Rule #55: Don't be bullheaded and rush through the china shop

"Left!" Ritsu chirped from Toru's hand as she led the teenagers through the twisting hallways of the upper levels. The elevator shaft had stopped a few levels below where they were right now—as some kind of security measure, the fortified elevator only went up so far; leaving the teens to find another way up. "Right!"

Sweat decorated Toru's skin like raindrops as the group ran; as it turned out she could fly but not very far or very long—she'd only just figured out how—and after dragging two bodies with her, it had served to greatly tire her out. She'd ditched her heels at some point, leaving them forgotten in an unmarked corridor, her dress was decorated with burnt holes & smoking hems and her purse was probably still in the greenhouse facility alongside the bots and villains.

"Exit to your right!" Ritsu called as a door came into sight and not a moment too soon. Bakugou, who had been in the lead, burst through the door and fired a explosive punch at one of the security drones that had launched itself into the air at Ochako. Next, Todoroki sent a wave of ice towards a group of bots headed towards where Ochako stood at the base of the wind turbines as he and Kirishima exited the building. Bringing up the rear was Rio and Toru, who quickly emerged and joined the girl at the base of the turbines' shelves.

"That was close!" Rio huffed a laugh, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine" Ochako replied, "I used my Quirk on Deku and Melissa, they should be able to reach the top"

"Good work, now you can help us deal with these things!" Rio fired a bullet towards the kink in the proverbial armour of an approaching drone, hitting whatever was inside and making it glitch and spaz.

"Who died and made you boss?" Bakugou complained as he punched and kicked his way through the bots.

"I'm always the boss of you, Suki!" Rio grinned.

"Dream on!"

"Thanks so much, you gu—ahhh!" Midoriya called down, only to be blown backwards by the large force of the turbines.

"Oh no! They're blowing away!" Ochako cried, unable to cancel her Quirk for fear of what would happen to the two if they fell from that kind of height.

"Toru!" Rio commanded.

"On it!" Toru replied, rushing out from underneath the large shelves of turbines. Light enveloping limbs and legs coiled, Toru launched herself upwards with such force that a small crater was left on the ground in her wake. Pushing through her exhaustion, she flew up towards the pair, using the currents from the wind turbines to reach them faster. "Got'cha!" Toru triumphed as she grabbed a hold of Midoriya's gloved wrist.

"H-Hagakure! You're—you're flying!" Midoriya gasped.

"Yeah! I know!" Toru laughed, wrapping both hands around Midoriya's wrist and with an almighty heave, dragged the pair up towards the building in question.

"Lookout! We're going to hit the wall!" Melissa cried from where she was clinging to Midoriya's back.

"Sorry!" Toru wheezed covered in sweat.

"Hagakure! Drop me!" Midoriya ordered.

"What?!"

"Drop me!"

"Alright!" Trusting that the green-haired boy knew what he was doing, Toru switched her grip from his wrist to Melissa's. Once he was free, Midoriya free fell towards a section of the wall that was unblemished by walkways or turbines. The girls watched as green lightning danced around the boy and his veins ran red with his Quirk as he destroyed the wall with a single punch.

"Close your eyes!" Toru instructed as she flew in after him, holding her breath against the cloud of debris billowing out.

"Ah! Deku! Are you okay?" Melissa cried as Toru set her down before stumbling to a landing herself. Running over the boy, Melissa helped him to his feet whilst Toru sat back against some rubble and tried to regain her breath, wiping the sweat from her eyes as she did so.

"I think so" Midoriya replied, "I'm more worried about you"

"I'm fine" Melissa smiled, "Just some scratches"

"That's go—"

"MOVE!" Toru suddenly shouted as another villain appeared, swinging a blade downwards like he meant to behead the two. Thankfully, Midoriya was able to roll himself and Melissa out of the way just in time. Rushing forth, Toru caught the bladed hand between her own burning ones. And just in time too, with Melissa and Midoriya beneath her feet, Toru tried her best to fight the villain off.

