́̏̚͠͝ ̴̨̭̣͚̯̠͎̇͒̂͗͛͠Á̶͉̍̽͌̈́͝W̸̨̩̩̉̕Ä̴̮͇́̃͐̿Ȳ̸̳̒̓͝

Overhaul snatched his hand away from Aizawa as if he had been burned, turning to stare at Izuku with an expression of shock and delight.

Because Izuku had erased his quirk.

His green hair floated lightly around his head, and his eyes had turned a blazing crimson. His teeth were clenched in anger, and he swore he saw a trace of fear in Overhaul's eyes before the man turned to the Doctor.

"Prepare the training facilities for today. Run the other tests and get him cleaned up. I'll be back tomorrow to experiment further."

The Doctor barely had time to nod before Overhaul was out the door, glove already back on his hand without a second glance in Izuku's direction.

With the threat gone, Izuku blinked, and Erasure was no longer active. His eyes stung horribly, like he had just been crying for hours, and his head was pounding with a vengeance, but the pure fear and desperation had quieted down with Overhaul's departure. Izuku let himself sag against his bindings. For now, Aizawa was safe.

Slipping into a brief state of unconsciousness, Izuku missed when the Doctor had a guard bring Aizawa back to the cell. He missed the subtle twitch of Aizawa's hand when he passed by the Doctor's equipment table. He missed one of the Doctor's scalpels disappearing underneath Aizawa's sleeve, completely unnoticed, with the grace and tact only an underground hero could possess. No, Izuku didn't see any of that.

And neither did the Doctor.