20 minutes.

It took Deku 20 minutes to break through Mind-Loque's lockdown ability. While his body was a prime example of strength and determination, his mind was as strong as the next guy's. Breaking through the mental barriers that Mind-Loque forcibly erected took the combined efforts of every One for All vestige. Their combined effort equaled a power surge of incredible proportions.

When the vestiges lifted the final block, Deku woke up. He screamed and stood straight up, slamming head-first into Kirishima's Unbreakable form. The Hardening Hero's reflexes saved him from a massive headache, but slamming into the Symbol of Peace caused the red-head to stumble backward.

While Kirishima rubbed his head, Deku's eyesight focused on the scene. He was still in the field, but on-duty heroes moved the civilians to safety. Others were breaking down the wreckage at the orders of the police. Medivac helicopters were hovering over the area, getting critical civilians to nearby hospitals.

Deku groaned and fell back, clutching his head. "Sir? SIR! You have to keep still!" An authoritative voice emerged from the chaos. "You had sustained a head injury a while ago. You cannot be making any sudden movements!"

The Symbol of Peace searched for the source of the voice. "Sir, what's your name?"

Deku sighed. "I-I'm Izuku Midoriya. Pro hero."

Deku saw Kirishima look up. "It's true. He's our teacher at U.A. Well, temporary teacher," he said.

"Can I have your pro hero designation?"

"I'm designated as the Warrior Hero: Deku." He followed up with his Hero ID serial number.

Kirishima looked at the hero. "Warrior Hero?"

"I got it from the war. I don't like it, but I'm stuck with it," Deku said.

After a few minutes, the medic on sight appeared. "I'm going to need to see your ID card. Do you have it with you?"

Deku nodded and reached into his pocket. "I also have Principal Nezu's phone number. Please call him before you run the card through the system," he said.

"Oh, I know who he is," the medic said. "Nezu scares me."

Deku smiled. He gave the medic his card before focusing on Kirishima. "W-Where is he?"

Kirishima bowed his head. "I-I'm sorry. They took Midoriya. I woke up shortly after they disappeared."

"And the others?"

"Uraraka is kicking herself right now. Yaoyorozu is giving the police a description of the villains, and Iida is with Mina and everybody else. More power in numbers, I think."

"And Bakugo?"

Kirishima chuckled nervously. "He's an inch away from being arrested. He's not happy that a villain took him down in a, and I quote, 'bullshit sneak attack.'"

Deku nodded. "Gela is an unpredictable villain. His gelatinous Quirk makes him strong and difficult to beat in a head-on fight. Deflection is his strongest technique. The Sludge Villain absorbed, but even that has limits," he said.

"And the others?" Kirishima asked.

Deku growled. "The others are problematic, including the guy who took us down. We need to fall back and regroup."

The Symbol of Peace slowly picked himself up. The medic stepped back as Deku got to his feet. "We need to return to U.A. immediately. There is a healer on-site that can take us from here."

"B-But sir..."

"All available resources must go to these people. My students are my responsibility." He focused every word through his eyes. "Please. One of my students was taken, and there is a real possibility that the others are also targets. The safest place they can be is in U.A."

The medic eyed Kirishima. The Hardening Hero paused for a moment, causing the physician to sigh. "I'll check around. For the record, sir, I don't like this."

Deku nodded. "I don't either."

Deku's request to move his students was authorized with a single scan of his Hero ID. A spare ambulance was given to them, and a few police cars and heroes as an escort. Kirishima and Uraraka were with him while the others were inside the police cars. They swerved through traffic, making it to the main campus in under an hour.

Once they arrived, they found Snipe standing outside the front gate with Abigail Winters next to him. Behind her, a few remaining medical staff were also waiting. When the ambulance stopped, the medics threw open the doors and helped Deku to his feet. Uraraka and Kirishima were the first to step out.

Abigail rushed toward the Symbol of Peace. "We heard over the Network! A train explosion to kidnap Midoriya!?" She exclaimed.

