Izuku didn't like to think the worst of people, but Sam was absolutely up to something. There was just a twitchiness to him, especially around All Might: something about the way he moved, the nervous way he smiled, the worry lines that crinkled his eyes, all of them said to Izuku that he was up to something. But, unfortunately, it took more than the word of an admittedly paranoid Hero in training to have someone snatched off the street and interrogated, and Izuku hadn't managed to trail Sam to anywhere incriminating – the peril of being in a new place, where he couldn't exactly ditch everybody and wander off.

He'd still tried, once or twice, but he'd reluctantly admitted defeat. I-Island didn't work like a normal city, not really: he was out of his depth. All he could really do was be ready, when something went down. If something went down, because Izuku wasn't going to completely discount the possibility that he was seeing ghosts – particularly because he had introduced Hatsume to Melissa, and seeing how well they got along had made his paranoia significantly worse. He wasn't sure if there was a rivalry or a friendship starting up, but either way it filled him with near religious dread.

Power Loader had, in the one time he'd been present in the background of one of the calls, said that this was the start of his villain arc. Izuku wasn't sure that he'd been joking.

"Yeah," Hatsume said, her picture on the video call blurring slightly as she moved, "The winner of the UA Sports Festival got two tickets, apparently. If I'd known I would've tried harder to win. Power Loader says I should have – he said that it would really help his blood pressure if I visited I-Island and never got to leave. I think he's joking."

Izuku thought he heard a faint sob in the background. Poor Power Loader.

"By the way, Greeny, I think I've worked out how to upgrade your helmet," Hatsume continued. Despite himself Izuku was interested – he drifted closer to the screen, listening.

"So the big problem is miniaturisation. All the tech we want to cram in has to go somewhere, and your helmet's gonna be taking hits. So instead of fitting the computing into your helmet, I'll build one with a prototype communicator, and link that to a supercomputer back at home base. We'll get all of the function with less of the danger, it'll be perfect!"

"Will it be safe?" Melissa asked, "Having a communicator that powerful right next to his head?"

Hatsume waved a hand.

"It should be fine," she declared, "The computer would be just as powerful!"

Izuku, who really only wanted a functioning HUD map and maybe a target assist, was slightly confused as to why exactly they needed a supercomputer, but he figured that it was better to let Hatsume get her enthusiasm out of her system before risking questioning her. Then again, hadn't Bruce had some kind of automatic password cracker built into his cowl? Izuku wouldn't say no to that, it would be a godsend during any sort of infiltration.

"Main problem is keeping communications going," Hatsume added, "But we can work on that!"

"Even his current helmet has a good communications suite," Melissa agreed, taking notes so quickly that Izuku felt a phantom pain in his own hand, "There are some more advances that we could put into it. I'll have a look and see if anyone has anything available. And I wanted to talk to you about the modular weapon systems that you've created, because its ingenious! I know Izuku is only interested in hand weapons, but if we can expand the concept-"

An alarm buzzed and Izuku sighed, bracing himself. He had organised this with Power Loader, at the pleading of David Shield: someone had to prevent Melissa and Hatsume from spending all day brainstorming. He was just glad that he had the far more reasonable of the two. Melissa gave him a sad look, but Izuku had weathered similar looks from Mina before: Power Loader had Hatsume in a headlock, although Hatsume was fighting back.

Izuku wasn't sure Power Loader was winning.

"Sorry," he said, "Parental orders to go out and get some fresh air. Maybe even socialise."

"Socialise?" Melissa said, her nose wrinkling. On the corner of the screen, Izuku thought he saw Hatsume perform a near perfect elbow drop. In an attempt to preserve his fraying sanity, he reached out and turned the screen off.

"Oh well," Melissa said, watching it go black, "Hey, the Expo's nearly started! We can go and look at all the advance exhibits – and maybe some of your classmates will be here."

Ah, the promise of sanity. Sweet salvation, if only he could find them – and so long as it was only some members of his class. Well, nothing ventured nothing gained, as they said.

"I don't mind looking for them," Izuku said. Melissa eyed the screen for a moment, perhaps hoping that Hatsume would have won her brawl with Power Loader and come back on – Izuku strongly suspected that Hatsume had indeed become immune to tranquilisers, and that Power Loader would soon be working on something more exotic – but then she shook her head and smiled.

"Let's go then!" she said cheerfully. She bounded through the door of her workshop and, after a moment, Izuku followed.

As the Expo drew closer, the island was bustling. It had been busier than he'd been expecting before, but now it was heaving with people: Heroes, tourists, scientists, journalists, but very little security. Human security at least – a flock of roughly teardrop shaped robots buzzed past them, weaving through the crowd. Cutting out the human element, Izuku supposed.

"There's going to be two separate technology exhibits," Melissa called over her shoulder as they walked down a busy street, the crowds parting around Godzillo, an enormous Hero – both Izuku and Melissa paused to watch him pass before Melissa continued.

"One for old technologies that led to a pioneer advancement in Support gear, and one for brand new prototypes! I was thinking that we could visit both, Mei said she wanted pictures if I could get them."

'Mei'. That shudder of religious dread raked Izuku's back again, metaphysical talons icy under his jacket and armour. Any future reincarnation of his was going to be suffering some bad karma for that introduction, he just knew it.

"I probably won't be able to get pictures," Melissa regretfully continued, "But the ideas! There's supposed to be a helmet in the Future Exhibit that uses Virtual Reality technology to give full 360 degree vision around it!"

Izuku imagined the stress of trying to get used to something like that. A normal HUD could be disorienting enough. Still.

"It could work well for the mapping improvement that Hatsume's been working on. But mostly, it sounds really cool," Melissa continued, "Let's go and look!"

It wasn't as though it would do any harm, Izuku consoled himself. He'd been here three days, splitting his time between being dragged around by Melissa and being menaced remotely by Hatsume, but he hadn't had the chance to talk to her about One For All. He did think that Melissa would be a good choice. She was determined, cheerful, and if anyone would be capable of working Support items into One For All it would probably be her. He just wasn't sure how prepared she was, combat wise. Sad as it was, All Might's successor would need a lot of aptitude in punching people. Melissa had some self-defence training, courtesy of being the daughter of a high profile target, but Izuku wasn't sure how good it was. They walked into the Future Exhibit, Melissa immediately cooing dramatically over one of the pedestals, and a throat was cleared behind them.

"Enjoying yourself, ribbit?"

Izuku spun around, finding himself abruptly confronted with Tsuyu, Jirou and Yaoyorozu. Tsuyu had her arms folded, but Jirou and Yaoyorozu were both standing like…like…like they were tv detectives. Yaoyorozu even had a hand cupping her chin.

"Um," Izuku said, "Are you all posing intentionally?"

Yaoyorozu stumbled.

