Notes:

Trigger Warnings:

-mentions of torture

-descriptions of a panic attack

-minor flashback

The Doctor ran tests for the next three hours. By the end of them, Izuku was covered in blood, sweat, vomit, and tears. He was also sporting several new burns - one of the guards apparently had a fire manipulation quirk. Izuku wasn't able to stop most of the attacks in time.

Finally, when Izuku was seconds away from passing out, the Doctor called in his two associates to clean Izuku up, per Overhaul's orders. A thick metal quirk suppressing choker was clamped tightly around his neck, barely loose enough to breathe, before he was escorted to the baths. The entire process took much longer than it probably should have, but Izuku was stumbling with every step he took, and the two women had to be extra careful when cleaning his still-exposed wounds.

Izuku was bone-tired. Everything hurt. His eyes stung horribly, his head felt like it was being smashed open with a hammer, and he could barely move out of pure exhaustion. Funnily enough, the burns didn't hurt too badly. Bakugou's explosions hurt much, much worse.

He didn't even have the strength to object when the two women, the same pair that had cleaned him the first time, started to strip him of his clothing. They had to peel off his shirt in pieces. Izuku only watched with half-lidded eyes as they began to wash his hair, working out all of the ash and soot that had compiled with gentle yet firm hands. They scrubbed his body and cleaned his wounds, eventually toweling him down and dressing him in warm cotton clothes. He could feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier. His head started to droop, and sleep was so, so close-

"You can't sleep yet, child."

Izuku's eyes snapped open, and he whipped his head upwards. He stared in disbelief at the two women; they had never talked to him before. He furrowed his brows lightly in confusion, looking on as the taller woman (the one who had spoken) knelt gently in front of him. The shorter of the two was currently wrapping his arms in bandages, listening in silence.

"You need to leave before Overhaul gets here tomorrow. If you don't, there's a good chance your hero will be killed."

Izuku sucked in a sharp breath. He didn't understand what was happening. He didn't understand why she was talking to him. He opened his mouth to question why, but the woman just shook her head furiously.

"No time. Take this; it should help."

She pressed a folded piece of paper into his hands firmly. He couldn't help but notice how warm and soft her touch was. It reminded him of his mother, before... everything.

Izuku looked deep into the taller woman's eyes, searching. Dark brown irises held so much pain and sadness, it made him want to reach out and hug her, comfort her, help her. He restrained himself, instead choosing to look at the paper in his hands. After unfolding it, it took him a second to comprehend what he was seeing. It was a series of crudely drawn lines, squares, and rectangles, all arranged in various places. But it was also labeled. When he read the neat, small handwriting, his heart stopped. Doctor's Office, Bath, Main Cell, Garage, and so on.

This was a map of the facilities.

His eyes welled up with tears, and the tiredness he had felt previously was long gone. For the first time in months, Izuku felt actual hope. He looked back up at the woman in shock. She met his eyes, giving him a look of grim determination.

"You have to go back to your cell now. I wish you luck, little hero."

Her kind voice, barely above a whisper, shook Izuku out of his stupor. "What about you two?" His voice broke with emotion as he flipped his gaze back and forth between the two women, both of whom were now kneeling in front of him.

"We'll be okay. We've been meaning to leave for a long, long time now. When you escape, we'll run. Don't worry about us." It was the second woman who spoke this time. Her voice was quiet but firm, leaving no room for argument. Izuku could only stare at the two women in front of him. Both were young and pretty, but had deep bags under their eyes and stress lines already forming at the corner of their mouths. Izuku wanted so badly to stay with them there, in the warm and safe bathroom. He had so many things he wanted to say, but couldn't find the words to express a single thing.

So, he settled on a cracked and tearful "Thank you," full of emotion and gratitude and sorrow. It didn't nearly cover the flurry of feelings raging in Izuku's chest, but it seemed to get his message across.

The first woman smiled at him in response. It was a small smile, but it was the most beautiful thing Izuku had seen in a long, long time.

The two women fixed him with meaningful looks. They conveyed sorrow and guilt and hope and love. He nodded once, meeting their gazes directly, a heavy acknowledgement of everything that his words would never be able to express.

