Chapter 69

.::A Scaly Glitch::.

So far, the grand reunion had been going differently from how Denki had expected. Oh, they still had the giant emotional group hug he'd hoped for, still got to experience the sheer relief of confirming they weren't alone. They even got some of the tearjerker moments he'd expected as Uraraka admitted she'd met Dabi, and some explanations about the runaways in Odawara.

But then they found out Uraraka had been hit with a Quirk and couldn't talk about the Alliance, and reality came crashing down way too fast.

Since then they'd been trying to pry whatever information they could based on what she couldn't say. They managed to eliminate some of the League members they remembered from their world, like Spinner or that Muscular guy. They also confirmed she could still say Stain, so he wasn't secretly a part of it in this world (still no idea if he existed). She could name all their classmates and teachers, too, which was a relief.

But there was still so much she couldn't say. When she tried to read Midoriya's letter out loud she skipped over all the names and words connected to the Alliance, not even getting through the first page before giving up in frustration.

What terrified Denki the most were her attempts to talk about Aizawa-sensei. That had been relatively coherent even with the missing words, enough for them to pick up that someone had visited on Sunday. Someone who already knew him, and whose presence alone seemed to be enough to trigger PTSD-type flashbacks.

It had been describing that visitor that it had really broken down.

"Obviously a, but we don't know what but," Uraraka told them, and looked panicked when she realized she was missing words. "Said a, uses, makes to counter, Dabi warned." Her expression grew more and more frantic with each missing word, leaning forward as she blurted desperately, "This morning said technically! I!"

That "I" had been the only word to come out at the end, her whole face twisting with horror as she nearly broke down. That had been when Denki realized just how dangerous this was. That there was an unknown element Uraraka couldn't describe at all, and who was dangerous enough to make her freak out. All she could do was nod or shake her head when they asked her some questions:

Was this person a villain? (Nod.) Were they a grunt in the Alliance? (Head shake.) Were they part of the Alliance? (A shrug.) Connected to it? (Nod.) Were they dangerous? (Nod.) Was their Quirk dangerous? (Nod.) Were they as dangerous as Shigaraki? (A more hesitant nod.) Were they more dangerous than Shigaraki? (A hesitation, and no response but a grimace.) Had Uraraka met them? (Nod.) Had this person hurt her? (A head shake there, mercifully enough.) Had they ever killed anyone?

It was the overly vigorous nod at the last one that chilled them most. "Technically," she told them, a desperate gleam in her eyes. "Said technically count." They had no idea what she wanted to say there, but she'd gotten enough of the point across.

And now they still lacked a lot of context, but after talking to Midoriya and Anjou they had a plan. A plan that apparently hinged on the kid hiding behind Shouji.

"Right, so this is Kabuto," Rogue introduced, looking tired already. Kabuto seemed a little younger than them, probably in middle school, with dusty brown skin and oddly chunky light brown hair that kinda reminded Denki of scales. He did have scales on his wrists from what they could see beneath his bulky coat, his hands larger than average and ending in very long, curled-up claws.

Kabuto seemed to wilt under the attention, ducking even more behind Shouji. "Uh, sorry, he's kinda shy," explained Mime, the guy who'd accompanied Kaubto and who Denki definitely recognized as someone from Class 1-B. He had no idea on the guy's name though, or his Quirk.

"Uh, we don't have to tell him everything too, do we?" Jirou asked, voicing the question on everyone's minds.

"Yeah, no, that's absolutely forbidden," Rogue deadpanned. "Kabuto's only here because Nettmegg wants him to use his Quirk to send someone to Kamino to grab that letter."

"Ooh, and how does this Quirk work?" Like a ghost Hatsume reared her head once more, seeming to teleport over to Shouji and Kabuto. He yelped and tried to duck further behind Shouji only for Hatsume to follow, leading to her effectively chasing him in circles around the taller boy. Shouji did not look amused.

"Mime, help," he called flatly. Mime obliged and blew at the air, and suddenly Hatsume bumped into an invisible wall. That didn't deter her though, peeling herself off and then pressing her hands against it like a window as she peered at a cowering Kabuto.

"Your Quirk's primarily a pangolin mutation, right?" she asked, eyes trained on the pair of long tails covered in large, overlapping scales.

"Uh, what's a pangolin?" Denki muttered.

"They're kinda like a cross between anteaters and armadillos, but covered in giant scales that look like plates?" Mime explained with a shrug. "That's how we've been describing it, anyway."

