100 Percent Hero

by CiscoTheSoto

A boy born with all the power he never wanted, Shigeo Kageyama didn't view himself as a hero. Although he saved innocent people from villains and spirits countless times, he never thought about how many lives he saved. But when he goes to a world where people with powers save others regularly, he will come to realize the impact he could have and what it really means to be a hero.

36. A Choice

After one year, three months and one day without an update, 100 Percent Hero has made an unexpected return! I know that alot of you people out there are wondering what happened to me and why I took such a long hiatus. Thing is, this chapter was really difficult for me to write, and I'd experienced some big roadblocks creating it. It caused me to lose some passion with the story, and combined with the other shit that was going on in my life, made me take a break for a while. However, as you see, I have not abandoned this story, and do not intend to abandon it either. For all the eager readers who took the time to message me, I thank you for your patience and your dedication to this story. It really makes me happy to know there're people who love this story so much, and I truly apologize if I didn't get to all the messages and that it took so long to get this chapter posted. To make up for such a long hiatus, this is gonna be a very long chapter, so enjoy!

---

The students of Class 1-A and the pro heroes all stood tense, watching in apprehension as the villains stared them down with maniacal grins. The two enemies standing against them were Spinner, a villain with a quirk that gave him the appearance of a lizard, and Magne, a villain with a large frame and terrifying strength.

"How are you all this evening, U.A. High School? We are the Vanguard Action Squad of the League of Villains!" Spinner said.

Magne's smirk widened as she increased the pressure on Pixie Bob's head. "I could crush this kitten's head, so how about it? Should I?"

"You get away from her!" Tiger yelled.

Before either could reply further, Spinner calmly raised his hands to both Tiger and Magne. "Now, hold on. We're deciding a person's fate, and it's imperative we abide by Stain's principles while doing it."

The mentioning of Stain's name caught the students' attention, and for Tenya, merely mentioning the Hero Killer was enough to make his blood boil and bring back memories of their fateful encounter. "So you're the ones he ended up inspiring?" Iida snarled.

"At your service! I believe I recognize you, Four-Eyes! You're one of the brats who attacked Stain in Hosu City! Allow me to introduce myself!" The villain unsheathed his massive sword and aimed it at his opponents, "My name is Spinner, and I'm here to make Stain's dreams a reality!"

The two heroes began to take offensive stances, and Mandalay had just finished using her Quirk to inform all students of the situation. "Tiger, I've talked to everyone! We can trust the safety of the other students to Ragdoll! The two of us will stay here and hold these villains off! The rest of you, go to camp, and don't engage anyone! I'll be counting on you, class rep!"

"Leave it to me!" Iida wasted no time taking charge and motioned all his classmates back to the main building.

"Midoriya, what're you doing?" The class rep looked back as his friend remained motionless. But as they were going, Izuku remained frozen in place because there was something vital he knew that no one else did.

"All of you, go on without me!" The young teenager knew that one person was unaccounted for and alone at the moment: Kota. He was the only person besides Shigeo who knew where Kota went during this time, so it was up to him to get Kota back to camp. "Mandalay, I know where Kota is! I'll go get him!"

Before they could even reply, the green electricity cackled around Izuku's body, and the teenager sprinted for the young boy. Hopefully, Kota was alright...

---

Standing at the edge of the rock formation, Kota watched with confusion and horror as a combination of pink smoke and blue flames appeared across the camp. He didn't understand what this was: were the campers doing this? But why would they? There was something else going on here...

From behind him, an unidentified man approached him. The young boy turned to face him, and his heart began racing. He staggered backward, his lips trembling as this hulking, intimidating figure stood before him. The man wore a dark cloak, and a hockey mask covered his face. As this man walked toward him, Kota could hear Mandalay contacting him through Telepath, urging him to return to camp as soon as possible. But Kota was too scared even to register her voice.

"I came up here scouting for a nice vantage point, and I find someone who's not on our list." The man's voice was deep and malicious, which only served to unnerve Kota further. "By the way, nice hat, kid. It looks cool. Would you mind making a trade? They made me wear this lame mask because I'm new to the group, and said they couldn't get a shipment of the good masks in time."

The unknown villain took off his mask, but Kota quickly attempted to flee before the villain could say anything else. Alas, the villain managed to catch up effortlessly, jumping off the wall to cut off Kota's exit. The young boy yelled out in terror as the man prepared to attack him. The villain's left arm suddenly began to coat itself with muscle fibers.

"Why don't you and I have some fun up here, kid? Ready?"

As Kota looked at the man's face, his entire body froze up. He knew this man. He remembered exactly where he was, watching television as a news reporter gave details about the deaths of his parents and the man responsible for them: Muscular, an extremely dangerous criminal with a power-up Quirk. Moreover, the reporter noted that the man had lost one of his eyes during the fight with the Water Hose heroes. Kota's eyes pooled with tears as this man's face was unveiled. There was no mistaking it: this was the man who'd murdered his parents.

"Mama! Papa!"

The paralyzed boy helplessly stood as Muscular prepared to strike him, but before his body could be crushed into a bloody pulp, a blur of green appeared and grabbed Kota at the last second. Coming at incredible speed, Izuku had successfully managed to swoop in and bring the young boy out of danger.

"Now you, I recognize," the villain remarked, "You were on the list."

As Izuku regained his footing, his mind began to take in the situation. He'd only come here to ensure Kota returned to the camp safely, but he hadn't expected to run into any villains along the way. Not only that, but the landing broke his phone, so there was no way he could contact anyone for help. He didn't tell any of his classmates where he was going either.

There was at least one small glimmer of hope. Kageyama also knew where Kota's hiding spot was. So he could come and give him support. If Kageyama were here, then it wouldn't be any problem. But that was only assuming that Kageyama didn't already have his hands full...

---

Deep in the forest, Kageyama and Yaoyorozu had been dealing with the sudden influx of gas and Mandalay's message notifying them that villains had invaded the camp. So naturally, this revelation had been shocking for both.

"Villains have attacked? But I thought the location of the camp was kept secret. So how could anyone find this place?"

"I haven't a clue. But anyone to attack a training camp of U.A. High must have both incredible resources and equally incredible villains. If I had to guess, I'd say that the League of Villains has returned, and I imagine they've adapted their plan of attack compared to last time.

Hearing the name of this criminal organization sent a chill down the esper's spine.

"Last time the League of Villains attacked, it was to eliminate All Might. What could they want from us this time?" the heroine pondered. Then, a horrible thought suddenly crossed her mind. "Perhaps this time... they'll be targeting the students."

"What kind of villains do you think they brought here? You think they brought some more of their Nomu?"

"Unfortunately, running into some Nomu is a strong possibility..." Shigeo's chest quickly constricted in terror, and memories of his last encounter at the U.S.J. flooded his mind. His teacher had both arms broken like twigs, and his friends had nearly been turned into dust by Shigaraki. What if Shigaraki had come here tonight and planned to kill the students? With his Quirk, they'd be dead in seconds! Not only that, but the Nomu they'd brought with them was strong enough to fight against All Might, and according to Shigaraki, he had several Nomu as powerful as that one at his disposal. They'd be killed if anyone other than Mob were to fight those things!

"As far as what kinds of villains will show up, I imagine they won't be nearly as weak as the small-time criminals our class faced at the U.S.J. They likely have much more experienced criminals with more unpredictable Quirks. I'm not sure whether our classmates or the students from Class B will be able to handle themselves as we did before."

"So then, what's the plan?"

"The first priority is ensuring that all students are protected from the poisonous gas, so we need to search for them. Then, I can create some gas masks for them. Once that's done, everyone should return to the main campus. We shouldn't engage in combat unless necessary. Now we need to go! We've wasted enough time talking!"

"Right!" The young esper ran behind Yaoyorozu as they made their way through the forest.

"We want to stay hidden while ensuring we don't follow the main route, or the villains will easily ambush us. And remember Mandalay's message: don't engage the villains in combat. I'm sure with your skill, that wouldn't be a problem, but I'd rather not have you taking the risk anyway."

"For sure." Mob felt the same way: the last thing he wanted was for Momo to get seriously hurt. Whatever plan the villains had, he couldn't allow them to succeed. As the young teenagers continued running quietly through the woods, they eventually came across the unconscious bodies of two of their classmates.

"Jirou and Hagakure. They've already been knocked out," the esper somberly noted.

"At the very least, we found them." From Momo's arms, two gas masks popped out, and the heroine wasted no time putting them on her friends' faces. "We've got two down. Now let's keep going. Use your telekinesis to carry them, but keep them low, or the villains could spot them."