The medics brought Deku to her. She reached out to grab his head and activated her Quirk. Golden mist enveloped the area as his wounds disappeared. Abigail groaned and nearly collapsed from the pain she was taking from him, but the young Symbol caught her. "D-don't worry, Doc. I got you," he muttered.

One of the medics did a double-take. "Doctor? You're a doctor?"

Abigail shook her head. "Must be a 'future' thing. Maybe I use 'doctor' in my hero name," she speculated.

Deku smiled. "The Guardian Hero: Doctor Peace," he muttered. "I always liked that name."

Kirishima helped Abigail back to her feet. "You okay, Abi?"

The young tinkerer nodded. "There's a lot to regenerate. I managed to heal his head injury and a few broken ribs, but I need more time for the others," she said.

Deku brought his hand to her wrist and moved it away, breaking the connection. The gold mist disappeared, and the young Symbol looked up at her. "H-heal the others. They need you more than me," he said.

"B-But you need a lot of healing..."

Deku gestured to the police cars. Jiro and Ashido were helping Yaoyorozu. Bakugo and Iida were clutching their sides and showing different injuries. "Heal them."

Abigail looked at the Symbol and nodded. She left to heal them, leaving Deku with enough strength to stand. He nodded to the medic and turned to Snipe. "Sir, we need to get them inside. If Midoriya was the primary target, then we have to assume that the danger won't stop until all other available pieces are off the board," he said.

Snipe nodded. "The principal already approved of a lockdown. Everyone's parents have already been notified and are being brought here for their safety, except for Ms. Midoriya," the cowboy said.

"My mom? Why isn't she being brought in?"

Snipe gestured to the school. "We'll talk inside. Come on..."

Deku turned to Abigail. She had just finished healing the last of the young heroes. The medic stayed with them, and after seeing how potent Abi's Quirk was, he approached Snipe. "Sir, is she a licensed hero? Maybe a Provisional License?"

Snipe shook his head. "I understand that you need all of the help you need. Ms. Winters, would you be okay with lending your services?"

"I would, sir, but I'm still learning to control my power. Recovery Girl went out alone because I'm not ready for disaster events," she said.

Snipe nodded. "Since she is heading there, this could be an excellent opportunity to gather experience. It's up to you," he said.

The tinkering young lady nodded. She turned to the medic and told him that she would be going with him to help the survivors. She gave a basic rundown of her Quirk while explaining her mechanical abilities. She promised to gather some equipment from her dorm as quickly as possible before heading out with him. The rest of the young heroes followed Deku back to the 2-A dorm.

As soon as they walked through the front door, Sato was the first one they saw. He and Todoroki were in the kitchen while everyone else was in the common space, watching the news coverage of the train explosion. When the door closed, everyone jumped before the Sugar Hero noticed them. "Hey, they're back!"

Sero and Shinso quickly approached them. "Ay, we just saw what happened!" Sero exclaimed.

"Are you all alright? Any serious injuries?" Tokoyami asked.

"YOU GUYS! YOU CAN'T BE SCARING ME LIKE THAT!" Hagakure exclaimed as she rushed Mina and Jiro.

The reunion sent a surge of energy through the rest of the room. Excitement for their safety soon dissolved into a sober moment when Tsu spoke up. She noticed that Uraraka wasn't meeting their excitement, and she was the closest to the door. She also saw that Deku was injured based on the bandages left behind after Abigail's healing.

"Where's Midoriya?" She asked.

Kirishima flinched. Uraraka crossed her arms and leaned against the door. Bakugo didn't say anything when Todoroki came by and asked him the same question.

Deku turned to look away from Tsu. "The Chaos King took him. It was a villain attack, and they took him," he said.

Everyone fell silent. "Wait...was it the Front?" Aoyama asked.

Deku shook his head. "The Chaos King. We were also attacked in the afternoon. It seems that Izuku was the target at the beginning, and a frontal assault didn't work for him. He blindsided us instead."

Aoyama quietly breathed a sigh of relief. "Is there something being done to get him back?" Shoji asked.

