Hi everyone, a brief disclaimer before you start reading! The main storyline in this chapter may not necessarily be the one you were expecting to pick back up on, but don't be alarmed - I'm doing a double drop! The chapter I was working on got too long, so I broke it apart by the two different plot threads, and will be publishing the other half within the next few days, as it's already almost done. Enjoy!

Chapter 23: Sleight of Hand

Deika City, Detnerat Tower

Five Minutes before the Destruction of the Wall

"…So whether you're starting a new hero agency or simply looking to make daily life a bit easier, Detnerat remains the best destination for all your support item needs! For a product that's reliable, safe, and built to last, look for our new spring lineup, on shelves now!"

"And… cut!"

"How was that take?" Re-Destro called, giving the filming crew a wide smile as the blinking red light on the main camera flickered out. A day's worth of shooting commercials was proving as tedious as ever, but on the outside he was still full of energy and enthusiasm. This is an important part of the grand plan, he reassured himself. The more our products infiltrate the market, the easier our rise to power will be when the day comes. Although lifestyle products still accounted for the bulk of Detnerat's revenue, their newfound venture into the hero support industry was rapidly proving to be a success, as their market share in Japan's core cities continued to grow.

"Stellar!" The director replied, standing from his chair and clapping his hands together in satisfaction. "Just terrific – you're a natural, Mr. Yotsubashi! Now I wonder if we could get a shot of you saying it while shaking hands with the hero, and the father too!"

Rikiya was currently standing in the center of a brightly lit set that transitioned from a home kitchen to a hero's office, with three actors playing a young family to his right and the pro hero Slide n' Go to his left; over the course of the commercial, they both testified to the usefulness and quality of Detenerat products. Everyone present aside from the Tokyo-based director and camera crew were fully inducted members of the Liberation Army, and when Skeptic strode suddenly through the door to the soundstage, ignoring the bright red light above it that indicated shooting was in progress, Slide n' Go nearly saluted him, then caught himself and played the gesture off as scratching his forehead.

"Sir, apologies for the interruption. May I speak with you?"

"Certainly, certainly! Come on in, no need to be shy! We were just wrapping up a take! Pardon me, everyone, I'm sure this'll only be a moment."

Nodding apologetically to the director and actors, Yotsubashi stepped off to the side of the set, where a spread of food and drinks awaited the cast and crew for breaks. Tomoyasu followed close behind, and Rikiya filled a mug with coffee as his subordinate began to speak, his voice low and urgent.

"There's been an incident, sir. At U.A.'s graduation."

"Oh? What sort of incident?" Sipping tentatively at the coffee, Re-Destro set it down on the table to cool and began to fill a plate with sliced fruit. As was protocol when the unliberated were present, he took great care to look as ambivalent as possible to any wandering eyes, in spite of the concern Skeptic's words had sparked. His face remained a perfect mask of vague indifference, and his tone was calm and even. "Is this coming from Devout, or your satellites?"

"Both. Given that our intelligence pointed to the ceremony as a potential target for Syndicate activity, we'd requested regular updates from Devout." He pulled out a cellphone and held it aloft. "Ten minutes ago, she sent this message: 'Something seems off. Uraraka Ochako missing, but teachers are unconcerned. Will follow up with any further developments.' Curious attempted to reply shortly afterward, but found that her response wouldn't deliver – she asked me to investigate, and I found an electric jamming field blocking most communications to and from the U.A. campus, of unknown origin."

"Sounds like the preamble to an attack." Yotsubashi popped a slice of honeydew into his mouth, and shook his head. "I see. Do you have a satellite in position to observe? And the liberated, are there any in the area aside from Devout and her family?"

"I already have a satellite feed playing in the situation room, and five loyal members of the Liberation Army who happened to be operating in the area are en route to the campus as we speak, including two heroes. If you'll follow me, sir?"

Taking the mug of coffee in hand, Rikiya gave an apologetic wave to the crew as he followed Skeptic to the door, his face the picture of regret.

"Gentlemen, I'm afraid I've been snatched away on an urgent company matter! I'll be back with you as soon as I can – please, help yourselves to some food and drinks in the meantime!"

He was gone before anyone had time to reply, stepping into an elevator alongside Tomoyasu as his expression quickly turned to once of frustration. Making a move this bold, while we still have two of their members captive? What kind of game does Seraph think he's playing? Has he no concern for his comrades?

Curious was waiting for them when they reached their destination, a dimly lit sanctum with a massive portrait of Destro looming overhead. The floor-to-ceiling windows that took up one wall had been shuttered and converted to holo-screens: Together they were playing a composite video of U.A., captured from above. The resolution was as good as Re-Destro had come to expect from Skeptic's satellite cameras, accurate enough to identify the more recognizable figures standing on the stage. Kendo Itsuka seemed to have abandoned the speaker's podium, and was huddled with the principal and several other teachers. Regrettably, there was no sound, and a slight delay when someone moved. Amid the crowd of students, Devout's position was marked with a blinking beacon; many of them looked to be panicking about something.

"Do we have any idea what's happening?" Re-Destro asked, his eyes roving over the feed for any clues.

"Aside from a general consternation, not in particular." Curious replied- she had tablet in her hands, and was actively typing out a report on the situation as she watched. "But if I had to guess, they're aiming for another big statement-type attack, like the Black Day. Hitting another national symbol."