As the teenage heroes continued venturing into the woods, they kept their eyes peeled, looking at every angle in every corner to see what students were roaming about or which ones had already been knocked out by this villain's Quirk. As they did, Shigeo's anxiety grew as anxious thoughts plagued his mind. So many of his classmates were in danger, probably laying defenseless on the ground, easy pickings for villains who stumbled across them.

Suddenly, a terrible thought came to him. What about Kota? Was he safe? After all, he was only a child, and he couldn't use his Quirk to defend himself. Not only that, but Mob was the only one who knew where Kota went by himself, meaning none of the other Pussycats could rescue him. But as disastrous thought came to him, he calmed down when he remembered someone else who knew Kota's location. Mob did not doubt that Izuku was already on his way to Kota's spot. He probably arrived already. A part of him wanted to go to confirm it, but at the moment, there were bigger priorities. Once he and Yaoyorozu had located all the students and returned them to camp, he'd go to Kota's location to confirm his safety. But for now, he couldn't let himself be distracted, for he needed to be on high alert for any villains roaming around the woods.

Soon after, they quickly found the next group of students wandering through the woods. Still, as it happened, they weren't from their class but were the students of Class B. Upon seeing them, Mob instantly recognized Kendo and Tetsutetsu, the former of who was using her Quirk to hold two students in her enlarged hands, while the latter was carrying an unconscious Shiozaki in his arms. Standing beside them were some other students of Class B he wasn't familiar with. Kodai was bringing the unconscious body of Honenuki, while the student Mob only knew as the one who wore the white headband, Yosetsu Awase, stood beside them.

"Yaoyorozu, Kageyama, you're safe!" Kendo said, her voice filled with relief.

"Don't talk yet! Quickly, put these on!" Momo instantly created four gas masks for the students of Class B. Once they put them on, they all took a collective breath.

"I forgot how useful your Quirk can be, Yaoyorozu," said Awase, "These masks'll be a big help."

"Are all of you ok," Yaoyorozu asked, "Did you run into any villains yet?"

"Thankfully, we haven't been spotted," Kendo replied, "I was trying to get back to camp with Honenuki and Yui when I ran into Tetsutetsu and Awase."

"How about the rest of Class B?" Mob inquired.

"A lot of them already got knocked out," Awase replied, "I went out into the woods to see if I'd find any other classmates who weren't unconscious so they could help me get the others back to camp. Didn't think I'd run into so many people."

"Anyway, our priority is getting all of the students back safely. Awase, take me to the rest of your classmates so I can give them the gas masks and stop the poisonous gas from entering their bodies anymore."

"Good idea," Kendo replied, "With Kageyama here, it'll be way easier to carry all the bodies back to camp. So come on, let's hurry before we run into any-"

"No. I'm going to fight." The other students were baffled by Tetsutetsu's sudden statement. "You guys go find the rest of the class and take them back to camp."

"What? Mandalay told us to retreat?" Kendo replied.

"That isn't a logical move! We don't know what kind of Quirks these villains have! Walking into enemy territory without a plan will only put you in danger!" Yaoyorozu retorted.

Tetsutetsu's gaze went to the ground. "You might not be able to feel the differences between our classes, but I do. Our classes aren't the same." The three conscious students of Class B lightly gasped. "Our two classes got into U.A. through the same exam, we studied the same curriculum, but your class is clearly better."

Tetsutetsu's eyes went back to Yaoyorozu. "It's because your class has been through crisis after crisis and turned each of them into an opportunity to strengthen yourselves. A real hero doesn't turn his back and run from a battle. Fighting villains is what we do. Besides,"

The steel-skinned teenager focused his attention on Kageyama. "I'm a member of the Body Improvement Club, and when we feel ready to throw in the towel, we push through the pain and fight on. Isn't that right, Kageyama?"

Despite the enormity of their situation, Mob couldn't help but feel a sudden swell of passion and pride, and he felt his lips curve into a small smile, and the other members of the Body Improvement Club couldn't help but do the same.

"First, I'm gonna find the guy making this poisonous gas and beat him to a pulp!"

"Yes, that villain should be our first target. Though finding him in this gas would be difficult. These masks can only filter so much gas."

"I think I've already got an idea of where he might-"

"Wait." Kendo was suddenly cut off by Kageyama, whose hand was raised out. "Do you hear that?"

The students raised their eyebrows and stood silent, trying to listen to what Mob was talking about.

"Yea. It's like... the trees are being cut down," Awase replied, "And so many at once..."

"It's getting louder..." muttered Yui. The distant sound of a few trees falling quickly changed into the deafening noise of dozens of trees being felled.

96%

"Get down!" Before the teenagers could begin to process what was causing this, a pair of elongated arms began to swing through the forest, aiming right at the bodies of the high school students. But before they could be sliced in half, they all felt a heavy pressure forcing them to the ground. As the esper used his psychic powers to force the students to duck, he simultaneously created a barrier that saved him from the sizeable bladed arm cleaving his body. As the teenagers looked up, standing among the fallen trees were three black Nomu standing side-by-side.

"Those are... Nomu" muttered Awase.

Each of the Nomu had elongated arms that were stretched several meters. At the edges of these arms, there were several sharp blades in place of their hands. For some unsettling reason, all three of these Nomu looked identical. Each of them had the same black skin, exposed brain, and lifeless eyes. However, those dead eyes quickly focused on one student in particular.

The bowl-haired esper gasped as he saw the middle Nomu rush towards him, punching him with an attack that managed to break through the weakened barrier. Unfortunately, the blow hit Mob in the stomach, sending him back several meters. As the esper felt the force of this Nomu's punch, he compared it to his first encounter with a Nomu. Compared to the Nomu at the U.S.J., this Nomu's punch wasn't nearly as strong, but it was still nothing to be scoffed at.

"Kageyama!" Kendo yelled.

Suddenly, the other two Nomu came rushing toward Kageyama and attempted to pummel him with their fists. Kageyama reacted quickly and released a telekinetic push to send the monsters flying back. As this happened, the other students promptly got back up to try and assist the esper.

"Hey, leave'em alone, you ugly bastard!" Tetsutetsu activated his Quirk and struck one of the Nomu with a barrage of punches. To the teenager's shock, the creature didn't even flinch, nor did it even bother acknowledging his attacks at all. Instead, the Nomu rushed toward Mob again and attempted to grab him, causing Mob to duck to avoid the creature's arms while he landed a point-blank energy blast at the Nomu. The monster was momentarily staggered, but Mob barely had time to register this before the other two Nomu came and attempted the same thing.

"These Nomu, they're not after us," Momo muttered, a terrible feeling growing in her stomach, "They're after Kageyama!" So was that the purpose of this attack, then? To eliminate Kageyama?

"Listen, you guys need to get the rest of the students to safety!" yelled Mob as he continued evading and defending against the monsters. "Yaoyorozu, go with the other students from Class B!"

"But what about you?" she shouted.

"I'll take care of these Nomu alone!"

Tetsutetsu refused to accept the esper's proposal. "No way in hell we're leaving you high and dry like this!"

"I can handle it! The rest of the class is the top priority! JUST GO!"

The hard-headed teenager attempted to protest, but Kendo placed a hand on his shoulder. "This isn't the time to argue, not when he's fighting for his life." The girl's body momentarily trembled in frustration, not wanting to leave Shigeo to fight alone but knowing it was their only choice. "We need to focus on doing what we can for the class. You and I'll find the villain creating the gas! Yui, take those two back to camp, and Yaoyorozu, Awase, go back to the rest of Class B!"

The ginger-haired girl quickly took off, sprinting into the woods. Tetsutetsu gave one last look at the psychic before running off to join his classmate. As this happened, Yui took the unconscious bodies of Shiozaki and Honenuki to be taken back to camp while Awase attempted to drag Yaoyorozu back to the rest of his classmates.

"Yaoyorozu, don't worry about it. You saw what Kageyama could do at the Sports Festival. These things don't stand a chance against him." Logically, she knew retreating was the best option, but it just felt so wrong to leave Kageyama alone like this. After this brief internal battle, she decided to choose logic, but before she left, the young teenager shouted to the esper.

"Kageyama!" She knew he was in the middle of a battle, but Yaoyorozu felt she just had to say this. A seed of fear and insecurity was growing in her heart, and she thought she had to stop it from growing any further, or else she wouldn't be able to think straight.