"You shouldn't have come here!" The villain threatened, pushing her back towards the opening behind them.

"What the hell is your deal?!" Toru fired back, increasing the intensity of heat between her fingers.

"Raaaah! You bitch!" The villain cried out in pain as his blade began to slowly melt down. An odd mixture of burning flesh, hair and metal filled the air making Toru's stomach roil when it flittered up her nostrils. She didn't see the kick coming until it was too late. One hand flew to her mouth to fight the rising bile and the other flew out to scrabble for a hold on the ledge as she was thrown overboard.

Dangling several stories up in the air, Toru was unable to keep the contents of her stomach in and vomited down onto the concrete below. Eyes screwed shut as she tried her best to ignore the sounds of her own body retching and she curled her free hand into the side of the building with heated claws, hoping against hope that it would be enough to keep her alive. From down below she could've sworn that she heard Bakugou shout curses up at her, but it was hard to tell over the roar of the wind turbines.

When her stomach had finally calmed enough for her to wipe away the excess bile dripping from her mouth, she shakily began to try and pull herself back inside. She didn't get very far until hands gripped onto hers and pulled her inside. "Are you alright, Toru?" Melissa asked as Midoriya handed her a cloth to wipe her mouth. They both seemed fine, no injuries to speak of, sans the small make-shift bandage tied around Melissa's forearm.

"Thanks" Toru nodded, "Uh yeah, yeah, I'm good…Bakugou might be a bit pissy, though"

"Kaachan?" Midoriya puzzled.

"Uh, d'you get the villain?" Toru asked.

"He's over there" Melissa pointed towards where the villain was now encompassed by a pile of rubble, no doubt Midoriya's handiwork.

"Well, let's go then" Midoriya stood up, "We're almost to the top"


"Melissa, where's the control room located?" Toru asked as she, Midoriya and Melissa snuck through the hallways of the top floor.

"In front of the central elevator" Melissa replied. Coming to a stop at the final corner, the trio peered around the side, like heads on a totem pole.

"Someone's in there" Midoriya murmured, trying to get a better look.

"Huh? Papa!" Melissa gasped when she spotted her father at the computer, his back to them.

"Whoa! It is!"

"Why is he up here?" Toru puzzled.

"Maybe the villains brought him here, they might need something from him" Midoriya replied.

"Are you sure?" Toru narrowed her eyes at the man, "He doesn't seem upset about being here…"

"It doesn't matter!" Melissa hissed, "We have to help him!"
"Right" Midoriya nodded, "But how?"

"Leave that to me" Toru stated as she stepped back from the corner and proceeded to undo her dress.

"H-Hagakure! What—what are you doing?!" Midoriya burnt red.

"Oh calm down, Midoriya" Toru rolled her eyes with a sigh as her dress pooled at her feet, revealing the set of holographic lingerie she wore beneath. "I'm wearing underwear"

After pulling all manner of items from her body that would reveal where she was and leaving them in a pile around the corner (except for Rio's phone which she tucked into her bra), Toru crept silently into the storage room which the Professor occupied. Coming to a stop next to one of the many computers, Toru crouched down next to a maintenance panel and listened in.

"I've unlocked it!" Exclaimed Professor Dave. "Locker 11-47"

"Wonderful!" Cheered Sam, his assistant (Toru could only just make out the name tag clipped to his breast pocket).

"It's opening!" Dave called as Sam ran to retrieve the case from the now open locker.

"You did it Professor! Look! Everything is here! It's perfect!" Sam popped the case open to reveal the tech inside. Toru had to slap a hand over her mouth to hold in the gasp at what she saw. She had no idea what the headgear was for, but the single glass vial that sat next to it made her heart jump into her throat. But that's not possible! All of Shiro's research was destroyed! How the hell did they get that vial?! Toru panicked.

"Finally…!" Dave sighed, "I've gotten it back. All my research and they just took my device away from me! But now it's mine!"

"Just like we planned" Sam commented, clicking the briefcase shut, "And it looks like the villains are holding things down"

"Thank you, I couldn't have done any of this without your help, Sam" Dave trotted up the stairs to retrieve the case.

