Notes:

Trigger Warnings:

-graphic descriptions of violence

Neither Aizawa nor Izuku slept that night. After finalizing their escape plan and discussing the last of the details, Izuku was eventually stable enough to remove Aizawa's quirk suppressor. Dozens of apologies and a few breakdowns later, the suppressor was out. As Izuku wrapped Aizawa's shoulder with a part of one of their torn blankets, hands shaking, Aizawa activated his quirk for the first time since his eye was taken.

Erasure surged through him with a warm familiarity, and the anxiety gnawing a hole in Aizawa's chest dissipated. He was worried that without both of his eyes, his quirk function would be severely affected, but that didn't seem to be the case. He could feel the ache of his empty eye socket whenever he used his quirk now, and he didn't think he could use Erasure for quite as long, but it was nothing Shouta couldn't handle. He was still getting used to his changed depth perception; moving and fighting proved to be rather difficult with only one eye, but he was making it work.

Izuku was still learning how to actually use Erasure, which Aizawa had given him some quick tips for. It was weird, to say the least. Neither of the two acknowledged the horrifying reality of that whole situation. They didn't have the luxury to do that right now. Izuku did, however, wonder how he was able to use Erasure with the quirk suppressing collar still tight around his neck. He would have to do some research after he escaped; he figured it had something to do with his lack of an actual quirk factor, which would render the suppressants useless, but he wasn't certain. He had more important things to worry about.

More important things being Phase One.

Phase One, as Aizawa had named it, consisted of three main steps:

Attract the guard(s) attention - force them to enter the cell.

While Izuku distracts the guard(s), Aizawa jumps on them and knocks them out.

Leave the cell and proceed to Phase Two.

It sounded much simpler than it really was. In actuality, the number of things that could go wrong were staggering, but Izuku and Aizawa chose to ignore that little fact in favor of proceeding with the plan.

Aizawa met Izuku's gaze with a serious expression. The boy stared back, determination glinting in his eyes. The sight lit a fire in Aizawa's heart, and, at the same time, seemed to twist his gut into tight little braids. The kid standing in front of him was so very different from the child Aizawa had met however many months prior. Aizawa realized with a start that Izuku didn't look like a child anymore. No, Izuku had seen too much, had lived too much to be considered a child. The thought made Aizawa's chest tighten. He wondered when he had stopped seeing Izuku as a defenseless kid and started seeing him as a trusted ally. Maybe it was after the months of intense physical training. Maybe it was after the countless torture sessions that always left them both with more scars than before. Maybe it was after the eternity of sleepless nights, where Izuku would braid his hair and reassure Shouta with his mere presence. Maybe that was when Izuku had become someone he depended on, someone he trusted with his life- no hesitation.

Aizawa was pulled out of his thoughts by a warm hand resting on his shoulder. He raised his head, once again meeting heterochromatic eyes, now darkened with worry.

"'Zawa?" Izuku's voice was hesitant, weary of a future neither of them could guarantee.

Aizawa took a deep breath, steadying himself. Now was not the time to get caught up in his thoughts. He gave Izuku the steadiest nod he could before reaching out to place his hand on the boy's head, ruffling his hair gently.

"It'll be okay, kid. We'll be okay." His voice was softer than usual, trying to convey feelings of reassurance. Shouta wasn't sure it worked. But his kid just nodded, gaze heavy with resolve, as he moved to his position.

Aizawa took another deep breath. It was now or never.

Hiding the stolen scalpel up his sleeve, the underground hero approached the heavy metal door of their cell. Izuku, closer to the middle of the room, lay on the stone floor, preparing for the guard's presence. Once Aizawa was sure that Izuku was ready, he drew back his closed fist and banged harshly against the cold surface, yelling out.

