Chapter 22

I watched Aizawa hit the ground below, transforming into a black blur as he sped towards the first wave of villains. He never slowed down as his straps lashed out in front of him to sweep the villains off the ground and lift them high into the air. In one swift jerk of his arms, he crashed them into each other before releasing them, and their bodies rained down around him as if they were nothing more than dolls. They might as well have been.

There was no mercy in his movements, no hesitation or misstep. It was like watching a hunter in pursuit of his prey. He had that same concentrated focus about him as he moved on through the villains, striking them down left and right.

He was mesmerizing.

He was terrifying.

This was not the same Aizawa who I had faced during my trial. This person before me now was someone who I had only seen glimpses of hidden behind those piercing eyes. Those piercing, demonic eyes. I remembered them. I remembered the fear I had felt then when I first saw them, but it was not the same fear that I was feeling now.

Despite all appearances, Aizawa was not a demon. He was not invincible. He was human just like the rest of us, and human beings had limits. How long could he last down there before he got tired? How long before a villain caught him off guard and landed a blow? With no one there to back him up and provide support, that would be the end of him. These villains were out for blood. If they had no qualms about killing kids, then they definitely didn't care about killing a Hero.

Why did Aizawa leave despite knowing the danger? Why couldn't he just run? Why did he have to fight? It made no sense. It was idiotic. It was reckless.

It was heroic.

At the end of the day that's who Aizawa was. I couldn't change that.

Now more than ever I was brutally reminded of my love-hate relationship with Heroes. I loved them for the courageousness they had when they faced overwhelming odds, and I hated them for the pretentiousness that this society afforded only for them. Aizawa was by no means pretentious - he was the exact opposite, and probably one of the reasons why I was drawn to him to begin with. Nonetheless, he still reaped the benefits that the government and society granted onto Heroes that allowed them to freely use their quirks while others were condemned. It was the only reason why I was up here, and he was down there.

I felt my anger flare up again as I watched him throw a punch square into a villain's face before delivering a back kick to another.

"Eve." Thirteen called out, startling me.

I tore my eyes from Aizawa's form to stare at the Hero next to me. I hadn't noticed her presence or her approach. How long had I been standing there gazing down at Aizawa not to notice what was going on around me?

"We need to get going." Thirteen said, and I heard both the urgency and sympathy in her voice. I was wasting time.

The anger melted into a strange mixture of guilt and embarrassment and I nodded quickly. The embarrassment only multiplied when I finally turned around and saw the faces of the students staring silently back. All twenty of them stood in a muted trance with their eyes fixated on me and mouths hanging slightly ajar. They had seen everything between Aizawa and I, and had heard everything too. My recently realized feelings that should have been spoken preferably behind closed doors and in private had gone straight to becoming public knowledge the moment they were uttered.

I didn't know what to do. I had been caught. And so we stood there, each staring at the other as if the other had grown a second head.

"Everyone!" Thirteen cried out, breaking the spell and shocking us all back to our senses. "Get back on the bus! Hurry!"

I could have kissed the Hero's shiny helmet for saving me from the students' scrutiny. I wasn't ready to face these feelings, much less them - the teenage witnesses.

Thirteen led the charge forward, pushing past the students and back towards the great double doors. They followed her without question, and for a moment I was left standing by the stairs, silently watching after their retreating backs.

The cold metal of the collar burned against my skin, feeling far heavier than usual.

I realized then that I could not join them.

A better clarification would be that I could not leave here with them. Without Aizawa's remote I could not leave this place, and he had not given it to Thirteen before he left. The second I tried to step off the property I would be shocked out of my mind until we reached the main campus. And it had been a long drive to reach this place.

I was trapped here.

I wasn't sure how Aizawa expected Thirteen to 'make sure I got out of here' without that little device, but it didn't matter. I can look after myself. I can hide away. I was good at that.

All that did matter was making sure that the kids and Thirteen left here and got help. That was the only way to save Aizawa now.

"Whoa."

My head snapped to my side, hearing a familiar voice that had no business being there.

