Author's Note: So here we are. Arc 6 officially begins today. Welcome to 'Stolen'. I'm sure the context of the last chapter gives enough of an idea about what exactly is stolen. I posted a meme on my Discord server a few days ago. It's that Bugs Bunny in a suit meme. You know the one. It said "I wish all SR readers a very forgive me for Arc 6." Get ready; it'll be a ride.

Speaking of the Discord server, come join it! We're trying to grow, and we'd love to see anyone who wants to be there become a part of our community!
/GETMQWHQmZ

Now, without further ado, enjoy.

"You know, I have to say… for being such a high profile inmate, you're very docile." A guard said as he led Izuku through the halls of the flying fortress of Tartarus. "Not that you could do much with that collar on." The man chuckled to himself. They rounded a corner, though the scene before them didn't seem to change. It was still the same corporate gray metal walls that seemed to pull the very breath from Izuku's lungs. He felt like he was suffocating.

He was honestly surprised with how well he was composing himself outwardly. On the inside, he didn't know what he felt. Maybe he was still in shock? Whatever the reason, he kept his face stoic and unmoving as the guard led him through the halls amidst the taunting.

After a few more minutes of said taunting that Izuku tuned out about a quarter of the way through it, the guard stopped. "Alright. Here we are. Home sweet home. You'll be getting three square meals a day, but don't say I didn't warn you because they aren't good meals." He led Izuku into the room and sat him down in a chair. Clamps were immediately placed down on his wrists and ankles. He hissed as he felt a stabbing pain in his back. The guard moved around him, out of his field of vision, only to return with a syringe filled with red liquid. It didn't take long for Izuku to put the pieces together and figure out that was his blood.

"What do you need that for?" Izuku asked weakly. His voice and throat still hadn't recovered from the prior day's beatings.

"Oh, so you finally talk to me. Y'know, it really is crazy how different your voice is in person compared to the voice you have when you're in costume." He sighed. "The wonders of technology." He moved to a small terminal and placed the syringe vial directly into a slot that Izuku couldn't see from his vantage point. The vial started to drain, and as soon as it had finished draining, the collar around his neck released. "That was your blood. Obviously. There is now a sensor that is tied directly to your blood, and therefore, your quirk. If you use your quirk at all, that machine gun," the man pointed up in the corner of the room, "is going to fill your tiny little teenage body full of lead. And then you'll be dead. Now that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" The guard chuckled to himself. "All that explaining aside, I wish you the best of luck here in the maximum security sector of Tartarus. Don't get too comfortable. You'll have a visitor soon from what I can remember." And with that, the man exited the door, leaving Izuku to his thoughts.

And that scared him.

At least over the last few days, he had been with other people, even if those other people were beating the shit out of him. He had the bruises and swelling to prove it. Not like those would do anything. Who was going to help him, law enforcement? They're the reason he was here in the first place.

Why was he there, though? He knew it was because he killed someone. He deserved to be here for that alone. That's not what he had been asking. Very few people should have known his identity. Which only meant one thing: someone sold him out. At least he thought.

But who? Who would sell him out? He has good relationships with his team members! Well… he did fight with Hitoshi right before. Would he have something to do with it? Or maybe Shouto got too tired of not being enough of a hero that he reported Izuku? Or Eijirou or Setsuna? He didn't know. His thoughts were moving so quickly in his head that he couldn't grab onto one to figure out what it was anymore. And that was without Analysis active.

He felt a tear roll down his cheek for the first time since he had been taken. Stolen.

"Aww, how… pathetic." A woman's voice brought him back to the world around him.

"Who are you?" Izuku asked.

"I'm the reason that you're in here. I am the president of the Hero Public Safety Commission." The woman said. Izuku's heart began to race. He felt sweat begin to drip down his face, but he couldn't wipe it off.

"What do you want?" Izuku asked. The woman squatted down in front of him.

"I just want to get to know you a little bit, my dear Izuku Midoriya. What exactly it is that makes the leader of premier vigilante group 'Societas Requiem' tick." She paused, a sickening grin spreading across her face. "And what can terrify him. Like the fact that you did not kill that man who you fought, though you damn well tried. No, he died because I needed you out of the way." Izuku glared into her eyes in shock and anger. He hadn't killed that man? So it was all a lie? He'd been set up to take this fall? She turned away from him and walked to the door. She turned back to look at Izuku once more. "I will be visiting you many, many times during your stay here. But it's a little bit of a game for me. You see, I'll be telling you more about the situation we find ourselves in during every visit of mine, but you will spend the rest of your life in this prison not knowing who sold you out." The president spun on her heel and strode out of his cell room.