"Of course," Tsuyu said, "There's no other way to pose."

Jirou sagged out of her posture, her ear-plugs drooping dramatically. Completely unperturbed Tsuyu waved to Melissa, who had come back across to stand next to Izuku.

"Who's your friend?" she asked. Melissa waved.

"Hi. You're Izuku's classmates, right? I'm Melissa Shield."

"I like to think we're actually friends, ribbit, but yep. I'm Tsuyu," Tsuyu said. She shuffled to one side as Yaoyorozu and Jirou introduced themselves.

"I didn't know you were coming here, Izuku. How did you end up here?" she asked. The other three turned to look and Izuku shrugged.

"All Might had a spare ticket, and thought it would be a nice gesture to pick someone at random from the Hero classes," he explained, "Principal Nedzu convinced him to keep it a secret. Said it would be funnier, I think."

"That does sound like the Principal," Tsuyu said, "Mina and Kirishima will be sad to miss you."

"It's just the three of you?"

"For the advance showing, yep," Tsuyu said. She gestured at Yaoyorozu, who took over.

"My family had three tickets," she explained, "So we played a game of chance for the two I wasn't using. And here we are. I think Bakugo and Uraraka are here as well, though. There were supposed to be two tickets for the Sports Festival winner, but Todoroki already had one and he didn't have anyone to give one to, so…"

"Tokoyami lost the coin flip," Tsuyu added. There was a glint of mischief in her eyes as she continued.

"Mina has a pool running, on whether Bakugo and Uraraka will end up in a relationship or in a prison cell."

Izuku shuddered.

"Definitely the second one."

"Yes, I don't think 'opposites attract' really covers what they've got going on, but there are people more romantic than me around. Some of our other classmates are around as well, but they're in the city."

Melissa, Yaoyorozu and Jirou had all started walking determinedly in a direction. Tsuyu and Izuku, having exchanged slightly baffled glances, followed.

"Have you been here for longer, then? You've been out of contact for a while," Tsuyu continued. Izuku nodded.

"I came here with All Might, and he's friends with Melissa's Dad. He's taking it as a holiday as much as anything. He deserves one, really. Unfortunately, that's left me…"

"Melissa seems nice, ribbit."

"She is. But she's also a lot more like Hatsume than I like…and I might have introduced them."

"Ah," Tsuyu said knowingly. Izuku nodded.

"Ah," he sadly echoed. They walked through the streets again, apparently looking for somewhere to get a drink – Melissa seemed to know somewhere – when they passed by a fake hill with robots scattered all over it. An announcer, at the bottom, loudly announced it as a villain challenge, where any visitor could test their skills.

The glacier currently consuming most of the hill, however, was presumably not a regular feature.

"Todoroki is as subtle as ever," Tsuyu observed. Izuku leaned on the barrier around the pit containing the hill, looking down.

"Bakugo isn't, though," he noted, looking directly at his classmate. Bakugo must have taken a shot at the hill himself – Izuku could see the wisps of smoke still drifting from his gauntlets – but he looked…beaten down. Broken, almost. And perhaps it wasn't a surprise: he'd lost to Todoroki. He'd been injured at the USJ, failing to stop the Nomu. He'd gotten KO-ed by Uraraka on live tv. He'd faced All Might in his exam and failed completely. Defeat after defeat, and it seemed to have worn down Bakugo's formerly indomitable spirit. And having Todoroki dramatically show him up, given the way the announcer was raving about Todoroki? Yeah, that couldn't be good for the self esteem.

Izuku shrugged to himself. Not his problem, was it? Anyone else, maybe he would have…but not Bakugo. He'd succeed or fail on his own merits, that was what Izuku had told himself. And that was what he'd keep to.

"Uraraka!" Tsuyu called, cupping her hands around her mouth. Bakugo looked up at them, scowled, but didn't say anything as he stomped away. Character development, Izuku thought.

"Do you know that guy?" Melissa asked, having wandered over. Izuku shrugged.

"That's our class's resident hothead, Bakugo," he said. Tsuyu nodded wisely.

"He used to be friends with Izuku, until he got angry over something petty and refused to speak to him again."

"You spend too much time gossiping with Mina," Izuku grumpily told her, receiving a blankly amused look in return. Melissa frowned.

"Why's he so angry?" she asked. Izuku pointedly looked away, leaving Tsuyu to deal with it.

"He has a complex," Tsuyu told her, and Izuku winced. It was probably true, but it was a bit much to just say it. Tsuyu looked thoughtful.

"Although, in our class, that isn't-"

"Tsuyu!" Uraraka shouted, reaching them and distracting Tsuyu from making their class look like maniacs. Just because they were – well, whatever.

"Hey Tsu, Midoriya," Uraraka chirped. Izuku shuffled away from her, disconcerted by the feral grin on her face – that was the expression of someone who was having far too much fun. Melissa and Uraraka didn't notice, but Tsuyu gave him the side-eye.

"Uraraka," she responded, "Having fun with Bakugo?"

Uraraka scowled, the suddenness of the change making it even more threatening.

"He's such a dick," she grumbled as they fell into step with one another, setting off, "It's like he's gone from being a loudmouth to sulking all the time! If he doesn't quit it I'm gonna smack him in the mouth."

Uraraka paused, still scowling.

"Maybe I'll do that anyway," she said, expression lightening at the thought. Izuku shot a glance at Melissa's expression, half baffled and half intrigued, and sighed. So much for respectability.

Izuku should have never mentioned respectability. The very first café they'd gone to, the very first, and Kaminari and Mineta were there. It wasn't that Izuku didn't like Kaminari, he did, but – there was a level of thirst, as Mina put it, that was just embarrassing. Mineta was a lot more tolerable than he'd been before having the fear of Aizawa put into him, at least.

"Guys," he said, repeating himself more loudly when they didn't stop begging on bended knee, "Guys!"

They both looked at him with tremulous hope. It was sickening, really.

"I don't have Melissa's number," he said, lying expertly, "If you want it, you'll have to ask her yourself."

Melissa looked over and smiled at them. To Izuku's relief, they were drawn by the smile like moths to a flame – he could see Tsuyu giving a definitely sardonic look to them both. Izuku closed his eyes for a moment, opening them as someone else sat down at his table. He opened his eyes to look at Todoroki, aware of his slightly pathetic expression.

"Please tell me you aren't going to ask me for Melissa's number."

"If I wanted her number I would ask myself," Todoroki said, like the saint he was. Izuku knew he'd misjudged him.

"You're a good man," he told Todoroki, earning a raised eyebrow before they both lapsed into silence, watching the crowds pass. A lot of Heroes, Izuku thought. It was really the thing that made him second-guess his Sam paranoia: with this much firepower just hanging around, pulling any sort of crime would be stupid. Then again, refuge in audacity…

"I'm almost afraid to ask, but what are you thinking?" Yaoyorozu said, leaning over from her own table. Izuku shrugged.

