WAIT! Before you read this chapter, please re-read the ending of Ch.16. Specifically, from 1B's perspective onward.

It came to my attention that there was some confusion regarding who went through the portal and who didn't. So, I edited the chapter appropriately to make it a bit more clear. I apologize for the slip-up in my writing.

And, uh... I am so sorry for the length of time between the chapters. Life was very difficult for a while, and I can't thank you guys enough for being so supportive and patient. One way or another, I'll find a way to get better at updating the story, I promise.

As always, there will be an optional Author's Note at the end for your curiosity.

Enjoy!

CHAPTER WARNING: this chapter contains intense violence, blood, gore, and body horror.

I do not own My Hero Academia.


"Say, Kurogiri… What do you think would happen if we sent Nomu to clear the secret level? Surely, wrecking his beloved school- and killing a few kids and colleagues along the way- would get his attention, right?"

"… If you must, thin their ranks with the manpower you have at your disposal. Nomu is far too valuable to let him rampage by his lonesome."

A low growl came from underneath the hand on Tomura's face as he listened to an answer he did not like. The scratching on his neck became harder and more frequent, more insistent, as the young man struggled to spit out a coherent sentence. But before the words could form, Kurogiri pressed on and gestured towards their biggest hindrance with a wave of his hand.

"Besides, he needs to be dealt with; it appears the villains we have are only strong enough to chip away at his stamina."

Tomura's low growl slightly rose before he cut it off with a 'tch'. At the same time, he brought his hands away from his neck, even as his fingers still twitched in irritation. "…Fine…"

His voice was equal parts cold, excited, and disappointed as he issued his order. "Nomu. Go play with him for a while."

The villain pointed a finger at the hero in black, right as Eraserhead threw his binding cloth at him from about four meters away... And faster than the eye could follow, a massive black hand snatched the cloth out of the air and gave it a solid yank.

As the hero- with his hair still standing on end and surprise quickly growing on his face- was yanked with his cloth, the hulking beast used the same hand to backhand him across the plaza. The ease at which it happened made the hero's surprise turn to dread in an instant, and a terrifying, simple thought began to run through his mind as he flew through the air...

This... was just a love-tap...

The hero's body flipped and skipped like a stone over a pond, until he rolled to a stop by the foot of the stairs. As Nomu began to leisurely lumber towards the reeling hero, Kurogiri used the distraction to expand his mist, collecting the rest of the villains in the plaza with ease.

As the villain turned to address his Master's Ward, the dark mist continued to unfurl from his body in spades... And underneath all of that darkness, hidden from view, the inside of his metal brace began to spark and hiss all along its melted edges...

"I assure you, Shigaraki Tomura, if you want All Might's pride to be wounded, I will make it happen. But please... be ready to retreat when I return."

"Whatever."

The man in the mist bowed before warping away, taking the forty-some thugs with him as he did. The last of his mist disappeared from view just in time to reveal Nomu kicking the hero away from the stairs and towards the lanky villain.

Eraserhead had used the momentum to handspring himself back onto his feet before be dove into the fray once more. But... even with all his skill and experience, and even with continual use of Erasure, he found himself quickly losing ground. It wasn't long before he was forced to go on the defensive, and his movements became a touch more frantic than they were before.

Despite all his anger and frustration, Tomura let out a manic giggle as he wandered closer to the pair. "Hehehehe… You jumped right in, just to make the kids feel better, didn't you?..." The villain's hand twitched once more as the hero struck the brute again and again to no avail, and a twisted smile slowly began to grow behind the hand he used as a mask. "You were fighting that trash mob like it was nothing, you know that? Back-flipping over heads, and taking out those idiots with a scarf... And now... Hehehehe… look at you now! You're trying so hard, just to survive!"

Eraserhead was as quick as a cat as he dodged and ducked around Nomu's lazy swings. "Hehehehe! Is this the best you can do against the final boss?! You don't even have the proper stats or equips for a fight like this, don't you, Eraserhead?" The hero never responded to Tomura's taunts, but that was fine. Even if it was a tad annoying, it was so worth it to watch the hero try- and fail- to wrap and restrain his Nomu with the scarf.

The thought of something so flimsy having a chance to stop Nomu in it's tracks made him giggle just a little bit harder. His hands even began to scratch and tear at his neck once again, and the need to prove his point suddenly became very appetizing.

"And yet, you still choose to fight! Even though you know you're gonna lose! Hehehehe…" Tomura flexed his hands and quickened his pace as Nomu caught the hero mid-jump and slammed him onto the ground. By the time Eraserhead had unsteadily risen to his feet, Tomura was practically an arm's length away.

"You… are so cool, Eraserhead!" the villain cackled with glee as he lunged to touch the hero. The scruffy man sidestepped the attack and then threw himself in the complete opposite direction. A fraction of a second later, a massive black fist came out of nowhere to punch the ground, right where he had been standing.

As Eraserhead rolled up into a low defensive stance, he let out a deep, tense breath and eyed the cratered and splintered cement before him. He forced his calculating gaze to meet the villain's malicious one, and did his best to ignore the way his heart thundered in his chest.

The lanky villain continued to flaunt his companion, like an eight-year-old showing off his brand new toy. And the words that emphasized his gloating were enough to bring an Antarctic chill down the hero's spine.

"But up against crazy strength like this, you might as well be totally quirkless! Hehehehe... tell me, Eraserhead, what can you even do against something that was made to kill All Might in his prime!?"


03:11- Kurogiri redirects the mob fighting Eraserhead

About 01:26 since Neito Copied Warp Gate


As the villain in the mist disappeared, the students by the entrance let out a collective shaky breath at their sheer, stupid luck.

A soft thump made everyone jump and turn to the source of the noise, just in time to watch Neito drop to his knees. His grotesque arm had begun to shake horribly, making the portal flicker like a candle in the wind.

Hanta was the first to react, running forward and sliding to his knees to make sure he was ok. Mezo and Rikido were quick to follow closely behind.

"Nice work, Monoma! C'mon man, drop the portal... You're- You're lookin' pretty messed up- "

"N-No," Neito choked out and shook his head, his black mouth shifting from solid skin to vaporous gas. "I can-can hold until T-Thirteen goes through too… She n-needs help…"

"Mina! Can ya help me real quick?" Ochaco asked the pink girl. She was of the similar mind as Neito, and was ready to use her quirk to make their teacher float.

Mina shifted her knees and turned to look at Neito. When the boy had fallen, he had moved in a way that he had slipped out of her grasp. She wanted to help Thirteen too, but…

"Monoma-kun, are you gonna be able to keep the p-portal open without- without my h-help?"

With Hanta's and Mezo's assistance, the blond boy was able to slowly stand on his own feet again. As Hanta went under the copycat's shoulder to better support him, he turned his mismatched eyes toward Mina and gave a shallow nod of his head. "Ju-Just… be fast, please?"

That was all that was needed for the two girls to quickly get to work. With Ochaco already making their teacher weightless, Mina scrambled to reach Thirteen's legs. The pink girl wrapped her arms around the stumps, and did her best to squeeze them as tight as she could to her body in the hopes of applying constant pressure.

A silent nod was shared between them, and the two girls began to work together to carry their teacher through the portal...

...But before they could even take their third step, the world, once again, turned pitch black.

Dark mist coalesced everywhere around them, obscuring everything and everyone from sight. And as the darkness retreated, terror seized their hearts in a firm grip as the teenagers were greeted by the unwelcome sight before them.

The villain in the mist was back…

...And this time, he wasn't alone.

Groups of thugs surrounded the students from every direction, appearing unexpectedly throughout the elevated platform of the entryway. Confusion was heavy on most of their faces, as if many were trying to make sense of their change of scenery.