"SOMEONE, COME QUICK! YOU BASTARDS FUCKED HIM UP WITH MY QUIRK, HE'S NOT FUCKING BREATHING!! I SWEAR I'LL MURDER EVERY ONE OF YOU IF MY KID DIES, I'LL RIP YOUR FUCKING THROATS OUT. HE'S NOT FUCKING BREATHING--"

Aizawa's frantic cries were cut off by the rushed clanging of locks opening. He was quick to jump to the side, narrowly avoiding the swing of the door as Guard #1 ran in, panic evident on his face. He apparently had some brain power, as he shut the cell door behind him, but his intelligence ran out when he chose to ignore Aizawa in favor of checking on Izuku.

Izuku, who was currently convulsing on the floor, clutching his throat and gasping for air. If Aizawa hadn't already known it was fake, he would have rushed to give the kid medical attention. Tucking his appreciation for Izuku's acting skills in the back of his mind, he lunged at the guard's exposed neck, slamming his elbow into the man's Adam's apple, rendering him breathless before quickly twisting his body and delivering another blow, this time to the guard's temple. The man hadn't even had time to cry out before he crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Once the guard was confirmed to be down for the count, Izuku stood up quickly, letting his act melt away in favor of continuing with the plan. Aizawa rapidly searched the guard's motionless body; he found a taser, a walkie-talkie, the keys to the cell, and an ID card, all secured to a utility belt strapped around his waist. Aizawa was a little surprised at the lack of weapons, but he supposed that the man was able to win most fights through brute strength alone. He quickly stripped the man of his belt and its accessories, slipping the scalpel into one of the empty pockets after he had tightened the belt around his own waist. Shouta also removed the man of his shoes and promptly put them on; Izuku gave him a weird look, but he chose to ignore it. While the shoes were a little big to fit him properly, they were better than nothing. He would have given Izuku the shoes instead, but they would have only fallen off of the small boy's feet. It would have been funny, were they not at risk of death. Shouta checked once more to make sure that the guard was still unconscious before leading Izuku to the cell door.

Cracking the door open slowly, Aizawa peeked his head out to search for any unwelcome visitors. Finding none, he was quick to shuffle Izuku out of the cell, locking the door behind them as quietly as possible. He met Izuku's gaze; seeing that the boy was ready, they proceeded onto Phase Two.

Phase Two was simple:

Make it to the garage without dying.

Izuku had made detailed plans on what to do for any and every roadblock they may encounter on the way, but Aizawa thought that 'making it to the garage without dying' captured all of those plans rather nicely, hence the birth of Phase Two. If anything were to go horribly wrong, it would be in this phase. They were essentially going in blind; they had no idea where the Doctor or Overhaul were, and the chances of running into either of them were not in Aizawa and Izuku's favor.

Keeping that pleasant thought in the backs of their minds, the two made their way stealthily down the hallway outside of their cell, keeping close to the walls and never standing still for more than a second. Aizawa had taught Izuku how to walk without making any noise, (the key is to step with your toes first, then your heels, kid) so the pair were being rather sneaky if you ignore the fact that the hallways were illuminated with bright, luminescent lights that left them in plain sight if anyone were to come across them.

Which, of course, someone did.

As Aizawa led Izuku down the hall, mentally tracking the turns they had previously made, the telltale scuffling of approaching shoes drew their attention. Aizawa and Izuku made quick eye contact, exchanging a terse nod before springing into action. They had planned for this situation, for someone to find them while they were escaping; they couldn't hide, since the hallway had no accessible vents or closets. So, they chose to attack first. The two had very little going for them - but they did have the element of surprise.

The footsteps were even louder now, ready to turn the corner and reveal Aizawa and Izuku's position when they jumped into action.

Aizawa darted forward at the approaching figure, pivoting on his left leg and swinging his right in a sweeping arc headed towards the man's- the Doctor's, Aizawa notes bitterly- head. His foot, now armed with steel-toed boots courtesy of Guard #1, slammed into the man's temple, throwing the Doctor into the wall with a 'thump' as his body hit the stone. The Doctor cried out in pain and surprise, already scrambling to right himself as his eyes widened comically in confusion, darting from Aizawa's still-moving figure to Izuku's.

"How did you- " The Doctor tried to ask, but Izuku was already springing into action, moving in tandem with Aizawa who jumped back, just as they had practiced if Aizawa wasn't able to knock someone out on the first try.

