AN: kennymadison11 - my pen name is the same as my name here. You can just enter it into the search bar and my stories should come up.

"This thing is so annoying," Tamaki complained as he deflected the Nomu's blow with the clamshells he had Manifested over his hands.

"Everyone is almost clear," Fat Gum said as he watched the civilians fleeing the scene. "Just a little longer!"

With a grimace, Tamaki deflected another blow. He raised his hand to intercept the Nomu's next strike but he wasn't fast enough.

"Aaaaaah!" Tamaki screamed as he felt the Nomu's claw rake across the left side of his face.

"Suneater!" Fat Gum called out as he raised his hand.

"I'm…" Tamaki said. With a grunt, he shifted his hand from a clamshell to a host of tentacles. "...not gonna let that…" He threw them forward and wrapped them around the creature's arm, pushing it back. "...stop me! Sensei, now!"

"Ultimate Spear!"

From beside him, Tamaki heard the hero call out his attack. Taking his cue, he dropped his quirk and allowed the hero's attack to hit the Nomu, sending it crashing through a wall.

"Did we get it?" Tamaki asked, ignoring the pain he felt on his face.

"Of course you'd ask that," Fat Gum said with a dry chuckle.

Tamaki turned so that he could see his mentor with his one good eye and gasped at the sight of the hero. "Sensei, you–"

"Didn't know I looked like this, huh?" The now-thin hero said as he gave his intern a wry grin. "Sadly," he patted his stomach, "It's gonna take weeks to build my fat stores back up again."

"I'm sorry," Tamaki apologized.

"Don't be," The hero frowned at him. "I'm the one who failed you." He pointed at the student's face. "And now that pretty mug of yours is gonna carry that." He offered the student a cloth handkerchief. "Hopefully the EMTs will be here soon."

Silently thanking his mentor, Tamaki took the cloth and placed it against his face, keeping pressure on the wound.

"I hope Mirio and Nejire did better than me…"

Nejire's hand pressed against her side in an attempt to stem the bleeding as her eyes watched her mentor. Nearby, Ryukyu held a Nomu in a taloned hand as she pinned a Nomu to the ground. The creature appeared to struggle for a few moments longer before it suddenly went slack, like a puppet whose strings had been cut.

The student noticed the change immediately and decided to get closer. She closed her eyes and forced her quirk to activate, her Wave Motion energy flowing out of her feet to get her airborne as she floated toward the hero.

"Did you win?"

"I think so," The heroine replied before looking up at her intern. "But I don't know what happened."

"These things have a time limit?" Nejire asked as she lowered herself to the ground to get a better look.

"Don't get too close!" Ryukyu warned. "Especially since you're still injured."

"Sorry," Nejire blushed as she took a step backward. Peering down to her side, she saw the crimson flower blossoming across her costume. "I guess I overdid it back there." With her free hand, she patted at her belt in search of her medical supplies.

"Why did you jump in front of that blow?" Her mentor asked as she looked down at her. Even in her draconic form, the concern in her voice was evident.

"I knew I was at the limit of my quirk," Nejire began as she found her supplies and pulled out a wad of gauze. Slowly, she pulled her hand away and frowned at the blood on her glove, before she passed the gauze between her hands and pressed it to her side. Returning her attention to the hero, she continued. "Since I didn't have much time left it made sense to protect you so you could keep fighting."

"Nejire-chan…" The hero sighed as she shook her head. "I'm glad to see your eagerness, but let's try to work on your quirk so you can fight longer, okay?"

Nejire gave the hero a weary smile. "That sounds much better."

"Lemillion!" Nighteye called out. "Get out of there!"

"You heard Sir," Mirio said to the Nomu, activating Permeation as he watched a clawed hand pass through his chest. "Time to go!"

Suddenly everything went dark and silent as he used his quirk to sink into the ground before he canceled it and launched himself backward. As he zipped away from the Nomu, a familiar voice spoke, and he realized what Nighteye must have seen with Foresight.

