Izuku joined his classmates in the common room, sheltering from the winter storm. All of them had their phones and computers, but the lightning and ice hitting the window meant they had no signal to the outside world, and there was a camaraderie in sitting like this, shoulder to shoulder, some of them holding hands as Representative Hirohito spoke over loud demonstrators with signs.

Atsui held her hands close to her chest, all but folded up on herself, as Hirohito described quirks that were so ingrained that integration into society was all but impossible for these "heroes"—they heard the polite sarcasm dripping like acid. People who were "born half-animal, crippled by their quirks, barely human outcasts"—someone touched her shoulder reassuringly, and her soft croaks faded into her throat.

"Someone should cripple that fucker," Bakugou growled.

"He'd probably like that," Yaoyorozu said. "It'd give him all the ammunition he needs."

"He has a lot of supporters," Todoroki said. "Someone else would just take his place."

"So that's it?" Hagakure asked, her disembodied voice coming from beside Atsui, being held in turn. "He gets to be mean and we have to stay...invisible?"

"We're still just students," Iida said. "But I know that there are supporters on our side, too. Ingenium...my parents haven't told me anything beyond that they're working on it."

"It's a coalition of the established hero families," Yaoyorozu said. "And all our financiers and fans. It's larger than you'd think, but it's hard to fight something like this. It takes a massive PR campaign, and they have a head start on us."

"But why hate us?" Ochako whispered. "Everyone has quirks. Why pick us?"

"Yes, they have quirks," Tokoyami said. "But we can knock down buildings. We can—"

Angry shouts came from outside, heavy footsteps coming closer and closer. All of them stood and backed away from the door as it became clear that they didn't recognize most of the voice, and that the principal's voice was raised in frustration.

"—protest this in the strongest terms," Nezu demanded, almost up against the door now. "Parents have not been informed or given consent—damn it, they're children!"

An electronic lock clicked and a heavy bolt slid free from inside the door, and five men in suits and raincoats stepped in, shaking off the rain that followed. One of them held a folder that he checked, looking over a list and then comparing it to the students.

"Tokoyami Fumikage," he said, pointing. "Hagakure Toru. You will come with us."

"What?" Yaoyorozu said. "Why? For what reason?"

"We don't have to explain—" one started.

"They're trying to round up all of the heroes with physical mutations," Nezu said over him. "They're from Hirohito's task force, but they won't admit it! Kidnapping children in the night with the government's permission—"

"There are concerns about his dark shadow personality," another said, giving him a look. "And her invisibility affecting her brain. This is in accord with the new legislation and you must comply as a government institution. You two will come quietly."

"Or else?" Bakugou demanded.

All five men put their hands on the same pocket of their coats.

"Stop." Tokoyami stepped forward from the group. "It's all right. I'm sure it will be fine."

"But—" Ashida whispered.

"It will be fine." Tokoyami turned and winked over his shoulder. "Tell Hagakure she's in a lot of trouble for going home early, though."

Ashida blinked awkwardly for a moment, but Shoji and Ojiro stepped in front of her with solid nods. "Right! 'Cause she ain't here with us, not at all."

"Should we call her," Todoroki asked, already pulling out his cell phone. "To let her know you're coming?"

"No," one of the men said too quickly.

"They're bluffing," one said, and for a moment the class held its breath. "They can't get a signal out in this weather."

Bakugou growled as Todoroki put his phone away. As the men opened the door again, ushering Tokoyami out into the storm, they heard one of the men whisper too loudly "what about the frog girl?"

The man with the checklist looked back at them, and the students packed around the girl in question, who stared at them with freakishly large eyes, pitifully weak croaks in the silence. He snorted. How the hell did that thing make it this far as a hero anyway? But tearing her away from their firm grasp was clearly a different matter from taking the bird thing, so he let it be.

"Bus is full," he muttered.

They left the door wide open, Nezu glaring at them in hate that he couldn't act on, the children behind him like young monsters who, even if they had fangs, were still small enough to be stepped on.

The agents didn't notice the school girl's uniform in a rumpled pile in the corner, didn't hear an invisible girl clinging to Yaoyorozu's back to muffle her tears, and didn't notice Izuku slipping out one of the windows, using the ice rain hitting the roof or the lightning to hide himself.

Keeping his head down through the rain, Tokoyami stepped into the bus, the door was locked shut behind him, and they drove off into the darkness.