Izuku lunged toward the man in front of him, twisting in the air slightly before pulling his elbow back and smashing it into the Doctor's head, a devastating blow that had the man crumpling to the floor, the arm that had been reaching for a walkie-talkie now limp against cold stone.

The whole exchange hadn't lasted more than a minute. Aizawa and Izuku took a second to catch their breath, standing above the unmoving figure of the man who had tortured them without mercy for months. To say it was satisfying was an understatement. If, after Aizawa had searched the man and restrained him with his own bunched up lab coat, Izuku kicked the man harshly in the gut, well, Aizawa sure wasn't going to reprimand him. He may have slipped in a kick of his own. Maybe two. Who really was counting anyways?

The pair continued onwards, moving at a faster pace than before. It was only a matter of time until someone found the Doctor's body. And when they did, everyone would be looking for Izuku and Aizawa. So, they needed to book it; preferably without encountering anyone else.

They should have known that their luck would run out eventually. Really, everything was going too smoothly, too conveniently. They were only a few hallways away from the garage, and Izuku could feel the excitement, the hope, bubbling up in his chest. Exhilaration coursed through his being and he had to suppress a grin because they were actually doing it, they were getting out--

A blaring alarm sounded throughout the building, accompanied by the sound of pounding footsteps growing louder and louder. Izuku's stomach dropped, hope replaced by a crippling fear. Aizawa turned to face Izuku, grabbing him by the shoulders in a quick moment of reassurance. Neither dared to speak, for fear of giving away their already precarious position, but the look they shared was enough. It was a promise. They were going to make it out. They had to.

They broke eye contact when the footsteps rounded the corner at the end of the hallway ahead of them, leaving the pair no chance for gaining the element of surprise this time. Both Izuku and Aizawa dropped into a fighting stance. Izuku grit his teeth at the sight ahead of him: the other two guards were racing forwards in all their muscled glory, armed with batons. If the crackling of their walkie-talkies were any indication, it sounded like there were more henchmen on their way.

It wasn't looking good, to say the least.

That didn't stop Aizawa and Izuku from meeting the guards head-on, however. The sight of a barely 5 foot tall 11-year-old taking on a hulking 6"5 man with the body of a pro-wrestler brandishing a baton was almost comical. Almost.

Because Guard #2, the one currently swinging the metal weapon at Izuku with a bone-breaking vengeance that the boy was barely able to dodge, was the guard with the fire manipulation quirk. That little thought had escaped Izuku's mind in the haze of staying alive and avoiding being absolutely demolished. When the man, growing ever frustrated at the lithe boy's ability to dodge his attacks (Izuku thanked Bakugou for the practice), pulled out a lighter, however, Izuku's brain short circuited for a second.

A second too long.

Izuku found himself enveloped in blazing flames and he screamed.

Aizawa had been faring marginally better against the other guard, but not by much. His time as a pro-hero allowed him to dodge the man's swinging baton fairly easily, but he wasn't able to make himself a suitable opening. Every time he attempted to get close to try and hit a pressure point and knock the man out, the guard would grab him and hold on tight. Shouta had learned that the hard way, and was now sporting a definitely broken left wrist because of it. He was able to free himself when, after removing the scalpel from the utility belt and clutching it with his right hand, he stabbed the guard right in the eye with a sickening squelch. The guard let out a cry of pain, immediately freeing Aizawa from his grasp and clutching his eye tightly. Aizawa grimaced at the blood spattered on his face. He fought the bile rising in his throat as he leapt backwards, away from the guard.

There was now a significant distance between the two, when Shouta remembered that he had a taser. He was so used to not having it that he had forgotten the one he had just acquired. Mentally chastising himself as he reached into the stolen utility belt, he grabbed the taser with his right hand, and was about to electrocute the now half-blind hulking mass of muscle, when he heard an absolutely gut-wrenching scream coming from farther down the hallway.

Turning back, he saw fire.

Fire.

He activated his quirk on instinct, his hair whipping around him as he yelled out.

"IZUKU!"

