Chapter Twenty:

As Class 1-A muttered and chattered, Shouto sat at his desk reading on his phone. Actually he was trying to find a way reconnect to mobile data. Aizawa had given everyone back their phones after the shielding took effect.

Nezu entered the classroom, looking uncharacteristically subdued. He raised his paw to signal for silence. "I know all of you must have questions about the cancellation of the training camp, and I'm here to answer them."

"Where's Izuku?" Katsuki shouted. Shouto was annoyed, because he'd been about to ask that.

Nezu's shoulders slumped. "I will explain everything. A villain took Izuku Midoriya's mother hostage, in order to force him to report the location of the training camp. Izuku came to me for help, and we laid a trap."

Shouto felt sick. He'd known Izuku wasn't telling him everything, but he'd wanted to give his friend privacy. Now he wished he'd pressed more. What kind of terrible friend would fail to notice?

Shock and horror silenced the class. Everyone understood the potentially fatal consequences that could have befallen them at the training camp. Everyone could imagine how they would feel if one of their parents had been abducted by a villain. Everyone was silent except for Katsuki, who shouted, "Is Aunt Inko all right?"

Nezu said, "We were able to successfully rescue Inko Midoriya with the aid of another informant. She's unharmed. However, our informant was captured and the trap…failed." Nezu took a deep breath. "Izuku was abducted by the villain."

The class erupted into shouts. Katsuki stormed directly up to Nezu and glared. "Obviously we're going after him."

Dryly, Nezu said, "U.A.'s official rescue operation is already in-progress. You will be staying at school where it's safe. A group of students running around recklessly will only become potential hostages."

Shouto cursed Katsuki under his breath. It would be much harder to sneak off to find Izuku if the teachers were already alerted to the possibility of such an operation.

Nezu continued, "We've arranged protection for all of your families in case All for One attempts another abduction. We're also planning to move U.A. to a dorm system to prevent future kidnappings."

Katsuki growled, "You can't keep us here forever!"

"We're no longer keeping you in this room at all. We only disabled your cell phones to prevent word of the trap from leaking. You should have your mobile data again." Nezu waved a paw.

Glancing down at his phone, Shouto saw this was true. He suspected that the principal had contained the students because he was wary of another spy. Frankly, that seemed like a wise precaution. Shouto wondered how the trap had leaked. He did not ask—he was trying to keep a low profile so he wouldn't be labeled as a potential troublemaker to watch like Katsuki.

Nezu said, "I humbly request that you do not make any public statements about Izuku's forced role as a spy or his capture. U.A. will be making an official statement. This matter needs to be handled very carefully. As you all know, Midoriya has experienced a great deal of difficulty with the media. The Sports Festival taint still lingers. It would be very easy for an unscrupulous reporter to decide to portray Midoriya as a hero student who ran away to become a villain, for no reason except to reignite the controversy and thus obtain more views."

Kirishima shouted from the back of the room, "None of us will say a word! We're not narcs!" A chorus of agreement came from the class.

"The Sports Festival…" Katsuki muttered, his gaze distant. "The villain was threatening Izuku at the Sports Festival! I should have known Izuku wouldn't be scared of his dad. We could have beaten the crap out of that deadbeat together. Only someone much scarier could force Izuku to hurt his friends."

Nezu's face aged. "Yes, the villain threatened to kill whichever student placed first in the Sports Festival unless Midoriya won. As for why…it seems to have partly because he planned to make use of the controversy around Midoriya, partly for his own entertainment."

Icy fury raced through Shouto's veins. He rapidly reassessed the events of the internship, wondering how much more pressure Izuku had been under. If only Shouto had noticed!

"Shit," Katsuki said. He sat back down at his desk with his head in his hands. His anger seemed to have left him for once, but judging from the flush in his cheeks it was rapidly returning.

Nezu said, "I promise you that we will get Izuku Midoriya back. I won't lose either of them again." Nezu's eyes blazed with barely contained fury, making Shouto wonder who was the other person their principal wanted to find.

After Nezu left, the class dissolved into chaos. Shouto approached Aoyama. "May I have a word alone?"

"Bien sûr." Aoyama inclined his head, and they stepped outside the school together, stopping under the shade of an oak tree.

"Hey!" Katsuki ran over. "Whatever you're planning, I want in."