Upon hearing her voice, Shigeo telekinetically froze the Nomu and looked down at Yaoyorozu. "Once I'm done helping the others, I'm coming back here, ok! So you have to promise me that you'll be alright until then! Please!"

Mob could hear the tone of fear and desperation in her words and was shocked by how panicked she was. Knowing she was afraid of him dying in battle only strengthened his resolve to win. "I promise, Yaoyorozu! I won't be going anywhere!"

The resolve in his voice was firm, and it was enough for the young girl to push aside any doubts and leave the esper to fight on his own. Yes, Mob would be fine! He just had to be, and Momo would help ensure it!

After his friend left, Mob focused his full attention on the Nomu, who had just broken free of Mob's telekinesis. The creature extended its arm again and attempted to strike Kageyama, but the esper dodged the blow. The other two Nomu rushed towards him, and Mob retaliated by using his telekinetic push to send them pummeling through the trees. Despite this, the Nomu recovered instantly and continued the offensive.

The third Nomu's mouth quickly opened, and Mob felt a pit of nausea as he saw a red, gooey substance forming inside its mouth. The monster fired this unknown substance at Kageyama, but he used his telekinesis to hold it midair before it could reach him. Suddenly, the other two Nomu fired this same substance from their mouths, which the esper once again protected himself from using his telekinesis. So what exactly was it that they were firing at him? Before he had time to figure it out, one of the Nomus rushed forward and attacked him with a straight jab, which the esper blocked with a barrier. The other Nomu followed up by clamping its fists together and slamming down on Mob's barrier, which managed to crack his defenses before the final monster came with a sidekick and shattered the wall, its foot barreling into the esper's chest.

As this happened, Mob took note of something odd. Despite all of them appearing identical, the level of power each possessed varied. The strength of each of these physical attacks felt different, as though the first was the strongest, the second was weaker, and the third was the weakest. However, none possessed close to the strength of the U.S.J. Nomu. He wondered what the reason was, but he didn't have much time to think, with all of them coming down on him at once. Even if all of them weren't identical in strength, each was still strong enough to cause him considerable trouble.

Mob didn't have time to waste: he had to finish this quickly. The esper used his psychic powers to try and twist the creatures' limbs as he'd done against the previous Nomu, but their impressive strength allowed them to resist having their limbs torn off from their bodies. The most he could do with his powers was tear through the muscle and twist the limbs moderately, but this damage was quickly regenerated. It looked like any black Nomu could restore extensive damage. This was going to be trickier than he thought.

One of the Nomu began shaping his arms, changing his hands into a cannon with four holes in each hand. The creature fired a volley of small yet powerful energy blasts from his hand cannons. Mob placed another barrier, but it didn't take long for it to break and for Mob to be pelted by a barrage of energy bullets. While this happened, the other Nomu fired the same red gooey substance from before. Mob attempted to evade the slime, but he couldn't entirely avoid the substance, resulting in his leg. It didn't appear to be a harmful or acidic substance, lucky for Mob, but he quickly found it difficult to break free from this slime. So it was some adhesive meant to trap Mob.

The creatures continued to fire another volley of slime, but Mob protected himself with another barrier. However, he placed two additional barriers this time to give him extra defense and enough time to break free of the slime. The esper continued to try and use his strength to pull himself out, yet the adhesive was far more resilient than he'd expected it to be. He'd have to take more drastic measures to deal with this substance. Mob cupped his hand to form a ball of energy, which he then fired point-blank at the slime.

However, a light tremor shook beneath his feet as he did this. What was this? Whatever was capable of causing this must've had tremendous power. Could it be Deku's full-power punch? That was the first explanation he could come up with. But was there an enemy here who was stronger than the Nomu? It seemed unlikely. But the esper didn't have time to ponder these thoughts: if he lost focus, he'd be left at the mercy of the Nomu.

Mob maintained the energy blast for a few seconds until he vaporized enough of the red goo to write free from its grip. Unfortunately, the three Nomu decided to cooperate and pelt Mob's barriers with bullets from all sides, and even the multiple walls he placed weren't enough to keep Mob secured. Before he knew it, Mob was pelted by a barrage of bullets.

Mob quickly regained his composure and took evasive measures. Clearly, this was going to fail. If he kept going on the defensive, the Nomu would only keep wearing down his stamina. This was precisely what all the training with All Might and all his time at the training camp had been for: to overcome his reliance on his barriers and telekinesis. He could do this: he just had to remember everything he'd learned.

Mob formed ten whips at his hands, five for each hand, and used those whips to grab two of the Nomu. He slammed their bodies together before throwing them down to the ground, creating a large impact reverberating throughout the forest. The other Nomu fired another slime ball, but Mob destroyed the slime with a large blast of energy. Mob then rushed toward the Nomu and struck the creature with a right jab, followed by a downward kick that sent the creature down to the Earth and created another significant impact. Mob fired a giant ball of energy at the Nomu below him. Still, the other two Nomu intercepted the energy blast and redirected it into the air with effort, causing a massive explosion.

The two Nomu on the ground began to fire the small energy bullets again, and Mob decided to counter by firing energy bullets from both of his hands. Their attacks were evenly matched, but as they continued to fire, the third Nomu appeared behind him and kicked him to the ground. Damn it! Even when using more diverse energy attacks, fighting three opponents at once was still more than he bargained for.

As if to make matters worse, he suddenly felt a tremor, slightly more potent than before. What was going on? A pit was beginning to form in his stomach. His thoughts were returning to Deku. If the first tremors were really from one of Deku's full-power punches, then that means that whatever opponent he was fighting was strong enough to endure punches from 100% of One For All. He wanted to see for himself, but the Nomu prevented him from staying in the air thanks to their coordinated attacks.

97%

One of the Nomu swung its elongated arm at Mob, which the esper blocked with his arm, while the other Nomu once again fired the red slime to try and trap Mob. He narrowly avoided the slime but was met with an attack from the other Nomu, which he did not have time to block, followed by another slime shot. Mob narrowly blocked the slime with a barrier and retaliated with an energy blast. As the battle went on, he was becoming more and more concerned. Was Deku fighting an opponent he couldn't beat, one potentially rivaling the strength of All Might?

98%

It was becoming blatantly clear to the esper that his best friend needed Mob's help. But the Nomu weren't giving him any openings! He was feeling a rising sense of frustration. How could he be so ineffective? He was supposed to be a hero! He'd been spending all this time training with All Might and Deku to improve himself as a hero, yet he still couldn't deal with these opponents and help his friend when he was in trouble!

These conflicting thoughts gave the Nomu an opening to attack, and the obsidian creature launched a powerful energy blast that sent Mob crashing through several trees and into the ground. Then, the three Nomu joined together and repeated the combined assault from before. Except this time, as the esper put up more barriers to protect himself, two of the Nomu used their energy to fire bullets while the other fired the red slime, having learned from the previous attacks. While defending himself, Mob attempted to use his telekinesis to push the Nomu away. Still, the creatures could resist his telekinesis, and the continuous attacks from the other two Nomu made it challenging to maintain his multiple barriers. Eventually, the barriers broke again, and Mob could not adequately defend himself as the combination of energy bullets and slime struck him.

The Nomu saw this as their chance. With the esper distracted, all three Nomu fired their balls of slime at the esper, and within seconds, nearly all of his body was covered with the gooey substance. Only his head remained untouched to give him a chance to breathe. The esper tried to break free of the sticky material with all his might, but it wouldn't budge.

With the esper restrained, all three Nomu surrounded him. Mob's demeanor became more panicked, more frantic. No, no, no, this couldn't be happening. He couldn't allow himself to be defeated at a time like this. Not when his best friend could be fighting for his life. He couldn't let this! He needed to break free now, now, NOW!

100% Desperation

Once again driven by the fear of his friends in mortal danger, Mob's hidden power reignited. What was seemingly unescapable before became as fragile as paper. The red slime burst all around him with a single burst of energy. The esper's full strength helplessly outclassed the Nomu. Shigeo punched one of the Nomu square in the chest with blinding speed. The impact created a burst of shockwaves, and within seconds, the Nomu's body suddenly turned into a dark grey fluid, dissolving on the floor. Mob didn't even have time to register the confusion of this phenomenon and turned his sight to the other Nomu, kicking the creature's head off and watching the same phenomenon occur.

For the final Nomu, the teenager fired a short-range burst of energy which vaporized nearly all of the Nomu's upper body, leaving a large empty hole in place. Shigeo expected this to destroy the Nomu as it did for the other two, but it quickly began to regenerate for some reason. Mob quickly fired a powerful energy blast at the creature's head. Unfortunately, the Nomu could not regenerate from this damage, leaving only its mangled, half-regenerated body.