His eyes flickered back to the paper still clutched tightly in his hands. He folded it quickly, stuffing it into the waistband of his shorts and under the cover of his shirt. The two women stood, exchanging a look of determination before guiding Izuku to the entrance of the bathroom, where a guard was standing outside the door waiting to escort Izuku back to his cell. The women looked at Izuku once more, a silent question of 'are you ready?' floating in the air. He nodded, taking a deep breath, and watched as the shorter woman opened the door and alerted the guard that they were done.

As he was being dragged back to his cell, his mind began to race with ideas. A feeling of pure excitement bubbled up inside of him. He was so full of adrenaline that he couldn't even feel the stinging of his burns or the ache behind his eyes. He didn't even feel irritated at the guard's bruising grip on his arm, or the way he unceremoniously threw him into his cell, locking the door behind him.

Because for the first time since he had been kidnapped, hell, even long before then, Izuku felt alive.

When Aizawa heard footsteps approaching the cell and saw the body of Izuku thrown harshly to the ground in front of him, he was expecting the worst. He expected the boy's face to be covered in tears, expected him to be on the verge of, if not in the middle of, a massive breakdown.

What he did not expect, however, was the absolutely blinding smile that faced him when Izuku pulled himself off the ground. He didn't expect Izuku to run forward and launch himself into his arms, laughing freely and joyfully as if they were out at the park instead of in a dark prison cell.

It was safe to say that Shouta Aizawa was very, very confused.

But he just stood there, awkwardly supporting the weight of Izuku's body as the kid squeezed him in a vise-like grip, still giggling.

"Kid, what the hell?" Aizawa's voice lacked his usual blankness, now full of pure and genuine confusion.

Izuku removed himself from Aizawa's arms and stood in front of the underground hero, bouncing on his toes excitedly. He looked up with wide, enthusiastic eyes.

Aizawa's eye widened in shock. Izuku's gaze flashed with confusion before the realization dawned on him. The look of excitement on Izuku's face dulled significantly as he immediately looked down to the floor, face scrunched into an expression of guilt and sadness. This was the first time they had seen each other since the 'operation'. Since they had been tortured. Since Izuku had gotten Aizawa's eye.

They stood like that for a moment in silence. Aizawa knew he should say something, anything, but he really didn't know where to even start. Izuku beat him to it.

"...I'm… I'm sorry, 'Zawa. I'm so sorry." Izuku's voice cracked with emotion, the sorrow evident in his tone. Guilt was also evident in the boy's words. Now that, Aizawa would not tolerate.

"Kid, it's not your fault. Not at all. You got that?" Aizawa had used his teacher's voice, the one that left no room for arguments. Izuku hesitatingly nodded, sniffling and wiping his nose with the back of his hand.

Another awkward moment of silence permeated the room before Aizawa spoke up again. "Now, what made you so slap happy just a minute ago? I can't imagine they took you out for ice cream or something." Aizawa's voice was laced with sarcasm, but the underlying concern and confusion was still there.

Upon the shift in subjects, Izuku's face lit up (though not as brightly as before). The kid reached into the waistband of his shorts, pulling out a folded piece of paper which he quickly handed to Aizawa. The hero gave him a questioning look, but Izuku only nodded in encouragement.

With a sigh, Aizawa unfolded the paper to reveal… a map. A full, labeled map of the facilities. His mouth dropped open in surprise, a feat for the usually stoic man.

"What… is this real? Where did you get this?" Aizawa's eye was wide open now, a barely concealed flicker of hope glimmering in his pupil.

The sight made Izuku feel warm (and guilty, but mostly warm). "We should probably sit down. I'll tell you everything."

And so, the two sat on Aizawa's flimsy mattress on the floor and Izuku explained (through sign language) what had gone on for the past few hours. He explained how Overhaul had made an appearance, and how he managed to activate Erasure. He wouldn't meet Aizawa's gaze when he signed about using the quirk, moving quickly onto explaining his training with the Doctor. Aizawa stuffed down his rising anger at the torture they put his kid through, and sat patiently while Izuku signed. When the kid finished describing his interaction with the Doctor's associates, the room's quiet seemed to grow even more tense.

Aizawa took a moment to dissect… all of that. He was still processing losing his eye, still processing the fact that they had hurt his kid. Not to mention that Izuku now shared Aizawa's quirk. Now he was practically handed the key to their escape… It was surreal, to say the least. Izuku just watched on apprehensively as the man thought things through.