"And Hatsume knows that because...?" Jirou asked.

"Because when it comes to armor, there is no better inspiration than nature!" the inventor declared. "Pangolins have some of the best natural armor out there! The scales have super-sharp edges so they'll cut anyone who tries to attack, and the way they're layered doesn't impede mobility at all!"

"Please make the scary lady stop," Kabuto whimpered. Jirou decided to step in and drag Hatsume away to give the poor kid space while Shouji moved to shield him a bit more.

"Okay, that's cool and all, but how does that help?" Kirishima asked.

"What we're about to tell you cannot leave here, no matter what," Rogue told them sternly, eyes sharp. "We mean it. You can't even tell the sixth guy, this absolutely cannot leave this room." Everyone nodded, quickly growing serious, and after a moment Rogue seemed to decide they understood. "Kabuto's Quirk is mostly the pangolin mutation, but some of the scales on his tail can teleport people if you break them."

"Wait, what?" Ashido blurted. "How?"

"You have a warping Quirk?" Uraraka gasped, eyes wide. "That would be so useful to help rescue Aizawa because his!" She paused when she realized she'd skipped over some words, her expression quickly souring. "I can't even mention his? Really?"

"You are not using it to rescue anyone from a villain's base," Rogue snapped, and she winced and shrunk back. He scowled for a moment before continuing, "Look, Kabuto's Quirk is one of those Quirks that gets people kidnapped all the time. It's something that can be used without his consent, and it fucking hurts. We are not taking any chances, we are not letting any of his scales end up anywhere near villains, got that?"

There was a tense silence as everyone nodded, wary of making him more angry, and Shouji decided to take over. "The Quirk has some limits. It only works with certain scales, and the first one also won't grow back until they're used."

"The first one?" Jirou repeated.

"I-it's tied to my tails." Surprisingly Kabuto answered, his voice noticeably soft and meek as he nervously tapped his claws together. "I have two tails, right? So you get two scales, one from each. The first one you pull out is the hardest, and t-then the matching one on the other tail is softer, and easier to break."

As he spoke his tails curled around his ankles, and Denki noticed some of the scales had more color than the rest. He wasn't the only one, as Uraraka perked up and asked, "Oh, is it the colorful ones?"

Kabuto flinched at being addressed and quickly nodded before ducking behind Shouji again, apparently back to being too shy to talk. "Breaking a scale will teleport you to the other one," Rogue continued. "It can only teleport one person at a time, the one who breaks it. It also only works if both scales are separated from his tail, but either one can be used."

"The first one is still harder to break though, so we usually use it like a homing beacon," Shouji added. "It's also a one-time thing. Once you use it, the whole pair loses its power. So it's a one-way trip. And there's only a limited number with that power, so once a scale's removed, it won't grow back until one of the pair is broken."

"And pulling them off hurts," Mime emphasized. "I've seen him cry from it."

"So in short, it's only good for quickly traveling or escaping," Todoroki murmured thoughtfully. "It sounds too limited to be useful for large groups, but if there's a scale in Kamino, we could send someone there."

"Which is why Nettmegg suggested we bring him in," Rogue said with a nod. "She keeps one in her apartment. Since this Midoriya guy is planning to go to Kamino, he can hand over that letter directly to whoever we send over today."

"And then they just catch a train back to Odawara!" Ashido finished eagerly, pumping her fists into the air. "That's brilliant! We can get it and see Mido!"

"You know you can't go, right Ashido?" Kirishima reminded her, and she instantly deflated with a whine.

"But Kiiiiriii!"

"Ashido, we literally just ran away from there last week. If either one of us meets up with Anjou, someone might notice and recognize us."

"Also, you're pink," Jirou added flatly. "The wig might help, but not many people have pink skin, so..." Ashido pouted and crossed her arms with a huff.

"I ran away pretty recently too, and I had Midnight as a tutor here, so Present Mic might be looking for me too," Uraraka murmured with a frown. "And Todoroki ran away a while back and is pretty disguised, but..."

"It's too risky," he declared bluntly. "Kuroe managed to recognize me somehow even though we'd never met. I don't know if I've met Mic-sensei in this world, but Pro Heroes probably have more detailed pictures of me."

"Yeah, they didn't really release many of you online," Denki said with a nod, thinking back to his few attempts searching for the other teen. "The newest one I could find was from when you were like, seven." He grimaced as he remembered the context, and Jirou must have thought of the same one because she grimaced too.