"What, are they going to move on from killing policemen to murdering students now?" Skeptic crossed his arms impatiently. "They have no idea what the hell they're doing. We need to get Devout out of there, or she'll have to blow her cover to escape."

"No, I don't think they'd go quite that far." Re-Destro frowned, and sipped at his coffee. "That's not the proper way to win hearts and minds, and to their credit, they've been rather calculated about their messaging and agenda. They wouldn't stumble so blindly into creating a hundred young martyrs for their enemies to lionize." He took a step closer, and narrowed his eyes, squinting at the antlike figures. "They're saying something, making another speech. We need audio. Can you do that for me, Skeptic?"

"There's some pretty rough interference around the perimeter, but I may be able to do something if I use the satellite to boost our reception directly." Taking a seat at the conference table which dominated the center of the room, Tomoyasu flipped open his laptop and began to tap out a sequence of commands, which were displayed on the monitor as a series of pings on Devout's location. "I won't be able to get anything high quality," Chikazoku explained, "but since it's linked directly to our network, I may be able to unscramble some partial audio from Devout's phone, as well as any others in the area who use Feel Good as their carrier."

"Good. Do it. Curious, where are those soldiers?"

"Almost there, sir. I have a live video from one of them here."

With a few keystrokes on her tablet, Kizuki cast a second feed up onto the massive screens, this one from a shaky handheld perspective, clearly captured with the MLA member's cellphone. It was a view from a second story balcony, of Overhaul and three of his henchmen striding through a fleeing crowd towards U.A.'s perimeter wall. Mr. Compress and Toga Himiko were trailing close behind, and Re-Destro saw Curious' eyes widen in interest at the sight of Carmilla; the schoolgirl turned serial killer had always been a source of particular fascination for her, dating back to her career as a journalist. Just moments later, Skeptic's efforts also yielded success, in the form of a distorted audio signal from somewhere on campus. Though there was still plenty of static, but it was unmistakably Seraph's voice on the other end, caught midsentence.

"…but I trust this one will speak volumes."

The detonation came moments later, a series of brilliant, blinding explosions captured simultaneously by both camera feeds. Yotsubashi lifted one brow in slight surprise at the spectacle, though on the inside, he felt his Stress levels steadily climbing. I can't believe their nerve. Even with the school on the verge of closing, U.A. is a sacred symbol for heroes. They're about to bring hell down on themselves, even worse than before. And to think that they've undertaken all this while continuing to blithely ignore us… His hands curled involuntarily into fists, and Rikiya could feel the splotchy black birthmark on his forehead begin to shift and expand across the top half of his face.

"Run down and fetch the prisoners," Re-Destro declared, then took a seat at the table, his darkening gaze still fixed on the screens. Overhaul was beginning to tear down the walls now, as the panicked screams of students and parents echoed through the chamber. "There's no use in keeping up that charade about a nonaggression pact if it hasn't produced any answers by now. We'll show them firsthand that the Syndicate has moved on from them entirely."

"A wise move, sir." Skeptic nodded approvingly as Curious disappeared to retrieve the two captives from their cells. "We've given them enough of a break these past two days– if you'd allow me, I can resume my interrogation, see if I can extract anything about this latest operation."

"What would be the use in asking them that? Whatever they know or don't, it's clearly far too late to stop this now." Rikiya leaned back in his chair, and waved for one of Tomoyasu's puppets to pour him a glass of champagne. "Devout aside, we've been reduced to spectators rather than participants. Let's sit back and enjoy Seraph's latest performance, shall we? The time to balance our accounts will come soon enough."

Just as Yotsubashi lifted the glass to his lips, however, the building shook with a sudden tremor, sending the crystal flute tumbling from his hands onto the floor as wine sloshed across his suit and the floor. Oh, not again. An earthquake? He assumed as much, until red alarm lights flashed to life all around them, and a blaring klaxon began to sound. No. An explosion. Curious?! Across from him, Skeptic was the first to shoot to his feet, his eyes wide; a guard's voice came in across the comm system moments later.

"Supreme Leader, there's been a security breach. Unidentified forces have infiltrated the building. For your own safety, please remain where you are – we're activating lockdown protocol."

A heavy metal blast shield slammed down over the chamber's only entrance, locking in place with a hiss of steam. The two video feeds continued to play on the video screens, but by now they'd both been practically forgotten.

"It's them," Skeptic snarled, his face a mask of pure fury he pulled up the tower's security suite on his laptop. "Something's interfering with our cameras, it looks like they're playing a loop… I'll need a minute or two to purge the system. But who else could it be? Kurogiri must be with them as well, there's no other way they could've gotten here undetected." He glanced over to the monitors, where U.A.'s burning remains were currently being pulled down into a fissure by Overhaul. "This graduation attack… Don't tell me it was…"

"A distraction," Rikiya finished. The shadowy mark had overtaken most of his face by now, and was gradually spreading down to his chest and arms. "In part, at least. It seems they know we're watching. But this is no assassination attempt – these safety measures are hardly necessary." With one swift motion Re-Destro reached out, focused his Stress into his right arm, and tore the safety door out of its frame, sending the massive sheet of reinforced metal crashing to the floor behind them. Retracting the power back into his body, Yotsubashi took a deep breath to calm himself, then straightened his tie and strode through the crumbling opening and out into the hallway. "It's the prisoners they're here for, but they won't succeed in retrieving them. I'll see to that personally."