During the calm before the storm, the students didn't dare to move; their minds were too busy realizing that their situation just went from bad, to worse.

And In this moment of stillness, the villain in the mist changed the atmosphere with nothing but a few chilling sentences.

"My fellow villains, do you see the blond boy who has an appearance similar to mine? He is to be spared. Everyone else, you may kill."

Wicked grins and vicious laughter quickly began to replace the mob's disorientation. From somewhere within the new crowd, a voice cried out, "You heard the boss- kill 'em all, except for Blondie!"... And like a gun signaling the start of a race, every villain jeered and whooped as they began to circle the students like a pack of hungry wolves.

Over the ruckus they created, the villain in the mist added even more incentive to the already enticing opportunity before them. "If any of you manage to enter his portal and cause sufficient chaos on the other side, I will personally ensure that you are rewarded handsomely upon your return."

Like a scarecrow made of shadow, he watched, unfazed, as the mob finally broke into a frenzy against the fledgling heroes. And as they began to tighten the noose on their lives, he took the time to observe them, just in case there was another troublesome quirk within their group.

It was clear that the Copycat's strength was waning by the way he tried, and failed, to stand. He had bitten off more than he could chew, and now his body couldn't keep up with the physical demand that Warp Gate required. (Truly, a shame... but it's nothing the Doctor can't fix.)

The large boy in the yellow body suit shoveled something into his mouth as he rushed forward to intercept the villains. As his muscles explosively bulged under his suit, he met the first of the villains head-on, stopping five at once in their tracks. His strength was greater than the five villains combined, if the way he struggled to shove them away from his classmates was any indication. (He is no All Might. But still, I mustn't let him touch me.)

The other large boy, the one with six arms, was right behind him. Where the previous boy had went on the offensive, he chose to hang back to better defend his classmates. Two more arms- one on each side- quickly grew from the membrane between his original six, and they immediately transformed into a pair of eyes that kept a watch on his flanks and his allies. The other six were unrelenting as they pounded into the villains that rushed him. (Potentially dangerous, but as long as he is on the defensive, there is nothing to worry about.)

The final boy fired the tape-like streams that came out of his elbows with remarkable accuracy. He used them to temporarily bind and trip up enemies from afar, and his efforts were enough to stall some of the villains' advancement. He stayed behind the multi-armed boy, and next to the Copycat… and he was too focused on the enemies before him to notice the three sneaking up from behind. (He's talented… but he and his troublesome quirk will be dealt with shortly.)

Like pack predators ganging up on the wounded for an easy kill, quite a few villains bum-rushed the hero Thirteen- and by proxy, the two young women with her. The pink one screamed in fright as she let go of her teacher's legs, and frantically began to spray the liquid that came out of her hands onto the oncoming mob. It caused a few of them to stumble over in pain as their skin came into contact with her quirk... But in her panic, she backed up faster than her partner was moving. The two of them tripped and fell over one another about a few meters in front of the portal, and their teacher continued to lazily drift away from them, somehow unaffected by gravity. (What a shame… such a powerful quirk, wasted, on the likes of her.)

Perhaps his pride was wounded, but the back of the shrouded villain's neck twitched as he watched her use her quirk. It didn't hurt, though, not in the slightest, so he simply brushed it off as phantom pain from her lucky attack.

The other girl- the brunette in the puffy suit- shrieked in alarm as she regained her bearings after her fall. When she realized one of the villains had gotten within range to attack the both of them, she immediately threw her body on top of her friend's, to shield her from the incoming blow. (How foolish… brave, but foolish.)

The attacking villain- a shirtless man with no head and red skin, who had a face that covered his entire torso- raised his spiked baseball bat high over his shoulders with both hands, and aimed for her head. His eyes were alight with twisted glee, the first of the villains that was sure to land a kill…

...But as he brought his weapon down to deliver the lethal blow…

… He failed to notice a boy with green hair had appeared out of nowhere to intercept the attack with a weapon of his own.

-(TTAE)-

Izuku sprinted out of the darkness at full speed, and only skid to a stop as the chaos of the battlefield hit him at full force. Too many things were happening all at once, and for a moment, he had no idea where to go or what to do.

But then he heard a familiar voice crying out for help, just a few meters away.

His anger and desperation spiked as the distance closed between him and his classmate- no, classmates- and his grip on the cleaver tightened at their imminent danger. He sent his mice- along with one of his fully-cooked three percent eggs- racing along a familiar path, and One for All lit up his muscles in tandem with their movements.

Before anyone knew what was happening, Izuku had intercepted the blow with an upward swing of his cleaver and a fierce cry escaping his lips. The cleaver sliced through the other weapon with ease, and the villain found himself stumbling back in surprise from the leftover force of Izuku's intervention.

Come on, come on, come on! Release another egg, and follow up your attack! Just like Kamakiri does!

As the villain flailed for his balance, Izuku took another step forward and started the process anew. Another mouse ran forward with another egg, and Izuku subconsciously adjusted the grip on his cleaver as it homed in on the center of the villain's chest-face. The blade rotated away right before impact, and the thick, rectangular spine smashed into the area between the bridge of his nose and under his eyes.

"CHICAGO… SMAAAAAAASH!"

There was an audible crunch! that highlighted Izuku's war-cry, and the villain's large nose broke from the force of the blow. The villain, though, wasn't given the chance to register the pain. His eyes had rolled to the back of his head from the strike, and his body visibly slumped as Izuku's raw power sent him flying through the air and into his allies.

Those who got bowled over by the red villain's body let out cries of surprise and agony, and the assault against the wounded hero and the students with her came to a halt. For just a moment, the air had stilled, and student and villain alike turned to stare at the newcomer in shock and wariness.

And in that brief pause- as Izuku shifted into a defensive stance and held the cleaver straight out in front of him- Ochaco looked up to see what had happened. As her eyes traced his tense back, his shaking arms, and took in his familiar head of green hair, a tiny gasp of surprise and recognition escaped from her lips.

"…It's… It's you!…" she whispered, her eyes wide and awestruck as a sense of momentary relief washed over her.

But, it wasn't only him.

Suddenly, a furious howl and an ominous cackle began to fill the air, and most of everyone's attention turned towards the portal.

A boy with metallic skin came barreling out of the darkness, and another boy with insectoid features followed in his wake, moving with the fluid grace of a predator. The chorus of angry yells and delighted laughter rang through the air, and it gave Izuku the courage to sprint forward with a yell, swinging his weapon at the next villain within his reach. A split-second later, the two newcomers came crashing through the cluster of enemies to join him in the thick of the action.

As the three boys from 1B began to fight off the crowd, they shattered the spell of stillness that had settled around the portal. The hero kids of 1A felt their fighting spirit return with a vengeance as they watched the three of them wade further into brawl.

The villains, on the other hand, found themselves desperately trying to recover from the unexpected turn of events. Those who were already up against the new arrivals found this task much harder, due to the abrupt change of intensity that they were suddenly facing.

"IF YOU THINK- slam!- YOU CAN COME- wham!- INTO OUR SCHOOL- ting!- AND HURT- bam!- OUR CLASSMATES- ting! tang!- THEN AS A MAN- wham!- IMMA MAKE SURE- crunch!- YOU ALL REGRET THAT DECISION!" Tetsutetsu roared from Izuku's left. The metal-clad boy lashed out with his fists, undeterred from all the blows that came his way. His overwhelming tenacity made him relentless, and the villains he faced either crumpled onto the floor or scurried to get out of his way.