"You won't be killing any heroes today, because I Am Here!" All Might announced as he landed in the space Mirio had vacated. Balling his fists together, he hit the creature with an overhead blow, the force causing the ground to shake as he hammered the creature's legs into it.

"I'd like to see you get away now." The hero announced before turning toward his former sidekick and the student. "Do you have it handled from here?"

Nighteye closed his eyes and shook his head. "No, it will stop moving soon on its own. You, however, are needed in the Chiyoda Ward."

"That's a ways off, I'd better get going," The hero gave his former sidekick a thumbs up. "Thank you for the information."

"All MIght," Nighteye said as his gaze drifted to the Nomu. "We need to talk."

"I should have known you'd ask," All MIght said as he turned toward the northwest. "Once this crisis is resolved, I'll be in touch."

"Thank you," Nighteye said softly as he and his student watched All Might leap into the air, disappearing over the roof of a building.

"What was that about?" Mirio asked as he turned toward his mentor.

Nighteye's eyes bored into his student as he rubbed his chin, and Mirio could see the gears turning as he carefully weighed his words. Finally, the hero spoke. "I believe it is time to tell you about one of my ongoing investigations," His eyes shifted to look at the Nomu. "Into finding the source of these creatures."

As Izuku and Ochako watched helplessly, the Chainsaw Nomu charged toward Kamui Woods. The hero threw both hands forward and attempted to grow a shield of branches in front of him–

-Only for the Nomu to raise two of its arms and come down in a diagonal strike, cutting through the shield–

–and severing the hero's arm right below the elbow.

They couldn't hear him at this distance, but Ochako saw his mouth open in pain.

"Izuku!" Ochako whisper-shouted to her companion.

"These Nomu are serious," Izuku said.

"Is he gonna be okay?" Ochako's wide eyes turned to her companion, seeking assurance.

"Based on his quirk it shouldn't be crippling but…" Izuku paled slightly as he swallowed the lump in his throat. "I don't know what it really means for him."

Ochako opened her mouth but was interrupted by a loud rumbling from the street. Both students turned their attention down, where they saw a new hero - a young woman dressed in a tan and purple bodysuit - growing larger and larger as she raced down the street toward the Nomu. Planting herself, she threw a kick at the Nomu, sending it crashing into a nearby building.

"Who's that?" Ochako asked.

"I'm not sure," Izuku admitted. "She must be a new hero!"

They saw Burnin fly up to the hero and start talking to her. The new hero looked disappointed at first and appeared to protest, but whatever Burnin said must have changed her mind.

"Izuku–"

"I know," Izuku grimaced as he watched, and from Ochako's vantage point she could see the green light crackling around his tensed fist. "I want to go down there too."

As they watched, they saw the new heroine nod before she knelt down while Burning swooped away to rejoin Blaze. The two fire heroes moved toward the Nomu while the mystery heroine carefully picked up Kamui Woods off the ground. She looked around as if searching for something before she began to retreat.

"Hey!" Ochako shouted. "We can help!"

"Who's there?" The hero tensed up as she skidded to a halt next to the building. Spotting the teens, her shoulders began to relax. "It's dangerous! What are you doing there!"

"We're trying to stay clear!" Izuku said as he raised his hands reflexively. "We don't want to get in the way!"

"I've got some first aid training!" Ochako quickly added, gesturing towards Kamui Woods who was still cradling his injured arm. "I know I'm not a paramedic, but I can help until they get here!"

The hero hesitated, her head turning back towards the fighting before looking down at the hero in her hands. "What do you want to do?"

"Those two were the ones who helped clear the crowds earlier…" Kamui Woods said to himself before looking up at his ride. "I will stay here until help arrives."

Nodding, the heroine lifted Kamui Woods up to the roof and, as gently as she could, helped him sit against the edge of the roof before she finally let go. "I'll be back as soon as I can!"

"I appreciate it," He replied.

While the mystery hero turned and ran back towards the fighting, Ochako already had her backpack off as she pulled out her gym uniform. "I know this isn't proper gauze, but it'll help with the bleeding."

The hero nodded and silently lifted his arm. Ochako carefully approached before she began tying off the wound.