Midoriya stood at the top of the stairs, watching the scene unfold on the ground below. He had been captivated like I had, seeing Eraserhead battle the villains with all the skill and grace of a seasoned fighter.

"He's holding them off. I guess I shouldn't have underestimated him." He breathed out in awe.

I didn't dare look myself for fear of never being able to look away again.

Grabbing a hold of the back of his costume, I dragged the teen away from the edge of the stairs to follow after me as the rest of the students ran further and further away.

I pushed him in front of me, making certain that he wouldn't stray again and get left behind.

"Less watching. More running." I barked at Midoriya, and a little bit at myself. The kid's rampant curiosity would someday land him into trouble. I was sure of it.

"Yes! Sorry!" Midoriya winced apologetically, kicking his legs into gear and catching up with the rest of his classmates.

I raced after him and the group, and the more I ran the more I began to curse whoever designed this place. The way back to the entrance had been stretched out to absurd lengths. I mean, really? What was the purpose? Why did everything at U.A. have to be so big and impressive? It wasn't helping anything or anyone. We could have been out those doors by now if not for U.A.'s need to make everything so huge.

Distracted by my own internal complaining, I wasn't paying attention like I should have been and nearly slammed into the backs of the students as they came to a sudden dead stop. I didn't need to ask why. A gyre of black mist shot up and out of the floor in front of the kids and Thirteen, blocking our way forward.

"There is no escape for you." That same disembodied voice spoke to us as a towering column of black whispered in and out of the air until it finally settled into a recognizable form. "It's a pleasure to meet you." The warp villain greeted us. "We are the League of Villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves into this haven of justice to say hello. And besides, isn't this a fitting place for All Might, the Symbol of Peace, to take his last breaths? I believe he was supposed to be here today, and yet I see no sign of him."

I felt those hollow yellow eyes wash over each of us, taking in the children's faces along with Thirteen and I. My skin crawled as those eyes lingered a little too long on me, and I knew then that he was sizing me up. I was an unknown factor in this little group of ours, neither Hero or student. Yet, whether or not he considered me a threat remained to be seen.

Those eyes suddenly swept back to Thirteen when she positioned herself protectively in front of the students, hands outstretched to push them back. The villain was not the least bit daunted by the act or the Pro Hero before him and continued speaking.

"There must have been some sort of change in plans that we could not have foreseen. Ah…well, in the end I suppose it doesn't matter. I still have a role to play."

The villain's words had an instant effect. An electric charge shot through the group of students and I saw the flash of two bodies leaping into the air before I could even register what was happening. Kirishima and Bakugo flew over the heads of their classmates simultaneously in a sudden show of force. They collided with the villain and Bakugo's loud explosion blasted through the area, releasing a cloud of thick smoke to completely consume the rest of us.

I coughed violently, my lungs burning.

Of all the hairbrained things to do, those two idiots took the trophy for doing the most reckless thing imaginable - attacking without a plan. A single, massive hit was not a plan. It was a declaration, an opening act to a show they were not prepared to participate in.

They better not be dead, cause I was going to kill them.

There was only one way to find out.

Straining through the sting and bite of the smoke, I opened my eyes as I locked in towards the front. My eyes flashed, seeing past the billowing smog, and my breath hitched painfully in my lungs. The villain was standing in front of the teens - unharmed. But they couldn't see that. None of them could.

"Did ya think we were gonna just stand around and let you tear this place to shreds?" Kirishima boasted confidently.

"Run, you idiots!" I yelled out, startling the students right in front of me. "He's still in front of you!"

"Huh?" I heard Bakugo's immediate reply.

The smoke parted and the black mist reformed right in front Bakugo's and Kirishima's surprised eyes.

"You live up to your school's reputation." The villain praised them. "But you should be more careful, children. Otherwise someone might get hurt."

"You two!" Thirteen shouted at the brash teens before her. "Get out of the way, right now!"