Simultaneously

Twelve Floors Below

2:52

2:51

2:50

Five minutes, in and out. That was what she and Midoriya had agreed on. Five minutes for Monoma's quirk copies to hold out. Five minutes to infiltrate a heavily fortified corporate tower, locate Gentle and Spinner, free them, and escape, all while the graduation attack raged on halfway across the country. A swift, precise recovery operation, minimal engagement with the enemy, and an easy entry and exit stratagem, thanks to Kurogiri. They hadn't been able to chart the tower's interior precisely enough to have him warp them directly inside, not to mention the potential security systems that could detect his presence if he attempted to do so, but a quick escape was still on the table if necessary. Chaudron was to be their primary weapon for today; he had copied Todoroki's Half-Hot, Half-Cold before they departed, along with Bubaigawara's Twice, Atsuhiro's Compression, Nemoto's Confession, and Shinso's Brainwashing – five stored quirks was his current limit. Pandora had selected the powers carefully for an optimal combination of offense, support, and infiltration, and ultimately determined that thanks to Neito's considerable arsenal, a team of three would suffice, to minimize the chances of capture and maximize efficiency: Monoma, herself, and Setsuno Toya of the Eight Precepts. Given their combined abilities, Yaoyorozu had simulated dozens of potential approaches which allowed them to successfully complete their mission and escape without so much as lifting a finger to fight the enemy, much less alert them to their presence.

When Kurogiri warped them into position in an alley across the street from the tower, there had been no doubt in Pandora's mind that the operation was already as good as done. And for a while after the team entered the building, it had looked as though she might well be correct; they effortlessly brainwashed the door guards and front desk receptionists, using Suggestion to convince them that they were VIP visitors here for an important meeting, and Confession to extract the current locations of both the prisoners and the inner circle of executives: the Deika Group's ringleaders. Inserting La Brava's camera spike into an open computer terminal had proven just as easy, with a simple Suggestion to an IT worker that the thumb drive contained an important software update for their operating systems. When two suspicious employees tried to stop them from entering the cell block on the tower's fortieth floor, and nearly called in a security alert before Neito had a chance to Brainwash them, it had hardly been an obstacle either: Setsuno stole their earpieces and cellphones in a heartbeat, and Monoma compressed them down to a pair of marbles before they could shout for help. There's no need to worry, Momo had reassured herself as they drew near their objective, over and over and over. I planned for everything.

Almost everything.

2:49

2:48

2:47

Gunfire rattled up and down the narrow corridor, half of which was frozen or scorched, with white-hot metal dripping down the walls in little rivulets before freezing solid again as the glass ceiling lights burst from the alternating heat and cold. The other half was covered in smoking craters from explosions, courtesy of Chitose Kizuki, a high-ranking Shueisha executive and the woman who had singlehandedly ruined their infiltration – all by failing to be where she was supposed to be. The entire hall was bathed in bright red, flashing lights from the alarm system, and the wailing sound of klaxons echoed all around them.

"Think fast!" Kizuki yelled, glee in her voice and a wide smile on her face as she leaned out from behind the nearest corner and flung another cluster of thumbtacks in their direction. Two armed guards ducked out in unison to give her covering fire while a third reloaded, ensuring that Chaudron couldn't simply compress Chitose's projectiles away before they reached their targets, and Momo grimaced at the flawless coordination of the enemy's strategy. It's certainly what I would do, were the circumstances reversed.

"Get down!" Monoma bellowed, erecting a barrier of ice for himself and Setsuno to duck behind while Yaoyorozu lifted up a heavy-duty blast shield she had created.

Protective eyewear, Pandora thought, creating a high-tech pair of goggles – one of Mei's designs – over her eyes in a shimmer of multicolored light, just before Kizuku's fistful of thumbtacks exploded on impact, shaking the entire corridor in a series of blinding flashes and deafening booms. Landmine, she mused, peeking out at the destruction once the dust had settled. A troublesome quirk to deal with. Monoma followed suit, letting loose another brilliant fire attack, while Setsuno fired a barrage of bullets from a pistol he'd stolen earlier in the raid. From a tactical situation, the matchup was hardly ideal, and the same went for their current position: They were pinned down at the far end of the same short, battle-torn hallway, with nothing but heavy metal security door behind them – it had descended as part of the building's lockdown procedures – and at least four enemies ahead, with more doubtless on the way. Although I suppose it's technically inaccurate to say that we're pinned down, Momo reflected, noting that Neito could tunnel through any wall or door in seconds with Compression, but backtracking would hardly be productive given our time constraints. We have no choice but to push forward.

"Let's see," Kizuki crooned in a singsong voice, "the most interesting one out of the three of you has to be… Yaoyorozu!" She clapped her hands giddily, then tossed forward a handful of 100 yen coins from her pocket to counter a massive ice spear from Monoma, shattering it to pieces with a series of perfectly timed explosions. "Believe me, I've just been dying to interview the rich girl gone bad! Darling, do you have any idea how much your family has spent trying to get you back?!"

"I don't know – tell me, why don't you?"

Rather than reply, though, Chitose merely laughed, leaning just far enough out from behind the far corner for Pandora to see her smug expression. Momo swore under her breath and glanced over to Neito, the one who had actually asked the question – he was wearing a duplicate of Shinso's voice-modulator that she had created for him before the start of the mission, but it seemed that their opponent was already aware of the tactic. Well, they've done their homework. Good. This would be boring otherwise.