"All Might's memorial service, right?" she asked, and Denki could only nod. It hadn't even been focused on them specifically; they'd been in the background among the sea of black, with little Todoroki next to a girl who must be his sister. The camera hadn't gotten the clearest view, and only part of his scar had been visible with that angle. Still, the context of it left a bad taste in his mouth.

"Yeah, that would've been around the time that heroes started locking down personal pictures in the media," Mime muttered. "Especially kids and stuff..." He didn't need to explain why that change happened, the atmosphere just a little heavier at the unspoken reminder of how dark this world could get.

"So then, I guess that leaves me or Kaminari," Jirou said after a moment. "We're the only ones here who aren't runaways or wanted for other reasons. Which... how is this our life." She shook her head in exasperation while Denki frowned.

"I'll go," he volunteered, making everyone turn in surprise.

"Wait, are you sure?" Uraraka asked. "Have you ever been to Kamino? It's kinda freaky to go somewhere new all alone!"

"I know, but we're hero students, right?" Denki replied with an only slightly nervous grin. Honestly, the idea of going somewhere brand new, alone, did freak him out a little. But between him and Jirou, it was better for her to stay here. "While I'm gone, you guys can keep filling in Jirou on everything else, and she can tell you about the stuff that happened with Yaomomo and that Tokage chick."

"Yeah, I guess it would be better for me to talk about it," she muttered. "I didn't really have a chance to tell you guys any details yesterday before everything went, well." She shrugged, and everyone tried not to look at Todoroki. The Dabi reveal threw a wrench into, well, everything.

For his part, Todoroki seemed less bothered by the reference to the whole Dabi situation than Denki feared, and just generally thoughtful. "We can't really talk about Midoriya's situation like this, and that's the most urgent one, so..." He nodded and declared, "I second sending Kaminari."

"I don't think anyone can say no to that reasoning," Kirishima muttered, glancing at Denki. "You have money to catch a ride back on the train or bus, right?"

"Yep! Loaded up on some spare cash just in case!" Denki grinned as he patted his pocket for emphasis. "And if anything happens, I can just call you guys!"

"It would be a good opportunity for Nettmegg to tag you with her Quirk as well," Shouji pointed out. "You'll be going straight to her apartment, so you can just wait there if she's not back yet." Kabuto perked up and scowled as he leaned around Shouji.

"D-don't snoop around if she's not there!" he declared, shooting Denki a glare. "I mean it! These claws are really sharp, and I'm not afraid to go for the eyes!"

"I won't, I won't!" Denki assured him, raising his hands in surrender. "I swear I won't, don't claw out my eyes!"

"You're really protective of Anjou, huh?" Kirishima asked, and Kabuto huffed, ducking back behind Shouji slightly but still frowning.

"I owe her everything," he said, and then reached down to pluck a scale from one of his tails, wincing and giving a small gasp as he harshly yanked it loose. He scampered over to hold it out to Denki, the teal-tinted scale carefully held between two long claws. "Here. Just snap it."

"Ooh, that color looks kinda like An-chan's hair!" Ashido gushed, and Kabuto ducked his head a bit, cheeks a little darker.

"I know, th-that's... Just, take it." Denki nodded as he took it, and Kabuto scrounged in his pockets to pull out another scale, this one a dark purple. "A-and, take this one too. To replace the one there."

"And that's like her eyes," Ashido observed with a smirk, mischief visible in her expression, and Kabuto's cheeks turned even darker as he shoved the scale at Denki.

"J-just take it and go!" he snapped, and quickly scurried back to Shouji. Mime had a little smirk too as Kabuto passed him, though it quickly vanished when the smaller boy smacked his leg with one of his tails.

"Yow! Watch it, dude! Those scales hurt!" Kabuto just stuck out his tongue while Denki looked down at the teal scale uncertainly. Holding both scales, he could definitely feel a difference; the teal wasn't flimsy, but the purple one felt sturdier for sure. He slid it in his pocket and checked that he still had his phone and extra money before gripping the other one with both hands.

"Well, here goes nothing, I guess," he said uncertainly.

"See you soon, Kaminari," Jirou said.

"I'll miss you!" Ashido declared tearfully. "Don't forget to call and text while you're gone!"

"He's only going to be gone for a few hours," Kirishima reminded her.