Dark tendrils shot out from the villain, surrounding us violently in a windstorm of pitch-black before the teens could even comply with Thirteen's order. As those black whips enclosed around us, I heard the villain's voice cut through the howling wind, carrying with it a sinister promise that chilled me to my bones.

"I'll scatter you across this facility to meet my comrades, and your deaths!"

I stumbled backwards and away from those reaching tendrils. I didn't know what they could do, but I was more than sure that I didn't want them touching me. Before I knew it I fell outside of the curtain of black smoke just as Iida shot out from it as well. With him he had Uraraka and Sato. Quickly, I scanned the surrounding area, waiting for more to dash out to safety. Yet, no other students emerged from the void.

Immediately, I turned my eyes back to the swirling dome, a horror settling within my stomach. My eyes flashed again and penetrated through that thick curtain, revealing everything, but what I saw was both a blessing and a curse.

The students' souls shone like torches through the blackness, but one by one their lights were disappearing. Their souls were being condensed to a single point before they were shot out of the veil of black mist, passing overhead and flying in every direction in a rainbow of shooting stars. Twisting painfully behind me, I watched the students' souls fall down to the earth - each of them landing in a different part of the facility just as the villain had promised.

There was nothing I could do, but witness that they were still alive and where they had gone. But the other part of the villain's promise was echoing in my ears. Just who were the students now facing? What kind of villains were they up against? These were just kids. Would they be able to survive? Would any of them be able to survive? My mind was all too quick to conjure up images of their dead bodies, flashing through each of them like a slideshow.

I shook myself of those images.

No. I couldn't think like that. I had to hold onto hope that they would survive. All of them. And if Bakugo's and Kirishima's ferocity was anything to go by, then I had to put faith in the fact that the kids were going to put up a fight wherever they were. These were future Heroes. Not your typical run-of-the-mill teenagers.

A second passed and the shroud fell away. Whether a time limit was reached, or its user's power spent, I didn't know, but I'll take any moment of reprieve.

Rising hastily back to my feet, I shifted my vision back to stare at the place where the class had been only moments ago. Where there once was twenty-one, now there were only two.

Thirteen stood isolated in the middle of the space while Shoji's large form was hunched over on the ground off to the side. But as he rose, I saw his tentacle arms unfurl, revealing Mina and Sero hiding underneath his mass.

I released the breath I didn't know I had been holding when I saw them move. I didn't know what miracle allowed them to be spared, but I was grateful for it.

Counting Iida, Uraraka, and Sato, there were only six students left. Six out of twenty. This whole situation had officially gone from bad to critical.

The survivors, in seeing each other and just how few of them were left, collectively retreated a good distance away as those smoky tendrils returned back to their master. Mina and Uraraka chose to huddle close to my sides while Iida, Sato, Sero, and Shoji formed a protective line in front of us with Thirteen guarding us all.

"Shoji," Iida murmured over to his classmate as he kept a steady eye on the reforming villain. "Got them? Anything? Where is everyone?"

"They've been scattered across the facility, but our classmates are still here." Shoji replied, his tentacle arms spanning out behind him.

A sigh of relief swept through the remaining students at the confirmation that their friends were still alive.

I bit down on my tongue, staying silent on this piece of information. Giving them any indication of my quirk was useless if I couldn't use it to fight. I couldn't give them any notions that I was a person to be relied upon if a battle was to be had. Better for them to stay in the dark and not expect anything, than to know but not be able to depend on me.

The collar burned hotter and tighter against my neck.

"So what do we do?" Sero asked the group aloud. "The guy is not affected by physical attacks, and can apparently transport stuff?!"

Thirteen thought for a moment before turning quickly towards Iida.

"Class rep!" She directed at the teen, causing him to snap to attention. "I have a job for you. Run to the school and tell the faculty what's going on here. The alarms aren't sounding, and our phones and radios are still useless right now. One of these villains must be to blame. Even though Eraserhead is canceling people's quirks left and right, we're still completely sealed off from the outside world. Likely whoever is causing this interference hid as soon as they warped into the USJ. They could be anywhere. Impossible to hunt down. It'll be faster for you to run and get help, then for us to find whoever is jamming everything."