"How much further to Gentle and Spinner's cells, and which direction?" Chaudron called out, using his own voice now; he'd switched from Brainwashing to Confession.

"The cells are about 100 meters away!" Kizuki answered immediately, with robotic efficiency. "They're just down the passage behind me! Go straight, then take a left, and they'll be on your right!"

"Very good!" Monoma crowed gleefully, a manic grin on his face as he tore away the voice modulator and stuffed it back inside his sleek black coat. "And are there any additional security measures in our way?"

"Thanks to the lockdown, there's a security door between here and the cells!" One of the guards cried. "Once you get there, you'll need-" The main trailed off midsentence, his words turning to muffled cries as his two companions silenced him by force.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" Chitose ducked out of cover with fury in her eyes and gestured for the guards to follow. "He's got Confession too! Push forward, neutralize them before they can extract any more intel!"

"Wrong move!" Setsuno cried, leaning out from the alcove they'd hunkered down in and reaching towards Kizuki just as she plunged her hand into her jacket pocket for more ammunition. In an instant, Toya was holding the jacket in one hand and one of the guards' guns in the other; he wasted no time taking aim with the latter, and fired three bullets at Chistose before she could retreat; he would have struck down the executive if not for the disarmed guard, who leapt in front of her without a moment's hesitation, taking all three rounds to the chest.

"How long until reinforcements arrive?!" Monoma called, erecting another shield of ice to absorb a hail of bullets from the other two guards while he and Setsuno rushed across the corridor to Yaoyorozu's side; their wall had been at the edge of the building, with nothing but open air on the other side, leaving no room to manuever. "How many, and from where?!"

"Twenty seconds!" Kizuki cried, scrambling for cover as Momo stood out from behind her blast shield, created a Longshot-designed electric pulse rifle from her stomach, and used it to down the remaining two guards in the span of an instant, leaving them convulsing on the floor as blue sparks crackled around their bodies. Setsuno stole their pistols with a smirk for good measure, and fired a clip from one of his prizes to keep Chitose in cover while she finished answering Chaudron's question. "The first wave will be here in twenty seconds! At least ten of them, from all directions! Re-Destro and Skeptic are on their way as well, but I don't know how far away they are!"

As soon as she had finished her Confession, Kizuki swore viciously, her frustrated voice echoing through the hallway.

"God dammit, I hate that quirk!"

"Come on," Setsuno grunted, jerking his head towards the end of the hall. "She's got no ammo left, let's rush her."

"We don't know that, and that hallway would be a death trap if we get caught midway between two groups of reinforcements. I have no idea who Re-Destro and Skeptic are, but if they're on par with her in terms of quirk strength and skill level, they'll be serious opponents." Momo laid a hand on the wall beside her, and glanced over to Neito. "We'll cut through here, flank the enemy – it'll be easier to ambush their reinforcements this way."

"Understood," he replied, without a moment's hesitation. "I'll leave a few clones for them to play with, while we're at it."

While the original used Compression to tunnel a hole straight through the metal wall and into the adjacent room, an empty lab or workshop of some kind, a chain of five new Monomas sprung into being, joined shortly by corresponding copies of Dabi, Mustard, and even Spinner and Gentle themselves; Neito made sure to follow Twice's example of taking detailed, regular measurements of every member of the Syndicate.

"Ah, isn't this great?" Spinner's duplicate muttered once the situation had been explained in the briefest terms possible, elbowing Gentle in the side. "We're being used as cannon fodder during our own rescue mission! Typical."

"Shut up and do your duty," Dabi's copy replied, an orb of fire in each of his hands. "They don't have time to hear you complain."

"Indeed they don't," chimed in one of the Monomas, as the security door behind them began to creak open- likely from a manual override on the other side. "Now go ahead, you three! We brave heroes will do our best to bide time!"

Once their trio had advanced through the makeshift entryway, Neito sealed it behind them in a flash of blue light, leaving the duplicates to fend for themselves. The sound of muffled shouting, explosions, and gunshots began to echo through the wall within moments, but there was no time to waste worrying over them; the clock was still ticking, and they didn't have much time left. Yaoyorozu spared a glance down at her watch as they charged through the room and into the next one, then the next after that, repeating the same compression tactic in rapid succession to move up and along the hallway they'd spent nearly a minute pinned down in.

2:10

2:09

2:08

There's still plenty of time, Momo reassured herself, over the pounding of her heart. All of this amounts to nothing more than an inconvenience. Planning a new battle strategy on the fly as they charged through supply rooms and offices, she swapped out her light-protection eyewear for a gas mask with infrared vision, and handed two extras to Setsuno and Monoma – they slid them on without question or hesitation. Moments later, just before they reached what should have been the end of the hall, Chaudron's compression opened a hole not into another room, but a deep black pit with sheer metal walls – an elevator shaft, Pandora realized, a frown crossing her face.

"Ah, isn't this just lovely?" Neito drawled, his facetious tone muffled by the gas mask. "Shall I have my duplicates make a human bridge for us?"

"Just cover the whole shaft in ice!" Setsuno replied, one hand wrapped tight around the grip of the katana sheathed at his side as he watched their back for pursuers.

"Oh yes, brilliant of you! And when I switch quirks to Compression to get through the other side, the three of us can enjoy a nice, brisk fall down to the basement when all that ice evaporates in an instant!"