There was no time to lose. The battle with the Nomu had taken Shigeo far from their original spot, so he quickly shot up to the sky to get a birds-eye view. His eyes desperately scanned the surrounding environment to find the landmark where Kota would run off. After a few seconds, he pinpointed the location and flew over to the site in a fraction of a second.

Mob arrived at the scene, expecting a fight and his friend with a broken arm, but what he saw before him was entirely different. The villain he was prepared to defeat lay already defeated and unconscious, and standing victorious over the fallen foe was his best friend. Kota was only a few feet beside Izuku; his eyes drenched with tears.

Izuku and Kota turned when they saw this new arrival. Deku felt a weight lifted off his shoulder and let out a smile of relief. During his fight with Muscular, after he'd knocked him down with his first 100% Detroit Smash, he'd seen his friend fighting three opponents in the distance. But before he could try and help him, Muscular had recovered and forced him to use another Detroit Smash. Luckily, Mob didn't need his help.

"Shige, thank god you're ok. You managed to beat the three villains."

"Izuku..." Mob's entire body shook, his aura flaring to life as he looked at his friend's state. Blood was running down his face. His left arm had been broken and stood limp at this side, but his left arm looked fine compared to the utter mess his right arm was in. His right arm was covered in a dark-black hue, destroyed by the force of One For All. The last time he'd seen Deku's limbs in that shade was during his fight against Todoroki when he used his broken fingers to fight.

Tears quickly pooled in the esper's eyes, rushing over to his friend and gazing at the injuries like a doctor looking over a patient. "Izuku! What happened to your arms? What did you do to yourself?"

"I underestimated that villain's power and had to surpass my limit."

"You overdid it and used two full-powered smashes with your same arm, didn't you?" Deku stayed silent.

"You shouldn't have done that! You should've waited for me to get here!"

"There wasn't enough time! He was going to kill Kota!"

Mob placed both his hands on his forehead, still horrified by the extent of the damage to his friend's arms. "You can't go on with those injuries! I need to heal you right away!"

Beside them, the young boy gasped, his eyes glistening with faint hope. "You mean you can fix his arms?"

"Yes," the esper replied, "I'll get started on the left one."

"No!" Midoriya fiercely shook his head in disapproval. "The villain I just fought told me that the League of Villains was targeting you. You'll need all your strength. If you waste your energy healing me, you'll be easy prey for the other villains."

"I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!" Deku jolted at the loud, panicked edge in his voice. This was the first time Deku had ever heard his friend swear or speak in such a desperate tone. "It's my fault that you're injured. If I'd beaten them sooner, I could've come here and saved you. It's my responsibility to heal you when you break yourself, and I won't let you stay with those mangled arms while villains attack the camp! Now be quiet, and let me fix your arms!"

Just as Shigeo had been stricken silent by Deku's outburst before, Deku felt any objections he had stick themselves in his throat after Mob's yelling. Even though logically, Deku's reasoning held greater weight, Mob wasn't being driven by logic. The only thing fueling the esper at that moment was this unstable sense of desperation and guilt over Deku's current predicament, and that fuel wouldn't run out until Deku's arms were as good as new. Because Deku could hear that desperation in his voice, he knew anything he said to try and dissuade his friend would be pointless.

Mob momentarily inspected Deku's left arm to see where the fracture was and where he'd need to channel the most energy. Then, he placed both his hands over Izuku's left arm and sent his psychic energy into the broken limb, coating it with his power. However, as he did this, Mob quickly noted something wrong. For some reason, his healing was less... precise. It was as if the signals he was sending to the body to heal itself weren't giving the body the proper command.

"What the... what's wrong with my healing? I've gotta channel more energy." Mob grunted in frustration and focused more energy on the broken arm to compensate for the less precise signals.

After about twenty seconds, the energy around Deku's left arm faded, and it now appeared fixed entirely. "Now, onto the other one."

Deku regained his voice after noticing Mob momentarily struggle with the healing and forced his right arm away. "Shige, that's enough. If it took that much energy to fix my left arm, it'll take way more energy to fix my right arm. You'll only drain yourself!"

"I said I'm fixing your arm, Izuku!" shouted Mob. He snatched Izuku's right arm, in no mood to hear his friend's objections, "If you keep resisting, then I'll knock you out if I have to! You got it?!"

Hearing his friend's tone and threat put him back in silence. The last thing he wanted was to be unconscious while his friends were in danger. Mob took hold of the other arm and prepared for the healing. Energy burst all around his body, and Mob then redirected it into Izuku's damaged arm. His limb was now glowing bright blue, much brighter than the energy surrounding his left arm. Mob channeled everything he had, sending the imperfect healing signals mixed in with the feelings of desperation imbued in his power. The esper yelled, putting all the energy he could muster into healing his friend while Deku and Kota stood in shock.

Finally, after over thirty seconds, the esper released his hands from his friend's arm. As the energy around Deku's arm faded, Kota felt his heart flip when he saw that it looked completely normal.

"He really fixed you," muttered Kota as he approached Izuku and placed his tiny hands around his forearm. Mob, too, felt all the sense of fear and desperation that had been driving him just a few seconds ago disappear, replaced by a sense of utter relief. Unfortunately for the esper, however, with that absence of desperation came a lack of nearly all his power, not to mention no feeling in his legs.

Both Deku and Kota rushed toward and caught Mob before he could fall to the ground. Now the roles were reversed, as Deku looked on in desperation at his friend's weakened state while Mob looked at his friend with relief that his friend was alive and uninjured.

"Are you ok?" asked Kota.

"Yea, yea, I'm fine, Kota," replied Mob, flashing a small smile, "I was too focused on Deku to say it, but I'm glad you're ok, Kota."

"Damn it, Shige..." Deku's stomach twisted in knots, for what was happening to Mob was as he'd feared. "You used up all your energy healing me, didn't you? So now you won't be able to fight."

"I just need a few minutes; then, I'll be able to get some strength back." Deku and Kota stood by the esper's side while he sat and recovered. While he was recovering, Deku decided to compare notes.

"Shige, tell me what happened in the woods. Did you see any of the other classmates? Who were those three opponents you were fighting?"

"Yaoyorozu and I were in the woods when we saw the pink gas spread around us. Yaoyorozu made some masks for us, and once we heard Mandalay's message, we went out to look for our classmates to give them the gas masks. We found Jirou and Hagakure knocked unconscious by the gas and took them with us. Along the way, we met up with Tetsutetsu and Kendo, and another student from Class B, and they were carrying a few of their unconscious classmates too. So we planned to divide into two teams, one taking gas masks to the rest of the classmates in the woods and the other taking the classmates back to camp. But suddenly, we were attacked by three Nomu, and all of them targeted me. So I held the Nomu off while the rest of them went to finish the plan."

"So those were Nomu you fought?" The gravity of their situation and Mob's safety only intensified. "How strong were they?"

"They weren't nearly as powerful as the Nomu from the U.S.J., but they were tough. But it was weird that two of the Nomu were weaker than the main one. So when I hit those two with strong attacks, they dissolved into some dark goop."

"Odd..." The green-eyed teenager momentarily pondered this, "From what it sounds like, those two other Nomu might've been some weaker copies. On the other hand, it sounds like they were being controlled to target you too. So it must be one of the villain's Quirks. Which means that they can probably make more of those Nomu..." The thought of this made both Izuku and Shigeo shudder with fear. "Luckily, it doesn't look like any of those Nomu are out there right now, and based on the damage they caused, I think we would've noticed if there were more of them hunting for our classmates in the woods. Still, we're not out of this yet. We have no idea what other villains are out there, and if any of them are on the same level as the one I just fought, then all of our lives are in danger. On top of that, there might be other students the League is targeting."

"So what do we do?"

"First, we need to let Mr. Aizawa and the Pussycats know they're after the students." Deku shifted his gaze towards the unconscious Muscular. "We'll leave Muscular here for right now. My Delaware Detroit Smash should keep him unconscious for a while, and even if he did manage to wake up, he'd be too weak to put up a real fight. Still..." Deku's eyes returned to look at both Shigeo and Kota.

"Right now, the priority is making sure you two are safe. Shige, you go back to camp while I go help the rest of our-"

"No way." The esper refused to entertain the notion of sitting on the sidelines during this attack. "I'm not gonna just sit while our friends are in danger."

"Shige, we can't risk putting you in the middle of this conflict when you're the main target, especially when you drained so much of your energy."