After several moments, Aizawa's calculating gaze met Izuku's. And he grinned.

Izuku wasn't used to seeing Aizawa smile, per se. The hero smirked often, but a full-on smile from the man was rare. So, when Aizawa's mouth twisted into a smile reminiscent of the Cheshire Cat's signature grin, it was safe to say that Izuku was a little taken aback. He was even more taken aback, however, when the man reached into the sleeve of his shirt and pulled out a freaking scalpel!

Izuku stared at Aizawa with wide eyes, his mouth gaping open like a fish out of water. He couldn't stop looking back and forth between the scalpel in the man's hands and the grin on his face. For a second, he wondered if he was dreaming. But then Aizawa's voice cut through his haze of shock and confusion, a low and familiar grumble interrupting the moment of silence.

"Looks like it's our time to leave, kiddo."

With those words, Izuku's confusion and shock were quickly swept away, replaced by feelings of pure exhilaration. Carefully, Izuku removed the scalpel from Aizawa's grip, setting it on the ground safely before launching himself into his hero's arms for the second time that night. The pair held each other tightly, staying like that for quite some time. If tears were shed by the hero and his kid, well, no one would be any wiser.

Izuku and Aizawa, after emotionally processing everything, got to planning. They both committed the map to memory, and Aizawa taught Izuku the very basics on how to wield a knife without getting hurt. Or in this case, a scalpel. Aizawa didn't plan on Izuku needing the skill anytime soon, but he wanted to be prepared. Once the quick lesson was out of the way and the pair had the map practically imprinted in their brains, they talked strategy. Their first obstacle was how they were going to get out of the cell and past all the guards. There were several ways to go about this. They could always wait until the Doctor dragged one or both of them up for another 'examination', but that was risky and too time consuming. They eventually decided it would be best to get one of the guards to open their cell, knock said guard unconscious, and make a break for it. Izuku was quick to come up with a plan to do so.

"I could fake a seizure!" Izuku's eyes were bright, and his hands moved so quickly that Aizawa could barely understand what the kid had signed.

Shouta blinked in surprise at the sudden outburst. "Slow. Again."

Izuku puffed out his cheeks in frustration before signing again, slower this time. "To get the guard's attention. I could fake a seizure. They're being extra careful because they don't know how my body is going to react to the new quirk (at that, they both winced. Izuku continued), so they'll rush in to make sure I'm okay. Then, while I distract him, you make a move. I'd say going for pressure points is our best bet. Once he's unconscious, we run for it."

Aizawa stopped to consider this for a moment. It wasn't too bad, but there were a lot of unknowns. "We'll keep it on the table. I worry that more than one guard will come, or that they'll bring the Doctor with them."

Izuku nodded, and the two continued their scheming. They came up with a general escape route with the help of the map the Doctor's associates had given Izuku. The two figured that if they could make it to the 'garage', they would find some sort of transportation that they could drive to safety.

They had a decent plan, but it wasn't done yet. Aizawa decided it was time to rip the Band-Aid off and bring up the topic they both had been avoiding.

"We need to plan for Overhaul."

Aizawa watched Izuku's face carefully once he finished signing. The boy's eyes darkened, and he looked to the ground, clenching and unclenching his fists tightly. The kid was smart. He knew what Aizawa was going to ask him to do. His eyes flickered over to the scalpel lying on the stone floor, only a few feet away from the pair.

Aizawa took a deep breath, choosing to speak instead of signing this time. "Kid, you know I don't stand a chance against him without my quirk."

Izuku seemed to curl into himself at those words, drawing his knees up to his chest and wrapping his arms around them tightly.

"The Doctor replaced my quirk suppressor implant. I need to get it out. I need your help with that. It's too close to one of my carotid arteries for me to take out alone. Listen, I know it's not ideal-"

Izuku's breathing began to pick up. "'Zawa, I can't-" His voice cracked, and he could feel panic rising in his chest.