"I was wondering how someone would break into the Vault – the store for the most advanced technology. If, let's say, Hatsume got some kind of leverage over me and forced me."

"Midoriya, if you're being held hostage, blink twice," said Yaoyorozu, who had somehow managed to introduce herself to Hatsume and understood at least a little bit of what Izuku went through. Melissa frowned.

"Would Mei really…"

"Yes," Izuku said immediately, amused to see that Tsuyu, Yaoyorozu and even Todoroki had said the same thing at the same time. Hatsume really was getting a reputation – she was lucky that she also did sterling work.

"But as a mental exercise," Todoroki said, "It has value."

The rest leaned back in their seats, thinking.

"Just as a mental exercise?" Jirou asked, "You don't know anything?"

"I don't know anything," Izuku said, putting no particular emphasis on the word know. Tsuyu nodded.

"We should be safe here," she said, "Then again, we thought we were safe at the USJ and when that was over Izuku couldn't count to ten for a week, so…"

"We'll indulge my paranoia?" Izuku asked.

"We'll indulge your paranoia," Tsuyu completed, "So. How would you do it?"

"The hard part is the Vault itself," Izuku said, thinking, "If you can't break into there and get away, it's all pointless. So you need to get into there. You'd need an inside man, preferably two, but one would do. Turn the security to your side, maybe pretend a hostage situation to draw attention away from the Vault. It needs two people to open it, so either you subvert two people or you need someone like Shinsou."

"You could threaten the second person into doing it," Tsuyu suggested. Izuku nodded.

"You could, but some people won't do it. Even if you threaten, I don't know, their family. Some people are genuinely committed enough that they'll refuse anyway, and then what? You kill their family and take away your leverage? Plus more hostages makes everything harder, whereas mind control means you only need your inside agent and the mind controlled person. Less is more. But that's a very select skill set…"

"One that doesn't matter if you can't get onto the island," Todoroki said, "It would have to be during something like this – I-Island is mostly closed during the rest of the year. You'd stand out too much."

"If you have an inside man, then getting onto the island isn't too hard," Yaoyorozu said, getting into things, "A lot of tourists are visiting. But what about equipment?"

Melissa looked unconvinced, but after Uraraka said something – Izuku thought it was something about a training exercise, reading Uraraka's lips – she waggled a hand in the air and joined in.

"Scientists get a lot of equipment delivered," she said, "You could bring weapons and equipment in disassembled and put them together on the Island. Cracking the security will be the hardest part, nobody really has an easy way to do that. A Quirk, maybe?"

"Or technology," Todoroki said. He looked at Izuku.

"Midoriya. Large team or small?"

"Small," Izuku said without hesitating, "Less chance of getting something wrong. More ability to pick out exactly who you need."

"Interesting," Yaoyorozu murmured, "I would have chosen large. With a larger group you could run multiple distractions and have insurance if you were caught."

"But if you get caught," Izuku argued, "With the sheer number of Heroes likely to be present, you can't win."

"A larger group can more effectively defend the security centre, and once security is compromised they can eliminate the Hero presence," Yaoyorozu riposted, which was actually a good point. Izuku paused with a finger raised, trying to make a point.

"No, that makes sense," he admitted. Maybe he was too used to working in a small group – Yaoyorozu nodded graciously.

"I suppose, if you were part of the group, your stealth makes a small group more feasible," she conceded, "With a larger force, it would be harder to ensure that everyone had the required infiltration abilities. If you were all experts, a small team becomes more efficient."

Izuku took the compliment as he assumed it was intended.

"So you break in. You either make a distraction, or you sneak in, and you manage to open the Vault," Yaoyorozu said, "What then? What about an escape?"

Izuku frowned, thinking.

"A plane."

"A plane?"

"A plane," he confirmed, nodding, "You drop the cargo at a selected point for some other agents to pick up, fly on, bail out of the plane later on. Another arranged drop point, and then you go underground until the heat's died down."

Everyone stared at him – even Mineta and Kaminari stopped fawning to look. Izuku shifted awkwardly.

"What?"

"It's just. Well. Uh, you had this whole thing about a small stealthy team, right? And then your way out is to…hijack and crash a plane?" Uraraka asked. Izuku blinked.

"Yes? I mean, if you're going to make an exit, you might as well be dramatic about it."

Yaoyorozu looked horrified. Todoroki looked thoughtful.

"I was going to suggest," Yaoyorozu said, with fragile dignity, "That, depending on how everything went, either you could evacuate by ship – it's a large ocean, after all – or you could potentially attempt a sort of double bluff. So long as your second man remains brainwashed, or your infiltrator claims to be brainwashed, you could potentially leave your stolen items with them and have them smuggle them out later."

"Devious," Izuku said admiringly. Yaoyorozu nodded primly.

"Thank you," she said. Izuku leaned back from the conversation for a moment, thinking about the fact that no-one had been surprised by his dramatic exit plan. He wasn't that bad, was he? The Battle Trials, well he'd won that so it maybe didn't count. The USJ had been dramatic, but he hadn't really planned it. Stain – well, with Stain he'd jumped off a roof while firing a gun at his pursuers, so yeah that was dramatic. The hostage rescue, he'd been quiet. Final exam, very dramatic. And Overhaul, where…where Izuku had jumped out of a high window, out of a burning building, with a child in his hands. He winced.

"Thinking about all the dramatic escapes you've made, ribbit?"

Izuku sagged in his seat and Tsuyu patted him consolingly on the shoulder.

"It's alright, it helps you fit in with the class."

Was this was Power Loader felt like all the time? Yaoyorozu, Jirou and Uraraka, now that he paid attention again, were planning how best to get someone to work with you without having a brainwashing Quirk on hand, and Izuku started to wonder if he'd made a horrible mistake in starting the conversation.

"You think we should break that up before they decide to actually test it?" he asked. Tsuyu tapped her lips with a finger, thinking.

"Well…"

"You're the Deputy Class President," he said, just slightly pleading.

"Well, yes, but I mostly only use it when I'm abusing the power it gives me."

Izuku considered that.

"You know, that's fair-"

"What is going on here?" Iida shouted, arriving out of nowhere. Izuku stared.

"Did Iida just-"

"That was a well executed double clothesline, ribbit. Although it was a bit much."

"I'm just surprised he could get low enough to catch Mineta."

Iida was talking to the group – scolding some, Izuku thought – and then Uraraka said something, probably telling him what they'd been talking about. Iida squawked something about the quality expected of their school, as though UA wasn't full to the brim with lunatics, and Izuku sighed.

"He does need to lighten up," Tsuyu mused, "I suppose that's the end of our scheming."