"I can still muster up a bit of power. That should be enough to get by, as it was against Stain."

"But-"

"Izuku, if you were the one the League was targeting, would you stand by and do nothing?" Deku had no response, for both of them already knew the answer. "Even if I hadn't fixed those injuries, that still probably wouldn't have stopped you from going to help our classmates. And if you're going, I'm going."

The friend contemplated his friend's words. Even if he wanted Mob to return to the camp, his friend would probably go out into the woods alone, and unlike Mob, Deku didn't have the heart to knock Shigeo out cold, as he felt it would be akin to a betrayal. "Alright, fine. But if you're going, you NEED to stay with me at all times. So I'll protect you in case any villains ambush us.

"Kota, we're gonna need your help here, too..." The young teenager bent down to meet the child at eye level. "The forest has been set on fire by a villain's Quirk, which means the flames could trap our friends. But your water Quirk can put those fires out. We need you."

Deku stood back up, and Mob saw an unmistakable smile on his face. "We're gonna make it through this and get everyone back to camp safely. I'm sure of it!" The esper couldn't help but feel a sense of awe and astonishment. Even with their desperate situation, Izuku didn't let himself be swallowed by despair. He was ready to stand tall and rescue all their friends with a smile. This standard was something Mob could not meet. Yet, it was the standard he aimed to achieve as a hero.

"Shige, have you managed to gain some of your power yet?"

"I'm trying, but it'll take another minute or two."

Deku internally sighed in frustration. "Right now, we can't wait that long. You and Kota, get on my back, and I'll get us down from here." The two did as they were told. Shigeo laced his arms around Deku's chest while Kota wrapped his tiny arms around the esper's neck.

"Hang on tight. This could be rough!" Deku rushed down the cliffside, with the other two keeping their grips firm as the green electricity cackled to life. While he may have spoken with confidence just now, Izuku's mind was still racing, wondering just what the villains were up to.

---

While Mob and Izuku had been fighting for their lives against some of the strongest villains who'd come to the camp, the rest of the Vanguard Action Squad had been hard at work confronting other enemies. The leader of the Vanguard Action Squad, Dabi, had ordered the villains to search the forest to find their target. While this happened, he attempted to snuff out any classmates by setting large portions of the woods on fire. Alongside him was Twice, who had used his Quirk's fearsome ability to make multiple copies of anyone he'd taken measurements of. Dabi had given Twice the order to create a clone of the pyrokinetic to attack the main camp building and keep the heroes occupied while also ordering him to make two Nomu clones to assist the main Nomu in cutting down the forest to hunt for Mob.

As for the first clone of Dabi, when it confronted Mr. Aizawa, the eraser hero made quick work of the clone and destroyed it before it had much of a chance to put up a fight.

"Come on, Dabi, you got your ass handed to you by a magic scarf!" said Twice.

"How weak. That happened fast. Well, whatever. Just make another one of me. We have to keep the pros occupied. Could you keep me up to date on how the other two Nomu are doing? That'll let us know whether they managed to trap Kageyama."

This conversation had happened only a few minutes before the confrontation between Mob and the Nomu. During that time, each of the villains had confronted some of the students in the woods, while Dabi had continued making fires and Twice continued making copies of Dabi to distract the pro heroes. However, the pyrokinetic villain was quickly hit with some unfortunate news.

"Yo Dabi, those weak-ass Nomu couldn't cut it! Both of them bit the dust, pro'lly by that jerkwad Kageyama."

Dabi sighed in frustration. "If the two copies were destroyed, then it's a safe bet to say the main Nomu was beaten too. Muscular is the only other person who might be strong enough to take Kageyama in." The villain turned on the com system. "Hey, Muscular, do you read me? Kageyama beat the Nomu. Do you have a read on his location?" The com system was silent. "Muscular! Are you there?"

It was just one setback after another. "Looks like Muscular's been beaten, probably by Kageyama too..."

"So what? Want me to make more Nomu to sniff out that bowl cut?"

"No, if Kageyama managed to beat them so easily, it'd probably just be a waste of time. It looks like brute force isn't going to be the answer to this. Instead, we gotta find a way to force him to cooperate." Dabi stared at the ground momentarily to ponder the best course of action. What would be the best way to force Kageyama's hand?

An idea appeared like a freshly placed light bulb within a few seconds. "I got it. Vanguard Action Squad, if you can read me, change of plans. Focus on finding and tracking down some new targets..."

---

Things were getting terrible. Running through the woods, Mr. Aizawa tried locating the rest of the students. A few of them had already returned to camp, but several students still needed to be accounted for. Also, the heroes still needed more information about the villain's numbers or plans. Regardless, the priority was getting all the students back to camp immediately.

"Mr. Aizawa!"

From the corner of his right eye, the Eraser hero caught sight of Shigeo and Izuku running together in the woods, with Kota riding on Izuku's back. From what he saw, neither of the two boys was injured, which was fortunate.

"Mr. Aizawa, you're here!" said Izuku, "Thank goodness. We need to catch you up on what we've learned about the villains, but we don't have much time. There's a message we need to give to Mandalay. Take care of Kota while we're gone."

"Do you know how the rest of our class is doing?" Mob asked, "How many of them have returned to camp."

"So far, five of your classmates and classmates who were at the remedial course have returned to camp."

"Then we've got to find the rest of them now! So let's go, Izuku!"

"Right!"

"Hold it!" Their homeroom teacher's stern voice stopped them before they could return to the woods. "You two remember what happened in Hosu, don't you? Make sure that neither of you goes too far, understand? All of the lives of the students are at stake."

Both teenagers became momentarily somber. How could either of them forget that night when they nearly had to watch their classmate get killed and the same incident where the Chief of Police had reprimanded them for using their Quirks against villains?

"No, we haven't," Mob replied.

"Good. Then both of you go. And say something to Mandalay for me, too: I'm hereby granting permission to all the students in the woods to use their Quirks in combat against the villains. You got it!"

"Understood." With that, both friends went to the forest to search for Mandalay and resume their operation to bring all the students back to camp safely. Izuku and Shigeo were sprinting through the woods, each of their bodies coated with their respective energy to increase their speed.

As the two of them were running, Deku wanted to quickly run by some extra things with his friend. "Shige, how much power are you at right now?"

7%

"Right now, I'm at a little more than five percent. That should be enough to defend me." Despite this assurance, Shigeo could see more was needed to dissuade his friend's concerns. "Trust me; I can handle this. But promise me that you won't go too far again if we run into any other powerful villains. I don't have the energy to fix even a broken arm right now."

"I'll... try my best."

After less than a minute of going through the woods, the two teenagers made it to the clearing where the teams had gathered for the night activity. Mandalay and Tiger were still in combat with the two other villains. The two quickly noticed that Spinner was about to swing his large sword down to cleave Mandalay in two, but before he could, Mob used his telekinesis to hold his sword in place. Deku used the opportunity to smash Spinner's sword into pieces.

"Mandalay!" Deku shouted while still midair, "Kota! He's safe!"

"You two found him?!" Mandalay had not expected either Izuku or Shigeo to return to the battlefield, but she was relieved that Kota was rescued.

"And we've got a message from Mr. Aizawa! We need to use Telepath!" Mob yelled, "Tell all the students that Mr. Aizawa's granted us permission to fight the villains!"

Mandalay did as they said, sending the telepathic signal to all the students in the woods. But as soon as she did, the pro hero directed her attention back to the two students on the battlefield. "The two of you, get back to camp right now!"

"I'm sorry, I can't!" Deku's electric aura enveloped him as he ran to the woods, and Mob followed suit by running in his direction. "And one more thing! We know one of the reasons that they're here! They're after Shige!"

"What?!" This statement drew the attention of both Mandalay and Magne away from their opponents. For Mandalay, it was a shock that the student they were after was running around in the woods, and for Magne, she was baffled by how this child knew about their objective. Could Kageyama have told him? Given that he defeated the Nomu, it was likely that Kageyama had managed to put the pieces together and realize the Nomu had explicitly targeted him. But now that other students knew their target, it further complicated the situation.

Mandalay expressed her concern towards the esper. "If you're their target, Kageyama, you can't be out here! We can't let you put yourself at further risk!"

"I'll protect Shige from the other villains!" Deku replied, "I'll get him back to camp as soon as we find the rest of our classmates, I promise!"

But before either of the pro heroes could object, the two students had already bolted into the woods. "At least we managed to get Mr. Aizawa's message to everyone in the woods. Hopefully, they'll be able to hold their own long enough for us to get there. Right now, our job is to find the rest of our classmates. Not only is it important to get them back to camp, but if we group, our strength in numbers will be enough to keep you and everyone else safe."