"Yes, but -" Iida took a hesitant step forward, "It would be disgraceful for me to leave you all behind!"

"Go, Emergency Exit." Sato encouraged, walking past him and raising his fists. "There's lots of alarms outside. That's why they're keeping us all trapped inside the USJ, right?"

"As long as you can get outside, they won't follow." Sero added on, coming up to Sato's side to support him as he too took an offensive position. "Blow this stupid mist away with those engine legs!"

"Use your quirk to save others!" Thirteen exclaimed. "Be a real hero!"

I knew this statement was meant to fan the flame of encouragement for Iida, but those words were like poisoned barbs into my soul. Iida was still just a kid. Heroes-in-training or not, I wanted to do something to protect them all from this threat so that they wouldn't have to risk their lives.

I honestly felt like a coward standing there in the back and doing absolutely nothing. It wasn't right given who I was and the power I possessed. If I just had access to my quirk, I could turn the tables in a moment and lift the burden off of them. But to do that this collar would have to go.

Aizawa had taken the remote with him when he left, so simply turning it off was not an option.

I would have to break it.

Was I willing to do that? Breaking the collar not only meant breaking the deal Principal Nezu had made with the HPSC that allowed me to be here, but also that ridiculous law the moment I used my quirk. The kids were an exception to that rule. They were minors, and would get off with a warning. But for me...it would be different. Breaking the collar and using my quirk meant surrendering everything I had gained here. Even him.

I wouldn't be able to stay after this. I wouldn't be able to see where this connection between Aizawa and I would lead. Out of everything I had to lose, this was the one thing I didn't want to let go of. But I would have to. It would have to be one of the prices I would have to pay if I did this.

There would be no second chance waiting for a criminal like me this time. It would be the 'slip up' the safety commission was waiting for in order to haul me back. If I did this, then all that awaited me at the end of this day was a prison cell. But if I didn't act, then all that awaited for these kids was a place that was six feet under.

The choice was clear and I knew what I had to do, but that didn't make this decision any easier.

"I can help you out!"

Uraraka's voice shook me, and I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She was filled with confidence and hope as she looked upon Iida.

"Just like I did when I floated you in the cafeteria, okay? No prob! Please, class rep! Do it!" She encouraged him.

I detected no hesitation from any of them as they all prepared to do what was necessary to ensure that Iida got beyond those doors. Their courage was inspiring, but they weren't ready. They thought they were, but they were too young and too inexperienced to know what they were truly up against. Iida may be the fastest among them, but it was still an awfully long distance from here to the doors and he was running up against a villain who could warp at will. Speed meant nothing when compared to instantaneous travel. He would never make it as long as this villain was still around.

I heard Iida's engines hum to life as he braced himself to move, his eyes fixed on the doors ahead.

"Even if this is your only option," The villain spoke out menacingly, redirecting everyone's attention, "are you really foolish enough to strategize in front of your enemy?!"

"It won't matter if you know what we're planning or not when I'm done with you!" Thirteen shouted back.

I had stayed quiet. I had stayed powerless. But no more. It was now or never.

"Mina." I whispered over to the girl, getting her attention but keeping my voice low as Thirteen engaged the villain. The Hero's quirk was sucking up the villain's dark tendrils as fast as he was putting them out, locking them together in a precarious stalemate. I moved slowly in front of her, trying my best not to draw any attention.

Mina's eyes followed me as I positioned myself in front of her, shifting my hair to expose the back of my neck and the black collar that adorned it.

"I need you to use your quirk to break this thing off my neck." I told her in a quiet murmur.

"Okay, sure. But why?" She asked behind me and I could plainly hear the confusion in her voice. Here we were facing down a villain and I had just asked her to cut off my 'necklace'. It was an odd request no matter what the situation was.

"I'm going to make sure Iida makes it out safely." I replied quickly. "And this thing around my neck is preventing me from doing just that." I tilted my head back to her, and my steady eyes met her anxious ones. I tried to relay all the assurance I could muster within that stare. She didn't need to know the specifics of why I had such a thing on me, why I couldn't take it off myself, or even why it was prohibiting me from using my quirk outright. She just needed to know that I could do something, and so could she if she helped me.