Shouto scowled. "After you were so obvious in front of Nezu?"

Katsuki said, "They would have known I'd never sit still. You need me. I could provide a distraction: a big flashy escape to cover up the real one."

That wasn't a bad idea. Shouto tapped his chin. "First we have to find Midoriya. We know nothing, not even the name of the villain involved. So we need to know whatever the teachers know."

"That's where I come in." Aoyama raised his hand. "Numerous célèbre scientists were involved in the construction of my support gear, including several renowned for spy equipment."

Toshinori paced Nezu's office like a confined animal. "Have we received any demands from All for One?"

"Not a word since the note he left you." Nezu placed his paws on his desk. "I consider that a good sign. If All for One is planning something big, then that gives us more time."

"Nothing about this is good," Toshinori growled. "For all we know, All for One's big plan involves displaying young Midoriya's corpse. The first twenty-four hours are critical in kidnappings. Did we find anything at Inko Midoriya's former prison?"

"The building was deserted," Nezu said. "It looked like an office building from the outside, with soundproof walls. All for One started a fire when he left to destroy evidence. Alas, Kurogiri already gave us Inko's location but no other information about All for One's operations. I'm afraid that Kurogiri didn't completely trust us to keep our promise to treat Tomura well. He withheld information so that he would have something to bargain with. Understandable, but now Kurogiri has been captured, that leaves us in a lurch."

Toshinori muttered, "All for One probably took young Midoriya to a location that Kurogiri doesn't know about. He's always been cautious. No one would know all of his hidey-holes, not even a Nomu presumed incapable of betrayal."

Nezu said, "We have our best analysts going over the two videos of Inko Midoriya, looking for any clues about where the objects were purchased. Inko is currently in an interview with the police, attempting to remember every last detail. She was moved once, and based on her testimony we will try to trace the location of her first prison. It's a lead, at least."

"How is she?" Toshinori asked, twisting his hands.

"As can be expected. She's been crying so hard that her shoes are water-logged."

Toshinori recoiled. "That's not funny. The poor woman must be in agony."

Mildly, Nezu said, "It wasn't intended to be funny."

Toshinori's shoulders slumped. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you." He tried to force a smile onto his face. It looked extremely fake. "I'm on edge."

"I completely understand," Nezu said. "At least we arrested Hisashi Midoriya. He seemed very confident he'll get off the hook. That makes me angry. Between colluding with villains and his unsavory personal life, hopefully we can find some way to nail him to the wall. I'll turn my full attention to it as soon as our rescue is complete."

Toshinori paced more rapidly. "I don't like being on the defensive. If we wait for All for One to act, then we'll be at a disadvantage. I'm going to see how many criminals I can arrest. Someone might know something about All for One."

"Keep a careful eye on your phone for any messages from me," Nezu said. They both knew it was unlikely that any small bit villains would have information on All for One, but there was no point in saying that. "Make certain you don't let your time limit run out. You may still need to fight All for One."

"I won't be using my muscled form at all." Toshinori's eyes narrowed. "I'm told that I'm scarier when anonymous. People assume the number one hero won't kill them."

Nezu must be in a poor mood indeed, because he didn't even smile at the thought of the suffering of criminals across Musutafu.

Izuku woke up to total darkness. A leathery blindfold covered his eyes. He was sitting upright, his arms and legs strapped to a cold metal chair. His heart hammered so loudly that it drowned out his thoughts. Without thinking, Izuku tried to activate his quirk. The power came at his call, only to sear in his own flesh. Izuku quickly stopped before he got more than a superficial burn. Something heavy and hard as cement wrapped around his waist. It was definitely not his usual belt. There was probably a mirror attached to his naval, since his laser had been reflected back at him.

Despite the aching throb on his stomach, Izuku calculated his options. A bit of gas might be able to leak out of his navel. He couldn't control the type of gas very well without his belt, but it was worth a try. He would have to wait until an enemy got close enough, since likely only a bit of gas would get through the restraint. It probably wouldn't work on All for One, who used a breathing device. With concentration, Izuku might be able to shoot a laser from his shoulder. He'd never been able to do that without special equipment, but it wouldn't be the first time he'd developed a new ability out of desperation. If he could tip the chair over, then possibly he could break the mirror. Izuku had options. That let him calm his racing heartbeat.