"So where do you think our classmates could be?" the esper asked.

"We must follow the route laid out for the Test of Courage. Assuming our classmates didn't return to camp, they should still be on the route. The ones who went second for the Test of Courage were Todoroki and Kacchan, so if we keep following the route, they should be the first ones we find."

But the two friends were in for another surprise. A giant claw of black energy came at high speed from up ahead, which Midoriya and Kageyama barely avoided. Upon dodging to the left, they noticed their classmate Shoji hiding in the bushes. Both pairs of eyes widened in concern when they saw one of Shoji's arms covered in blood.

"Shoji! What happened?" asked Mob.

"Kageyama, I just heard Mandalay's message. You're the League of Villain's main target, yet you're out here trying to save our friends, right?"

Mob ignored Shoji's words and re-iterated his previous statement. "You're hurt. So one of the villains found you?"

"Yes. Villains ambushed Tokoyami and me. After we received Mandalay's first message, we were on high alert. But one of the villains still managed to get the drop on us. I tried to cover us both, but the villain managed to get my arm. Seeing me injured triggered Tokoyami's Quirk."

A weight quickly began to settle in his stomach. He remembered his conversation with Tokoyami at the U.S.J. and how Dark Shadow acted in the rainy environment. "No, don't tell me..."

12%

"Yes. If we want to get to our classmates, we must get through Dark Shadow first." Confirming his fears, the three students looked ahead, and Dark Shadow was rampaging through the forest in all its destructive glory. Dark Shadow's size had increased many times over. His regular claws were large enough to fall trees in a single swipe. The dark creation's timid, yellow eyes were bleached blood red, seeking out anything to destroy, and trapped in the creature's mouth, out of the view of his friends, was Tokoyami, trying to do anything to calm down Dark Shadow.

"I had no idea Tokoyami's Quirk could explode like this..." muttered Deku.

"His righteous anger and regret must fuel it..."

"He needs help..." Inside the esper's heart was beginning to fill a rising sense of empathy and concern. To lose control of his power was a guilt and fear that he was all too familiar with, and seeing the friend he'd worked beside at his internship and trained as part of the Body Improvement Club go through the same feeling was something he couldn't take. "I need to calm down Dark Shadow with some light!"

Too driven by his compassion and empathy to wait for the proper opening, Shigeo immediately jumped in front of the raging beast of darkness and prepared to fire a blast of bright psychic energy. But jumping in front of Dark Shadow allowed him to see an unobstructed view of Tokoyami, and Mob's entire body froze as he saw the tears streaming down his friend's face. He saw the utter despair and desperation with which Tokoyami fought to maintain control and not hurt his friend, all the same raw emotions that Kageyama had felt whenever he lost control of his power.

22%

Unfortunately for the esper, his moment of empathy would prove to be his downfall, for it gave a chance for the uncontrollable Dark Shadow to strike him. Kageyama was defenseless as the creature's dark appendage struck him, sending him crashing through multiple trees and into a rock formation several hundred meters away.

"Shige!" Deku cried out for his friend, alerting Dark Shadow to his presence. The creature swung its arm at the noise it heard, and both Shoji and Deku narrowly avoided the blow before ducking into more bushes.

"NOOO!" Tokoyami was horrified at the way his Quirk mercilessly attacked his close friend. But, sadly, these churning emotions served as more fuel for the beast of darkness, and it let out a mighty roar before continuing its rampage with even greater ferocity.

"You need to keep your voice down," Shoji whispered, "Right now, Dark Shadow is lashing out at any sound or movement like a wild animal."

"Listen, forget about me! Help Kageyama and find the rest of our classmates! "DARK SHADOW! CALM DOWN!"

Shoji contemplated their best course of action to calm the rampaging beast. "We need to lead them to a fire or back to camp to contain Dark Shadow. I know these are strange circumstances, but I can't leave a suffering friend behind. So if you help Kageyama, I'll distract Dark Shadow, and you can run."

"Wait, the fire and camp are both far away. You'll be in danger if-" His sentence was cut short by Dark Shadow's giant claw felling the trees.

"I know that!" whispered Shoji, "But to save people, you have to take risks! That's what makes a hero a hero! So will you stay with me and help Tokoyami, or will you go to Kageyama's side?"

Deku was at a crossroads, for he knew that either option would have its consequences. If he left to help Shigeo, that would only leave Shoji alone to fend off Dark Shadow, but if he helped Tokoyami, it would leave Mob vulnerable to villain attack. Given that Mob hadn't yet returned, Izuku assumed that Dark Shadow's attack had knocked him unconscious. Nevertheless, it vexed him to make this choice, a sacrifice between two friends.

"I've decided: we'll stop Dark Shadow." It made Deku vent with frustration, but Dark Shadow was the biggest problem right now. With its kind of power, a single attack from it could potentially kill Shoji or any other students unfortunate enough to cross its path. "As soon as we get him under control, I'll rush to help Shige. So here's a plan. It's not perfect, but it might work."

"What is it?"

"If Dark Shadow reacts to sound, make duplicate arms to bait him, so he'll follow us without attacking our bodies. We'll lead him to Kacchan and Todoroki so they can create some light to calm Dark Shadow. But we need to hurry as quickly as possible. Every second we stand here is another second that Shige's vulnerable."

"Of course."

---

As some of the strongest students in Class A dealt with Dark Shadow, the other strongest students barely held their own against the villain. As they went on the Path of Courage, they'd encountered the poison gas and an unconscious student. Furthermore, Todoroki and Bakugo were met with the insane villain Moonfish, whose Quirk allowed him to create massive blades generated from his teeth. Todoroki defended them with large ice walls, but the villain's metal blades slowly chipped away at the ice. To make matters worse, Bakugo could only use his explosions to defend themselves by causing a fire, and with Todoroki's line of sight being blocked, it would make it more difficult for him to put out such a large-scale fire. Right now, both of them were at their wit's end, and neither of them knew how they'd be able to defeat this villain.

Their attention was drawn to loud booming coming from the left. The students squinted their eyes to get a good look at the cause and noticed Shoji and Deku running for their lives while some giant monster chased them.

"Is that Shoji and Midoriya, and the thing behind them... could it be Tokoyami?" exclaimed Todoroki.

"Bakugo, Todoroki, one of you, give us some light!" Shoji shouted, "Dark Shadow's out of control!"

As the students approached the battle, Moonfish used one of his blades to try and kill Shoji, but Dark Shadow quickly slammed Moonfish to the ground.

"Dark Shadow's attacking blindly. I'll use my fire to-"

"Not so fast." Before Todoroki could finish his sentence, Bakugo held his hand out, for there was something that Dark Shadow could take care of for them. Lying on the ground, Moonfish used his teeth blades to lift himself. This villain was utterly furious at this unknown opponent coming in and ruining his fun.

"I won't allow it. I'm the one who gets to slice them open. DON'T STEAL FROM ME!" The villain attacked Dark Shadow with multiple steel blades, but the creature effortlessly grasped the villain in its giant claw.

"You don't matter, INSIGNIFICANT BUG!" Dark Shadow squeezed the villain in its claw, destroying all of Moonfish's teeth blades before throwing the defeated villain against a tree. But even that was not enough to satiate Dark Shadow's growing rage.

"Not enough. IT'S NOT ENOUGH!" The creature of darkness prepared to resume its mindless rampage, but before it could, Todoroki and Bakugo coordinated their attacks by lighting fire and explosions right next to the entrance where Dark Shadow was manifesting. Within ten seconds, Dark Shadow had decreased its size, and the swirling vortex of rage had dissipated, promptly returning to rest inside Tokoyami's body.

"Looks like we bailed you out, birdbrain," remarked Bakugo. Tokoyami didn't have time to register that insult, for now, that he had regained control over Dark Shadow; they could focus on getting Kageyama.

"We need to get Kageyama!"

Deku agreed. He had to get to Shigeo before any of the villains did. "Right!"

"Wait, what happened to Kageyama," questioned Todoroki, "I heard from Mandalay's message that the League was targeting him. Did they capture him?"

"No: while Dark Shadow was out of control, he tried to stop Dark Shadow by generating light, but for some reason, he hesitated and got attacked. He might be unconscious, so I've got to get him right now! The rest of you, get back to camp! It's too dangerous to go down the main route, especially since the Pussycats might still be fighting the villains, so cut through the woods and go as fast as you can. With all of you together, even if you run across any villains, you should be able to handle it. Shige and I will catch up to you quickly!"