Deku nodded. "As soon as Snipe gets back, we're going over this situation."

At that moment, a knock came at the door. Uraraka moved out of the way as Snipe walked in. "Well?" Deku wondered.

"Ms. Winters will be assisting with the continued recovery of the civilians. Unfortunately, there aren't any leads, even with the reports from the students. It's possible that their abilities aren't registered, or they don't have criminal records. There are many teleportation Quirks, excluding All for One's and Kurogiri's, so narrowing those down will take some time," Snipe said. "Principal Nezu called and said that Aizawa's redirecting resources to find the villains responsible and locate Midoriya."

"And my mother?" Deku asked.

"Unfortunately, finding her is proving difficult. We've already tried her work and home, but we've gotten no response from either place. She's likely in transit right now, so the police are chasing down leads."

The Symbol sighed. "Where's Eri?"

"She's on-campus, being taken care of by the Pussycats. Why? Did the Chaos King say anything about her?"

Deku shook his head. "I failed once in protecting her, but that's not happening again. I need to get out there and find Izuku. If the Chaos King does anything to him, like forcibly taking his Quirk or killing him, my past may change dramatically. I might end up Quirkless again or dead."

"Wait...again?" Yaoyorozu perked up. Her outburst was echoed by everyone else in the class except Uraraka and Bakugo.

Deku bit the inside of his cheek. He mumbled a curse before turning to the stairs and ascending to his room. Snipe couldn't stop him from wanting to get back out there because he was just as confused as everyone else.

"Who is the Chaos King?" Todoroki asked.

"A tough villain," Yaoyorozu answered. "He stood up against Deku's punches like they were nothing. He turned two people into Nomu and attacked us."

Todoroki turned to the staircase. "He sounds like All for One to All Might."

The Everything Hero nodded. "He blew up the train we were in to kidnap Midoriya. A group of villains took us out before we could stop them."

The sound of descending footsteps revealed a pissed-off Deku wearing a black sleeveless hoodie, a long-sleeve compression shirt, and cargo pants. His Full Gauntlets were in the Claw form, and the pants covered his boots. A metal frame in his hands looked like it could fit on his jaw.

Snipe rushed over with his hand out. "Whoa there, partner! You're still injured. You can't be-"

"I need to find Izuku and make sure my mom is safe. If something happens to either of them, I won't forgive myself," Deku said.

"Regardless, you shouldn't be going out there. We don't want a repeat of Kamino."

Deku glanced at Kirishima. "The Chaos King is not that powerful. He may be able to steal Quirks thanks to his Q-Series rifles, but he can't use them. His body isn't as strong as All for One's. He'll take Quirks to create more Instant-Nomu doses, but he won't get the chance to grow his arsenal with me around. The sooner I find Izuku and stop him, the better." He eyed Snipe. "It'll help your future beyond Tokyo."

Deku placed the frame onto his jawline. It fit perfectly. "Let me know the second you find my mom."

He slipped through the young heroes and walked out the door. Before he left, he threw up his hoodie and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

To find villains that had gone to ground, Deku needed to get a bit dirty. Heroes had to work with police throughout their cases, so they needed to properly gather evidence, run leads, approach persons of interest, make a lawful arrest, and so on. The process was preferred, but it was lengthy. The longer that Izuku was in danger, the greater the risk of the timeline changing. If Izuku died or lost his Quirk, Deku's past might change dramatically.

Thanks to One for All and his years of cultivating the power and strengthening his body, the Symbol of Peace returned to the crime scene in little time.

The police had secured the area. The last medical helicopter had taken the last critical victim, and the ground crews got the last civilians to safety. Now that the scene was cleared of human variables, Deku got to work.

Using his speed, he slipped through groups of officers. Small listening devices with an adhesive backing were stuck on one officer per group. Once he stuck the devices, he slipped underneath a steel slab and crawled into a comfortable position. He pulled out his phone and got to work.