"It's the thought that counts!" Denki had to smile at his friend's dramatics, feeling a little more relaxed. He was still nervous about leaving, but knowing he'd come back to this made it better.

"Denki," Todoroki said, making him glance over. He paused then, seeming to search for words. "When you see Midoriya, tell him we're all ready whenever he needs us."

Denki grinned even as everyone else's faces hardened with conviction and determination. "You got it!" he said. "See you guys in a couple hours!" With a final salute, he gripped both ends of the scale and snapped it in half.

The teleportation was instant. One second he was in the middle of the abandoned kitchen, and the next he stood in an unfamiliar apartment. It seemed to be a single-room one, with a futon neatly folded in one corner, a dining table with two chairs and a laptop, and a couch and TV. He'd appeared next to a dresser which had a phone and a dusty brown scale on it, and when he glanced at the pieces in his hand they'd also turned brown.

"Huh," he said faintly. He then startled as a door slammed open, spinning to see a teal-haired girl standing in the door of a bathroom. She looked at him wide-eyed for a moment before her expression soured.

"Oh right, told them to send someone over," she muttered and sighed. "Let me guess. Kaminari?"

"Uh, yeah," he confirmed with a sheepish nod. "You must be Anjou then, right?"

"Yep," she confirmed with a huff, running a hand through her hair. He noticed it seemed a little wet for some reason. She'd also already changed out of her school uniform into a dark maroon sweatshirt with a cartoon cat on it, and a pair of gray sweatpants. "Gimme a minute to dry my hair."

"Did you take a shower?" he asked curiously, before hastily adding, "Uh, n-not to sound creepy or anything! J-just curious, 'cause you know, it's cold outside, and walking around with wet hair's, uh..." He trailed off before he could dig the hole deeper.

"Yep," she said flatly. "Which is why I took a shower. Stupid Nijisaki..." She grumbled under her breath as she went back into the bathroom, not bothering to close the door as she turned on the hair dryer. Denki just stood in her room awkwardly, not sure what to do besides glancing around while he waited. It didn't take long to notice a backpack and several books sitting on a towel, making him wince sympathetically. Oh right, Rogue said something about sprinklers going off...

It only took Anjou a few minutes to emerge, hair now dry. "Thanks for not touching anything, I guess," she said with a shrug.

"Uh, no problem," Denki responded awkwardly. "Sorry for not texting you or something, probably should've given you a heads up or something..." He fiddled with the broken scale pieces for a second before perking up and retrieving the other scale from his pocket. "Oh right, Kabuto gave me this to replace the other one! Since it's, uh, used now."

Anjou hummed, holding out her palm for Denki to hand it over. As he did her other hand shot upwards to grip his wrist, making him jump in surprise. Her irises lit up bright turquoise like her pupils for a second before the dark purple hue returned, and she released his wrist with a nod. "And, added."

"...Should I, uh, feel any different?" Denki asked after a second while Anjou went to drop the scale on the dressed behind him.

"Nah. Neural networking's pretty passive, people won't notice it unless I tell them. Or if I hijack one of their senses." That had Denki jumping.

"You can do that?"

"Yep," she confirmed with a nod, perfectly nonchalant as she picked up her phone. "I did say there was more than just tracking locations. Anyways, enough Quirk talk," she said, turning back with a serious expression. "Midoriya texted about ten minutes ago to say he got permission to come. But he couldn't get permission to show up alone, so there'll be someone named Toga with him...?"

"Oh crap, the yandere," Denki whispered, face pale. They'd had a lengthy chat about Toga in the chat yesterday before the Dabi reveal, and Uraraka hadn't been subject to that weird censoring Quirk back then.

"The story is that we're all online friends from some hero forum who like Present Mic," Anjou continued, already tapping away at her phone. "I'll text him you're here so he can say that he's seen a photo of you because you're an idiot, and didn't think about stranger danger when showing off some new hero shirt."

Denki wanted to object, but that was absolutely something he would do, so he settled for a withering glare. Not that she seemed to notice, busy looking at her phone. He heard his own phone go off and quickly checked it to find Anjou had started a group chat along with Midoriya. It outlined exactly what she just said, and also included a street name. 'Meeting spot is outside Wacdonald's.'

"Think we could get something at Wacdonald's?" he wondered aloud. "It's pretty close to lunch."

"That's part of the plan. Some of my classmates planned to meet there with some other online people they know, so we'll just join the crowd there and head over to the meet and greet as a giant group. If anyone asks, you're remote-learning and ditched classes to come get Mic's autograph."