"Wait, Midoriya, you shouldn't go alo-" Shoji didn't have time to finish his sentence before Deku began rushing back to where Dark Shadow's rampage had started.

"Midoriya's right. We need to get to camp quickly; splitting up would only expose us more. With those two together, I doubt any villain here could defeat them. So now let's hurry!" said Todoroki.

"Don't tell me what to do!" yelled Bakugo as they all began to pick up a running pace. Tokoyami took a moment to kneel on the floor, still overcome with emotion and guilt, but Shoji quickly picked him up to his feet.

"Come on, Tokoyami. We have to go. Kageyama's going to be fine. You know how tough he is."

"Right..." The avian student could only mutter this response before running alongside the others. Bakugo and Tokoyami were running at the back, while Shoji ran at the front, and Todoroki ran in the middle, carrying the body of the unconscious student from Class B. The students continued running through the woods, with Shoji using his Quirk to listen in for any signs of fellow students or villains. Finally, after about 30 seconds of running, Shoji picked up on something from the far left.

"I think our classmates are fighting a villain! Over there!" Shoji pointed in the direction and led them all to the sound of the fight. When they reached a clearing, they were greeted by Ochaco and Tsu in combat against a female villain who looked about their age: Himiko Toga. Tsu was pinned against a tree, a knife stuck in her hair to immobilize her, while Ochaco was pinning their opponent to the ground.

"Guys, help her!" Tsu yelled.

Upon seeing more friends come to assist, Toga broke Ochaco's grip and jumped back into the bushes. "There's too many people, and I don't feel like being killed tonight, so toodles."

As the villain fled, Ochaco got up and tried to catch Toga. "Get her!" But Tsu stopped her before she could start a chase.

"It's too dangerous! We have no idea what kind of Quirk she has."

"Who was that girl just now?" Todoroki asked.

"One of the villains."

"We don't have time to talk," said Shoji, "We've got to move, or should we wait a minute for Kageyama and Midoriya?"

"Wait, what about Kageyama and Midoriya?" Ochaco asked, a lump forming in her throat. "Are they hurt? I heard Mandalay's message: the villains are after Kageyama."

"They're alright. A few minutes ago, Dark Shadow had gone out of control and attacked Kageyama, so we had to go to Todoroki and Bakugo to calm him down with some light. Deku went to get Kageyama, and they said they'd be back in a minute."

"Hold on. You said that you went to Bakugo and Todoroki to get Dark Shadow under control, but then where's Bakugo and Tokoyami too?"

Tsu's question made no sense to the mutant teenager. "What do you mean? They're right behind-"

But when Shoji and Todoroki turned around, neither Bakugo nor Tokoyami was in sight. What the... when did they disappear?

"Nice trick, eh?" From atop one of the trees was a man with an orange coat, a mask, and a top hat, leaning against the tree with utter confidence. The man was a villain known as Mr. Compress, a master of magic and misdirection. "I took the lads you were talking about and took them with my magic. Their talents would be squandered if they were cast as heroes, especially after the avian fellow so easily took care of Moonfish."

All the students felt their stomachs twist. Things just kept getting worse.

---

While this was happening, Deku was still going on a mad sprint to where Kageyama had been attacked. His mind couldn't shake the fear that perhaps one of the villains had taken Mob when he was injured and unconscious, and if that were the case, then the villains would've already won. But Deku couldn't accept that! Mob just had to be alright!

Deku soon made it to the original site, and his first action was finding the section with the broken trees, for that would give him the trajectory of where Mob was launched and how far. Izuku found the area he was looking for to the far right and followed the trail of broken trees. When he looked at the end of these trees' path, he sighed in utter relief when he saw that his friend was still there. Unconscious, but not kidnapped. It looked like none of the villains had caught sight of this.

The teenager quickly cradled the unconscious friend in his arms. Some blood was running down his head. He checked his friend for a pulse and could luckily hear a clear heartbeat. "Shige, Shige wake up!"

Izuku shook his friend, whose eyes began to flutter open quickly. "Wha-Izuku?"

"Shige!" The friend couldn't help but experience a quick surge of relief, causing him to tug Shigeo in for a quick hug, which the esper reciprocated.

"Where-where's Shoji and Tokoyami?" The esper grabbed both of his friend's arms. "How's Tokoyami? Did you manage to get Dark Shadow under control?"

"Yea. We lured Dark Shadow to Kacchan and Todoroki's location, and they used their Quirks to weaken Dark Shadow."

"Thank goodness." Though the psychic was relieved that Tokoyami had gotten Dark Shadow under control again, he still felt a growing concern. With how many incidents had been occurring and the kind of damage their classmates had been taking while fighting these villains, he wondered what other fights might've been going on now, how many other students were still fighting for their lives.

"Can you stand? You took a pretty big hit from Dark Shadow."

The esper momentarily struggled to reach his feet, with Deku giving him a shoulder to lean on. "I can still fight."

"Good. Now we need to hurry back. I sent the others back to camp. We need to rejoin them. Once we all get back, we can tally how many students returned safely and how many still need rescue in the woods."

But as the two friends prepared to leave, they noticed a giant wall of ice forming in the distance. "That's Todoroki... He used one of his strongest moves," muttered Deku.

"Don't tell me..." Both friends began to fear the worst. Without another word, both of them began sprinting toward the location. If Todoroki had engaged in combat, that means they'd likely been attacked by the villains, and for him to use such a strong attack means that the villain must be especially powerful. If that were the case, then their classmates would need their help!

---

Unfortunately for the students in the woods, Compress possessed remarkable speed and agility that none could replicate. As a result, the villain reached the rendevous point where the villains had decided to meet once they'd completed their objective. When he touched down in the open space, he saw that among the members of the Vanguard Action Squad, Dabi, Twice, and Toga had already arrived.

"Yo Compress, you said on the com that you captured some other students like I said, right?"

"Correct. I did as you instructed and took some of the students, though I selected the ones I thought would be most willing to join us on the grander stage of villainy."

"Right now, the priority is getting Kageyama. The other students you captured are just bait. So now we gotta find a way to bring Kageyama here."

"And how do you plan to do that, smart guy?" questioned Twice.

"Simple." Dabi raised his hand and fired a large burst of blue flames that spewed into the sky like a small eruption. "That'll probably be big enough to get his attention. And Twice, just in case, be ready to make more copies of the Nomu if I tell you to."

As if on cue, the bowl-haired esper burst through the trees, and alongside him was Izuku Midoriya. When Himiko Toga got a good look at the two teenagers, she felt her heart flutter while the heat in her cheeks rose. She could see the faint traces of blood running down Shigeo's face, as he'd failed to wipe it all off before, as well as some of the dried blood still on Deku's forehead from when Muscular had struck him.

"So those're the rest of the villains," muttered Deku, "And they've all convened here. Why?"

From the left, the two friends saw Shoji and Todoroki exit; their faces panicked and fearful before noticing their other two classmates nearby.

"Kageyama, Midoriya, that man in the mask took Bakugo and Tokoyami!"

"WHAT?!" They thought that their classmates having to fight villains was the worst-case scenario, but they were proven wrong. Somehow, the villains had managed to get the drop on their classmates while they were away. Mob, in particular, was getting an excruciating feeling of deja vu. He remembered the last time they were in a dire situation like this when his little brother had been kidnapped by Claw to be turned into one of their soldiers. Now the League of Villains was going to do the same thing!

"Damn it!" shouted Deku, activating One For All as he prepared to get his friends back. However, several large purple holes appeared out of nowhere before he could do that. Those purple holes looked strangely familiar... At the largest hole, a pair of yellow eyes formed. They all recognized him!

"It's the warp villain from the U.S.J.!"

"Well, we got what we came for," said Dabi, "Let's head out!"

"Wait, I don't understand!" Mob shouted, "I thought you were here for me!"

"True. We initially came here to take you with us as a hostage, which is why we had the Nomu try to capture you, but we decided that it would be too difficult once you beat them all. So we compromised and took a few other classmates of yours. I'm sure Shigaraki will understand our reasons. Now let's go." Dabi turned to Twice, who was just about to enter the portal. "Oh, and Twice, why don't you make a few extra Nomu as some fare-well presents to our friends here?"

All of the students there felt their entire bodies tense. This situation had just gotten to its lowest point. All of them prepared to lunge and make their move, but before anyone there could take a step, they were all halted by the esper's booming voice.