Thanks to some hardware from Melissa Shield, Deku's gauntlets were outfitted with communication devices that could stick to anything. The devices made it easy to listen to conversations, and they were small enough to be undetectable. The devices came with an app that could manage up to 5 devices.

Deku plugged in some headphones and listened in.

"-found nothing. We've expanded the search radius, but we have no leads."

"It's amazing how so many people survived this. The targetted car saw no serious injuries."

"More U.A. students being targetted. I'm considering asking my daughter to go somewhere else next year."

"A slime villain? Didn't we arrest that guy a while ago?"

Deku sighed. "Give me something..." he muttered. He tuned the device until he found a group talking about the villains.

"Two of them wore disguises, according to the witness reports. One of them looked slimy."

"So we're looking for a group of 4 people. One with a slime-like Quirk, another with electric hands, a teleportation user, and...I don't know the last one."

"Check the database for anyone with those Quirks. Filter them based on current status, criminal record, and proximity to the scene."

"Sir, a teleporter doesn't help us. We can't track teleporters," one officer said.

"What we know about teleporters is that they have limited range, except All for One and Kurogiri. The teleporter would not have gotten far, so there must've been a vehicle nearby."

"Want us to put out an APB?"

Deku focused on this group. "We still don't know enough. Get in touch with local stations and ask them to start looking into these Quirks. The sooner we find these guys, the better."

Deku sighed. He shut off the app, disabling the devices and letting them fall off the officers. "The criminal database might help me, but that teleporter looked familiar. I need to remember him," he muttered. "The others were familiar, but not off the top of my head. Mind-Loque, however...I haven't dealt with him in a while."

Deku sighed. "I need some time to comb the scene. Mind-Loque isn't someone who wouldn't leave a trail, but the others might."

The young Symbol of Peace activated Enhanced Vision. "My vision isn't as great as Hatsume's, but even I can spot the smallest piece of evidence."

Deku scanned the area he was hiding in. There was nothing except for broken pieces of the train and dirt. The Symbol of Peace peeked over the steel slab before rushing behind another pile. He quickly scanned the area before moving to another.

As he continued to work, the police started to disperse while the clean-up crews arrived. Deku noted that he only had minutes before the scene changed, and any evidence he needed would disappear.

When Deku sped into another cluster of steel, he stopped. A piece of metal was lying on the ground in the middle of the field. He wouldn't have paid it much attention, but a puddle of blue was underneath it. The puddle was bright and vaguely familiar. I need a closer look, but...that looks familiar.

Deku scanned the area around him. There were still police in the area, and grabbing the metal wouldn't be worth it if it was just scrap metal. If he stayed and took a careful look, he would be spotted and charged with trespassing and tampering with evidence. If it was what he thought it was, the brief interruption would be worth it. The police would likely inspect the area and find the metal piece.

The potential benefits outweighed the cons. He activated the brace on his chin, causing his respirator to appear. With his hood up, he rushed out to the metal piece and hunched over.

As he expected, it was a piece of scrap. It was a broken glass container wrapped in metal. To the police, it could be a piece of the window or a flask that somebody had, but there weren't a lot of bright blue liquids out there. The metal wasn't broken, but it was designed specifically. Three metal bands wrapped around the glass from different areas before converging in the middle.

Deku reached over with his Full Gauntlets. He picked up the metal and checked it out. "The metal wraps around what would've been the glass structure, but the rear has a small metal sheet going to the top. I didn't see a cork or a lid, so the glass was just glass. The blue liquid looks too thick to be juice, so maybe blood? Why would it be in a glass ball?"

He put the metal back onto the dirt. "The liquid looks to be seeping into the dirt, so it would be a matter of time before that's lost, but the residue should still be viable for the police."

"HEY, YOU!"

Dammit... Deku focused on the liquid. "It is blood...and the shape is bringing back a memory. Don't tell me..."

The sound of boots running toward him urged him to move. "I recognize that pattern. I turned it in as evidence years ago...Blink..."

"STOP RIGHT THERE!"