"Heh-hehhehheh! Is this all ya fuckers got?!" cackled Togaru from Izuku's right as a pair of customized scimitars grew from and melded to his palms and forearms. Adrenaline thrummed through his veins as he parried and sidestepped and swiped and slashed his way through the mob, moving as easily as a leaf blown into the wind. And even though the taunts and his smile were savage and cocky, he remained as vigilant as ever of his enemies' actions… and of his own. "The hell's the matter here?! If you tryin' to challenge us, then at least put up a decent fucking fight! Come at me, ya weaklings, and I'll put'cha in your place myself!"

Stay-at-three-percent-stay-at-three-percent-gotta-cook-more-eggs-stay-at-three-percent-stay-at-three-perc- "Woah!" Izuku exclaimed as he barely avoided a villain who tried to kick in his face with a massive hoof. So far, his Dozen Eggs technique was working... but nowhere near as much as he would've liked. Unsurprisingly, it was really hard to concentrate on building up his power when he was just as focused on not dying. It was only thanks to Tetsutetsu and Kamakiri- who were pulling a lot of attention off of him- that he was even able to cook two or three eggs at a time in the first place.

But, still, he forced himself to make it work. As the incoming kick went for his head, one of his mice had darted for his legs, giving him a burst of speed to get behind his opponent. With the villain's back exposed, the memory of floating body parts striking his classmate with coordinated precision came to mind. There was no way he could copy her skill- that was too far out of his reach, at the moment. But, he could use a portion of her tactics, and swing for the villain's kidney with three percent of his power.

As the villain dropped to the floor, crying in agony, Izuku used the time to start building up his power again once more. He had two, almost three eggs fully cooked by the time he turned around to face the next villain to come his way. And as he tightened his grip on the cleaver and gritted his teeth in defiance, a part of him hoped that three to five percent of One for All would be enough to get them through this situation in one piece...

...It would have to be.

-(TTAE)-

The portal was beginning to flicker as Neito slipped into and out of consciousness. His original goal had been to keep the portal open for as long as he could- optimally, until a few teachers had arrived. However, once he realized just how much of a physical and mental toll this quirk was taking on his body, he settled for holding it open until Thirteen got to safety.

And now, with the arrival of the mob of villains, that possibility was far out of his reach...

He slowly blinked, with his breathing heavily labored and his thoughts a mess. When he opened his eyes again, three boys he had never seen before had appeared out of nowhere. (Hold on, when did they get here? And who are they?)

The answer to his second question was answered when he noticed that they all wore a set of Yuuei gym clothes. Neito found the strength for mental clarity as he began to put two and two together: Iida-kun did it! He went through the portal and found help! Neito felt himself daring to hope that the teachers were hot on their tails as he watched all three boys wade deeper into the massive brawl, not five meters before him. Or... was it ten? He couldn't tell: his eyes were unable to focus for the life of him, and even the act of looking hurt him in ways he couldn't even begin to describe.

His eyes suddenly jerked open again when he heard a loud, bossy voice beside him.

(Oh... this isn't good... I'm... starting to lose consciousness...)

"MIDORIYA! TETSUTETSU! KAMAKIRI! YOU NEED TO GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE, RIGHT N- Now… oh God…"

Neito looked up just in time to see a pretty, redheaded girl exit the portal and come to a halt. Her face quickly blanched as she took in the scene around her with wide eyes and a held-in breath. But before he could speak a single word to her, she had turned around and headed back through the portal.

She returned a moment later, and her entire demeanor changed from frantic to focused. The redhead took a moment to look around before she darted forward to assist Ochaco, Mina, and Thirteen. Neito only just noticed that a few villains were fast approaching them once more... and once again, he was powerless to help them...

But as it turned out, he didn't need to worry.

Through his hazy perspective, Neito watched as the redhead arrived right before the first two villains did. As they both wound up to punch or swing their weapons, she dipped her body low and stepped forward to execute a violent upward palm-strike. The redhead had aimed for the space between their heads, and as her palm neared the area, her entire hand expanded to the size of a car door at the last second.

The force of her blow sent both of them skyward and stunned, but the redhead wasn't done with her assault. With her hand still enlarged, she grabbed one of them mid-flight by their ankle, pivoted on her foot, and threw that villain with a fierce scream. As luck would have it- or, maybe, she had noticed beforehand- the flung villain happened to sail straight for a nearby group, who were also closing in on her and the other girls. The group of four were bowled over by their flung comrade, and as they lay reeling on the ground, the redhead quickly advanced on them with two enlarged fists, each the size of a skillet.

The redhead straightened up into a fighting stance after she clonked them all -hard- on the temple without a shred of remorse. She exhaled slowly and shrunk her fists back down to their normal size, backing up towards Neito's classmates as she did. She spoke to them urgently and kept her eyes peeled for the next villain to try their luck against her. "Come on, girls, let's get you out of here! And, uh... Is… Is that Thirteen?!"

"Y-Yeah!- "

"S-She needs help!- "

"Say no more! Let's grab her and go! I'll protect you guys as- "

Suddenly, Neito's face got slammed onto the floor. All at once, he was reminded of how much danger everyone was in as his breath was forced out of him by a pressure settling on his back. His head had been forcibly turned in the process... and he was helpless to watch as the same thing happened to Hanta- who had remained by his side- despite the other boy's valiant and desperate attempts to escape.

The villain that held the blond tersely spoke loud enough to be heard over the ensuing battle. "Yo, Blondie. Cooperate and your friend here lives, got it?"

The one pinning down Hanta gave a cruel laugh as a third villain came around to bind the teenager's flailing arms with two tentacles of her own. "Naaaaaah… we're wastin' 'im now before either of 'em get any ideas. Keep 'im still, will ya?"

Dread filled Neito to the core at those words, and for a few seconds, all he could do was numbly watch as the villain adjusted his knee, placing it between Hanta's shoulder blades. The villain then hovered a free hand above the nape of his neck while the other kept his head firmly on the ground.

That villain's palm contained an extendable mouth and an inner jaw that was reminiscent of the Xenomorph, the main antagonist from an old-school horror movie franchise. The mouth began to snap and hiss, and some of it's saliva fell onto Hanta's neck, making him howl in pain as the skin around the area bubbled up like a blister.

Without warning or hesitation, the inner jaw quickly lashed out to tear into the boy's neck…

… And Neito felt his body respond violently to his will at the last second.

He wasn't about to be helpless again. Not here, not when his classmate needed him the most.

With a desperate cry of defiance, Neito's other hand- the hand that wasn't forming the portal to the school- underwent an instant, familiar transformation. As he felt his other hand cease to exist, he willed the darkened remnants to rapidly lengthen and expand.

A smaller portal had appeared between Hanta's neck and the inner jaw, just in time to intercept the attack… and redirect it elsewhere.

The villain didn't even realize he was biting his accomplice until he heard, and felt, her scream. The moment he bit down, his teeth and acid easily tore out a chunk of the other villain's nose and cheek. But before he could even think about withdrawing his hand, the tiny portal was already rapidly fading from existence.

Neito felt the portal to the school start to dissolve the moment his focus shifted away from it. Between the mind-shattering migraine that was spearing through his consciousness, and the desire he had to save his teacher and classmates, Neito chose to release the newer portal as soon as Hanta wiggled himself free. Even though the villains' yells of agony permeated the air, Neito's focus was no longer divided. The portal to the school even began to stabilize and rebuild itself at Neito's direction, despite his captor angrily trying to punch his head and neck for what he did.

It was a weird feeling, having someone's fist harmlessly pass through his body, but the copycat didn't have long to contemplate it. The sound of Hanta's tape hitting home reached his ears, and the weight on his back disappeared altogether as the tape-user yanked the villain off of him with startling ferocity.