"Papa…" Breathed Melissa, finally coming into the room.

What?! Toru peered over to see Melissa and Midoriya standing in the doorway, I thought I told them to stay put!

"Melissa…No…!" Dave panicked.

"Miss, what are you doing here?" Sam tried.

"What does he mean that 'it's like you planned it' ?" Melissa strode forth, unwavering. "Don't tell me that…you were the one behind this!…This was all you? Just to steal something? NO! It can't be true!"

"…Yes it is" Dave admitted solemnly.

"Huh? Papa, how could you?!" Melissa demanded.

"The Professor is only trying to get back what was stolen" Sam defended, "The invention inside this briefcase can amplify someone's Quirk"

"Wait—is that even possible?" Midoriya questioned.

"Yes, it's still being tested of course. But unlike with drugs, this device can magnify a person's Quirk, without doing any damage to their body or brain"

"Is that what he's telling you?" Toru's tone was cold as she emerged from her hiding place. All eyes fell on her invisible form—or at least the holographic underwear she wore as it faded into view.

"W-What are you talking about?" Sam tried to deflect, his parlour paling and eyes flitting around the place as he tried to come up with an excuse.

"Sam?" Dave turned to his assistant, but was ignored.

"Or perhaps" Toru narrowed her eyes at the Professor before turning back to Sam, "That's what you're telling him. The Antimatter Tentacle Serum, where'd you get it?"

"I—I don't know what you're talking about!"

"Don't lie to me" Her tone grew colder and her narrowed eyes glowed golden as they came into view when she strode forth, making Sam stumble backwards with each step "How did you get access to Professor Yanagisawa's research? That laboratory was destroyed months ago. Only a couple of vials escaped unscathed; one of which is in your hands right now. So I'll ask again, where did you get it?"

"Sam? what is she talking about?" Dave asked again, confused at the questioning.

"Would like to tell him, or shall I?" Toru asked.

"Uh—I—I…" Sam stammered, looking like his entire world was crumbling around him.

"Your 'research' contains one of the few remaining vials from the Antimatter trials headed by Professor Yanagisawa Kotaro of Yanagisawa Labratories"

"You speak as if you know what'll happen…" Dave stated, brows furrowed.

"Yes" Toru admitted, feeling the gaze of her peers on her back "These are the very laboratories that performed inhumane trials—both animal and human— in the name of scientific discovery and were destroyed exactly one week after the moon lost 70% of its surface area. This is the same laboratory that produced two monsters: the teacher and the scientist. Tell me Professor, what say you?"

"S-Sam! You told me that serum was your own design!" Dave turned on the portly man. "All this work! We'd be labelled as frauds!"

"That's only if word got out!" Sam snapped, "We did good work! You tested it yourself! This device will save hundreds!"

"I see" Toru mused quietly, "So he knew, but you didn't"

"Papa…" Melissa cried, tears gathering in her eyes, "Why…?"

The Professor appeared defeated as he slumped over where he stood. No matter his intentions, he was unable to meet his daughter's eyes, nor could he look at his assistant with that information laid bare. He heaved a sigh and then reluctantly began his tale. "Our sponsors confiscated the prototype and our—the research data. Then they demanded that we abandoned the project; they worried that something like this would drastically stress the structure of superhuman society. Fearing chaos, governments from different nations put pressure on me to end it" Dave sighed "I s'pose if what you say is true, then they had real reason to fear our work…"

"There is a reason Yanagisawa's on Japan's Most Wanted list" Toru agreed.

"We planned to hire actors playing villains, to steal back our work" This time it was Sam who picked up the story, his fervent tone picking up as the story progressed."No one would be harmed and I'd have my work back to continue elsewhere. We waited for the perfect opportunity—the I-expo opening. The tower would be closed and everyone would be together at the reception. We'd pull the strings in the background whilst the 'villains' make I-Island seem like it's been attacked"

"I don't understand…!" Melissa cried, "There's something I'm missing…right? You'd never do this"

"I'm so sorry" Dave murmured.