Deku smiled. Time to disappear...

Before the police could grab him, Deku disappeared in the blink of an eye.

When Deku arrived at Atami, he perched himself on the edge of a building. He kept his respirator on with his hood up just in case someone spotted him. He was swiping on his phone using his left hand simply because his right hand was familiar. The armor was designed, so his fingers on his right hand looked straight.

On his phone, he was looking at the Quirk Registration system. As a hero, he had access to the registry to assist in investigations with the police. While using a government or police computer would be preferred, Deku needed the freedom to move at a moment's notice. Finding the right Quirk for the right person was critical.

"First, I need to search for all Emitter type Quirks. Next, I need access to the Quirks of people with criminal records. This section is still pretty big, but it's nowhere close to Mutation criminals. From what I remember about Blink, he looks like a regular human," Deku muttered.

The young hero continued to scroll through the registry. "Now I need the names of everyone who has a teleportation ability. That narrows the list considerably."

The page loaded, revealing a modest amount of teleportation abilities. There were many villains with these abilities, making theft and escapes easy for them. Most of the entries included a booking photo and a general rundown of their abilities. "Smoke teleportation...no. Merge into the environment to teleport...no. Sudden teleport activated by a snap...no. Summon objects within eyesight...no, but there's something to research."

Deku kept looking until he ran out of names. His suspect didn't have a criminal record on him. "Strange...so he must be clean. The bottle is too specific, but he hasn't been caught yet if he doesn't have a record. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, so this wasn't his first job."

Deku started over. "Emitter...Teleportation-type...no criminal record...let's look local."

A quick search later gave him the name he was looking for. "Senki Ketki. His Quirk: Blood Homing. By leaving a sample of his blood in a different location, he can home in on it in a flash of light. His range depends on how much blood is left behind, so he can teleport to an area where his blood is. The greater blood concentration, the stronger the teleport is," Deku said. "He hasn't reported how viable his blood is compared to the average human blood. This would mean he would have terrific exit strategies, but his attacking skill has a massive drawback. If he wanted to rob someplace, he would need to leave behind a sample before striking."

Deku continued to research Ketki. "He's 34 years old, but he doesn't have a license to use his Quirk. He never went to a hero school, and there's no record of any attempt to apply. He must've been training his Quirk on the side. He works at an auto body shop in Tokyo. His family moved away, and he has no outside relationships."

The Symbol of Peace sighed. "He has to be my guy. Blink, the Trickster Villain. That means he'll lead the Children of Midas in the future. This incident didn't make him a villain, so either my situation changed history, or he did another job and got caught."

Deku looked up at the shore in front of him. Some people were relaxing on the beach. He saw a few bonfires and people living their lives without fear. He sighed and leaned back in his seat. He used Float to keep himself from falling backward.

"Senki Ketki...let's see if you know how to play our game," Deku said. He activated his Quirk and vanished into thin air.

Senki Ketki was an apprentice mechanic at a local body shop. He was reasonably good with his hands, giving him the advantage against the others inside the garage, but the man was tired of not owning what he was owed. He was promised the garage from his master when he showed he was ready, and no matter how many ace repairs he did, it wasn't enough. His master was willing to sell the garage to some gentrifier.

His master and the gentrifier didn't know that Ketki was slowly saving more than the gentrifier was offering. The extra shifts, personal spending cuts, and the occasional criminal side-job only grew his war chest. And tonight was the biggest payday of his life.

Set a bomb on the train to isolate the target? Strange but effective. The lack of deaths made it easier on Ketki's conscious. A pro hero managed to keep everyone safe while minimizing the collateral damage. Taking down the pro was more challenging than he thought, too.

The hero knew them. He knew their Quirks, and he would've fought them off if Mind-Loque didn't stop him. And even when he did, he feared that he could break free of how much trouble Loque had with keeping him down. Ketki didn't relax until he clocked back in at work.