The next thing he knew, Neito was being hauled to his feet by his classmate. As Hanta slung Neito's arm over his shoulder to drag him away- bringing the portal with him as he did- their would-be captors began to angrily demand for some backup.

The boys' hearts were hammering in their chests as more villains began to rally behind their beaten allies, the nature of their twisted hearts so obvious that it seemed to seep out through their eyes…

… But before either side could make a move… tiny, multi-colored balls began to rapidly grow on every square centimeter of the area between them.

And in that moment, as confusion briefly settled in on both sides, the tiny mushrooms exploded and showered everything in the area with a multitude of spores.

-(TTAE)-

Both Kinoko and Nirengeki found themselves thrown into the action the moment their feet had touched down in the USJ.

Nirengeki was quick to adjust, immediately finding his friend in the midst of all the conflict a few meters in front of him. With nothing but a couple of Twin Impacted leaps, the boxer leapt into the fray to help his friend beat back the villains.

Conversely, Kinoko was a little slower to react. Her terrified eyes widened as she processed what she was seeing, and indecision began to root her in place. She had no idea what to do- what she even could do- to help out her classmates… until she saw frantic movement out of the corner of her eye.

Just outside of her arm's length, two of her classmates were struggling to back away from a group of rallying villains. One of them, dressed in a black and white bodysuit with bright yellow shoulder pads, was shuffling backwards as fast as he could while supporting the other's mostly limp body. And the other… oh goodness… there wasn't any doubt in her mind that he needed help, right now.

Without another thought, Kinoko swept her arm through a wide arc as she hurried forward to throw the blonde's other arm around her shoulders. Her Spore Screen- as she liked to call it- came alive as she moved her arm, creating a field of spores so thick and heavy that it was comparable to smog. As the spores rapidly filled the air, the villains began to react as if their seasonal allergies had been dialed up to an eleven.

Kinoko's mind raced for more ways to assist as the blonde's weight settled onto her shoulders. One look at him was enough to know that something was wrong- but what, exactly? With the sneezing and coughing villains preoccupied and the taller boy wildly spouting inquiries, Kinoko almost missed the blond's quiet whimper. She looked him over and noticed that the leg he favored- which was horribly burned, blistered, and bleeding- was spasming out as they continued to back away.

Not wanting him to suffer any more than he already was, she mentally reached out with her quirk and began to grow a particular mushroom on his ruined calf. If anything else, the relief that Happi-chan could bring would allow them to move around and escape a little bit easier... And, maybe, it could also help with... whatever was going on with the rest of his face and body...

Nirengeki and Kinoko had barely moved out of the way before two more of their classmates from 1B burst out of the portal, right behind them. Their reactions, and intent, were similar to Itsuka's; the only difference here was that these two were… a bit more colorful, with how they chose to bring their wayward classmates back to safety.

"WHAT in the FUCK are you guys are do… ing… Ooooooh, fuck…" Yosetsu's angry yell trailed off as he skidded to a halt, not wanting to believe what his eyes were seeing in the slightest.

"HEY, YOU IDIOTS! Get back over here before… before… shit…" Sen's voice fell to a whisper as the hand he used to reach for his classmates dropped numbly to his side.

For the space of a breath, the two boys were frozen as reality began to cement itself in the pits of their stomachs.

Sen heard a measured exhale beside him. When he glanced at his classmate, he was surprised to find solace from the way Yosetsu narrowed his eyes, set his jaw, and cracked his neck.

From the time he had to know him, Sen knew his classmate prided himself in being a regular guy, born with a regular quirk. Seeing this side of him was, admittedly, a little odd… but at the same time, he felt his respect for the guy grow. From what he could tell, Yosetsu faced himself squarely and accepted himself for who he was; he didn't try to be anything else, and he definitely didn't try to do anything he knew he couldn't do. Sen appreciated that about him, and even if he really didn't know the guy that well, he would willingly follow his lead- more so than others. He could trust his motivations for what they were.

And if Yosetsu believed that they could save their classmates, then Sen could put a fierce grin on his face and lend him what little strength he had.

"Come on, asshole!" he taunted as he nudged the welder, "We got some classmates to rescue!"

"Heh. Ain't that the truth." The corner of Yosetu's mouth peaked upward as he sent the spinster an appreciative glance. "You go left, I go right?"

"Holler if you need some help."

"Let's fucking GO!" Yosetsu roared, and both boys took off to go help their classmates.

As Kinoko helped to support some poor sap, and as some guy with goofy shoulder pads took pot shots at the enemy, Sen sped to the left with a war-cry that was equal parts elation and challenge. His whole body came alive with the vibrations of his quirk, and with his power, he tore and weaved his way through the defenseless villains with ease. Whatever Kinoko had done had left the villains preoccupied, and even if a few were already starting to recover, Sen was more than capable of avoiding their feeble attacks with nothing but a couple of well-timed evasive rotations of his body.

Between Sen, the sneezing spore field, and the ranged adhesive attacks, the villains in that area quickly began to drop like flies… Much to the irritation of their mist-shrouded observer.

While those three made quick work of the villains to the left of the portal, Yosetsu went about his rescue in a more direct way to the right. Before he ran forward to help his Class Representative, he spent a few seconds slipping out of of his shoes and socks and stripping off his gym jacket. Two villains- who were both wearing sleeveless tank-tops, he noticed- charged him as his hands went up to weld his hair and bandana in place. They both had approached much faster than he would've liked, but he strode forward to meet them all the same.

The first villain swiped at his midsection with long, bladed fingertips, and the second lunged forward to bite his head off with a set of jaws that took up his entire face. Without so much as breaking his stride, Yosetu side-stepped Finger-Knives' attack and slapped his palm over Jaw-Face's mouth right as it snapped shut. With his next step, he slammed his heel- hard- onto Jaw-Face's ratty shoe. There was a tingling sensation right then- the telltale sign of his quirk in action- and both his hand and his sole briefly went numb as a little bit of heat got sapped away from those areas.

As Jaw-Face tried to process what just happened, Yosetu grabbed him by both sides of his chest and roughly shoved him into Finger-Knives. No sooner had the other villain caught his ally out of reflex did Yosetsu's quirk connect the two together, bonding Jaw-Faces' side to Finger-Knives' chest. It was only as Yosetsu darted away without so much as looking back that Finger-Knives had made the mistake of trying to swipe at him. The only thing he accomplished was making both villains topple to the ground, much to their confusion and irritation.

Any other time, Yosetsu would have loved to stay and watch the aftermath, but that was currently the farthest thing from his mind. A few steps later, his Class Representative caught sight of his approach as she was turning her body to throw a massive hook. Her eyes widened as she let out a sharp gasp (nonononono whyyyy are more people coming through?!), and she pointed a finger in his direction.

"Girls! Follow that boy back to the portal, now!"

"Follow wh- ?"

"- The HELL you doin', standing around like this?" Yosetsu demanded as he reached for the girls and began to drag them back the way he came. Despite their screams of surprise and the pink one shooting a strong-smelling fluid in his general direction, he refused to relinquish his hold and kept his eyes roving for incoming villain attacks. "You gotta go! Go on, get outta here!"

"But, Thirteen-"

"THEN GRAB HER TOO, DAMMIT! C'MON, LET'S GO!"

He barely gave them enough time to grab their teacher before he was hauling them towards the swirling portal of darkness. And as he shoved them through- to safety on the other side- he was unaware that the villain shrouded in mist continued to watch on, feeling his displeasure reach a breaking point.


03:20- Izuku arrives from the school, followed closely by Tetsutetsu, Togaru, and Itsuka.

03:48- Nirengeki, Kinoko, Yosetsu, and Sen arrive from the school.