Iida was indeed trying to prevent them from continuing their increasingly wild speculation, aghast at what it might do to the school reputation. Personally Izuku thought that was a bit rich from someone who'd been all revved up – pun somewhat intended – to fight a one on one deathmatch with a serial killer not long ago, but he'd elected not to say anything. Come to think of it, he didn't think anyone else knew…no, Uraraka was giving Iida a funny look. She might know. As Iida talked loudly with Uraraka, not quite an argument, Tsuyu turned to Izuku again.

"So," she said, "This whole thing. I know you, ribbit, so I'm not going to rule out it just being your paranoia. But – is it paranoia?"

Izuku hesitated.

"I – it could just be paranoia. I can't say for certain. But if it isn't…"

"We'll be ready," Tsuyu said, nodding. She glanced over the bustling crowds, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Not to pry, but I get the feeling that you definitely do know something. Someone, even, because you kept talking about an infiltrator. But you don't want to name them, just in case."

Izuku shrugged, standing as the rest of the group did.

"Ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies."

Tsuyu looked bizarrely amused at that, the faintest smile curling her lips.

"You know that in some places that saying ends with 'shut your mouth and you'll catch no flies'?"

"What? Really? Oh my god. I feel so insensitive now."

Tsuyu laughed.

Izuku fiddled with the last piece of his own project, fixing the last wire into place and turning it over in his hand. He sighed. Well, this was it.

"Melissa," he said, "Can I have a word?"

Melissa straightened from her own workbench, pushing back her goggles.

"Sure," she said, "What's that?"

Izuku lifted the small item a little higher, seeing her eyes rake over it, dissecting.

"Something to make sure that our conversation remains private," he muttered, "It's a short-range communications jammer. Just in case someone thought that slipping some bugs into your lab would be funny."

Sharp eyes raked over him, dissecting him now instead of the device, before narrowing.

"You think my workshop is bugged?" she asked. Izuku shrugged.

"Let's find out."

He clicked the button. His helmet buzzed slightly as it was cut off. Screens turned to static.

Something under one of the benches let out a sparking pop.

"I didn't expect something that dramatic," Izuku mumbled. Melissa was already walking towards him and he pressed the jammer into her hand, dipping to one knee and peering under the bench. He reached up with his left hand, squeezing his fingers into the gap between the frame, and pulled out a tiny device, miniscule microphone attached.

"Can't have been very well made," he said, "Going off like that."

He dropped it on the table and Melissa leaned over it, eyebrows drawing together into a scowl.

"It could be from one of my schoolmates," she reluctantly said, "Some of them take school competition a bit too seriously."

No kidding.

"I hope it's that," Izuku said, "Better safe than sorry, though. So, um. I should probably tell you what all this is about, right?"

Melissa leaned against her workbench, hands propped against the table. Izuku noticed that one of her hands was very close to her prototype taser – clever girl.

"That would be nice," she said. Izuku nodded, stepping away from her just to reinforce that he meant her no harm. He raked a hand through his hair, sighing.

"Alright. Alright. This is – this is a little bit awkward, but…alright. I guess – have you ever wondered about All Might's quirk? Yeah, there are Quirks nearly as strong around now, Quirk theory about stronger Quirks, but he's over fifty. He's an anomaly, right?"

"An anomaly," Melissa repeated, "I guess? He's the strongest Hero in the world, but someone has to be. His Quirk is a mystery though…isn't it?"

Izuku took a deep breath.

"Not to him," he said softly, "His Quirk is called One For All, and it's a stockpile type Quirk. It stores energy."

"Energy," Melissa said, "Of course. He converts it as needed. But for him to be as strong as he was at the start of his career – it doesn't match up. He should be far stronger than he was at first, unless he's a master at holding back. He could be, but…but that isn't right, is it? You know more. Because he told you."

Sharp. Izuku just hoped that he wasn't the one who'd get cut.

"He told me," he confirmed, "A while ago. A month or two. And he told me because…well, because of the Quirk. It's a stockpile, yeah, but he told me that it has a secondary part. It can be transferred between people."

He saw Melissa's eyes bulge.

"He should be here," Izuku muttered sourly, "At least I'd have proof. But yeah. That's why the stockpile is so strong: it doesn't grow that fast, but he said it's been passed down for almost two hundred years."

"It must have become self-sustaining," Melissa breathed, "Like a perpetual motion machine. I'd love to get a closer look at it, the technology that could be inspired if we can calculate how it works-"

"Funny you should say that," Izuku interrupted. Melissa swivelled her eyes to look at him. Someone knocked at the door, but neither of them moved to open it.

"Just a minute!" Melissa called, before returning her intense gaze to Izuku. Izuku folded his arms across his chest, a defensive stance. Instinctive.

"All Might's getting old. He was looking for a successor, but nobody felt right – that's why he started working at UA, to find people. Still, nobody felt right – until he thought of me. I didn't want the Quirk, don't want the Quirk, but something about it made him realise that he'd only been considering other Heroes. So he thought of someone else who was Quirkless. He thought of…well."

"Me?" Melissa asked, lifting a hand to her mouth. Izuku get her gaze and made a conscious effort to soften his stare.

"He thought of you," he agreed softly.

And it was at that moment, heavy with the weight of a secret revealed, that the door exploded inwards.

The explosion sent Izuku, who was closer to the door, lurching. He smacked into the table, bruising his hip on the steel, and grabbed onto it as his knees gave way. That was a breaching charge, he realised through the ringing in his head, and metal ground on metal as he tightened his grip, forcing himself upright.

Too late.

A hand grabbed his arm and threw him, launching him off his feet. Izuku hit the ground, rolled, came up snarling and a rifle barrel levelled itself at his nose. He froze, going almost cross-eyed as he looked down the barrel, and slowly raised his hands in surrender.

"Not one move, boy," sneered a man, his face hidden by a metal mask, "Or we'll see how the wall looks repainted with your brains."

"Izuku-" Melissa yelled, cutting out with a gasp and a thud. Izuku blinked hard against the smoke, seeing Melissa pinned against her bench by another man. His hands clenched, unthinking.

"Now now," chided the man holding Izuku prisoner, his voice light, "No funny business. We just want the little miss for a bit of leverage. Don't fight, and you won't get hurt."

A pause.

"You won't get hurt much," he amended, "Right Adam?"

"Right," agreed the other man, his voice deeper and rougher, "But be careful with that one. He's a Hero Student, they say."

The man looked Izuku over, his gun wavering slightly.

"He doesn't look tough," he said doubtfully, "Look at him. He's even lost an arm – what kind of Hero gets injured like that? Kinda have to be bad at your job for that."

"It's not a job yet," Izuku said mildly, despite the implied threat. Honestly. He was never going anywhere unarmed again, this was ridiculous. The man gestured irritably at him, but Izuku managed to avoid doing anything in favour of assessing the man.