"So who is that hero?" Izuku asked as Ochako worked in an attempt to distract the wounded hero.

Kamui Woods seemed to glance sideways as if trying to catch a glimpse of the fighting. "Her name is Mt. Lady. She had only started her career as a hero a few weeks ago," He let out a weak chuckle. "I imagine this isn't quite what she expected."

"There's a lot of hero students on internships this week, too," Izuku added softly.

The hero closed his eyes and let out a sad sigh. "This is a shame, but this is the reality they must face sooner rather than later."

"You mean what happened to Death Arms?" Izuku asked.

"Of course you know about that," The hero opened his eyes as he examined Izuku.

"Yeah," Izuku said softly.

"Izu's a bit of a hero fanboy," Ochako said before she giggled. Tightening the knot, she looked at the hero. "The bandage is set, do you want me to keep pressure on it or…?"

"I can do it, thank you," Kamui Woods said.

Ochako pulled away. Seconds later the two teens watched the hero extend his free hand toward the stump and begin growing shoots that wrapped around the makeshift bandage, binding it tightly to his arm and applying pressure. Once he was satisfied with his handiwork he turned his attention toward the gravity girl. "You did a good job. You said you're taking training?"

"Yep!" Ochako beamed. "I want to become a rescue hero, so I've been taking first aid classes to get ready!"

"You want to be a hero?" Kamui Woods asked.

"We know it's gonna be scary," Izuku said softly as he walked to the edge of the roof. As he watched the battle continue he saw Burnin impale the Chainsaw Nomu with multiple spears of fire, causing it to keel over before Mt. Lady swatted it into the ground with her hand. "But this just proves Japan needs heroes more than ever, right?"

The hero chuckled at the logic as he pushed himself upright. "Hopefully. With All Might's retirement, Japan needs heroes more than ever." He looked down at his bandaged arm. "It warms me to know that you are not going to be deterred by today's events."

He and Ochako joined Izuku, and the three watched the rest of the battle play out as the heroes slowly overcame the Nomu.

After a whirlwind of statements and checkups, Izuku and Ochako were finally released. The pair stood there staring at each other, taking a moment to process the morning's events when they heard Rika's voice.

"I thought I told you two to leave," The high schooler said as she jogged up to them. Stopping in front of them, she put her hands on her hips and shot them with an accusatory glare.

"We were away from the fighting!" Izuku said defensively.

"But you still got involved," Her expression shifted to a wry grin. "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less from you."

"Ehe," Izuku laughed nervously.

"Have you heard anything from your classmates?" Ochako asked in an attempt to divert the conversation.

"You mean Shield, don't you?" Rika teased before she shook her head. "No, I haven't heard from anyone yet. Not that I expect to." Her jaw formed a hard line as she pulled out her phone. "If this really has been happening everywhere, that means their hands are gonna be just as full as mine are."

"That explains…" Ochako said as her eyes drifted over to Izuku before she bit her lip to stop herself from talking.

Fortunately, with her attention on her phone Rika seemed to miss the slip-up. With a weary sigh, she shoved her phone back into the pocket of her costume and looked at the two teens. "I'm gonna tell you to go home and stay safe, but I don't expect you to listen to me… again."

"No," Ochako looked at the older girl apologetically as she reached out and grabbed Izuku's arm. "I think we've had enough excitement for one day. Right, Izu?"

"Right!" Izuku said far too quickly. "We should… go check on our parents."

"Somehow I don't believe you," Rika giggled. "Good luck getting ahold of Shield. If I hear from her I'll tell her to call you two."

"Thanks!" Ochako said before they hurried off.

Once they were several blocks away she slowed down and turned toward Izuku. "How is Danger Sense now?"

"It's better," Izuku said. "There's still danger, but it's far off and less overwhelming."

"I guess that means the heroes are slowly winning, huh?"

"Yeah," Izuku nodded and gave her a fragile smile. "I think so."

"I'm glad," Ochako admitted. "C'mon, let's go check on our parents."

As the doctor left, Melissa stared at the temporary casts her arms were wrapped in. Closing her eyes, she let out a soft sigh of relief.