"Step back, the both of you." Her patience for Chaudron's usual antics spent, Pandora pushed him aside, thrust her rifle into his hands, and began to create a long, sturdy metal plank from her stomach, with a strip of magnetic material at the tip so that it would connect to the far wall. "I'll handle this."

As her creation emerged, though, a familiar voice came in over the loudspeakers, echoing eerily through the metal shaft.

"Ah, there you are. Scurrying about the bowels of my building like rats – how unbecoming of someone of your family's stature, Ms. Yaoyorozu." Yotsubashi Rikiya chuckled warmly, then let out a long sigh. "This may come as a surprise, but I used to play polo with your father, back before he had you – my god, what a talent! It's been some time since we last spoke, but I'm certain that he would be ever so grateful if I returned his precious daughter to him. Won't you just go ahead and surrender, darling? It'll make this easier for all of us."

"Come on!" Momo cried the moment the bridge was ready, nodding for Neito to lead them across. Maybe he's lying, maybe not. Either way, it's nothing but a pathetic attempt to distract me. So they're watching us, hm? They must have already counteracted La Brava's interference with their cameras. This next stratagem should help with that, though.

One flash of blue light later, they were emerging out into another corridor; the hallway that Chitose had spoken of lay directly before them, blocked off partway down by another security door. Kizuki herself was still at the same corner as before, about ten yards to their right, surrounded by a fresh group of guards. Half of them still looked to be engaging the clones, firing down the length of the hallway, but the others quickly noticed the new threat. When Setsuno reached out and stole the pistols from the nearest two, though, they began to attack with their quirks instead: One began to fire quill-like needles at them from her fingertips, while the other launched a gob of acidic saliva from his mouth like a projectile, burning a smoking hole in the wall just inches away from Toya's head. Chitose had clearly found fresh ammunition as well – she flung another barrage of exploding coins in their direction, but lacked the range to hit them directly, and only succeeded in knocking Setsuno off his feet with the blast pressure.

"What the hell?!" The blond-haired Yakuza cried, darting across the hall for cover while Monoma erected a shield of ice to protect him. "These guys aren't heroes! Are they even licensed to use those quirks?!"

"You're not really one to be talking," Neito chided, pushing Kizuki back into cover with a column of fire. For her part, Yaoyorozu swiftly immobilized the two quirk-wielding guards with a volley of precise shots from her rifle, then tossed it aside, the clip spent, and began to create flashbangs in both palms. Once Pandora had tossed the grenades at the enemy, Chaudron created a wall of ice to seal off the entire hall like a plug in Kizuki's direction, then did the same on the opposite end of the T-shaped intersection they currently found themselves at. Now, only the path ahead remained.

"There. That should hold them, but only until that woman blasts through it, or I use another quirk – whichever comes first."

They continued forward towards the cells without delay, even as a fresh series of explosions began to weaken one of the meter-thick barriers behind them, and gunfire from a new group of guards began to chip away at the other. Taking inspiration from Chitose's quirk, Yaoyorozu left a number of very literal landmines behind them as they pushed forward – small-yield, so that their group wouldn't be injured by any of the blasts, but still deadly, with alternating stun and explosive capabilities. Half of them will knock you unconscious, half of them will take a foot or leg off. It's all a matter of luck which you step on!

At the same time, she had begun to emit a thick grey gas from every exposed pore on her body, rapidly filling the hall with a dense, milky haze that shared many chemical similarities with Mustard's gas; she could serve largely the same function in battle as him with the proper use of Creation, but she lacked his precise sense of movement and direction within the cloud. Thanks to the masks, though, their group of three could see without a problem. And even if Detenerat stocks similar equipment, there's practically no chance that they'll be able to deploy it before we finish our mission! Within moments they reached the security door, the final obstacle standing between them and the cells – Monoma looked to both of them and nodded solemnly before switching to Compression, a reminder that if his ice walls hadn't been destroyed already, they were gone now. As if on cue, a number of explosions sounded down the hallway behind them, accompanied by agonized screams, and Momo felt a self-satisfied grin spread across her face as she created a pistol to help Setsuno gun down several injured stragglers; the other guards fell back shortly afterward, likely wary of further traps hidden in the cloud of gas.

A wise decision, but I didn't see Chistose among the wounded. It would have been best to eliminate her now – she's already proven herself to be troublesome. Just a few minutes before, their group had been practically within arm's reach of Gentle and Spinner when they turned a corner and ran into her, twelve floors down from the conference room where the receptionist had told them that she and the other executives were occupied with an urgent meeting. At first, Chitose had pretended not to recognize them, sparing their trio only a passing glance as she walked by; the others failed to spot her in the brief instant they saw her face, but Yaoyorozu had spent the last few days thoroughly researching the suspected enemy leadership. Even so, she was a beat too slow – by the time she signaled Monoma to compress the woman, Kizuki had already sounded the alarm, sending the situation spiraling towards chaos and disaster.

Once their rear was secure, Neito tunneled through the reinforced metal door with a single blue flash – half a dozen guards were waiting on the other side, their guns and quirks at the ready, but Chaudron sent a wave of flames crashing through the hole to greet them before they could open fire, scattering them in an instant. Momo took the opportunity to toss in two more flashbangs, flooding the opening with gas all the while.

With the enemy scorched, blinded, and coughing uncontrollably, Yaoyorozu encountered no resistance when she strode calmly through the opening, advanced to the center of the hallway, and created six long, swordlike blades from various points on her body, one for each guard. Every one of them was skewered in a heartbeat, and the walls around her were spattered with blood, bright streaks of glowing orange through the infrared filter. Pandora had only a short time to savor the moment, though; she glanced down again at her watch and let the blades clatter to the floor as Neito sealed the security door behind them.