Mina glanced over to Iida and the villain that stood in all of our way. Thirteen's Black Hole was sucking everything away from the villain, but even Mina could see that the Pro Hero was not making any headway. Thirteen needed help - help that I could provide.

"All right." She nodded to me, meeting my gaze again.

I turned back and felt Mina's hands reach up to grasp the circlet. Her fingers pulled the band away from my skin as far as it was able to as she coated it in her acid. Though, in her nervous haste she had released too much and I felt stray drops slide beneath my shirt and down my back, carving and melting the skin in their trails. My face instantly seized up in pain. I wanted to cry out and rip myself away from that burning sensation, but Mina had only started.

She had no idea what she was doing to me, and I wasn't going to let her know as I clenched my teeth through the fire that burned along the skin of my back. Balling my fists at my sides, I forced myself to focus instead on the villain's voice as he spoke to Thirteen.

"Ah, Black Hole." The villain hummed in admiration. "The quirk that sucks up matter and turns it to dust. Such an astounding power. However, you're a rescue hero, Thirteen, skilled at saving people from disasters. Consequently, that means you have little fighting experience or battlefield awareness."

"Got it!" Mina exclaimed victoriously as she pulled her hands away and taking a large section of the circlet with her. I reached up and tore the rest of the collar off, wincing as the two corroded ends, still coated with acid, scratched deep lines into the sides of my neck.

"Thanks." I said to her hurriedly, flinging the destroyed collar off to my side and immediately activating my quirk. My body hit the ground hard as I left it behind, alarming both Mina and Uraraka with my sudden collapse.

I sped towards the front as I saw another warp gate opening up behind Thirteen's back. There was no time to warn her before I plowed into her side, roughly shoving her out of the way and out of range of the warp gate. That had been the villain's plan. To use Thirteen's own quirk against her by sending it through the warp gates to catch her by surprise. It had nearly worked too, but with her out of the way, there was nothing to send through and the warp gates floated harmlessly in the air.

Thirteen regained her footing quickly, frantically glancing about and bracing herself for another attack. But none came.

Yellow eyes studied Thirteen peculiarly as the warp gates were recalled back to their master. Slowly, the villain's gaze trailed back to the space where she had previously stood before traveling to the stunned students. They hadn't moved an inch, though they were still poised to attack minus Mina and Uraraka as they hovered in concern over my motionless body on the ground. Not finding what he was looking for, those eyes moved on and proceeded to scan the surrounding area.

"It appears I have miscalculated and there is one more of you here. Why don't you come out and join your companions?" He voiced calmly into the air.

"Sorry, but as a general rule I don't take suggestions from villains." I replied, and his eyes snapped back to the space in front of him. I was so close. Too close.

I didn't give him a chance to react before my fist collided with the inside of his head and it was lights out for him. He collapsed into a heap on the ground by my feet, silently sleeping. The smoke that I thought had comprised his body dissipated slowly into nothing, revealing a smartly dressed figure underneath. The dark haze still clung to his head and hands, hiding his identity, but now I knew that at least he had a tangible body for me to manipulate. It would make this so much easier.

Activating my strings, I lifted him from the ground and sent him flying out into the facility without a care for the state I sent him out in or for where he landed.

A sadistic pleasure washed over me as I observed his dark form disappear from view, and I hoped that when he landed that he would break more than a few bones. I wanted him to think twice about coming back here and attacking again. And it's always been my experience that pain was a powerful teacher and conformer. He deserved far worse for attacking and threatening children, but this punishment would have to do for now.

"Um, hello?"

My eyes snapped back down, hearing Iida's voice, and I was suddenly very glad that the students couldn't see my face for I was sure the smile I had on it would have scared them.

"Is someone there?" He asked hesitantly. He and the rest of the students were searching cautiously about the area for any sign of their supposed savior, but they were looking in all the wrong places.