"At least the painkillers are doing their job," She said to no one in particular.

Opening her eyes, she turned her attention to the remains of her armor that sat in the corner of the room. While most of it was still intact, both of the arms were ruined. She just hoped she wouldn't have to rebuild the control module from scratch. When she could move her arms again.

She kept herself distracted by thinking about how to improve her armor in the future until a knock at the door caused her to yelp in surprise.

"Come in!"

She watched as the door opened to reveal Crust, still in his costume and holding a small bag in his hand. The hero entered the room and gently closed the door behind him before he turned his full attention to her.

"Well you look comfy," the hero began.

Melissa looked at her two arms as they hung uselessly at her side and gave the hero an incredulous look, only to see him break out into a wide grin.

"You should see your face right now!"

"I'm glad one of us is having fun," Melissa grumbled.

"Just trying to lighten the mood," The hero said as his expression turned serious. "I got ahold of UA and told them what happened. They said they'd tell Recovery Girl and see about getting her out here but…" He frowned and sighed. "With all of the Nomu attacks she's already got her hands full."

"I bet. And the actual heroes take priority so they can help with the aftermath, while I'm still just a student," Melissa let out a matching sigh as she looked down at her arms. "How bad was it?"

"All told, there were about sixty Nomu spread out across Japan."

"S-Sixty!" Melissa's head jerked up at the hero. "And they were all that strong!?"

"Fortunately, no. Each one seemed to have a different selection of quirks. We just got lucky and drew the one that had Shock Absorption," He gave her a wry smile.

This time Melissa worked up the energy to match it. "I guess it's a good thing I was there, huh?"

"Seems like," The hero crossed his arms. "Just promise me you don't plan on doing that often."

"I don't really want to do it at all if I can help it," Melissa admitted as she looked at her arms. "But what choice did I have?"

"I know," The hero said as he walked over to her bed and pulled up a chair. "I'd love to make this a lesson but… how about we save that for when you're feeling better?"

"Thanks," Melissa said softly.

"Speaking of, how are you feeling?" The hero sat down and stared at her with a look of concern.

"The painkillers are helping," Melissa managed a shaky smile. "But not being able to use my arms and hands sucks. I can't even turn on the television without help!"

"Well, I brought you what you asked for," The hero said as he held up a bag. "Plus a couple of small things that I thought might help take your mind off things."

As she watched, Crust pulled out her phone and charger. He knelt and plugged the charger in before he plugged the phone into it and set the device on the table next to her. Reaching into the bag a second time, he pulled out a battered old music player.

"I don't know what music you like, but hopefully you can find something on here," The hero said as he placed it down next to the phone. "And one more thing." He reached into the bag and pulled out a small plush hero.

Melissa stared at the small plush in Crust's hands. She blinked, and when her eyes opened it was still there. "Is… is that…" She started giggling. "Is that seriously an AIRJET PLUSHIE?!"

"I thought you'd like it," The hero grinned as he placed it on the stand, the felt Buster Hero giving the appearance of guarding the electronics. "It was the closest thing I could find to match your costume."

"Please, my armor looks way better than his costume," Melissa playfully rolled her eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," He placed a hand on her cast. "I'm sure Recovery Girl will be here as soon as she can, and then we'll finish out your internship, okay?"

"That sounds wonderful," She admitted as she gave him a faint smile.

Under Melissa's instructions, Crust set up the music player to play some traditional Japanese instrumental music which gave the room a calming atmosphere. She then guided him through the process of unlocking her phone and navigating the English menus to activate the voice commands.

Unfortunately, as much as he would have liked to stay and give her company he had to return to duty – both to fill out paperwork and to coordinate with other heroes in the aftermath of the Nomu attack. Once she was as situated as she could be, Crust gave Melissa a gentle hug and promised he'd be back tomorrow before he slipped out the door and left her alone again.

Except this time, Melissa had something to keep her busy. As soon as the hero had left, her eyes trailed down to her phone.

"Aegis," She said, which prompted the phone to light up in response. "Call Dad."