So that confirmed it. Someone did sell him out. And he was never getting out of here.

"Fuck…" Izuku said as he let his head hang forward. The adrenaline high from the past few days finally seemed to fade, and exhaustion took over him. The last things he remembered before falling asleep were his own thoughts. "No, I will get out of here. They will come for me. I know they will… They have to…"


As soon as the broadcast ended, the warehouse was a mess. Mei was typing away furiously on her computer, and Hitoshi was next to her. Setsuna, Himiko, and Fumikage were suiting up to go on some recon missions in the area. Thankfully, Shouto and Eijirou still weren't there, or the limited space in the warehouse would be even more overrun. Kyouka, though… She was sitting at the table. Staring. She didn't even know what she was staring at.

He was gone. She had been nearly killed, and now she's gotten better, but the one person she wanted to see when she did get better… gone…

She didn't even realize that she was crying again until tears hit her hand. She was in the middle of wiping her eyes when she jumped in shock at an outburst from Mei.

"Damnit! Why isn't she answering? She was just here a little bit ago!" She slammed her hand down on the table. A knock on the door of the warehouse caused everyone to pause. Hitoshi jumped up from next to Mei and moved to the side of the door. He threw it open and readied a punch, but stopped once he saw the somewhat familiar head of orange hair.

"I'm…" the girl started, breathing heavily and having to take a break from talking as she wheezed. "I'm here! I wanted… to come and help… in person! This situation… calls for it."

Setsuna looked the girl up and down. "I'm confused."

"That's Prometheus." Mei said, eyes going back to being glued on her computer screen.

"Oh." Setsuna said simply. "Well, nice to put a face to the name."

"You too." Prometheus said as she walked briskly over to Mei and her station. "This is going to take a while. Are you okay with that?"

Mei simply nodded. And the two of them got to work tapping away on the keyboard and navigating through a tablet.

Kyouka watched all of this without moving from the table. She heard the chair next to her be pulled back across the floor. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the purple of Hitoshi's hair.

"We'll find him." She heard him say. Without even thinking, she got up from the chair and went back to her room. "Kyouka! Wait! I'm sorry!" She heard him say from behind her. She didn't stop. In fact, she walked away from him faster. She tore through the curtain set up as the door to her room and flung herself onto the bed. The tears had already started before she felt the soft blankets on her skin.

She didn't know how long she cried for. Neither did she know when she fell asleep. But she woke up on a damp pillow. She felt awful. In more than one way, but the newest way was because she knew she was dehydrated. From how her pillow felt, she could figure she had been crying in her sleep. She wiped her face, and a thin sheen of tears came off on her hand. She sniffled and stood up, reeling from a momentary lack of balance.

"Damn water and our need to drink it…" she said under her breath. "Why can't I just cry?" She sniffled again. "Why does my body have to make itself feel even worse?" Kyouka shambled into the kitchen and filled up a glass of water. Mei and Prometheus were still typing away, but nobody else was in the room.

"What are you doing up this late?" Mei asked from her computer.

"I fell asleep earlier. Just woke up. Need water." Kyouka's voice was dry when it wasn't just whispering. "What time is it?"

"Three in the morning." Prometheus said.

"Shit…" Kyouka said.

"Y'know that nobody is expecting you to be okay right now, right?" Mei said.

"I am okay." Kyouka said quickly.

For what Kyouka figured was the first time since they had started, Mei stopped typing and turned around. "The fuck you aren't." Mei said. She put her hands on Kyouka's shoulders and held her in place. "You haven't been sarcastic at all since you woke up, you cried yourself to sleep earlier, your boyfriend has been taken by a corrupt government organization, and you just almost died from a serious lack of blood and being speared through. You are not okay."

"How are you going to tell me if I'm okay or not?" Kyouka asked with an unintentional raise in her voice's volume.

"Do you even realize that you're crying again?" Mei asked. Kyouka was taken aback. Truthfully, she hadn't realized. "Exactly! You aren't okay. And it's going to take time for you to be okay. Take. That. Time. Please. You can't save him if you can't save yourself first."