Once the flames receded he saw his kid, still standing and in a fighting position, now covered in burns. The boy raised his head weakly, making eye contact with Shouta and nodding a quick 'thank you'. The guard with the fire quirk was still approaching, though, and Izuku had no way to fight back. So, Shouta made an executive decision and lobbed the taser towards Izuku, hoping it would be enough to help. The kid caught the taser, eyes widening in understanding before flashing a blazing crimson, his own Erasure now activated as a precaution against the guard. Aizawa took a breath of relief as he heard the electric shock of the taser being disarmed and the sound of a heavy body hitting the ground.

In his panic to help Izuku, however, he had left himself completely open. Aizawa realized this when, after turning back to the guard he was fighting, was met with a sharp, stinging pain in his abdomen, followed quickly by a crushing blow to his leg. Aizawa let out a cry of pain, taken aback by the sudden procession of attacks. He was quick to regain his composure, however, and swept out with his right leg, the one that hadn't been hit, in an attempt to get the guard away from him. By some miracle, Shouta's foot slammed against the guard's head on the same side as the wound he had previously inflicted. The guard screamed in pain, backing away in a stumble.

It was the opening that Aizawa needed. He lunged forward, weight shifted heavily onto his right leg, and slammed his extended elbow into the guard's temple viciously. Only when the man's massive figure slumped to the ground did Shouta allow himself a moment to breathe.

It was then that Aizawa realized that something was wrong. His abdomen felt strangely warm, and he could feel himself becoming slightly dizzy. Looking down to his stomach in a daze, he could only blink in surprise at the sight.

There, lodged in his gut, was the scalpel. The one he had left in the man's eye.

The guard had managed to slash him pretty deeply before jamming the weapon into Shouta's exposed frame. His entire front side was covered in blood, his shirt was stained a dark crimson. A faint thought of 'I'm losing too much blood' echoed through his mind, but he ignored that in favor of turning to face Izuku, dark spots now swimming in his vision.

Izuku, who after tasing the guard had picked up the man's baton, lighter, and walkie-talkie, was now resting heavily against the wall. He was breathing hard, trying to ignore the pain flaring to life across every inch of his skin. He was covered in burns, all varying in severity. Luckily, he didn't think he would need any skin grafts. Yeah, real lucky. The boy had been spacing out slightly, trying not to pass out from the pain, when he remembered that Aizawa was still fighting.

Oh god, 'Zawa was still fighting!

Izuku whipped his head upwards, looking down the hall where he had last seen 'Zawa. Izuku eyed the unconscious body of the guard that Aizawa had been fighting and bit back a sigh of relief. That was, before he saw Aizawa. Aizawa, who had a massive gash to his abdomen and what looked to be a broken wrist. Aizawa, who was covered in blood. Aizawa, who was currently falling over. Izuku barely had the time to process what he was seeing before he sprang forward, running the short distance between them, and lunged to catch Aizawa before he collapsed to the ground. The man turned his head weakly to look at Izuku. His eye was cloudy and fuck there was so much blood, too much blood.

"'Zawa! Damnit, 'Zawa!"

Izuku's voice could barely be heard over the alarms that were still blaring. He could feel tears dripping down his face, but made no move to wipe them. Instead, he jumped into action. Setting Aizawa gently down on the ground, Izuku rushed over to the guard that Aizawa had been fighting. He wrestled the jacket that the man had been wearing off of his huge figure, quick to rip the light material into manageable strips. Moving swiftly back over to Aizawa, Izuku worked with shaking hands to remove the scalpel from the wound and tie the jacket strips around the man's stomach in large sheaths. Luckily the guard was so big, otherwise the jacket wouldn't have covered Aizawa's wound. Izuku pulled the makeshift bandage taught, drawing a wince out of the semi-conscious Aizawa. Izuku bit back an apology; now wasn't the time.

After ensuring that the wound was dressed as well as it could be given the current circumstances, Izuku turned his attention to Aizawa himself. The man's eye was lidded and hazy, but still open. Good. He moved Aizawa into a sitting position, face to face with him now.