She felt herself biting her lip in nervousness as she heard the ringtone begin.

Izuku and Ochako sat on the couch, their eyes glued to the news as they watched the reports of the morning's Nomu attack. The tea Inko had prepared for them sat on the table and grew cold as the two teens ignored it, their attention focused on the screen.

And then Izuku's phone started ringing.

"Eep!" Ochako squeaked as she jumped at the sound. "S-sorry," She rubbed the back of her head awkwardly as her blush spread.

"That's Mel's ringtone!" Izuku said as he grabbed the phone and accepted the call. Turning on the speaker he quickly greeted her. "Hey, Mel!"

"I'm alive," She said, but even through the phone they could hear how sad and tired she sounded.

"Oh no," Ochako replied. "What happened?"

"I wasn't on the news?"

"How'd you know we were watchin' the news?" Ochako asked.

"You're at Zuku's place, aren't you?"

"You got us there," Izuku laughed nervously. "We haven't seen anything about you, no."

"Good," Melissa let out a loud sigh. "I may be stuck in the hospital with two broken arms."

"You– what about your armor?!" Ochako exclaimed.

"About that…" Melissa said awkwardly. "I had to use a lot of One For All's power to stop the Nomu."

"Is anything else broken?" Izuku asked quickly.

"No, thankfully. Just my arms. Recovery Girl already knows but…"

"But a lot of people got hurt," Ochako finished. Izuku saw her pale a little as she continued. "We um, watched Kamui Woods lose an arm."

"Oh no!" Melissa exclaimed before she let out a fond sigh. "And of course, you two got caught in it. Are either of you hurt?"

"No!" Izuku said quickly. "We um… Blaze was there and she guilted us into not participating."

"I'll have to thank Akari when I can text again. Right now I'm kind of stuck on phone calls only until Recovery Girl can help."

"Don't worry, we'll keep you company," Izuku assured her. "School was canceled for the day so we don't have anything else to do."

"Gee, way to make a girl feel special," Melissa deadpanned.

"I-I didn't mean it like that!" Izuku waved his hands frantically in front of him, causing Ochako to laugh.

"I know you can't see it, but Izu's flailing."

"Good," Melissa replied with a bit of life in her voice before she giggled. "So what is this about Kamui Woods?"

Ochako began to recall the details of their battle before Melissa told them what happened to her in turn. They continued this back and forth for several hours, even if most of the time ended up being spent by Izuku relaying the news to Melissa. Nevertheless, the three took comfort in each other as they talked about what they went through, each one assuring the others that they were okay. They were Safe.

That even on bad days, they'd be there for each other.

Eventually, a nurse came in to check on Melissa, and she was forced to say goodbye to her friends. Once Izuku hung up he turned toward Ochako.

"I want to try going into the Vestige Realm tonight."

"Huh?" Ochako blinked in confusion. "But you can't control that, right?"

"Right," Izuku let out a sad sigh. "Unlike Mel's vestiges, Hikage hasn't been very talkative so I can't really ask him. But–" He clenched his fist and green sparks formed around it. "-she's stuck in the hospital and I want to be there for her."

For the briefest moment, he wondered if he did something wrong as he saw a sad look on Ochako's face before she smiled at him. "I get what you mean. I'd like to be there for her too. But well–" She held out her hand. "I'm not the one with the weird quirk."

Izuku laughed as he placed his hand on hers. "No, but if I open the door you're gonna get pulled in."

"I know," Ochako said as she laced her fingers around his. "But that's okay. Let's go see Risa together."

Melissa thanked the nurse as she leaned back into the pillow. All of her friends had gone to bed hours ago. But between the dull pain in her arms and the atmosphere of the hospital, she found it hard to join them, no matter how worn down she felt.

It took far longer than she would have liked, but she finally succumbed to her exhaustion and felt sleep overtake her, pulling her into darkness.

…until she opened her eyes in the vestige realm.

"Hey, Risa!" Ochako said brightly.

"We were wondering when you'd finally join us," Izuku said with a wobbly smile on his face.

AN: "..."