"But-" Kyouka started.

"No buts!" Mei interrupted. "Give yourself some time. Get your shit together. Then we can get you back into this. Take a walk. Tomorrow. Take a walk tomorrow. Go out and see some shows. Go play music. Something to help you start getting better. Hell, I'll have Prometheus reach out and try to find you a therapist that won't care that you're a vigilante. Just… We need you better, okay? Izuku needs you better." She released Kyouka's shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "And I know I'm not as big a priority to you as Izuku is, but I want my best friend to be okay too."

"I'm sorry…" Kyouka said as more tears began to flow from her eyes.

"You don't need to apologize. Please, just take care of yourself. Go back to bed." Mei instructed. Kyouka listened and trudged back to her room. They needed to find Izuku soon.


"So you called a meeting, sir?"

"Yes. I'm sure all of you have seen the news in the recent days. The leader of Societas Requiem has been captured, arrested, and sent to Tartarus." The small white mouse-like principal of UA explained. He sighed. "I suppose I'm laying all of my cards out on the table here, but this is a massive problem for us. Myself specifically."

"What do you mean?" Shouta asked.

"I'm waiting until all of our attendees are present." Nezu replied. Silence followed for a minute or so before a knock was heard on the door to the office. "Come in."

Setsuna, Eijirou, and Shouto all walked into the room hesitantly. "You called for us, sir?" Setsuna asked.

"Yes, and now that you're all here, we can begin." Nezu said.

"What are these kids doing here, sir?" Vlad King asked hesitantly.

"This information pertains to them, and I need them to pass it on to their team. I can't get them here. I imagine they're working very hard right now given everything that's happened. Isn't that right, you three?" Nezu looked at the kids.

"Yes, sir. We wanted to help, but they thought it would be better for us to spend this time in classes." Shouto said.

"I see. Well, you'll have to make at least one more trip back to wherever you stay when you're with them. This information is of the utmost importance." Nezu said. The students nodded. "Is everyone ready?" The attendees in the room nodded, and the principal continued. "Izuku Midoriya, otherwise known as Snake Eyes from the vigilante group Societas Requiem, has been working for me under threat of revealing their identities to the public."

"And this agreement is what allowed us to work with them in the first place, isn't it, because you knew that if they didn't do what you needed them to, they would get in trouble." Shouto mused.

"Yes. But that was the extent of their knowledge. I had not given them a directive aside from to continue the work they were doing. And that was on purpose."

"What do you mean?" Vlad King asked.

"The Hero Public Safety Commission has become corrupted by power, and their main goal is no longer the protection of the people of Japan. It is the protection of themselves and the lining of their wallets." Nezu explained. "I wanted to see what hand they played. And they certainly played something." Nezu chuckled to himself. "I am not working alone on this, nor am I the person at the top of our work ladder, but I am part of an organization known as Ouroboros. An informant has received word that Izuku Midoriya did not kill that hero. It is confirmed to have been someone working for the HPSC."

"Those bastards!" Eijirou said.

"Not quite, Kirishima. This is the best possible outcome for us." Nezu said with a smile.

"What do you mean, sir?" Shouta asked.

"They bluffed. And it may pay out for them now, but when the truth comes out, they won't be able to pay their dues." Nezu continued.

"That's a lot of poker metaphors." Setsuna said absentmindedly.

"It's a numbers game. My favorite type of game. I've been playing it a lot recently." Nezu explained. "Anyway, back on track. I have already been in brief contact with SR's Overwatch. I've been informed that she has not slept since the news broke out because she has been working on finding your leader. I told her I would not assist until she had a full night's rest. Do make sure she does. She needs to be sharp to find him. And he needs to be found. He is the lynchpin in this entire operation. Bring him back, and the corruption of the HPSC will be taken down."

"How do you know this?" Vlad King asked.

"Like before, it's a numbers game." Nezu said. "The Infernal Orchestra no doubt will want revenge on their superiors for having killed one of their own. They're good with sound. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a recording somewhere with damning information. That being said, our side, against the corruption, has now gained more numbers. Once you all get your leader back, whenever that may be, that news goes instantly. And then the numbers are really on our side. Public opinion will plummet, and those heroes that are unaware of the mess behind everything will likely turncoat. My calculations suggest that no less than 60% of the hero population in Japan will turn against the HPSC." For the first time since the meeting started, Nezu hopped down from his chair. "That time is the beginning of the end for the Safety Commission. Or at least the current system of it."