Forty seconds.

It had taken approximately forty seconds- maybe a little more- for the thugs' advance to effectively come to a grinding halt.

'Unbelievable,' Kurogiri thought as he watched the mob get beat back -by children, no less- with narrowed eyes. 'Of all the luck… to create a portal so easily accessible from here, to the school… Yuuei students really are a cut above the rest…'

This was getting out of hand. Now, more than ever, the League needed to retreat. If amateur reinforcements had arrived this quickly, then it only meant that the professionals were seconds away. This defeat would result in a serious hit to their credibility, to their reputation and pride… but, they would be free to scheme and attack for another day.

'I… am sorry, Shigaraki Tomura… I have failed you…'

The villain called for his power to silently envelop him. As the black mist swirled about, he found himself grateful for the thugs he brought along. They would be wonderful decoys, and hopefully, they would stall the heroes long enough to let Tomura make his escape.

But as the portal to the young leader's side opened up, he heard- and felt- a loud pop! and crackle! originate from his neck brace.

All at once, the portal faded away, and the mist around him all but disappeared… And the man named Kurogiri felt fear creep into his heart for the first time since his creation.

As the man in the mist stood there in shock, trying to figure out what just happened, he lost track of his environment. One of the students had broken free of the mob, and he didn't notice until is was too late.

CRASH!

Kurogiri's yellow slits widened all the way as his lightweight body got slammed into the ground. As he reeled from the pain and scrambled to fill his lungs with air, burly arms began to constrict his chest with a force that would've made an anaconda green with envy. 'C-Can't breathe!... At a… time like this!...'

"YER NOT GOIN' ANYWHERE, VILL-!"

The boy in the yellow body suit suddenly felt his words leave his throat, as easily as the air escaped from his lungs.

His grip began to slacken significantly, and Kurogiri took the chance to take his own deep breath. With another twist of his body, the villain came free of the young man's grasp, and began to smoothly stand back up to his feet. With the same smooth motion, the villain strode away from the prone and still young man without so much as looking back. Instead, he straightened out his tie and spared a glance at his now-visible trousers and dress shoes.

He was grateful to have stepped away when he did. Otherwise, the blood would've soaked into the cuffs of his trousers, and it would've also tainted the polish of his shoes.

'Thankfully, Warp Gate still works... I'm unsure what just happened, but... hopefully The Doctor can sort this out when we- '

TINK!

('Petulant, persistent, conniving children!')

A wispy hand reached out to snatch the taut line of white tape off his neck brace, and another stream of tape found itself attached to his wrist.

And that was when Kurogiri's mounting irritation finally broke his composure.

"This is the last time that I will let you hinder our progress, heroes! This ends, NOW."

-(TTAE)-

The events unfolded for Sen, Kinoko, and especially Hanta like a car wreck in slow motion… and their greatest efforts hadn't been enough to prevent it.

There was a villain at the edge of the spore field, someone who looked like a cyclops Bowser. Despite his massive frame, Bowser had hung back in order to use his gauntlets, which aesthetically mimicked the spiked-shell on his back. From his place at the edge, he fired spikes similar to the ones that protruded out of his carapace, and each were easily the size and shape of a large pear.

Sen had been trying to close the distance between them, weaving and rotating at the last second to avoid the barrage of spikes that came his way. Hanta had pulled one of Bowser's gauntlets askew, and as the volley went wide, Sen rushed him faster than he had before.

Startled by the spinster's sudden burst of speed, Bowser scrambled to fire his other gauntlet at point blank range. With his quirk, Sen rotated his torso out of the way to avoid the first four shots… but the last two were still on course to hit him, square in the shoulder and upper arm.

Had it not been for the black portal that intercepted their path, Sen probably would have been crippled by the attack.

As it was, Sen didn't waste a single second; the moment the portal vanished, he rushed the enemy using his second highest speed, and began to pummel him without remorse.

Grinning, Hanta turned to his classmate to compliment his timing… and only found the blond wobbling dangerously on his feet, with no sign of portal activity besides the one that lead to the school. Terror grew exponentially in his stomach as he turned towards the only other person he knew to have that capability…

… and his heart froze in his chest as his suspicions were confirmed.

He was helpless to watch as his classmate fell to the floor at the feet of the partially-shrouded villain. Two spikes were embedded deep in his back; one just above his left kidney, and the other right below his right shoulder blade.

The next thing he knew, Hanta was shoving Neito's full weight onto the short girl who had helped them out. He launched his tape, feeling it move far faster than it ever had before, and never once did his eyes leave the form of his fallen classmate.

"SAAATTTOOOO!"

Mezo had heard Hanta scream out the name at the top of his lungs over the sounds of battle around him. As Hanta held on for dear life with his taut tape, the hulking teenager turned to see what had happened. His monstrous strength was unleashed the instant he saw the life bleeding out of his classmate, and he used all of it just for a chance to reach him. With his shoulders low and his arms moving in a flurry, Mezo began to bulldoze his way through the crowd. He was unrelenting before, when he was only trying to protect his classmates; now, he had become downright merciless as he carved his own path towards the villain in the mist.

Sen reacted similarly to Hanta's cry of anguish, especially since the scene had happened just a handful of meters behind his opponent. He put everything he had into one final attack in order to get to his wounded classmate faster. Using his quirk to boost his leg power, he jumped high into the air, and as he fell back down to the Earth, he made his lower body spin so fast that he axe-kicked Bowser's head seven times in rapid succession. By the time Bowser's chin had slammed onto the floor in defeat, Sen was already halfway to Rikido, using Gyrate to the fullest to weave through the remaining crowd as fast as he could.

Kinoko was able to support the blonde's weight long enough for a chair to grow right under him. As she set him down on the toad-stool, she shot a frantic look towards the other injured boy. She… she wanted to help him! But… she couldn't just leave the blond here by himself…

...And, besides, she couldn't just charge in without a plan. Otherwise, she'd only be in the way... like... she probably was, right now...

Unsure and hesitant, Kinoko turned her attention back to the blond on the toad-stool. As her hand ghosted over his ruined calf to make sure Happi-chan was growing properly, his own hand reached out to grab hers. She jumped at the sudden action, but when she glanced at his face, she found that his eyes were studying the spore-covered area with groggy realization (at least… that's what she thought it was… she couldn't really tell with his eyes being the way they were).

She barely heard his urgent plea, almost drowned out by the uproar around them. "Block… his vision… can't warp… what he can't see…-"

Whatever else the blond was about to say got drowned out by the shrouded villain's shout of outrage. Mist began to surge out of the his body like a tidal wave, impeding the visions of friend and foe alike. Kinoko could barely make out what was going on as the world continued to turn black, but she saw enough to discern the huge tentacled boy trying to wrestle someone in the pseudo-darkness. Taking a chance before she completely lost her vision, Kinoko thrust out her arm and called forth generations of Pleurotus Ostreatus to completely infest the person within the tentacled teen's grasp.

In fractions of a second, she forced her Clammy-kuns to cover every square centimeter of the villain's body, with the goal of stalling his movements and blocking his vision in mind.

And as she accelerated their growth, she had no way of knowing that some of her spores found their way past the melted, cracked surface of his neck brace.

The shrouded villain seized up in the middle of his scuffle as some of the mushrooms caused a few short-circuits in his already damaged life-support system. Mezo used the opportunity to execute a hasty hip toss, lifting the villain into the air and slamming him onto the ground with the extra strength his multiple arms provided. The unfortunate combination led to a brief lapse of consciousness, and the dark mist quickly began to recede back into the villain.