My eyes roved over them and their bewildered expressions, debating whether or not I should show myself. I suppose there was no harm in it now. The villain was gone, and the danger had passed - somewhat.

"You really should get running, class rep." I said as I shifted into view before them.

The boys drew back in surprise, not recognizing me. But Thirteen did.

"Eve? How? How did you -?" Thirteen questioned loudly. Her head whipped about until she found my body lying between the girls, seeing the collar absent from my neck.

"Eve?!" The kids said in unison, blinking owlishly at me as if they were having trouble believing the truth. But if Thirteen was saying it, then it must be true.

I watched them go through the same motions as Thirteen, eyeing my unconscious body where it laid on the ground before returning back to me. Confusion and questions swam in their eyes, and I could guess what a few of those were, but we didn't have time for a full on Q&A session right now.

"I did what I had to do." I replied to Thirteen, unashamed. "And now Iida can go get help." I turned my face on the teen pointedly, and made a show of side stepping out of the way. The way forward awaited him. All he had to do was run.

Iida made a glance towards Thirteen, and she gave a quick nod in return.

Not wasting another moment, the engines roared to life within his legs for a second time, and he rocketed forwards. Racing past me, he pulled the heavy doors open and was out in a matter of seconds, leaving a trail of dust in his wake.

Relief flooded through me as I watched him vanish out of sight.

Finally. Help was guaranteed to come now, and not just an assumption that the HPSC was watching me.

Though, if I thought about it, it was a cruel irony that the villains and I now both shared the same time limit. The arrival of the Pro Heroes and police would mean the villains' defeat, but it also would mark the end of my time here. It no longer mattered who arrived first - the HPSC or the U.A. faculty. The result would still be the same once the Heroes took one look at my body and saw the collar missing. It's not like I could hide it even if I wanted to. I was going to be leaving here with the rest of the villains. Guaranteed.

At that moment a breeze wafted through the open door that Iida had just run through, as if offering another solution for me to consider. Blue skies and open greenery lay just beyond, beckoning me to step out and leave all these future troubles behind. There was nothing holding me back now from simply walking out that door. Indeed, the thought was tempting, but then Aizawa's face and all of Class 1-A invaded my mind.

They needed me. How could I even consider leaving them behind?

I had my quirk again like I wanted, and that meant I could finally do something. The law be damned. I didn't care if Heroes were on their way. I hadn't relied on Heroes in the past, and I wasn't going to now. There were still fourteen students somewhere out there and one stubborn teacher that I needed to save. I could deal with the future when it finally got here.

Turning my back on the doors, I strode past Thirteen and the students, casting a glance down at my body as I passed by. Mina and Uraraka had rolled me over onto my back, and I could see blood trickling from a cut across my forehead from when I hit the ground. I was going to have one wicked headache when I got back inside, but until then I trusted those two to look after my body for me.

"Eve, wait!" Thirteen called out suddenly.

I paused, and tilted my head back, frowning.

"You're going after the missing students, aren't you?" She stated, and I was glad that she had not mentioned Aizawa.

As much as I wanted to dash out and save him from the battle that he rushed into, the kids now took a higher priority on my list. Aizawa had experience. The kids, on the other hand, had hormones and a deep desire to prove themselves as heroes. Without training to temper them, those things only made them foolhardy and more likely to be the first ones to stumble. Aizawa would just have to hold on till I could get to him.

I gave a single nod in confirmation to Thirteen, and braced myself for a verbal lashing about what I could and could not do. I expected as much from a Hero teacher, and I was starting to have second thoughts about showing myself in the first place. Things were always so much simpler when I stayed invisible. There was never anyone to reprimand me if they could not find me.

Thirteen circled around in front of me, and I noticed that she had positioned herself between me and the stairs. It was as if she conveniently forgot that I could just walk through her, or fly, or do any number of things to continue on my way unhindered. But she seemed to be thinking hard about something, and I was curious, albeit hesitantly, to hear what she had to say.

After a moment more it appeared that she had reached a decision and she faced me head on.