All for One said, "You're awake, aren't you?"

Izuku flinched. That voice had been entirely too close to his ear.

The reaction gave him away. The air rustled slightly as All for One leaned over. Blindfolded, Izuku became hyperaware of the sound of the villain's respirator. Breath tickled his ear. No matter how hard Izuku tried not to, he trembled.

Conversationally, All for One said, "Anyone else who'd betrayed me in such a fashion would be already starting the Nomu conversion process. But although that would preserve your lovely quirk, it wouldn't keep this beautiful mind intact." A large hand ran through Izuku's hair. "What a pity."

Izuku was not going to cry in front of the villain. He refused. He sucked in deep, gasping breaths.

All for One asked, "Aren't you going to beg for your life? Or at least your poor mother's?"

That would only bore the villain. All for One wanted to be entertained. Although Izuku longed to ask what had happened to his mother, he would not be able to trust the villain's answer anyway. Izuku shoved all of his pain and fear into a box and tightly closed the lid. This would be the most high-stakes performance All for One had ever demanded of him. Izuku said, "You wouldn't care much for begging. I'd rather know how you caught me." Despite his best efforts, his voice shook a little. "Could I at least get a hint, out of professional courtesy?"

All for One slapped Izuku across the face, hard enough to rattle his jaw. "Don't imagine that you're my equal."

Red sparks danced behind Izuku's eyes and his mind spun. Up until this point, no matter how All for One had tormented Izuku, he'd never done anything physically violent. Izuku's cheek stung. What had he done wrong? Should he adjust his tone to be more subservient? Or was this a test to see how fast he'd break? Izuku had a very bad feeling that if he broke, then this conversation would be over, and what came next would be even worse. He had no choice but to keep performing for his megalomaniac audience of one.

Izuku said, "I'll guess, then. Someone gave me away. It happened last-minute, because if you'd had more advance notice, then you would have trapped All Might instead of me. As you said, I'm not that important."

"Well analyzed." All for One reached down. Izuku flinched when the villain touched him, but this time it was only another gentle head pat. Those giant hands could probably crush his skull with just a bit more pressure. "Yes, Kurogiri told me everything."

Izuku shook his head slightly. "No, you're testing me. It wasn't Kurogiri who betrayed us, or you would have known much sooner."

All for One said, "If you tell me how you subverted Kurogiri, then I may be truly impressed."

Izuku said, "Actually, that was Nezu." (It had happened as a result of a ripple effect from Izuku's actions, but he did not want the blame right now.)

"The science experiment would have known about Kurogiri's past. Interesting. The good doctor is running tests on Kurogiri right now in an attempt to readjust his mind. In the worst case scenario, we can shut down the higher brain functions and use him as a teleporting tool. We never did understand why Kurogiri turned out self-aware unlike other Nomu. If I could replicate it, I would. Kurogiri was exceptionally useful before his betrayal. If I knew how to create a Nomu while preserving the mind, that would make it much easier to decide what to do with you."

Izuku gulped. If Kurogiri was captured, then that increased the odds that Inko had not escaped. Izuku did not dare ask, not yet. As best as he could through the pain and fear, he tried to think. "One of the students could have leaked about the training camp being canceled. I got a text on my phone before Nezu successfully blocked all cellphones."

"That could have been it," All for One agreed. "Is that your final answer?"

"No, no! Not yet." Izuku didn't like All for One's tone, amused and predatorial. Unless the question was a feint to trick Izuku into thinking he had the wrong answer.

"Take your time." All for One's shoes clacked against the floor as he circled the chair. The sound of his raspy breathing barraged Izuku from all sides. The anxiety made it impossible to think. Sweat dripped down the painful burn on his stomach from his own laser. He squirmed in his seat, desperate to itch.

It felt like an eternity had passed, but Izuku knew it had only been seconds. He couldn't let All for One get bored. But who else might have been tipped off the villain besides his fellow students? Deep in his core, Izuku thought immediately of his father. Hisashi would have betrayed Izuku in a heartbeat if he could. "Did my sperm donor tell you? Nezu promised not to let him have any means of communication." Inko had told Izuku not to rescue Hisashi. Why did Izuku suddenly remember that now? She'd been so intense about it, he'd wondered why at the time. "My dad serves you more closely than I realized, doesn't he? And you still offered to let me kill him. Shows what kind of boss you are. Then you must have set up regular check-ins with him, so you knew something had gone wrong when he didn't send you a message."