When everyone's vision became fully restored, the fight descended fully into chaos. The horde of villains found themselves falling into disarray without a cognizant leader, and each of their own motives began to take priority. Before, it had been a perfect balance of furthering the League's goals by stoking and enticing each member's anger, pride, greed and envy. But, with all the new developments to happen, their balance devolved into simpler ideals: 'Fuck this', 'fuck that', 'fuck him', and 'fuck them'.

And with those as their choices, any semblance of organization or teamwork within the mob rapidly began to fall apart.

That- more than the power of any quirk and more than any amount of fighting skill- is what saved the Yuuei high-schoolers from being overwhelmed and outmaneuvered.

As Mezo thrashed around on the floor with the elusive villain, he ended up accidentally knocking off more and more of the hastily grown mushrooms. Sen did his best to zip around them, harassing and distracting any stragglers who decided stay and help their boss. And while those two kept the shrouded villain occupied, the other four boys from 1B- Izuku, Nirengeki, Testutetsu, and Togaru- had all finally arrived to help them out.

Izuku was the first of them to break free of the mob. As soon as he made his way through the crowd, he bolted for the fallen boy, sliding to his knees and unzipping his jacket as he closed the distance. His cleaver clattered onto the floor right as Izuku finished striping off his jacket, and as he began to press the cloth onto the Rikido's wounds, Hanta came swinging overhead via the rafters. The tape-slinger landed unsteadily by Izuku, and after he took a moment to collect himself, the two of them rushed together to try and save their classmate.

But as Hanta wrapped his tape around the jacket, and as Izuku hoisted the unconscious boy into his arms, the villain in the mist howled in fury as his insidious voice reverberated through the area.

"You have inconvenienced me long enough, heroes! I normally despise cleaning out the innards of those I kill within me, but as of this very moment, I find that I no longer care. Begone! Suffer, and perish for your insolence!"

All around the villain, dark mist sporadically billowed out of his body far faster- and more out of control- than it had before. It streamed out of his body like rainwater moved on skin, and this time, it writhed about like a school of fish instead of moving as a singular mass. The mist sought out and reached for friend and foe alike... and anyone who found themselves in it's path felt the villain's full wrath without any restraint.

The ones who were closest to the warping villain immediately regretted being in his proximity the moment they saw exactly what was happening. Sen's body was already moving at one of his highest speeds, but even with his quirk blessing him with incredible balance and dexterity, he still had a hard time escaping the reach of the mist. Mezo faced a similar problem, but he was nowhere near as nimble as Sen. He was mostly able to evade by hurling the villain away and diving off to the side, onto the small areas of the entryway not yet touched by the mist. His attempt to escape wasn't as clean as it could've been, but he was far too engrossed with what was happening around him to note what had been done to his shoulders and his side.

Everyone else… wasn't as lucky.

The multiple swaths of mist continued to travel forward, shrinking in size the farther they ventured from the villain's body. At the head of each swath of shadow was a small, swirling portal of darkness, about the size of a tangerine. This, coupled with how the mist seemed to swim through the air, made each swath of shadow look like a black lamprey...

...And as the swarm of black lamprey brushed over and touched every surface within its reach…

nothing but grooves remained in the aftermath.

Anywhere and everywhere touched by the mist- from clothing to flesh, and everything in between- disappeared in an instant, with startling precision. Even items that were a little harder- like some of the mob's metal equipment and the cement floor- had gouges all along their surface... Though they were far less pronounced and nowhere near as deep as the ones that marred the softer areas. Screams of agony began to permeate the air as the mist passed over the mob to get at the hero hopefuls, and villains began to collapse one at a time, their skin flayed in small, near-perfect ovals.

It was only thanks to Sen that the teenagers had been able to avoid the worst of it.

As he did his best to evade the shadowy tendrils, he caught a glimpse of dented metal deep at its center. It was highlighted by a crack that almost split it in half, and it was stuffed to the brim with shriveled mushrooms. He wasn't exactly sure what it was… but if his classmates thought it was something worth attacking, then he could attack it too.

The villain's attention began to turn towards the boy who could shoot tape from his elbows, and Sen saw his chance to attack. With every joint in his right arm and his entire lower body gyrating at full speed, he closed the distance in a blink of an eye and forced all of that momentum onto a singular point.

There was a jarring screech as Sen struck the metal with enough torque to shred it. The villain suddenly lurched forward in pain, and the jagged edges of the hole Sen had created brushed against his hand and wrist. The spinster had always been hesitant to use his fastest speed for fear of doing more damage to himself than his opponent, but right now, he was so glad he was pushing his rpm. Otherwise, the lacerations on his hand might've been deeper and nastier than they already were.

As the villain staggered forward from the heavy blow, and as Sen stumbled backward in pain, the nature of the mist changed once more. Like a waterfall of shadow, the mist rolled and crashed onto the floor, turning it into a quicksand-like substance. But that only lasted for a split second- the floor's transformation suddenly finished, and the entrances to every portal expanded… without the villain's fine control.

All at once, entrances to everywhere and nowhere sprang to life all around the USJ's entryway.

Vast stretches of deep ocean blue under a starry night sky loomed behind one of the portals. Another showed the sun starting to rise behind a tower of curious giraffes, somewhere on an African savanna. A few meters away, Christ the Redeemer overlooked the city of Rio de Janeiro, highlighted by a gorgeous sunset and stretches of trees. Just to its right, the Taj Mahal was enveloped in a beautiful morning, and the sunlight shined and displayed both the impressive mausoleum- and the stupefied spectators below- in a single portrait.

Many and more of these portals on the floor displayed a random, yet specific location, but before any more could be created, the shrouded villain finally recovered from his daze. With a few quick adjustments, he forced the multitude of small portals to combine, and created three giant wells of darkness in their stead. He tried to ignore how much he was now struggling to perform such a simple task... and a little part of him began to harbor a fear over what just happened.

'Now is not the time for such nonsense,' the villain chastised himself as he forced the wells to expand and cover two-thirds of the floor of the entryway. 'The sooner I rid myself of these nuisances, the sooner the League can escape... but, just in case Warp Gate has any more issues... I'll send them to the simulation areas, and hope that the villains we have elsewhere are more competent than the ones we have here.'

And with a swipe of his hand, Kurogiri finished the gateways that would send the children into the unknown.

The first well of darkness completed forming under Tetsutetsu, who was currently punching out the lights of a villain who had tried to shove him into one of the random portals. He was too preoccupied to notice the ground begin to shift underneath, and Togaru was just a touch too late dragging him out of the area. By the time Togaru had formed a massive meat-hook from his entire right arm, and had hooked himself firmly around Tetsutetsu's metal torso, the two teenagers- and more than a few handfuls of villains- were already halfway in a free fall.

The second well of darkness formed beneath Hanta and Izuku, who had managed to get Rikido settled between them on their shoulders and were scrambling to get him out of there. The ground became more unstable with each step they took to hobble away… and Izuku knew in his heart that their efforts wouldn't be enough.

Without a shred of hesitation, he pulled the two boys into as tight a bear hug he could manage, twisted his torso, and threw them into the air with what he hoped was five percent of his power. He prepared himself for any backlash, but was pleasantly surprised- and relieved- to only feel a slight sting in his muscles in the aftermath. His relief only grew as Izuku watched Hanta sling himself away out of reflex. He towed the wounded boy with him in an awkward, one-handed grip, and a dismayed expression began to grow on his face once he realized what the freckled teen had done.

Despite the fact that he was sinking further into the ground with a dozen or so villains, a bittersweet smile grew on Izuku's face as he continued to watch his classmates get at least one step closer to safety.