Mask – helmet, maybe? No, a mask, only covering the face. One way plastic disguised into the metal, potentially a HUD, more likely just a disguise. Flak jacket, extending to cover the crotch, which cut off one of Izuku's attack options. Gloves, kneepads, elbow pads. The rifle – automatic currently, if Izuku had to guess. A pistol. And a knife in the boot, to top it all off. More a mercenary than a regular criminal, in Izuku's estimation, but still dangerous. Quirk – unknown. Most likely less useful than firearms, for what that was worth. And his friend, the same. Izuku felt his heartbeat quicken a fraction, the adrenaline, and took a slow breath to keep himself steady.

Just behind the two men he could see Melissa. She was still very close to the taser on her work desk, but he hoped she didn't try to use it. Not yet – they were too alert. The man threatening Izuku took a step closer, mask tilting down to look at him.

"Are we sure we need this one?" he asked, "Seems like he could be trouble. We only need the girl, don't we? Her Daddy won't care about her friend. Hey, maybe if we tell him they were alone in a room he might even be pleased with us."

"Don't be such an idiot," the second man snapped, "We're here to do a job, that's it. No killing unless there's no other choice. We spill blood, this gets a lot more serious."

"Don't have to kill him," Izuku's captor sulked, "An injury would do. If he's a Hero student…"

"Yeah, a Quirkless one," Melissa's captor – Adam? – sneered. Izuku's captor brightened.

"Really? I didn't even know normbloods could be Heroes!"

Izuku blinked. He had to admit, he wasn't entirely up to date with anti-Quirkless slurs all over the world, but that was an odd one. Melissa looked a mixture of baffled and offended. Adam sighed.

"Come on, man," he said, "At least try to be professional. This is why we're on brat grabbing duty instead of with Wolfram."

Christ, they had loose lips. Not that Izuku was complaining, but…

"Agh, you're such a little bitch sometimes!"

"Look, Jack," Adam said, clearly annoyed now, "We're taking hostages. That means they're not harmed. Hostages. Unharmed."

"Didn't join this outfit to pussy around," Jack muttered, "Hang on. What if they fight back?"

Adam looked up at the ceiling, as though exhausted by his idiot co-worker. Izuku sympathised – he was exhausted by his idiot captor, and it had only been about a minute.

"Even if you want to provoke him, you literally just told him your plan! Were you dropped on your head as a child?"

"The kid must have been dropped on his head as a child, thinking he can be a Hero!" Jack said, laughing. He had a braying laugh, like an asthmatic donkey. A muscle twitched in Izuku's jaw, entirely out of his control.

"So, kid, you're like the mascot right? Just a pity case? Did they throw you to the villains as a distraction?" the man asked, still laughing obnoxiously. Izuku didn't say anything, even when the honking laughter ceased and the man peered closely at him. Because, well, Jack had given away his whole plan. Like an idiot.

"Nah," Adam said, "Look at him. Hasn't said a word, real tough guy."

Jack moved closer, prodding him with the rifle barrel.

"Come on. When you lost that arm. Did you cry? Scream for your momma? Or are you a real tough guy, not a peep?"

The rifle barrel dropped slightly, pointing towards Izuku's stomach.

"Maybe we should test it out, huh? See if you're really the strong silent type. Unless you tell me: did you scream?"

Defiance, in this case, had run its course.

"Oh, yes," Izuku said, "I definitely screamed. I don't think I've ever screamed so loudly before, actually. My throat really hurt afterwards."

The mercenary rocked his head back, clearly surprised and maybe even unnerved. It was probably how calmly Izuku was speaking – Adam, the more professional one, glanced at Melissa.

"I can't even describe how agonising it was, really," Izuku continued, "Yeah I tried all that macho stuff about not making a noise, but when your arm is literally ripped off? It was pretty gruesome. I mean, this eight foot monster swung me around, and when my body weight hit the damaged section just tore. Blood and bits everywhere."

Jack shook his head.

"This kid really does think he's hardcore," he said, half amused and half impressed, "Hell, if he wasn't a Hero brat I'd be inclined to take him with us! Right, Adam?"

He turned his head to his friend, who was looking at Melissa again, and Izuku took his chance. It was funny, a small part of his mind reflected, how many of these people – people who caused violence for a living – were completely unprepared to abruptly be on the other end.

Their loss.

Izuku sprang in that instant of inattention, the tiny distance between them not giving his man time to react. A boot to the shin, his left hand reaching up and jamming a thumb into Jacks hand, paralyzing it before he could pull the trigger, closed right fist to the throat. Reach down, hand twisting, pull the pistol from its holster as the man reeled back and flick off the safety, stay close so he couldn't use the rifle. Knee to the inside of the thigh. Left hand back on the mans right, digging painfully in, lean around to get a sight on Adam as he finally, finally reacted.

Izuku's first shot hit the rifle, twisting it out of the mans hand and definitely wrecking it. His second and third hit the man in the chest, the armour soaking the impacts but hurling the mercenary back into the table, leaving him gasping for breath and Izuku pistol whipped Jack, three clubbing blows to the head that sent the man reeling to his knees, his back to Izuku, his rifle slipping from limp hands.

Izuku felt no guilt over closing his prosthetic into a fist and punching the mercenary in the side of the head. Sure, he might get brain damage – but fuck that guy. He wanted to take hostages, he could deal with the consequences. He stepped away from the fallen mercenary, levelling his stolen pistol at Adam's chest and narrowing his eyes. Not the easiest shot he'd ever taken, but…but it didn't need to be taken. Clawing at his own pistol, the mercenary staggered away from the table just a moment before Melissa stepped up behind him and jammed a taser into the side of his neck.

Izuku let out a breath.

"Nicely done."

Melissa gave him a wild-eyed look, breathing quick and hard from the adrenaline, and Izuku mentally reviewed what he'd been taught about dealing with civilians in this sort of situation as he kicked the rifle away from Jack.

They'd were supposed to cover that next term. Great. Jason's memories it was. Then again, Melissa's wild-eyed look was starting to solidify into something more like anger, so maybe it wouldn't be needed at all. Izuku walked towards her – if he kicked Jack in the ribs on the way, that was his own business.

"You might want to step away from him, just in case," Izuku said. Melissa nodded jerkily, stepping away. Adam…smouldered. Quite the powerful taser. Izuku kicked his damaged rifle away anyway, just in case, and then rolled him onto his front to tie him up. That done he did the same thing to Jack, quick and efficient, while Melissa paced. Jack cursed at him, albeit groggily: Adam continued to smoulder. Really powerful taser. Melissa hurried over to the door and closed it as Izuku leaned down and turned off his jammer: none of the screens in the room cleared and he frowned.

"That's not a good sign."