"Is that your final answer?" All for One asked in the same sing-song voice.

"Oh, you brilliant bastard, you set me up! You convinced me that a villain would kill my dad and a true hero would save him, because then I would try to save him if I turned on you. You even set up a dab of blackmail so that I might look bad if I let him die. You planned this from the beginning!" Izuku shook with rage. He'd been stupid, so stupid. His mother had risked herself to give him a valuable clue, and he'd missed it. "Yes, that's my final answer, because that's exactly the evil trick you'd pull!"

"You flatter me." All for One applauded. "And you're correct on all counts."

Izuku sweated even harder, until he feared he must reek. Lucky All for One didn't have a nose. "Can I get a reward? I want to know what happened to my mother."

All for One stopped directly facing Izuku. "Nope, you don't get rewards any longer. You're in no position to ask for anything from me. You belong to me."

Izuku shook, this time from fury. "I couldn't trust anything you said anyway," he hissed.

"True," All for One said with no sign of taking offense. "I think it would be more entertaining to let you imagine possible fates for Inko Midoriya. Unlike you, I have no particular use for her at all. I might be waiting for her Nomufication to finish before I show you her new form."

A tear slid down Izuku's cheek. He couldn't hold it back. Trying not to sound too pleading, because All for One wouldn't respect a plea, Izuku said, "She'd be more useful as a hostage."

"Ah, that's also a possibility. With two hostages, I could afford to kill one of them. I could demand that All Might return my brother's quirk in exchange for your lives. He won't do it. He's not that stupid. If I could take a random unrelated person hostage to obtain One for All, I would have done it long ago. But he knows I'd kill far more people after obtaining that power. After he refuses, I could give him Inko Midoriya's mangled corpse. All Might always makes the best expression when he fails to save somebody. It's the only time his unbearable smile wipes off his face."

Another tear slipped from Izuku's blindfold. He desperately clung to his sanity with his fingernails. It might all be a lie. Maybe both Inko and Kurogiri were free. But All for One sounded so confident, as if it was only a question of what he did with Inko, not if he had her. Izuku snarled, "If you don't show me my mother, then I'll assume you don't have her."

"Do you imagine I care? Do you still think you have anything to bargain with?" All for One stroked Izuku's hair again. "You've been a very poor spy. I've gotten no use out of you except a bit of entertainment. You should be less concerned with your mother and more for yourself."

Abruptly, All for One's grip tightened, tugging on the green locks painfully. Electric sparks raced from his hands to penetrate Izuku's skull.

Izuku screamed. The pain seemed to rip straight into his brain. He could no longer think or feel. There was nothing except endless, relentless agony.

When it finally stopped, Izuku did not know how much time had passed. His throat felt sore. His face was wet from tears. He felt ashamed of himself, that he had been able to resist crying for his mother's sake but pain had broken him.

As All for One reached for him again, Izuku moaned in terror. The villain merely tucked a lock of hair behind his ear. "From this point forward, I can do anything to you. Silly child, no matter how clever you might be, you simply haven't been useful enough to me to guarantee your survival. I've given up on converting you to a villain. I would never be able to trust you. I already learned from my little brother how trying too hard with someone too stubborn can backfire on me. Ah, what an irritating memory." All for One's voice turned low and hissing. "Everyone keeps chasing after heroism like bugs to a zapper."

If Izuku reminded All for One of his little brother, even a little bit, then perhaps that was a lever he could use. Through a raspy voice, Izuku asked, "Why did you fight with your brother?"

All for One's voice sharpened. "Even my oldest and most devoted followers don't dare bring up him around me. You're quite bold."

But you brought your brother up first! Izuku was desperate to avoid another torture session. He still felt weak and tingly all over. One more zapping might render him unable to escape. "Ah, never mind, I'm sorry."

All for One spoke over him. "You may still have use to me for your mind or as a hostage, but if you annoy me too much, then you're disposable. I'm aware you'll inevitably try to escape. I've rigged this room with explosives. They are not intended to be non-fatal. If you survive the attempt, you'll pay for it. You don't need your legs for quirk analysis." Feather light, he ran a finger across Izuku's knees as if drawing a line to cut them off.