"Do you think many people will be spying on us?"

"Better safe than sorry." At that point a reply appeared from Midoriya in the chat.

'Really? You'll be there too? That's great! I can't wait to see you again!' Despite his anxiety about Toga being there Denki smiled at the message. Seeing Midoriya again would be a giant relief for both of them.

"Come on, let's go," Anjou said, already heading to the door as Denki followed. "By the way, mind filling me in on everything that's happened so far while we walk?"

"Sure, no problem," Denki agreed easily. "Not much to say though. We kinda got sidetracked by the Dabi thing before we found out the thing with Uraraka, so..."

"Dabi thing?" Anjou repeated and he paused, suddenly realizing something.

"...You're not part of that group chat, are you?"

"Nope."

Well, they had a lot to catch up on.

Izuku felt his heart pounding as he and Toga stepped out of a portal into an alleyway, wearing a backpack with a poster tube sticking out of the top. Toga had taken care of getting permission and everything else ready, and even transformed into someone Izuku didn't really recognize. She was still a teenage girl, but a bit taller and had orange hair in loose pigtails and glasses.

"This is just a girl I thought looked really pretty," she explained happily as they left the alley. "This hairstyle is so cute, don't you think?"

"Um, yeah, it is," Izuku agreed awkwardly, trying not to think about how she got the blood for the transformation. He quickly pulled out his phone to check the map. "Anyways, the meeting place shouldn't be far away, just look for a Wacdonald's."

"So you do know these people, right?" Toga asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah. I've talked to them online. One of them said her classmates are meeting up there, so..." He shrugged lamely, and Toga hummed.

"So, what should I call you in front of them?"

"Probably not Mido. I mean, I call myself Hero_Man_NumberNine on this forum, so maybe Nine?" His brief chat with Aizawa that morning had made him check his profile again just to confirm the username. He figured it would be better to use that than some variation of "Deku_Breaks_Bones" or his actual name, and had already passed it on to Anjou. "The people we're meeting are named Nett and ChargeBolt."

"Nine, huh?" Toga mused, and then decided, "Nah. I'm just gonna call you Zuzu!" Izuku shot her a very unhappy frown, but she ignored it as she perked up. "Hey, there's the Wacdonald's! Come on Zuzu!" She grabbed his hand and started dragging him before he could protest, and Izuku just silently resigned himself to having to endure the nickname.

He quickly perked up as he saw the small crowd outside the Wacdonald's though. There weren't too many people, maybe five total, but his attention quickly zeroed in on a very familiar head of blond hair: Kaminari. His heart leaped into his throat as he saw his classmate, breaking away from Toga to wave. "Chargebolt!" he called, and Kaminari spun to look at him.

When their eyes met, Izuku could see the recognition. For only the second time since waking up in this world, he saw the spark of familiarity, the way someone looked at him as him and not a stranger, or even this world's Izuku. He'd already known this was his Kaminari from all the phone calls, but seeing him in person made it feel suddenly real.

Kaminari's whole face lit up as he broke away from the group to nearly tackle him in a hug, which Izuku readily accepted and returned. "Dude, you're here!" he laughed, squeezing Izuku tight. "I can't believe you're actually here!" Izuku squeezed him back just as hard, willing himself to not cry and make Toga more curious.

"I can't believe it either," he mumbled, and pulled away to smile at him. "You look just like that photo!" It was a subtle reminder that they were supposed to be strangers, and that they couldn't make any slips. As much as Izuku wanted to catch up, Toga was there so they had to play it safe.

Fortunately Kaminari understood, returning his smile with a grin of his own. "I'm just glad to finally know what you look like!" he said. "Seriously dude, I was kinda worried you'd be, you know." He shrugged and left it at that, Izuku picking up the underlying concern that he'd show signs of abuse from his time with villains or some other radical changes.

The other people nearby interpreted it differently. "What, you thought he'd be some forty-year-old creep?" a boy with speckled black and white hair snorted.

"Not that!" Kaminari yelped while Toga loudly snickered.

"So you must be that Nine guy, right?" the boy said to Izuku. "Anjou and Charge over here said you'd be coming."

"Anjou?" Izuku repeated, playing dumb.

"That would be me, though you've been calling me Nett." A teal-haired girl stepped forward, and Izuku turned to survey the mysterious Anjou. She looked pretty down to earth and relaxed, nodding at him. "Nice to see you in the flesh."