But as Izuku resigned himself to his fate, Nirengeki dove for his hand at the last second. A flurry of emotions bubbled up and clawed at his chest, right as the darkness pulled them both inside… And even though he felt so incredibly guilty that his friend was risking his life, just to help him out… Izuku couldn't help but be glad that he wasn't going to be alone.

The third and final massive portal didn't form right away- it only spawned when Hanta was forced to come back down to the floor before Rikido slipped out of his grip. As Hanta hurried to get a better hold of his classmate, the floor beneath them blackened and shifted far faster than before... and a response for help came just as fast. Itsuka and Yosetsu were already sprinting their way- having forced their way through the thinned out crowd at long last- and both were reaching out to help within seconds of their landing.

Unfortunately, the portal finished forming right as they showed up, and all four of them- as well as a handful of nearby villains- felt gravity begin to take hold. Itsuka, fearing for her classmates' safety, reached out to grab all three of them with both of her enlarged hands. In a last-ditch effort to save her classmates, she leaned back and threw them all into the air like a keg toss, towards the portal that led back to the school.

And as she sank further into the floor, she saw Kinoko thrust out her arm and quickly grow some mushrooms for a landing. Relief for her classmates mixed with her fear of what was to come, but she cast it to the side the moment she saw the small girl glance her way with tortured eyes.

"I'll be fine, Kinoko-chan! Just stay safe, you hear me?!"

The portals stayed active for just a few seconds longer, to ensure the villain a small amount of breathing room... And when they all finally disappeared, the drastic change in volume that followed was harrowing.


04:04- Kurogiri warps away the 1B students.


The mob had lost a little less than half of it's members, by the hand of their own leader. And those who remained were either too maimed to move, or too scared…

But the same couldn't be said for the hero hopefuls who survived the aftermath.

Over by the portal to the school, Kinoko was already forcing Neito onto a makeshift bed of toadstools as Hanta and Yosetsu uneasily got to their feet. She dashed over to them, skidding to a stop and kneeling before the boy who was looking paler with each second that passed. Her hands were reaching for the tape and jacket around Rikido's wounds by the time the boys could stand, and in a frantic voice she cried out, "Go help the others! Please! I-I-I can help him, so go!"

God, she hoped she could help him. She had a thought, an idea that was… honestly, it was desperate and reckless. But she couldn't just do nothing! Especially... especially since she couldn't do anything to save Kendo...

No sooner did Kinoko plead for the boys to help the others did Mezo shout for help over the leftover noise. Yosetsu and Hanta shared a look before coming to a silent agreement, and sprinted towards their classmates, without a trace of hesitation in their bodies. And as they charged forward, Kinoko did her best to bring her idea to fruition.

Sen and Mezo circled the enraged, shrouded villain as the other two boys hurried to join them. As the former two took turns harassing the villain, trying to take him down, Hanta noticed that the mist had considerably thinned… Almost to the point where he could actually see the villain's suit and tie attire through the displacing shadows for the first time. The tape user slowed his pace, took aim, and waited for the perfect moment to strike…

… and it came as the villain dodged a tackle from Mezo.

Hanta aimed for the ankle, and as soon as his shot hit home, he dug his heels into the floor and tugged with everything he had. The villain tripped and fell, and Mezo didn't waste any time pulling him into another grapple once more.

Sen wasn't too far behind him, and as he lunged to grab a hold of the villain's legs, he noticed Yosetsu sprinting towards them as fast as he could. An idea formed in the spinster's head just then... And it was inspired by how the welder had managed to bind some of their classmate's vines to the floor before he was captured in his Battle Trial.

"Hey! Big guy!" Sen called out to Mezo, twisting the villain's legs uncomfortably as he spoke.

One of the tentacles wrapped around the villain quickly formed into a mouth before turning his way. "I'm a little busy at the moment! - "

"- I know, but trust me! Get this piece of shit into as awkward a position as you can! And help me get his body flat on the floor- !"

Dark mist began to well up in response to Sen's plea. "Get! OFF OF ME- !"

CRUNCH!

Mezo cut off the villain by dropping three massive elbows right on his face. And as the mist dissipated once again, Yosetsu came into view, and he dove right in to join the grapple.

Mezo's eyes widened as he watched Yosetsu's hand glow with his quirk. Sloppy weld beads were created as he repeatedly slapped his hand in the space between the villain's neck brace and the cement floor of the USJ. Once he understood what the spinster was trying to get at, Mezo used his strength and his various limbs to force the stunned villain into a position that would effectively seal him to the earth.

Hanta appeared moments later and immediately jumped in to help. Anything that wasn't already bound was quickly wrapped and anchored to the floor by his tape, and Yosetsu was quick to further reinforce it with a slap of his hand. Tape bonded to cement in an instant, much in the same way that the brace and body bonded to the floor…

… and for a moment, the teenagers believed that the villain was finally restrained.

But that moment passed as Kurogiri came out of his daze.

Out of instinct, he called on his quirk to free himself from the tentacled teen's hold. There was a pop! in response, and the smell of fried electronics (and… mushrooms?!) quickly reached everyone's nose. The villain's neck- specifically, the area of his neck connected to his brace- began to spasm out and flare in agony, and it only worsened the more he tried to use his quirk. (So my stabilizer is damaged?! At a time like this?!)

Desperate and irritated, he tried to physically escape the grapple, but only found himself stuck to the ground at infuriating angles. His body- his actual body- was being forcibly moved into awkward positions, and if he didn't act soon, he had a bad feeling that he wouldn't even be able to warp, period.

Ignoring his suspicions about the fate of his neck brace once again, Kurogiri tried to force his quirk to activate. Relief flowed free as his quirk finally responded to his will, and as he turned gaseous, the teenagers began to shout and scurry back in alarm. Whatever the bandana-wearing kid had done made his movements awkward and clunky as he escaped from his impromptu prison. Even in his gaseous form, the tape still, somehow, remained attached to his body, making him appear like a mummy's spirit.

But, that was something to worry about later, once the League had retreated. Right now, with this newfound freedom, he fully intended to rise from the floor-

-and to his surprise and horror, he was yanked back down by his neck brace.

He was so shocked, so surprised, that his body had accidentally re-solidified. Kurogiri frantically twisted his body around in an attempt to see what was keeping him to the floor…

… and only found himself unable to move his neck brace even a centimeter.

Realization hit Kurogiri hard in the gut as a chill ran down his spine, making his body begin to shake as he remained on the floor. The villain himself didn't even know if he was shaking out of fear or anger... but in all honesty, it didn't matter.

"Yeah. That's right, asshole," taunted Yosetsu as he and Hanta quickly grabbed his shoulders and resumed their work while Mezo and Sen muscled the villain back into a grapple. "You ain't goin' ANYWHERE! Not until the heroes arrive!"

"Well said, Awase-kun," a deep, angry voice rumbled from behind the young heroes in training.

Teenagers and villain alike whipped their gazes in the direction of the voice, as both sides were equally unaware of the newcomer until he had announced his presence. Awe completely overwhelmed the boys as they took in the scene behind him… And dread made the villain redouble his efforts to escape as the hero in blood red drew near, with unbridled fury etched onto every line of his face.

"You guys did good, handling these villains by yourselves. However… I need all of you to head back to the portal and wait. Right. Now. Your classmate told me that it will be up and running in no time; when it appears, take it, and get the hell out of here. You can leave the rest to us."

-(TTAE)-

While the stalemate between the students and the shrouded villain gradually tipped in favor of the former, Kinoko was in the midst of fighting another sort of battle.

As she peeled back the tape and the jacket that covered Rikido's wounds, her hands began to shake like they never had before. Her breathing became fast and shallow, and her eyes began to water from the mounting fear that loomed over head. The fear of what could happen- would happen- if she really messed up.