Trying to sound brave, Izuku said, "U.A. doesn't care about a traitor." Izuku was afraid to be used against All Might. He tried not think about the threat to chop off his legs, for fear he'd be reduced to gibbering terror.

"Heroes are silly, sentimental creatures. They'll certainly try to save you." All for One leaned over close enough to speak into Izuku's ear. "They won't succeed."

Izuku didn't plan to wait for rescue. Closing his eyes, he tried with all his might to shoot a gas laser from his shoulder instead of his navel. At this range, with All for One's mouth so close, the breathing mask might not protect him.

"I'm close enough for an attack, aren't I?" All for One said cheerfully.

Izuku gasped. His concentration broke.

All for One said, "I already found a quirk that makes me immune to your gas. I obtained it for you, as a surprise after you brought me One for All. Now I'll be using it for myself." All for One shot out a hand and gripped Izuku's forehead.

Izuku screamed as pain pierced him, but differently this time. The sparks dancing across his scalp did not penetrate, but rather drained his energy. Izuku felt like a part of his very soul had been ripped away. He slumped down in his chair, panting. It took him a moment to realize that he no longer felt a warm energy in his navel. That sensation had been his constant companion ever since age five. Now his quirk was gone.

"No!" Izuku screamed. "No, no, no!" It was a child's desperate, terrified plea, trying to deny reality.

All for One laughed. "You didn't think I'd let you keep my gift, did you? You owed me a favor in exchange for the quirk, and you failed to fulfil your end of the bargain. Besides, I've had my eye on that quirk for some time, ever since you proved the silly little power had far greater use than I first realized." The air hummed. Izuku's skin prickled as he felt a laser whir just past his arm, close enough to burn him slightly. That was his stolen power, and he raged and ached for it.

"You've developed this into such a powerful quirk," All for One said. "I might even kill All Might with your laser, just for the irony." The villain turned and walked away, the door locking shut behind him.

Thrashing against his bonds, Izuku howled. All for One had taken everything from him. Izuku had poured years of hard work into developing his navel laser quirk, all rendered to nothing. All of his escape plans had depended on having his quirk. Izuku screamed and sobbed, no longer able to control his emotions. But it didn't matter. He'd lost. If All for One had been present, then Izuku would have begged for his quirk back, even though he knew it would do no good. He couldn't become a hero without a quirk. He couldn't even be the tiniest bit useful to anyone without a quirk. He definitely couldn't save his mother without a quirk.

Without his quirk, Izuku was nothing, and he knew it.

OMAKE TIME!

Omake: Who's Your Daddy?

Izuku: At least I'm not in a bank vault. This is still better than the AUs where All for One is my dad.

All for One: It would be such a hilarious and ironic reversal if I turned you into a Nomu and then send you to kill your mom. If I can figure out how to create another intelligent Nomu like Kurogiri, then let's do it.

Izuku: Wait! I take it back! Let's get a paternity test! Until the end of canon, you can't be sure!

#

Omake: Any Excuse to Show Off the Pictures

All for One: You asked about my little brother? Let me show you all the pictures that I carry around everywhere in my wallet. This is Yoichi as a baby. He had the most adorable white hair even back then. In this picture, he's a toddler. Just look at him sinking his one tooth into my leg, the little ankle-biter. Here is Yoichi at his middle school graduation, the last graduation he ever had because I stopped letting him out of the house after that. I have a couple pictures I took while he was sleeping. He always looks peaceful that way. His cheeks are a bit red because I was drugging his food to make him sicker at that point. Finally, here we see Yoichi in the vault. After a week of hunger striking, he was so weak he let me hug him and take this selfie.

Izuku: …What is wrong with you?

Author's Note: All for One pulled a very clever mind trick on Izuku. When All for One offered to let Izuku kill his father, he set up the choice as if a villain would kill Hisashi and a hero would save him. Psychologically this pressured Izuku to save his dad when he picked the hero path even if he didn't want to. On a pragmatic level, Izuku was afraid All for One would blackmail him if he didn't give the heroes the information they needed to protect his father. All for One arranged for Hisashi to make regular check-ins with him (and automated it so he got warned if Hisashi ever missed a text without having to actually look at the messages.) That way he would have a warning if Izuku ever went rogue. It was quite sneaky and very deliberate.