Jack said something, muffled by his face being mashed into the ground and slurred by his probably concussion: all Izuku managed to hear was 'genetrash'. More slurs. Charming fellow.

"I've never had a minion get beaten and immediately start throwing slurs around," Izuku said mildly, "Honestly, it's just bad taste. Take the loss with dignity, yeah?"

Jack said something else, but Izuku had already taken a rag from a workbench – only slightly oily – and gagged him with it. He patted the man on the cheek, none too gently, and dropped his head back down. Melissa was checking her phone, and she was pale when she looked back up.

"No signal," she said, sounding almost dazed, "There's always signal. It's like…"

"Like we're being jammed," Izuku said grimly. He spared a moment to strip the two mercenaries of their weapons before dragging them into a small separate room and closing the door, jamming it shut with a table to ensure privacy. He had just opened his mouth to speak again when an alarm blared.

"Attention," said a cool female voice, artificial, "An explosive device has been located on I-Island. Tourists and residents please return to your homes or to designated shelters. Any person remaining in a public area after ten minutes will be considered in violation of curfew."

Izuku glanced over to Melissa and saw that she'd gone as pale as milk, her phone in her trembling hand.

"A bomb?" she said. Izuku glanced down at the mercenaries.

"A distraction," he corrected. Melissa stared at him.

"A distraction," she repeated, "Just like…just like you all suggested. A distraction. Take over the security. That means the security could…turn your jammer back on!"

Izuku slapped it down on the table and clicked it active, not questioning it. Melissa hovered for a second, bouncing on her toes, then shoved her phone into her pocket and hurried over to him.

"The security systems aren't as strong in every place," she said, "We're in the laboratory area, the drones won't come here. But the doors might lock. We need to – we need to get out! We need to warn people, find Uncle Might or my Dad."

Izuku nodded sharply.

"I need my equipment," he said, "And then I might – I might have an idea. Security is controlled from a single point, right?"

"I think so, yes."

"Right," Izuku said, hurrying over to the case that held his costume. He popped it open, shrugging out of the hoody he was wearing and sliding the breastplate over his head, snapping the clasps closed before he started on the rest.

"Security is controlled from one place, but there must be more than that. Relay stations, at least. We need to try to get a message off the Island, because anyone with sense will have locked down the Heroes at the gala – and tweedledim down there said that Wolfram was at the ball. There might not be anyone else who isn't a hostage right now, not at the Expo. So how can we get a message out?"

Melissa paced, tapping her clenched fist against a workbench for a moment before she gasped.

"You're right – there are security relays in places, I know where one of them is. If we can get to one…the advanced communications for your helmet! We might be able to use that to connect to someone!"

Izuku nodded, flexing his gauntleted hands.

"And I know who," he said, "Principal Nedzu. He's an expert at this sort of cyber-crime thing, he'll be able to give us advice. You say you know where the nearest relay is?"

Melissa set her jaw, nodding, and Izuku clicked his helmet into place, sliding the two pistols he'd stolen from the mercenaries into his holsters before picking up the only working rifle.

"Get anything you think you'll need, then," he said, taking an odd comfort from the metallic tone of his voice modulator, "Because once we leave here, there's no coming back."

Izuku led the way down the corridor when they left, the rifle resting in his hands, finger carefully off the trigger. Melissa was just behind him, her torso covered by a prototype of his own armour, whispering instructions and directions. They paused at a junction and Izuku gritted his teeth. Something must have given his hesitation away.

"What is it?" Melissa asked softly. Izuku shook his head.

"My classmates," he said, just as quietly, "I don't know if I should try to find them. We'd be a lot safer with them along. But if they were at the gala, I don't want to risk getting caught. Don't want to risk you getting caught, specifically."

Melissa frowned.

"Because I can't protect myself?"

"Because you're probably their ticket into the Vault. They were talking about taking you hostage, not me."

The smartest play, Izuku thought, would be to find somewhere to hide. It would be obvious that something was going on soon enough, Heroes who hadn't been at the Expo would respond, they could stay safe until then. But Izuku had never dealt well with sitting around, and he suspected that Melissa wouldn't stand for it either.

"Once we've gotten into the security systems and we know more," Izuku decided, trusting that Melissa would follow his lead on this. He'd been concerned that his discussion of how to break into the Vaults might have come across as suspicious, but Melissa seemed to have realised that it was coincidence. Or not quite coincidence, given his suspicions about Sam, but close enough. He glanced up.

"Do you know where the cameras are?" he asked, "We can risk sneaking under them, the chances of someone watching the camera we're on is pretty slim, but I'd rather avoid it if I can."

Melissa nodded.

"There aren't that many cameras in here," she said, "You could use your jammer, maybe? It would stop us from being seen, but maybe the interference would be suspicious…"

Izuku nodded.

"Yeah, if I kept the jammer active, there'd be a constantly moving blackout zone. If there are better ways to advertise our presence, they probably involve a billboard. And maybe door to door salesmen."

Izuku paused before continuing.

"I left it in the lab, anyway. It's shutting down communications for those two mercenaries: the longer it takes them to report back in the better.

Melissa thought about it, her eyes narrowing.

"I'd never really thought about it like that," she admitted, "Is that what it's like? Being a Hero?"

"Being a Hero like me, anyway," Izuku said as they continued, "This is sort of my area of expertise, infiltration and everything. Stealth, although I'm pretty sure Hagakure will beat me there soon – she's invisible, so she's got a bit of an advantage. If you decide to – well, if you take the offer I was talking about, I don't think you'll be doing much like this."

"I guess not," Melissa said, "Just up ahead, there's a maintenance corridor. We should be able to get in, there'll be no cameras in there. I can probably hack the doorway without alerting anyone."

Probably? Well, better that than taking a chance on running a gauntlet of cameras, Izuku thought. He followed Melissa's instructions down two more corridors, stopping when they reached a door set into the wall. There was a keypad next to it: 'Maintenance' was spelled out on the door, in large yellow letters.

"Alright," Melissa said, "I need to get to the wiring behind the keypad, I can't hack it through the keys. Can you see a way to get the front off?"

Ah, déjà vu. This one was considerably more advanced than the keypad in Overhaul's base had been, but it was still roughly the same construction and Izuku was able to work a stolen knife into the corner and lever the plate off. Melissa looked at him oddly.

"That looked practiced," she noted. Izuku shrugged.

"Let's say I got into some trouble a couple of weeks ago and leave it at that."

Izuku watched as Melissa pulled a few wires out, carefully feeding them into a tablet.

"It was a lot simpler than this, though. Popped the faceplate off and twisted the right wires together and the door opened right up."

"Yeah, that wouldn't work here," Melissa said. She tapped at her tablet, humming.

"Well, it probably would. But it would also set off the alarm, so let's avoid it."

"Let's."