"'Zawa, I need you to stay awake. Can you do that for me?" Izuku fought to keep the tremble out of his voice. It was a losing battle.

Aizawa grunted as a response, and his fingers twitched.

"Okay, okay, good, good. I'm- I'm going to help you stand now, okay? We're going to the garage and we're going to make it out, okay?"

Another grunt.

Izuku could feel the panic rising in his chest. Desperation made itself known in the twisting of his stomach, the pounding of his heart echoing through the burns on his figure. Reinforcements were sure to be sweeping the building right now; it was only a matter of time before they caught them. He needed to move, and fast.

Mustering up the strength he had left, Izuku heaved Aizawa upwards, stumbling to support the weight of the man. Luckily, Aizawa wasn't very heavy; otherwise, this would have been impossible.

Taking a deep breath to calm his nerves and focus his racing mind, Izuku wrapped one hand carefully around the hero's waist, avoiding the wound as best as possible, and used his other hand to support Aizawa's shoulder. Aizawa was leaning against Izuku's left side now, practically being carried by him as they began their slow journey down the hall. Fortunately, the man wasn't completely out of it; Aizawa, even in his semi-conscious state, was determined to drag himself forward.

Izuku carried on, shouldering Aizawa's weight and half-shuffled, half-walked down the hall. Slowly, far too slowly, the pair made their way into the direction of the garage. Several times, Izuku could hear the sound of pounding footsteps somewhere in the facility, but by some miracle none approached their location. It seemed like an eternity later when Izuku and Aizawa finally made it to their destination.

The garage was, well, a garage. A big one, at that. Concrete walls and floors that echoed every sound made, full of various tools and trinkets. It was surprisingly normal for such a messed up facility. Inside the garage sat several armored jeeps, illuminated faintly by the dim glow of the overhead lights. The sight of actual vehicles made Izuku's heart soar. He was quick to maneuver Aizawa and himself into the garage, letting the door separating them from the facilities fall closed with a quiet 'click'.

Izuku's eyes searched the room for anything he could use to hotwire one of the cars. He had never done something like that before, but he was confident he could make it work. With a shock, he noticed that the wall to his left had several sets of keys hanging on hooks, each numbered and neatly placed.

Shaking his head in disbelief, Izuku shuffled over to the key wall, still supporting Aizawa, and grabbed the key ring with the number 1 on it. Upon closer inspection, the smooth concrete floor was marked with white paint where each car sat, corresponding numbers labeling the vehicles.

Car #1 was closest to the pair, and gave a little chirp when Izuku clicked the 'unlock' button on the key ring. Izuku and Aizawa made their way over to the back doors of the car, which Izuku opened quickly before helping Aizawa lay down on the leather-clad seats, his heart clenching as the man groaned in pain. Shutting the door firmly, Izuku was about to hop into the driver's seat when something caught his eye.

Sitting on the floor in the corner of the garage were several gallons of gasoline.

Izuku made a split-second decision. He couldn't bring himself to regret it.

Driving furiously away from the facility at a breakneck speed, barely able to reach the gas pedal because the seat was so far back, Izuku could hear the faint 'BOOM's of cars exploding in the distance. He was terrified. He was tired. His body hurt so horribly, and he was scared for Aizawa, still heavily wounded in the backseat. Izuku couldn't stop the tremor of his hands or the pounding of his head, and he didn't know where he was going or if he was out of the clear yet.

But as he watched the facility rise up in flames, growing ever smaller in the rearview mirror, he couldn't stop the feral grin that spread across his face at the sight.

"What do you mean, gone?" Overhaul gripped the phone tightly, ignoring the hairline fractures that were beginning to appear on the screen. He couldn't contain his fury even if he tried to, at this point.

"U-uh, well, sir, t-they, they seemed to have… escaped. It l-looks like-" A faint explosion could be heard on the line, followed by unintelligible screaming. The phone call ended.

Overhaul let his eyes fall closed. He took a deep breath in.

Out.

In.

Out.

He opened his eyes, fury only temporarily sated.

He had a child to find, after all.