"This doesn't make any sense! The Papa I know would never act like a villain, no matter what! So why then? Why?"

"I had to, for All Might. You probably aren't aware of this, but his Quirk is disappearing. However, if he uses this device he'll be his old self. No—his abilities will be even stronger than they were! The Number One Hero! The Symbol of Peace! Can get his strength and light back again!" A manic grin spread across the Professor's face, "He can keep saving people! Just like he always has!"

"You know he's not a God, right?" Toru spoke softly as if talking to an upset child, "Professor, he's just a man"

"I know that!" Dave spun around angrily to face Toru, "This'll make him better! He can keep saving people!"

"Do you not hear yourself? Isn't he your friend? Why are you talking about him like he's a figurehead to wage wars for?" Her eyes glazed over as her thoughts turned to Koro-Sensei and his demise "He's just a man; he gets sick, he dies, he's only human. Like us"

"Please! Please! Let me just hand this device over to All Might!" Dave cried, running up to snatch the briefcase from Sam, "There's no time to remake it! When he's better, I don't care what my punishment is!"

"They—they risked their lives!" Melissa wept, "DEKU AND HIS CLASSMATES WENT THROUGH SO MUCH—!" She yanked off the cloth around her arm to reveal a thin clean cut that was still weeping slightly, "—DO YOU KNOW HOW DANGEROUS THIS WAS?! HOW HARD WE WERE TRYING TO SAVE EVERYONE ON THE ISLAND?!"

"No…What do you mean? The villains…they're fake" Dave turned to a sheepish Sam, "It's all supposed to be an act"

Toru welcomed the small reprieve between battles that allowed her to regain her breath as much as possible. Her limbs shook a little in their exhaustion and she wanted nothing more than to crash on her bed and sleep—well, maybe she'd have that ice cream Rio promised, but it was mostly sleep. God! I could sleep for a week! Toru watched the proceedings play out in front of her like she was watching a play. However, her reprieve was quickly cut short by the arrival of the main villain.

"Of course it was a performance!" The villain declared as he made his entrance. At the same time,

Toru shamelessly blinked out of existence, leaving Midoriya and Melissa in the villain's sight. "But the real act was pretending we weren't criminals"

"He's the boss!" Midoriya cried as he lit up like a green candle, preparing to launch an attack. At the same time, the villain simply place his hand against the metallic wall to his right and the railing across the room came alive. Coiling around Midoriya, the railing pinned him to one of the computers so that he couldn't move or speak.

"Oh no! Deku!" Melissa cried.

"You'd be smart not to resist" The villain stated as he came to the foot of the stairs, not far from where Toru was standing."Sam, hand it over"

"Right" Sam snatched the briefcase back from Dave and rushed down the stairs to hand it to the villain. "Uh, here ya go"

"Sam? This was your plan?!" Dave exclaimed, "You were going to hand it over all along?"

"You tricked me, Professor" Sam snapped, "I've been your assistant for all these years and you let them take our work! We could've had fame and fortune! But no! I deserve more—!"

You deserve a swift kick in the pants! Toru snarled. Taking advantage of the assistant's monologuing, she crept over to her bound classmate and silently set to work melting through the restraints.

"—I need to be rewarded! Otherwise my entire career was a complete waste of time!"

"Hn" Dave grumbled, turning his head away from the man with white-knuckled fists.

"Well, this is all very touching" The villain sassed as he cocked his gun, "Here's the payment I promised you"

BANG!

"Sam!" Melissa gasped from Toru's left as they stood next to Midoriya.

"No! Why…?" Sam gasped, clutching to the painful and bloody shoulder. "This isn't part of the plan!"

"Is it not?" The villain taunted, "That's strange…because it was always a part of mine!"

"Don't look" Toru instructed as she swung Melissa around just as she saw the trigger begin to squeeze. She'd seen enough today.

BANG!