"I'll be guiding you through it the entire time. I promise you won't be hurting me, kid. It's scary, but-"

He cut Aizawa off again, desperation evident in his tone. His vision was starting to blur, and a tightness began to squeeze his insides. "Scary!? This is your life! You can't seriously expect-"

Aizawa's voice had grown louder and harsher. "Izuku, we don't have a choice. We can't beat Overhaul without-"

The tightness encasing Izuku's organs was crushing him now. It was all too much, too much, too much too much-

"STOP IT"

Izuku cried out, his head snapping upwards so he could glare at Aizawa. The iron grip on his insides seemed to explode into a million pieces, and his body screamed. Everything was too loud, too bright, too much. Izuku just wanted it to stop. His hair rose to float around his face angrily and his eyes flashed red. He bared his teeth in a snarl because all of a sudden, he was back in the observation room and Overhaul was there and he was going to hurt 'Zawa and the Doctor was close, too close, and Izuku couldn't do anything, couldn't stop Overhaul from hurting him he was hurting him HE WAS HURTING 'ZAWA-

All of a sudden, Izuku found himself wrapped tightly in a warm embrace. He tried to break out of it, clawed and scratched and pushed at the arms around him, but they wouldn't let him go. Eventually, he got too tired to fight. He relaxed into the hold, his hair finally falling and his eyes returning to their familiar viridian. It took him another few minutes before he came out of his state of panic.

He opened his eyes, brows furrowed in confusion. He was being hugged. It was nice, and warm, but Izuku didn't know why he was being hugged. He took a deep breath and was met with a familiar smell of sweat and cotton. Aizawa? Why was Aizawa hugging him?

"Uh… 'Zawa?"

The man quickly pulled back, but kept his hands on Izuku's shoulders in a comforting gesture. Aizawa's face was contorted with worry and sadness. It made Izuku's heart hurt. Upon further inspection, the hero was covered in… scratches? Thin, slightly bloody marks trailed the man's exposed hands, disappearing under his sleeve. A few could be seen on his face as well.

Concern spiked in Izuku's chest. Followed by a feeling of unease and worry. Aizawa was just staring at him, as if waiting for something to happen.

"'Zawa, did-did I do that?" Izuku's voice cracked slightly, wavering with an air of horrified disbelief. He tried to remember. He remembered they were talking about the plan. Then, Aizawa mentioned Overhaul. And… his quirk? Izuku remembered panicking. He remembered the exploding feeling in his chest, and that was when everything became… distant. His head was pounding, and his eyes were stinging. Wait. His eyes…

"Did I activate Erasure?" Izuku's face was marred with panic and confusion. Aizawa hesitated for a moment. It was all the confirmation he needed.

"I-I'm so sorry, 'Zawa, I didn't- I swear, I wasn't trying to hurt you, I'm so s-sorry," Izuku was crying now, scrambling back in an attempt to put distance between himself and Aizawa.

At this, Aizawa seemed to break out of his shock. He pulled the trembling Izuku into another hug, this one much gentler than before.

"Hey, hey, kid, it's okay, shhhh, it's okay. You didn't do anything wrong." Aizawa's voice shook slightly before he managed to get it under control. This only made Izuku cry harder.

They sat there for a while, Aizawa holding Izuku as the boy cried until his pleas of "I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry," died out. The kid was still shaking, but not as violently as he had been before. Eventually, once the lump in his throat lessened, Izuku was able to speak.

"I-I'll do it. Just… not right now. My hands, they, they aren't steady enough."

"Of course. Thank you, kid." Aizawa's voice was heavy with gratitude and guilt. The atmosphere in the room was ridden with anxiety.

Izuku was lost in his thoughts, still emotionally turbulent from his previous breakdown, when he realized something.

"Hey 'Zawa?"

Aizawa hummed to show he was listening.

"I... just activated Erasure. With a quirk suppressant cuff on." Izuku's voice was quiet, his tone level as if he wasn't fully aware of the magnitude of that statement. It quickly caught up to him.

"I just activated Erasure with a quirk suppressant cuff on!" His voice was much more excited now, full of disbelief and shock. He turned to look at Aizawa with bright eyes, meeting the hero's equally amazed gaze.

They shared a look for a brief moment, processing the implications of… that. Aizawa was the first to break the silence, amusement evident in his tone.

"Well, shit."

Izuku just grinned, coming to the same conclusion that Aizawa must have reached.

Beating Overhaul without Erasure was near impossible. Even with one Erasure user, stealing the win would be hard.

But with two Erasure users?

Overhaul was going down.