1:17

1:16

1:15

Wherever she went, Kizuki won't be far, and there are still Re-Destro and Skeptic to worry about, whoever they are. Shaking her head, she glanced up at Monoma, who had begun to produce a new batch of duplicates. Most of whom were still coughing from the gas, but it only took a few moments to equip them with masks. Midoriya was among them this time, and Overhaul too – neither looked particularly thrilled to be there, but they accepted their roles readily enough following the brief.

"Well I suppose we'd best get moving, if you don't want to disappoint the other me," Seraph declared dryly. "You've all wasted enough time already."

"I understand, sir – all of you, form up, on me." Momo grabbed two high-density lipid capsules from a pouch on her belt and popped them into her mouth, instantly refreshing her creation capacity with the equivalent of around 2000 calories of pure fat. Shouts were audible on the other side of the security door just behind them, and she could hear hurried footsteps ahead, but their goal was nearly in sight. "Just one more corner to turn. Be ready for anything."

It was a sobering feeling, knowing that one was a duplicate – disposable, temporary, a fleeting and frantic existence. As he strode along the gas-choked corridor alongside Pandora, Chaudron, and Overhaul, the others trailing slightly behind, Seraph tried his best not to think too much about the inevitability of his impending death in this form, or the way he'd likely be used as a meat shield for his own subordinates; he focused his mind instead on the problem at hand, and how they'd arrived at this point in the first place. Thankfully, Monoma had taken his measurements just last night, so he didn't need to be briefed on any details of the operation – Chisaki's copy, on the other hand, was slightly more out-of-date, but could at least grasp the basics of what he needed to do.

All things considered, though, Midoriya found it rather easy to appreciate the irony of his current situation, especially given the fact that he was the one who had orchestrated Gentle's capture in the first place. He'd become aware that their Yokohama and Sapporo hideouts were being watched some hours before the kidnappings took place, and pieced together with help from Shinso and Hatsume that the culprits were members of the same organization that had interfered with their operation in Okinawa. Their new rivals were crafty, though, and secretive; there were too many unknowns about their number, position, and leadership. After considering the options, Seraph swiftly came to the decision that live bait would be necessary in order to snare them, and dispatched an unwitting Gentle out into their stalkers' waiting arms for that very purpose – Spinner's decision to Tobita on his fateful errand had been unanticipated, but the plan had proved successful regardless. Biting down eagerly on the hook, the enemy's enforcers emerged from the shadows to seize the easy prey and spirit their captives away, and in the same stroke led the Syndicate right back to their doorstep. Now, Izuku knew where they were based, how they moved, and how their primary hitman used his quirk, all for a relatively modest cost.

They'd learned even more in the meantime thanks to the foundation Gentle and Spinner's abduction had provided, including the suspected identities of the Deika Group's main ringleaders, and the methods by which the organization was able to spy on them. For a while after the two were taken, Midoirya had regretted not implanting Tobita with a Baku chip before dispatching him, but La Brava's feverish dedication to tracking down and retrieving her partner in crime had more than compensated for that oversight – she'd spent most of her waking hours over the past few days hacking into dozens of systems all around Deika City to monitor the group's activities and movement patterns. Although she still hadn't been able to remotely breach the security system of the tower itself, Aiba could monitor the entrances and exits from nearby traffic cameras, and had chosen this day specifically for the retrieval operation due to the fact that both two of the five members the group's inner circle – the politician Hanabata Kouku and the mysterious, hooded cryokinetic whom Mei had nicknamed 'Snowball' – were out of town, the former on legislative business in Tokyo and the latter staking out their base in Yokohama. In addition, Manami had finally finished crafting a spike capable of interfering with the tower's internal cameras if plugged directly into their network, though she couldn't guarantee for how long.

And so, after four days of imprisonment for Tobita and Iguchi, Seraph had relented to La Brava's fervent pleas, and given the go-ahead for the operation, to take place simultaneously with the attack on U.A.'s graduation, which he was well aware the Deika Group would be watching keenly. Far from a mere sentimental gesture, though, the purpose of the current mission was twofold: One, to demonstrate the Syndicate's strength and reach, proving that they would not accept their members' abduction without retaliation, and two, to probe their new rivals' defenses, providing them with a litmus test for the organization's capabilities. Both of these goals were designed to strengthen the Syndicate's hand as much as possible for any future negotiations between the two groups; Seraph had intended today's strike to be as clean, surgical, and bloodless as possible, and stressed as much to Momo during the planning phase.

I can see how well that part went, he mused, his brows furrowed in dissatisfaction. I knew I should have led this phase myself.

"Seraph – here, take this." Yaoyorozu's voice snapped him out of his thoughts, when he glanced over at her, she was creating a compact black case from her stomach, complete with straps designed to fasten over his blazer – it was his custom suit of powered armor, currently in its folded configuration. "Your body may be vulnerable to damage right now," Momo continued, handing him the finished product, "but you'll be much more durable with this equipped."

"Say, what gives?" Overhaul growled as Midoriya fastened the case to his back and clicked a single button to expand the suit of midnight black metal plates across his body, all in the span of a few seconds. "Why don't we all get those?"