Melissa tapped a little more and the door opened with a deep clunk, making Izuku twitch. He held his breath, waiting for the wail of an alarm, but when one didn't come he relaxed just a fraction.

"Got it," Melissa said, "I bypassed the lock, so the system thinks the door's still locked. Glad that the theory worked."

"You did that on a theory?" Izuku asked, his voice slightly strangled. Melissa nodded, smiling.

"You get bored sometimes, you know? It worked, anyway, so come on! Before anyone checks the cameras."

Izuku followed Melissa through the door, into a dimly lit and narrow hallway, and only untensed when she closed the door behind them and leaned against it with a sigh.

"Do you do this all the time?" she asked, "You're, you know. Very calm."

"Not all the time," Izuku said, "But, you know. It's been a busy school year so far. Villain attacks, kidnapping, Power Loader clearly being a hairsbreadth from snapping and going on a rampage…"

Melissa laughed, which at least defused the tension a little.

"Alright," Izuku continued, "Now we need to get to a security station. Hopefully it'll be unoccupied, but if those guys were right and the ballroom's been taken over they must be using something like Yaoyorozu suggested, a large team. And they're pretty decently equipped."

"It's not advanced," Melissa agreed, "But it's decent. They must be an established group, at least. Or have a capable backer."

She paused, chewing at a fingernail in thought.

"It's weird. There has to be something else, because attacking I-Island – when so many Heroes are present – isn't something you just decide on a whim. They've set this up well."

Izuku couldn't help but notice that Melissa avoided saying what must be true – that someone on the Island was helping the mercenaries. But was the mercenary leader – this Wolfram guy, presumably – the mastermind, or the puppet?

"They must have a lot of confidence in the defences, since All Might's here," Izuku said. Melissa nodded.

"The defences are strong…they'll have hostages. You don't think…you don't think they'll start killing them, do you? If they realise we've escaped?"

"No," Izuku said after a moments thought, "I don't think so. The defences are good, but I wouldn't put money on them keeping All Might down. In that case, the mercenaries must be relying on threatening the hostages to keep him contained. If they start killing people, then there's nothing stopping him from breaking free."

"Unless the defences really are strong enough."

"Unless that. But I don't believe it, not All Might. Either way, it just makes it more important that we get the defences back on our side."

Melissa sighed, squeezing her eyes shut for a long blink.

"Right," she said softly, "You know, when I imagined being a Hero, I never really thought I'd be in something like this so often. If…if I take the offer, you talked about, will it be like this a lot?"

"I won't lie to you and tell you that it won't be," Izuku said carefully, "There's a lot of responsibility wrapped up in that offer. Danger comes along with it naturally. But it isn't always like this – there's a lot more petty crime and a lot less world-threatening calamities going on. It's just that my class at UA is cursed, apparently, and you've gotten caught up in it."

"I don't know if that's comforting or not," Melissa admitted. Izuku just shrugged, having no answer to offer. He wondered, briefly, if what he'd said had tilted Melissa's decision on whether or not to accept One For All. Well, if it had, all the better. One For All wasn't something that should be accepted half-heartedly.

"It does feel like that," Melissa admitted, pausing and glancing down at her tablet, "It should be this way. My Dad said, when I asked him about it, that the Island security was supposed to all be centralised. One single office, on the original plans, since the designers thought it would be safer. I don't think they really thought it through."

"If the security is supposed to be completely centralised, how come there's still separate nodes?"

Melissa shrugged.

"They couldn't get it to work, apparently. All the drones and turrets are routed through the single office, but the cameras, alarms, everything? Dad said there was an information overload that they couldn't solve. In the end, they just distributed the load across several areas, with advanced computer programs to filter and send on alerts. That's why the secondary nodes exist, to take some of the load away."

To Izuku it sounded like the designers had managed to come up with the worst of both worlds: the central security system wasn't decentralised enough that multiple locations would need to be taken simultaneously to assert control, but it also wasn't centralised enough that it couldn't be infiltrated. It was working to his advantage here, though, so he wasn't going to complain. He spared a moment to look up – there was an air vent in the ceiling, but it was regulation standard. A shame – Gotham air vents had sometimes been large enough that Jason had suspected a conspiracy. Bruce had certainly had the connections and the wealth to make sure they were big enough for him, but for these ones? Izuku was fairly sure that he wouldn't even begin to fit, never mind manage to sneak through them without making an absolute racket. On the bright side, it was one less thing to watch out for.

"Okay," Melissa said, "There should be a node a little way on. It's like a closet, I think, just off the main corridor: we'll have to go back out of here. There'll be cameras, though, and I don't know if I can loop them. And there's no telling if anyone will be there."

If the mercenaries were smart, they would have distributed men to every security node and kept in contact the moment they realised they hadn't caught everyone. In fact, it would probably be sensible to do it anyway, just in case. Hopefully they were overconfident. If luck was really with Izuku, the mercenaries wouldn't even know about the nodes. When the two of them reached the door back into the corridor Izuku gestured Melissa back.

"I'll go out alone," he said, "Try and hide. If there's someone there and they see me, I'll try to lead them away. Do you need my helmet, for the communications?"

Melissa shook her head.

"I have the prototype," she said, patting a pocket, "Be careful."

"Always am," Izuku murmured, gently sneaking the door open and shuffling towards the corridor. Something to look around corners without exposing himself, he mentally added to his equipment list. Best scenario, no-one was there and the camera wasn't pointed at him. He could sneak across and nudge the camera out of position, allow Melissa to get in. Second best, the camera was pointed right at him and an alarm went off. Shoot the camera. Run for it, give Melissa time. Worst case, someone was right there. Take whoever it was down first, run for it, glorious last stand.

Izuku couldn't help but feel that a lot of his plans ended in a glorious last stand. Any therapist he was dragged to would probably have a field day with that.

A pause. A deep breath, safely behind the door, heart pumping in anticipation. A silent countdown. Three, two, one.

Izuku went around the corner of the door, low and quick, knowing that if someone was watching the camera his only defence would be speed. He wasn't quite a blur but he moved fast, keeping low, darting around the door and to the wall under the camera, shoulder hitting with a dull thud as he brought the rifle up, sweeping the muzzle over the corridor.

Nothing. Karma had been kind and Izuku set the rifle down, reaching up to gently tilt the camera until it pointed further up than it should have, leaving a blind spot near the ground.

"Melissa," he called, "Stay low and the camera won't see you. Quick!"

Melissa darted out from behind the door, letting it slip shut behind her, and scuttled over to Izuku, bent almost double. Once she was pressed against the wall next to him he reached up again, re-adjusting the camera. It probably wouldn't help if anyone checked it, but any port in a storm.

"Alright," Melissa said, breathing hard, "We made it. Now we just need to get connected."

She turned around, pressing her hands against the wall and tapping away, looking for something. A panel, probably. Izuku, once again, briefly regretted the absence of Bruce's ludicrous supply of mod cons and gadgets.