The second bullet shot straight through Sam's head, sending brain and blood flying everywhere; painting the scene like a Jackson Pollock piece. However, by some stroke of luck, Sam wasn't dead, at least not yet. "NNRR!" Midoriya garbled out through his metallic gag as he watched the villain cock his gun again.

"Looks like you have some resolve after all" The villain taunted.

"No! Don't turn around!" Toru held Melissa's elbow in a tight grip, forcing the blonde to stay watching Midoriya's reactions and listen to the scene behind her.

BANG!

Toru could only watch as the third bullet was fired and the Professor launched himself forward to protect his old friend. Again blood splattered the ground, some even hitting the briefcase as the two men lay on the ground groaning in pain. In his last few moments, Sam could only garble out gurgling noises as blood swam in his throat; with his old colleague at his side. "Get…outta…here" Dave gasped as he bled out on the floor.

"PAPA!" Melissa cried, twisting around at her father's voice and racing over to him.

"Shit" Toru muttered, spinning around also.

"STAY BACK!" Dave cried as the villain pistol-whipped Melissa and knocked her away, "MELISSA!"

"Trying to be a hero after all this?" The villain taunted, pressing Dave into the floor with his boot as Midoriya writhed and struggled in his restraints. "Too late for that; no matter what your reasons were, you've dirtied your hands now. Whether we're real villains or actors is irrelevant. You planned and committed an actual crime here—you're exactly the same as we are. You can no longer remain a respected scientist or continued your research without shame. Your life is forever tainted by the darkness of villainy—" Bending down to Dave's level, he continued "And if you want a future at all, you'll be a good little scientist and mass-produced this device so I can sell it!" With that he slammed his pistol down on the Professor's head, knocking him out.

"Hey! Yeah! Quick question!" Toru piped up, coming in to view and waving her hand around as if she were asking a question in class. She ignored the odd responses she got from those around her as she came to a stop next to Melissa (who still lay on the ground). "Did you practise all this in the mirror this morning or is this all just off the cuff?"

"So you're the fifth voice in the room" He rose from his crouch and cocked his gun once more, "Information like that must make you one of Deity of Death's brats, innit that right? Ooh! It's my lucky night! Y'know how much is on your brats' heads?"

"You say that like I'm just gonna roll over" Isn't that one of Koro-Sensei's nicknames?

"No, you're gonna die"

"We'll see" Toru raised her hands in the air as if she were going to surrender.

"Haha! Giving up already?! I thought you weren't going to roll over?!"

"I'm not" Turning her palms up towards the lights around them, she closed her eyes, sucked in a deep breath and quickly began to suck all the light out of the room. Darkness blanketed the room like thick paint, it almost didn't seem real. "Head down" She hissed, using one of her feet to push the blonde's face down to the floor before her eyes snapped open and she threw her arms outwards. Like she was trying to tear the heavens open, light exploded outwards from her body as if a bomb had gone off. Rings of light pulsated from her figure, the potency of the light fading the further it reached; like ripples in a pond.

Though the harmfulness and execution of the attack may have left a little to be desired, it did serve to knock the villain off of their feet and free Midoriya of his restraints (though he did receive a couple of burns for his troubles). Of course Toru was blown back too. Shooting backwards, Toru slammed into the wall next to where Midoriya had been only moments before and slide to the floor with a cry of pain. Melissa, who had been sheltering on the floor, appeared to be the only one unharmed as she had been within the blast radius when Toru went off. "Toru!" Melissa cried after she had risen from the floor to find the aftermath of the attack.

"Did—Did I get 'im?" Toru groaned raising her pounding head from its slump.

"Is that all you've got?! Haha! Pathetic!" The villain laughed from behind a large wall of metal "Hey! You! Take 'em to the roof!"

Midoriya moved next, now free of his restraints, launched a superpowered punch towards the wall in front of them. A crater echoed around his fist but didn't break through the wall, instead several more erupted into existence around the teens, pinning them in. "Melissa, I've them, you save everyone else!" He called. She nodded in assent and shot off towards the control room, dodging walls as she went.