"Because she has a limited creation capacity, obviously." Monoma shook his head impatiently, then gestured for two of his copies to move forward and scout out the intersection lying just a dozen paces ahead. Things had gone eerily quiet all around them, and Izuku watched as Pandora produced a portable motion tracker from the palm of her hand – he had a similar model on the digital HUD inside his helmet, which also filtered out her gas and provided an infrared filter without the need for a mask. The two sensors began to scan the area in unison, registering their group as green dots and any enemies they detected within their limited radius as red ones. For a short while, the displays were relatively quiet, only producing soft, intermittent chirps as the two Neito duplicates advanced cautiously through the gas, pistols created for them by Pandora at the ready.

"We're going to run out of time," Chisaki murmured quietly, with a pointed glance down at his watch. "Only forty seconds left. Aren't we all going to disappear?"

"That's the curious thing about Twice's quirk," Izuku replied. "When Neito switches from Todoroki's ability to another, any ice he produced evaporates. The same goes for Compression; everything reverts back to its normal size once he uses something else. But the same isn't true with Twice. All the duplicates he creates while using this quirk remain intact when he switches to another; they even persist after his five-minute limit expires, though he can't create any more without touching Bubaigawara again, of course. After thorough research, I believe it may have something to do with the difference between emitter-type quirks and manifestation-type quirks. You see, there are two primary schools of thought when it comes to-"

"You're doing it again, Midoriya," Momo interjected, laying one hand on his armored shoulder. Before he could respond, gunfire and shouts erupted down the hallway, and the motion sensors lit up like Christmas trees, with red dots flickering to life all around them. Lined along the ceiling, the hallway's air vents kicked into full gear at the same moment, sucking up Yaoyorozu's gas faster than she could produce more of it, until the air had begun to rapidly clear up.

His brows furrowed in frustration, Monoma swore viciously under his breath and produced another group of duplicates, including five of himself and corresponding copies of Dabi, Toga, Mr. Compress, Gentle, and La Brava.

"My baby!" Carmilla squealed giddily, leaping into Seraph's carbon-plated arms before Neito could even open his mouth to brief the new batch. A similarly joyous reunion took place between Aiba and Tobita's copies, though it was cut short by a curt yell from Yaoyorozu.

"All of you, enough! We're in the middle of a mission, if you haven't noticed, and time is a factor!" She lowered her voice again just in time for Monoma to seal off the hallway ahead and behind them with ice, buying them a few brief seconds to strategize their final push before his stockpiled abilities ran out; unfortunately, he couldn't copy quirks from duplicates he made with Twice's power.

Not what I would have done, Izuku reflected, crossing his arms impatiently as Himiko clung to his side. Planning an attack rather than rushing in is usually the right move, but in this situation, the longer she takes, the more time the enemy has to entrench themselves. They haven't rushed us yet for a reason – they want us to make the first move, and we have no choice but to play into their hands.

"Now, we're going to take them from two sides," Yaoyorozu continued. "All of the copies aside from Overhaul, Carmilla, and Seraph will rush them from the front and provide a distraction, while the rest of us cut through the wall and ambush them from behind." Momo was creating as she spoke: two knives for Toga, and more guns for the other Neito duplicates. "The ultimate objective is still to retrieve the real Gentle and Spinner, so if you see any opportunity to do so, take it. Is that all understood?"

"I say we withdraw," Chisaki declared, pulling the gas mask Pandora had given him off and strapping his beaked one back on. Monoma had sealed the vents with ice, but regardless, the air was practically clear again by now, and the gas had already lost its element of surprise. "We're at too great of a tactical disadvantage. Forget a distraction – anyone who turns that corner will be walking straight into a meat grinder, and I doubt it'll be any better coming in from the side. No shame in quitting while you're behind, Ms. Perfect. Just signal Kurogiri and get yourselves out of here. This one's a bust."

"He has a point," Midoriya said quietly, prompting a brief look of utter shock and betrayal from Yaoyorozu before she caught herself, and her expression switched back to confident and commanding. "With the proper coordination, we might still be able to pull this off, but I won't lie to any of you about our odds. We copies are expendable, but losing this team would be an unacceptable outcome, Pandora."

"Twenty seconds left until these barriers vanish," Monoma interjected, holding up one of his numerous stopwatches. "It's time to make a decision – are we staying or leaving?" He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a red syringe: It was a variant of Trigger engineered by Overhaul and Pandora, one of only a few test doses that they'd manufactured thus far. "I brought this as a last resort. I can use this to boost my copy time, but only if we choose to see this through. I was truly hoping I that I wouldn't need it today."

"For the record," Setsuno cut in, his katana slung over his shoulder, "as one of the three real people here, I'm with the boss." He stepped over to Chisaki's side, and gave Momo a shrug. "Hey, we tried our best, and we got outplayed. No shame in that. All it really came down to in the end was shitty luck."

Izuku watched intently as Pandora struggled with the choice, her brows knit in contemplation.

"Alright," she finally declared with a sigh, as the timer on her watch ticked down towards zero. "I'll call for an extraction."

Yaoyorozu reached down and tapped a small, cylindrical beacon on her belt, transmitting her exact location to Kurogiri – Setsuno and Monoma each did the same. It was the agreed-upon signal for an immediate exit via Warp Gate, no matter the situation. He should be on standby regardless, Izuku reflected, watching both this mission and the graduation attack for any beacon activations. I wonder how that operation is going – it should almost be complete by now.