"WAIT, I'LL GO WITH YOU!" Shigeo's classmates looked at him as if he'd gone crazy. Dabi, on the other hand, couldn't help but slyly grin. Mob had already taken the words out of the villain's mouth.

"Let Tokoyami and Bakugo go; stop the assault on the U.A. camp; withdraw all the villains, and I'll go with you."

"Shige, you can't be serious!" Deku couldn't believe that his friend would be willing to give himself up so quickly without even trying to use his powers or coordinate an attack to stop the villains from leaving. "You can't just go with the villains like that!"

"Midoriya's right!" Shoji added, "Stop talking nonsense!"

"I have to. It's the only way we'll get Tokoyami and Bakugo safely."

"Come on!" Deku shouted, "You really don't think we'll be able to rescue Bakugo and Tokoyami ourselves?" Mob had to pause for a second to collect himself, for what he was about to say next would be very painful for his friends to hear.

"That's right. I don't think you'll be able to get either of them back, especially when we know so little about their Quirks." As he anticipated, none of his friends had ever expected him to say anything so negative or discouraging as them.

"Damn dude, what a dick!" said Twice, "Yea, you lay it on them!" The esper ignored the villain's words, looking somberly at Todoroki and Shoji before looking back at the despondent Deku.

"I know that's cruel to say, and I'm sorry." Last time Mob had been in a situation like this, when he thought he had the upper hand against Koyama, the esper had surprised him by using a cursed cologne, and right now, he was afraid that the villains would spring a similar surprise if they tried fighting.

"Besides, even if we somehow manage to get both of them back, then what? The villains will escape and make another plan to attack the class. They'll hunt us down with new villains and new Nomu that'll only put our friends in greater danger." Too many painful memories resurfaced, the fear that he'd have to fight a war again. Back home, even after defeating the 7th division of Claw, the organization had come back bigger and more dangerous than ever, destroying his entire city.

"This isn't going to stop unless I go and do something." The esper began to pace toward the villains slowly, and as he did, he turned his head back to Deku. "I'm gonna go confront their leader, the one pulling the strings, to see if I can end all this before anyone else gets hurt."

The hairs on Deku's neck stood up, and his body tensed with fear. He could hear the words he used in Shigeo's tone of voice. While anyone else would assume he was talking about Shigaraki, Deku believed he knew who the esper was talking about: he meant All For One.

"Shige, you can't! He's too powerful for you!"

"I have to try..."

Deku was having none of this. He leaped forward to try and stop his friend from taking another step, but his body was suddenly restrained. Both he and the other classmates were shocked to see it was none other than Kageyama who was keeping him in place using his psychic powers. "Shige, stop this!" Deku tried with all his might to break free, but the esper wouldn't release his hold.

The villains were watching this scene unfold with burgeoning curiosity. Mr. Compress was the first to speak. "I'm impressed you're being so bold about this. So you really aren't afraid of coming with us?"

"No, I'm terrified." The villains all felt their eyebrows perk up in confusion. "To be honest, after everything I've been through, all the villains I've had to face and the challenges I've had to overcome, I thought this would be easier, but it isn't. Even while walking, I can feel my heart pounding in my ears. But still..."

The esper stood only a few feet from Mr. Compress as he stared at the villain's face. "Watching my friends get hurt will always scare me even more. Now please, let my friends go."

The eccentric villain momentarily returned the teenager's gaze, noticing the conflicting look of fear and determination in his eyes. Despite being a villain, he couldn't help but admire this young boy's willingness to protect his comrades, even if it meant going into the heart of the enemy territory. "Very well, then. Since you're being so cooperative, I'll accept your conditions."

Compress removed his mask, though his face was still covered by another black mask, leaving only his eyes and mouth visible. He extended his tongue out, seeing two marbles tucked inside his mouth. Compress gently took the two marbles out of his mouth and threw them toward Todoroki and Shoji.

"I suppose I don't need these then..." To the shock of the teenagers, Compress took out two other marbles that were stashed in his pocket and dropped them to the ground. He snapped his fingers, revealing the contents of all four marbles. Tokoyami and Bakugo fell on the ground in front of their classmates, while chunks of large ice were at the villain's feet.

"I'd slipped these dummies into my right pocket during the ice lad's freezing attacks to mislead them, but now I don't need them. Well then, fill your end of the bargain, boy."

"I will. We can leave now."

"Damn it, Kageyama! You don't know what you're doing!" Shoji and Todoroki attempted to stop Mob from leaving, but like Deku, they were quickly immobilized by Shigeo's psychic abilities.

"You heard the boy, Dabi. Our grand show's come to an end."

Dabi let out a soft chuckle. "Guess that wraps a nice bow around this. Alright, we're out of here." Dabi motioned to Twice and Toga, who took it as their cue to enter the portals that Kurogiri had created. Both of them were somewhat stricken by the esper's sacrifice and willingness to go with them, so they went through the portals without saying any final words.

While this was happening, Tsuyu and Ochaco had finally made it to the scene, but they needed help to understand what they were looking at. "Kageyama? What're you doing?"

"Oh hey, Uraraka, Asui- I mean Tsu. You're both ok. What a relief." As he took note of Tsu and Ochaco, he also noticed that Bakugo and Tokoyami had just started to get up, both similarly confused about what they were looking at.

"Kageyama? What's going on?" asked Tokoyami.

"I'm sorry, but I've got to leave with them. Tell the rest of the class and the Body Improvement Club I'll be gone for a bit."

"Bowl-cut?" Bakugo, who'd just gotten up, couldn't comprehend this better than the other newcomers. "The hell kinda bullshit you spewing now?"

"What are- I don't understand..." The avian student couldn't process what was happening but didn't like what he saw. First, Kageyama had been hurt, and now he was saying he was leaving.

"I'm really glad the others calmed Dark Shadow down for you, Tokoyami. I know you're hurting more than any of us right now, and I hope you learn to control Dark Shadow so you won't have to live in fear of your power like me."

"What..." Tears were now pooling in Tokoyami's eyes. What was his friend saying? Ochaco and Tsu were becoming just as frightened and confused by what their friend was doing.

While the four newcomers were trying to wrap their heads around this, Deku struggled with every ounce of willpower to break free of the restraints, tears threatening to spill down his face.

"SHIGE, PLEASE! DON'T DO THIS!" he screamed.

The esper held his head down. This was the most challenging thing he'd ever have to do, and it took everything he had not to implode from the combined rush of fear, shame, and sadness that threatened to explode. So with whatever composure he could muster, he gazed back up at Deku and gave him the best smile he could.

"I give you all my word: I'll be back at U.A., and we'll all reunite as a class. Until then, this is goodbye for now."

With the final words spoken, Shigeo began to walk through the portal. Every student who wasn't immobilized by Mob now rushed as fast as they could to stop the esper from leaving, but all of them were pushed back by a burst of telekinetic energy. They could do nothing but watch in horror as their friend willingly walked through that portal with the villains. They had failed: the villains won.

---

So what did you think? You like how the chapter progressed? One of the biggest setbacks for me writing this chapter was trying to figure out ways to create opponents that would challenge Mob or weaken him. Because Mob is so overpowered and so multi-faceted with his psychic powers, it really feels like he can do anything. I'd thought about having Mob fight Muscular, but I didn't want to take one of Deku's biggest fights away from him, so I wrote him having to fight the Nomu instead. If some of you don't like the way that Mob was depowered, I can totally understand. It's still important to note that the power gap between his regular form and 100% forms are rather significant, so I believe that the top pro heroes like Endeavor or Mirko are undoubtedly stronger than Mob in his base state.

For future reference, I might add a few extra scenes for the other characters, cuz I wanted to get this chapter done quickly, but unless anything else is added, just assume it is identical to how it was in the canon, like the Chainsaw Nomu and the battle with Kendo and Tetsutetsu against Mustard. Also, I will very likely be rewriting some of the previous chapters in the future, specifically the Sports Festival. I plan on having Ochacko fight Bakugo like in the canon and have Tetsutetsu fight Iida instead, cuz I just didn't like how the Ochaco vs Iida fight turned out. So for anyone publishing my story on different sites, you may want to update the chapters. FYI, I'm cool with having this story posted on other forums as long as the credit to the original author is being given.

For all you eager readers, you will not have to worry about waiting another year for the next chapter. I've already got a really good idea of how I want the next chapter to proceed, and hopefully I'll be able to get it posted soon. Until next time!

P.S: Here's the link to a discord server some enthusiastic fans made for this story if anyone feels like joining: /Tp5DKb7S