When he got back to his job, he volunteered to stay after hours to do inventory. He hated doing that part of the job but doing that allowed him to collect his thoughts without explaining them to anyone. While working peacefully, he was also killing time until his next job. As soon as he was alone, Ketki checked his bank account.

The Chaos King promised the full payment in installments that would fly under the radar from watchdogs. His bank would flag payments over a specific amount, and the first payment was just under that limit.

Ketki chuckled at the prospect of a massive payday. "Half a million American dollars to kidnap some kid? Seems like a steal," he muttered.

Of course, he wasn't going to complain. The amount was worth the job, and he was willing to get back to work.

After he finished celebrating his profits, Ketki continued to do his work. He sorted through his tools and paperwork, waiting for time to fly by. He reached over to a boom box and turned it on, drowning the garage with loud music. He kept his phone on the counter just in case he got the call for another job.

If Ketki had Danger Sense, it would've gone off for him. While the music played, Deku was outside in front of the breaker. Before Ketki turned on the music, the Symbol of Peace listened in and confirmed his role in the kidnapping. His gauntlets shifted from their regular form to its Clawed form before he reached out and opened the box. He flipped all of the switches, cutting off power to the building.

The boom box sparked before shutting off, along with the lights and everything else inside the garage. Ketki screeched and leaped from the counter. He was quickly blanketed by darkness. He reached for a large wrench and held it like a bat.

Ketki surveyed the room, unaware that the back door had opened. "W-Who's there?!" Ketki screamed.

Silence. "I-I'm armed! Don't try it!"

He backed toward the entrance. "Ay, if it's the police, I didn't do anything! I've been here all day!"

The teleporter scanned the darkness. The skylight above him revealed a half moon, barely casting any light into the room. He turned to face a broken mirror with snapshots all over, leaving only a small part of it unobstructed. He was about to turn away from the mirror when something shifted behind him.

Ketki spun around, but didn't see anything behind him. There was only a single car with the hood open and the back office. He turned back to the mirror and chuckled. "Must be seeing things," he muttered.

Right as he said this, the darkness behind him shifted. A hooded figure appeared behind him. Ketki spun around and swung his wrench, striking armor instead of flesh. The teleporter kept swinging his weapon, repeatedly striking an unmoveable defense. The figure swiped at the wrench, sending it into the workbench on the far side of the room. The figure threw a punch at Ketki's face, knocking him back. He fell to the floor, but he pushed himself to his feet to strike back. When he got back up, however, the figure was gone.

The teleporter gulped. I can't do a blind teleport. I need an anchor, but I didn't leave any at home. I need to take this guy down and get out of here, he thought.

Ketki ran over to where the wrench landed. He reached out to it, but then he froze. His eyes widened and his skin suddenly felt clamy. He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. I-I can't move...

Immediately, his mind flashed to the Hero Killer. He could paralyze people, right? Oh God, is he targetting villains now? Is he out of prison??

Five pointed fingers suddenly dug under the hairline of Ketki's neck. He wanted to scream at first contact. The fingers moved up his scalp and over the back of his head. CLAWS?!

His attacker grabbed his head. "Senki Ketki...the Teleporting Trickster. So nice to see you," the voice behind him said.

Goosebumps surged throughout his body. "Y-y-y-you kno..."

"Yes, I know who you are, and I know what you did. You worked with a team to kidnap a Hero Course student while also causing a terrible public transit disaster to cover your tracks. Naaaaaaughty," the voice said.

He knows?? Is he a hero?

"The thing about commiting crimes is that confession makes the heart weigh less, and I want to help you out. I'm going to ask you a few questions and you're going to answer honestly. If I detect the smallest lie...well, we can cross that bridge when we get to it. Do you understand?"

Ketki tried nodding, but his body was still frozen. "You can speak but I advise against screaming."

The teleporter gulped. "H-How...?"

"One of your buddies left behind some of your blood. It's likely that I'm ahead of the police by only an hour," the voice continued. "Now...do you understand the terms of our little dance?"

"Y-Yes."

Deku smiled under his respirator. "Perfect, so let's begin."