No portals appeared, though, to ferry the strike team away. A second passed without an answer to their call, then two, then three. Momo's eyes went wide with sudden panic, and she turned to Seraph.

"Izuku, I-"

"Now now," a voice over the loudspeakers interrupted, "I must admit that I'm somewhat disappointed in you, Ms. Yaoyorozu. You seem to be aware that we've been watching your little group for several days now, but you didn't anticipate that we would develop a countermeasure to Kurogiri, the single strongest card in your hand? I'm insulted, quite frankly."

They've managed that already? Midoriya lifted one brow, impressed. Detecting Warp Gate by its energy signature is one thing, but it took Hatsume months to piece together the technology to completely block it when we were fighting Shigaraki. I would say he's bluffing, but I see no other reason why Kurogiri wouldn't come when called. Mei designed that signal emitter to penetrate any jamming field; even a foot of lead wouldn't stop it. Beside him, Yaoyorozu was clearly going through the same though process, her expression one of deep concentration as Yotsubashi Rikiya continued to taunt them.

"I'll extend the same offer as before. Surrender, and I'll see that you have a happy reunion with your family, secret and off the record, with no legal interference from the courts or feeding frenzy from the press. You needn't worry about your two companions – we'll take good care of them here, just as we've been taking care of Gentle and Spinner."

On the other side of the translucent barrier of shimmering blue-white ice Monoma had erected in front of them, a dark figure turned the corner and began to advance towards their group, now the sole red blip on Pandora's motion tracker. It was Yotsubashi, alone, his eyes wreathed in what looked to be dancing black shadows. He was holding a small stage microphone up to his mouth as he drew closer, and though Midoriya couldn't make out the details of his expression through the ice, he could tell that the man's lips were twisted in a broad smile. Finally relinquishing her grip on his arm, Toga took hold of the two knives Yaoyorozu had made for her and began to twirl them in hand, her face going from giddy to cold in an instant.

"I'm gonna cut him real bad," she murmured to herself, a predatory gleam in her eye. To her left, Overhaul pulled one glove off and cracked his knuckles, and Mr. Compress tapped his cane expectantly on the floor.

"I love you," La Brava's copy whispered to Gentle's, tears of joy welling in her eyes. "I love you so much."

Tobita smiled as her quirk began to flood him with flaming energy, then laid a gloved hand on her head and cast a determined glance in Yotsubashi's direction.

"And I you, darling. It seems I'm due for a bit of payback, hm?"

"Damn it all," His expression darkening, Monoma plunged the syringe into his neck and winced at the pain. "Alright – we're in overtime now. We have five more minutes, but don't expect anything past that."

"Jesus, are we actually doing this?" Dabi's duplicate gave a heavy sigh, and stretched lazily. "Alright, fine, but don't blame me if we all get killed."

"Just the sort optimism we need." A frown crossing his face, Midoriya retracted his suit's helmet and stepped forward to meet Yotsubashi. They both drew to a halt at the same time, on opposite sides of the ice; only a few feet separated them now, and they could see each other's faces clearly.

"I take it you won't be surrendering, then." Rikiya chuckled softly to himself, and the mark over his eyes and brow grew even darker.

"No," Izuku answered curtly, "It seems not."

"Good." The CEO grinned. "To be honest, I was hoping you wouldn't. What comes next will be infinitely more amusing for me. Tell me, Seraph, are you a gambling man?"

"When it suits me."

"Ah, a wise answer. In that case, tell me how this wager suits you: if your group can defeat me – bring me to my knees – then I'll allow you all to walk out the front door with your precious Gentle and Spinner in tow. And if I defeat you…"

"…Then you take all three of them. I see."

Midoriya turned his head ever so slightly to the right, locking eyes briefly with Yaoyorozu. Once he was certain that Momo understood the message he was attempting to convey, Izuku glanced back to Yotsubashi and smiled warmly.

"I accept your wager."

"You don't know how glad I am to hear that!" Rikiya clapped his hands together in satisfaction, his grin growing ever broader as he took another step towards them. The shadowy mark had enveloped most of his face by now, and was spreading slowly down his neck to the rest of his body. "This is where the fun begins."

So, I know this probably isn't the chapter you were expecting, but I hope you still enjoyed it! Long story short, this storyline and the one back at school were both supposed to be part of the same single, huge, arc-concluding chapter, but as has happened before, it was getting way too long with both plots. Therefore, I decided to pull a George RR Martin and split the two up by POV just like Feast for Crows and Dance with Dragons. Unlike those two books, though, you won't have to wait six years for the next part - more like a week at maximum, and possibly even less. The companion storyline back at the school is about 80% finished. So in summary, apologies for making you all wait a bit longer for the continuation to that attack, but it'll only be a few days!

Otherwise, what did you think about this ill-fated operation? You didn't think Midoriya was going to leave his henchmen to rot in cells forever, did you? I always love writing MLA material, so fleshing out this side storyline has been very fun. Kizuki (Curious) especially has a great quirk to play with - I tried to highlight both hers and Momo's as much as possible. Creation is actually surprisingly difficult to write, since it's essentially infinite possibilities, but I tried to do as much as I could with it here, and Monoma's too! He can be such a one-man army that I actually had to think of some drawbacks for him, or else he could basically just solo everything.

How do you think this next fight is going to go? Will Yaoyorozu join the ranks of the MLA's captives? How much will the copies be able to contribute? And what's happening back at the school? See you again in a few days!