But then… the boy let out a weak whimper and a rasping cough, and any second guessing she had was immediately forgotten.

With her decision made, she steeled her nerves the best she could and placed her trembling hands gently on his skin. And as she let out one final, unsteady breath, she called for three of her beloveds to come into existence.

The first of her mushrooms began to grow directly on the projectiles. The foreign objects were firmly stuck in his body, and she didn't even want to think about what would happen if she tried to yank them out. So, instead, she decided to deal with this issue in a roundabout way.

Kinoko knew that the majority of mushrooms grew by decomposing organic waste and absorbing it into their bodies. There were even some species that could grow by pulling varying amounts of pollutants and metals out of the soil! The shiitakes that began to grow on the large bullets were just one example of many. Maybe… maybe she could adjust how much and how fast they broke down and absorbed the bullets? That had to be better than pulling them out… right?

As she nudged her shiitakes into action, the second of her mushrooms began to dot the boy's skin. In the space of a few seconds, a small fairy ring of reishis had formed, with his injuries used as its center point.

Except, they weren't reishis, not exactly. These toadstools were a very very very distant relative of the real thing, just like Happi-chan was to the magic mushroom family. In fact, she had created them the same way she created Happi-chan- the only difference here was that this outcome was… a lot more 'slapped together' than she would've liked. With the reishi mushroom acting as the base, she threw in some chaga to help fight inflammation and infection, cordyceps to help boost his body's recovery… and an iddy-bitty splash of magic mushroom to help ease his pain.

Whenever Kinoko uses her quirk this way, she usually gets worried about the outcome. Normally, she would only chemically adjust a mushroom to alter its taste or to remove its toxins; even then, those results were occasionally spotty. Her first attempt ever at something like this ended with her gagging for many minutes from the extremely bitter aftertaste it created.

She… she really hoped that, if there were any side effects, bitterness would be the extent of them… and more than anything else, she prayed that her gamble, her attempt to create basic medicine for the boy, would have a least a little bit of merit…

The more the projectiles were decomposed and reabsorbed by the shiitakes, the more Kinoko began to realize just how bad the extent of damage was on his body. Bile began to bubble up in her throat, and for a few precious seconds, she had to take the time to look away and steady her breathing. And while she waited for her stomach to settle, her third and final mushrooms began to grow en masse inside the wounds.

Enokis were well known for their stalks, so… what if, she could use them? Like… stitches? If she could make the stalks a little tougher, a little more flexible, could she seal his wounds enough to buy him the time he needed to get real help?

All the mushrooms continued to grow despite her indecision, and once she finally made up her mind, she willed the still growing stalks to begin braiding themselves together. A cross stitch began to form, and Kinoko did her best to bring the broken parts of his body together with what she had.

Over the course of the next several seconds, her focus solely belonged to her enokis. To actually shape them, physically, so that they could do what she wanted was a hard enough task by itself; the added challenge of keeping their growth from getting out of hand only made her head begin to throb.

About half way through her task, she simply couldn't focus anymore. She paused to clear her head of the dizziness that had been building for a while, and glanced over at her other mushrooms. Her shiitakes had been eating away the projectiles the entire time, she noticed, and both had been reduced to about the size of a 500-cent piece. With trembling fingers, she reached out to gently pluck them out by the stalks of her mushrooms, and as she pulled them free, she willed her enokis to close up what was left.

Right as her enokis 'stitched' his skin back together, she implanted one final command on her mushrooms. Using her quirk was… messy to use, even with the amount of control that she had developed over time. So, over the course of many years, she eventual found a way to clean up after herself by creating her breakdown command. Breakdown forced her girls to gradually decompose themselves into nothing but harmless spores. It was ideal for fixing the messes she made… but never once in a million years did she ever dream she'd use it in this fashion-

A sudden thought flitted through the more timid part of her mind. Would… would her spores cause an allergic reaction in the boy's body? Kinoko nearly froze in horror at her thoughtlessness, before she mentally scrambled to tag on an additional final command to her mushrooms:

Please… Please, my little ones, don't hurt him…

Kinoko removed her hands at long last from his body, wiping the sweat off the brow of her clammy face as she did. A thousand thoughts raced through her mind, each criticizing the choices she made and making her wonder if she did the right thing.

She took a moment for herself, taking a couple deep breaths to steady her body. After she took a couple more for good measure, a gentle, metallic voice spoke up from her right, and it made her heart almost explode in her chest.

"Well done, Komori-san. We'll take over from here, ok?"

-(TTAE)-

The two hero-hopeful groups had been so focused, so immersed with their respective tasks that they had failed to notice two figures emerging from the portal behind them.

They had shown up seconds after the villain in the mist warped most of everyone away. And as the portal to the school dissipated into the air for unknown reasons, the heroes flew into action without a shred of hesitation.

The one in red wasted no time in subduing the leftover villains around the entrance, and he gradually worked his way towards the villain in the mist with ease. The one in a trench coat spent a few seconds creating multiple copies of himself, and once he was pleased with their number, they all moved out to begin conducting search and rescue operations.

It wasn't long before two Ectoplasms began to hoist an unconscious Rikido onto a blood-red stretcher. Roughly around the same time, Vlad King had finished sealing Kurogiri inside a coffin of blood.

Well... coffin wasn't really the right word to describe what he was contained in. By the time Vlad had put the finishing touches on his supermove, Kurogiri resembled a victim of Pompeii, colored crimson instead of gray.

And as Vlad finished restraining the villain, he rose from where he knelt and demanded to know only one thing…

"Where. The hell. Are the rest OF MY STUDENTS?!"


04:09- Vlad King and Ectoplasm arrive from the school.

04:42- Kurogiri becomes mostly restrained; Rikido becomes mostly stabilized.

About 02:57 since Neito copied Warp Gate


Author's Notes!

Don't push F for Sato, he ain't dead yet!

So, a small fun fact- this chapter was actually half of the original Ch. 17. It was starting to get a bit long, so I decided to cut it in half.

I, personally, find it insulting how Kurogiri is portrayed as just a humble B-rank villain. With just a little creativity, he can become a downright terror on the battlefield. I hope I successfully presented him as such, and I really hope you guys enjoyed what happened with his neck brace. I feel like a lot of people kinda... skip over it. So, I wanted to bring a little attention to it, because some of what I have planned for him involves that contraption. And, once again, if you're interested in the inner workings of Warp Gate for this story, just hang tight! I promise, an explanation will come!

I know Izuku didn't have a lot of the spotlight in this chapter, but I hope the time he had was enough to satisfy you all until the next one. The same goes for the other four that fell through the portals with him- if you didn't get to see them much this chapter, you'll see them in the next!

And on that note... how did you guys like the Awase-Kaibara-Sero-Shoji team up? I feel like Awase and Kaibara get slept on, a lot, and I feel like Sero and Shoji aren't given their due, even in most 1A centered stories. As such, I hope you guys enjoyed their much needed screentime!

And, finally, Komori... like I said before, I have something neat planned for her, and it doesn't involve turning her into a walking bio-weapon (well... mostly). How did you guys like her little Hail Mary? If it came off as reckless and dangerous, good- I intended it to be that way. She hasn't been properly trained for this kind of stuff (yet), so, I wanted to create that feeling of uncertainty when it comes to dealing with the human body. Also, you wouldn't believe the amount of research I did just to see if my idea could, theoretically, be pulled off. Suffice to say... it can.

Again, I can't thank you guys enough for all the love and patience and support you have shown this story! It's beyond anything I could have ever imagined, and I hope I can continue to live up to your praises!

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay safe, and happy, and healthy, and if you have the time, I'd love to hear your thoughts!