"As a Hero I have a duty to stop you, but as a teacher my priority is to protect the lives of the students." She said. "Iida will tell the other teachers what is happening here, but it will take time for them to arrive. And time is something we do not have." Her focus shifted behind me to gaze at the waiting students, and she continued. "I can't leave these students unguarded in case we are attacked again, but I also cannot leave the others to defend for themselves so early on in their hero training."

She settled back to meet my eyes with a certain degree of seriousness that I did not expect.

"So, on my authority as the Space Hero: Thirteen, I hereby grant you permission to use your quirk to seek and rescue the other students that have been scattered in the facility, but not to attack the villains. Is that understood?"

I blinked, too stunned for words as my mind processed Thirteen's offer. Did she have that kind of power? If she did, then she was essentially offering me a get-out-of-jail-free card by authorizing the use of my quirk.

My heart soared. I could stay! I wouldn't have to give up anything. The HPSC wouldn't be able to touch me if I was authorized by a Hero.

So what was the catch?

This whole thing sounded too good to be true, and nothing good ever came for free. There had to be a price to pay. There always was. The HPSC wasn't going to simply overlook everything I had done. I had broken the collar, used my quirk, and attacked a villain before Thirteen's authorization. These were grievous offenses that bore a heavy recourse that someone would have to pay for. If the commission couldn't have my hide, then they would go after the one that sheltered me - even if that someone was a Pro Hero.

My hopes faded and a sad smile descended across my face as I realized then the full weight of Thirteen's offer.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that." I said, shaking my head.

Immediately, Thirteen went rigid.

"I appreciate what you're trying to do - more than you know," I gave her a look that said as much. "But I can't let you get caught up in whatever happens after this." I stated. "You're a Hero, Thirteen, and I'm just a criminal. It's who I am, and it's all I'll ever be. But you - you still have a job to do, people to save, students to teach. If I let you take all the responsibility for what I've done, then everything you do, and will do is going to be taken from you. Someone's going to be punished for my actions here, and I'd rather it solely be me. I can take it. I have far less to lose. Besides, what more can the safety commission do to me that they haven't already done? Throw me in prison?" I scoffed, raising my face to the ceiling. "That's nothing new to me."

I narrowed my eyes and Purveyor's image flashed into my head. I couldn't help the tremor that passed over me. Hopefully, wherever I was going after this it wouldn't be back to that place. Or at least I hoped not the same cell block.

Closing my eyes, I opened them again, fixing them on Thirteen.

"I'm going to get everyone back," I promised her, "but I'm doing it under no one's authority but my own."

"Eve, you don't understand." Thirteen took a step towards me. "They're not going to-"

I didn't let her finish.

"When you give your report to the police," I spoke over her, starting to rise into the air, "say that you weren't able to stop me. I'm sure that will be enough to clear you of any responsibility and any repercussions given what they know about me. They already think that I'm a dangerous criminal. No point in trying to prove them wrong now."

Thirteen's panic grew, and I detected something more - fear.

"Please reconsider this, Eve! It's not too late! I'll tell them what happened. We were attacked, and you defended. They'll have to understand that you acted in the students' best interests. You still have the chance to become a Hero!"

I tilted my head down to gaze at the Hero at my feet.

I didn't care about that anymore. Becoming a Hero it was just a means to an end. A title. A certification. Something that I'll never be and will now never have. I had given it an honest try, hoping to leave the shadows behind, but it seemed fate was very adamant to steer me off this path. It had stolen Natsu from me and our plans to become Hero partners. And now here it was taunting me with a choice between sacrificing the career of another Hero so that I could become one, or to give it all up in exchange for the return of the students and Aizawa. There were twenty-two people here who had dreams of becoming a Hero, and I simply wasn't one of them. It hardly seem right or fair for me to cut those dreams short when that dream was never mine.

I opened my mouth, and my voice rang hollow in my ears.

"No. I can't." I finally stated. "When the others get here, please tell them that I'm sorry, but it doesn't look like I'll be able to come back after all."