"I know they're directly under the camera," Melissa said, "It's supposed to make them easier to find, for maintenance. There's not supposed to be any trick to – aha. There we are."

There was a soft click and a panel depressed slightly, sliding to the side as Melissa pushed on it. There was a small alcove behind, with a computer system in.

"I think there's actually a fingerprint reader," Melissa said absently, "But luckily I have enough access. Now then, I just need to get past this keypad..."

Melissa had connected her tablet again, running some program – presumably a hacking program.

"I heard of a Hero once," Izuku said, reminiscing a little, "Who had a scanner integrated into his helmet. Scanned the fingerprints on keypads and used a program to brute-force the password."

"That would shorten things considerably," Melissa admitted, "I can bypass this, but it's going to take a minute. Can the camera see us?"

"I don't think so," Izuku said, "Not sure where it's looking."

"Hmm. Perhaps an attachment to your helmet that can calculate the visual area of a camera…"

A soft buzz, and Melissa made a satisfied noise.

"There we go. I knew I-Island security wasn't as good as they boasted."

"Or maybe you're better than you expect," Izuku muttered, still keeping his eyes on the corridor. Melissa didn't seem to hear him, fiddling with her equipment.

"There we go," she said, "Access granted, all connected. Now, so long as you have a contact number…"

Izuku reeled off the emergency contact number Nedzu had given him, Melissa nodding along as she put it in.

"It's connected to your helmet as well," she said, "All up to you now."

A ring. A click.

"Mr Midoriya?"

Ah, sweet relief. Izuku continued to look down the corridor in case someone approached, but they'd succeeded: someone outside the Island knew.

"Sir. The I-Island Expo has been attacked, and I believe the Heroes present are incapacitated."

A pause, just enough for a single breath.

"Have you considered seeing a medium, Mr Midoriya? Your luck is, frankly, quite supernatural."

Behind Nedzu's cool calm there was a fury of clacking, like clawed paws typing. Izuku suppressed an inappropriate laugh.

"I've always assumed that I had some extremely bad karma from a past life, sir."

"Also a very valid interpretation. Hmm…oh my. Yes, unfortunately you may be underestimating the scale of the issue. I have access to cameras, and it looks somewhat concerning to say the least."

"Sir?"

"Yes, apologies. An armed group must have taken over the security office – there are no cameras inside, of course, but there are three bodies outside, all security guards. The gala guests have been restrained by a combination of I-Island security and mercenaries, and the leader is posturing to All Might. What was your plan, if I might ask?"

"Make sure someone else knew, firstly," Izuku said, "Continue from there. I don't think I can take down all the mercenaries on my own, but if we can get into the security room and retake the security it and the Heroes can deal with the mercs."

"Sensible," Nedzu said, "And practical. However, I think we have slightly more resources than just the two of you, useful as you are. It would seem that Aizawa's despair is not unfounded: your classmates have also failed to be captured at the Gala. Would you like directions to them?"

"I'd appreciate it."

"Excellent."

They set off again, moving far more confidently now that Nedzu could direct them around cameras and ensure that they didn't run into anyone. Izuku heard Nedzu call for Power Loader and briefly discuss something with him away from the camera, but it seemed as though his faint hope of Nedzu being able to hack the security from UA was fruitless.

"I think they're discussing their next move," Nedzu said, "The larger group, at least. Mr Bakugo and Miss Uraraka appear to have gotten lost in the facility, somehow. I suspect that if they continue as they are the greenhouse area will not survive the resulting combat."

Izuku winced.

"Yes, an explosive combination – pun intended," Nedzu continued, "Do you know anything about the mercenary group that might help identify them? I'd like to be able to look them up."

"The two mercenaries who tried to kidnap me said that they should be in the ballroom with Wolfram," Melissa volunteered. Nedzu hummed.

"Wolfram, hmm? Well, that narrows things down. Thank you, Miss Shield. Next right, Mr Midoriya, and they're through the door in front of you."

Izuku opened the door onto the end of an argument.

"-and if something is going on, blundering in isn't going to help anyone!" Jirou snapped, prodding a finger at Kaminari. Kaminari winced.

"But the alert said there's a bomb. If it's true – shit, Midoriya was talking about an attack. You think he knew something?"

Jirou had stepped back, her head tilting.

"Why don't we ask him?" she suggested, "Hey, Midoriya. Looking extreme."

"These things happen. Hey, Jirou. Everyone else."

Yaoyorozu stepped forwards, just as Iida started to gesture, and spoke for all of them.

"Midoriya, what's going on? And why are you…armed?"

Izuku stepped aside to let Melissa through, closing the door behind them.

"Long story short, mercenaries are attacking us. Two came to kidnap Melissa, luckily I was there. I've made contact with Principal Nedzu, but that's as far as I've gotten."

Yaoyorozu's hand flew up to her mouth, but her frown rapidly shifted from concern to thoughtfulness.

"The Heroes?"

Izuku, instead of answering himself, pulled off his helmet and tapped the button that let it broadcast properly.

"All taken prisoner, I'm afraid," Principal Nedzu said, "The I-Island security is not on our side in this. I'm pleased that you are all safe – or as close as can be, at the moment."

"All the Heroes?" Jirou asked, sounding shaken, "All Might too?"

"All Might too," Nedzu confirmed, "Held in place by his concern for the other hostages rather than the security, I suspect. Now. You have two choices, my students. I can direct you to somewhere safe and you can attempt to ride this out. It will end, either when a response force arrives or once the mercenaries have what they wanted. It is practical. Sensible."

"But not heroic, ribbit. What's the other option – the one I assume Izuku's already taken?"

"Ah, that," Nedzu said, "Well. If we – and I do say we – can take the central security office and regain control of security, we can free the Heroes, rout the mercenaries, and save the world from whatever technological nightmare the mercenaries are almost certainly trying to pilfer from the I-Island Vault. I will not think any less of you if you choose safety, of course. The chances of success will be low, the chance of danger high. Think about it."

Izuku slung the rifle on his shoulder and picked up his helmet, waiting while the other conferred in low voices. It didn't take long before Yaoyorozu stepped forwards again, her face set with determination.

"It won't be safe for us to try and stop this," she said, "But we didn't become Hero students to be safe. What do you need us to do, sir?"

They were a Heroic lot, his classmates, and Izuku could hear Nedzu's pleased laugh even before it reverberated out of the speakers.

"An excellent choice, my band of students. No – my band of Heroes. I do indeed have a plan. Now – shall we save the day, once again?"

This should have been released before Christmas, but I'm not gonna lie: I picked up the Pokemon Scarlet dlc and played that an obnoxious amount instead. Still, a belated Merry Christmas to you all - and a early Happy New Year.