"Ending the HPSC seems a little steep, dontcha think?" Eijirou asked.

"This course of events has a 95% likelihood of ending in revolution. Revolutions have a price, Kirishima, and the public will sign peace documents with the blood of corrupt government officials. I've seen it happen before."

"Where would you have been to see this happen before?" Setsuna asked.

"Malaysia. 20 years ago." Nezu replied bluntly. When everyone looked at him in shock, he continued. "Back onto topic, Ouroboros will be working around the clock to locate Tartarus and determine the program responsible for determining its randomized flight path. I'm sure Societas Requiem will be as well. We will find him."

"Have you run calculations on that?" Shouto asked.

"I have. Its likelihood increases the further out we go, culminating in a guaranteed chance of finding him within the year, given continuous work on locating that code."

"And right now?" Setsuna asked.

"Right at this moment, the odds of locating and cracking the code comes out to .0053%." Nezu said. The room went silent.

"That's… that's not a lot." Eijirou said.

"The most it will take is a year. We are not expecting it now. As sad as it is to say, Izuku will have to remain in Tartarus until we can find him." Nezu said gravely.

"Heartquake isn't going to be happy about that." Setsuna said in response. When given a quizzical look by Vlad King and Shouta, she shrugged. "They're dating."

"Nor will any of you like my last request." Nezu said. "I have to ask that you all stay in the shadows. No public presence. No awareness of your group being active. For this to all work, they need to think they've won by taking out your leader. Do that, and your sudden re-emergence will catch them off guard. They won't know what to do, and their actions will be sloppy in response."

Silence hung in the air for a few moments before anyone spoke. "We'll make sure that everything is given to them." Shouto said.

"Thank you, Todoroki." Nezu said. "And thank you as well, Tokage and Kirishima. I know things haven't been too easy for you all. Take some time. Focus on some school work. Get to know your teammates. The bonds you have with the people you work with are important."

"That how you got out of Malaysia?" Vlad King asked.

"Exactly." Nezu said with a laugh. "Now, you kids get out of here. You have a message to deliver."

The three students left the room after a few seconds, leaving only the three teachers in the room.

"You both needed to be here because they're still your students." Nezu said as he climbed back into his chair.

"Yes, I figured as much." Shouta said as he stepped out of the corner of the room. "Why wasn't Yagi here, though? The former Symbol of Peace could be a huge asset in swaying public opinion, don't you think?"

"Yagi… He's too good natured. There's too much of a chance that he would try to argue against our cause. He wouldn't want to topple. He would just want to try to restructure from the inside. We can't afford that unknown." Nezu said.

"I… I understand." Vlad King said. "But I can't help but wonder why you've entangled us in this now."

"As I said before, they're your students."

"I understand that, but you could have met with them separate from us." Vlad King said. "Why involve us?"

"We need all the numbers we can get. People who want to topple the HPSC because of their corruption, not because of the fact that they are heroes. People with the right goal and the right motive are crucial." Nezu explained.

"And you think we fit that bill?" Vlad King asked. He crossed his arms.

"I am." Shouta said instantly.

"And I know you might not think you are immediately right now, but I know you are, Kan. I trust you both a great deal. Will you trust me with this?" Nezu asked.

"I… I will. I will trust you, sir." Vlad King bowed "I need to think about this, though. I just learned a lot of things that I don't know if I was ready for. I'll come around. I just need some time. I have a lesson plan to make. Excuse me." Vlad King left shortly after.

"So what do you think?" Shouta asked.

"I think that we need all the help we can get." Nezu said. "And he'll be invaluable for this."

"Agreed. He is a skilled hero with a very diverse fighting style." Shouta said. Nezu nodded in response. Shouta sighed. "I guess I should get going, too."

"Have a good rest of your day, Aizawa." Nezu said. Shouta bowed and left the room. Nezu sighed. "He's another body for the front lines. We're going to need it." He looked out the window to see the city of Musutafa. It looked so peaceful right now. How soon that would change. Nezu sighed again. "Sacrifices must be made. Isn't that what you once told me, Tsutsumi? I'm sorry, Kan."