"You too," Izuku replied with a smile. "If we're using real names you can call me Kubo." He came up with the name on the spot, basing it off his username since the character for "ku" could be written as "nine." He figured that he got the username from the "ku" in Izuku, too.

"Nice," Kaminari said with a nod. "Well, I'm Kaminari." He glanced at Toga as he added, "And she's, uh?"

"Yumi," Toga cut in, skipping forward with a smile. "I'm Zuzu's friend!"

"Zuzu?" one of the unfamiliar boys snorted while Izuku cringed.

"Yumi, please don't," he groaned, but she ignored him.

"Yo Anjou, since your friend's here we're gonna head inside and grab lunch with the others," one of the other boys said, side-eying Toga as he spoke. "Wanna come with us?"

Toga pursed her lips. "Hmm, I dunno. I'm supposed to stay with Zuzu..."

Izuku groaned at the nickname, but at the same moment he saw an opportunity, and played up his embarrassment a bit more by ducking his head. "I-I don't mind, I really want to talk to Nett and—I mean, Anjou and Kaminari." He pretended to flub the names before looking at Toga to add, "We'll be fine Yumi, we won't go anywhere. But I've been wanting to meet these guys in person for ages now, so..."

He trailed off meaningfully, silently pleading Toga would go along with his unspoken request for privacy. While he knew she couldn't leave him entirely, if she stuck around constantly he'd have trouble getting anything done. This might be his only chance to be alone with them.

And for the second time today, the universe gave Izuku a break. "Okay, but don't go anywhere or I'll tell Tomu!" she said with a playful wink, and then turned to follow Anjou's classmates inside. "So like, you're paying, right? Because I really want a hot chocolate."

"A Wacdonald's hot chocolate?" someone groaned.

"What? It's super cold outside, and they're really yummy!"

"Yeah dude. Wacdonald's isn't all cheap garbage." That was all Izuku heard before the door closed. He almost sagged with relief at the privacy, breathing a large sigh as he turned to face the others.

"Hey Kaminari," he greeted again with a feeble, tired smile. "It's really good to see you." The blond surged forward to hug him again, making Izuku jolt in surprise.

"Dude, I can't believe you're actually here," he said. "I mean I can, but after all the phone calls and everything else—it's so awesome to finally see you again!" Izuku nodded, sniffling as he returned the embrace.

"Yeah, same here," he choked out, squeezing Kaminari back.

"Uh, are you okay?" Anjou asked, sounding mildly alarmed. Izuku and Kaminari broke the hug, the blond looking at him for a moment before shrugging.

"Nah, he's fine. Mido always cries super-easy, no big deal." The remark had Izuku reaching up to wipe away the tears, having not even realized he'd started crying. Given how cold it was, freezing tears was the last thing he needed.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he agreed, and quickly shifted his backpack off his back. "But we don't have much time, so here." He opened the front pocket to retrieve the letter he'd written, handing it to Kaminari. "This should have everything. I was in a rush, but I think I got all the key stuff down." The blond nodded seriously as he took the papers while Anjou eyed them critically.

"Cool if I take a look at it later?" she asked.

"Yeah. If you're helping us, you should know this too." Of everyone involved Anjou had some of the least direct stakes as far as he knew, so she should know what she was getting into. That reminded him of something else Jirou said, and he added, "Also, um, why are there other people there?" Kaminari tensed, shooting Anjou a strained look.

"Uh..."

"Short answer, there's a runaway network in Odawara," Anjou replied, and Izuku blinked as he processed that. Okay, what? "Uraraka will be able to explain the full details to you later. But right now, I need to tag you." She held out her hand and Izuku stared at it.

"Um, what does your Quirk do?" he asked cautiously. Ashido and Todoroki had claimed it would be useful, but he didn't actually know anything about it.

"It basically lets me add you to a mental network so I can track your location." Izuku blinked, because that was absolutely useful.

"Also, she can apparently hijack people's senses?" Kaminari added. "Which I haven't experienced yet, but sounds like just, woah." Izuku perked up, looking at Anjou with renewed curiosity.

"Really? What else can your Quirk do?"

"I'd rather not say," Anjou replied with a shrug. "No offense, but given where you're staying..." She trailed off meaningfully but Izuku understood, slumping dejectedly.

"Yeah, I guess I can't blame you," he sighed. "I don't think there's anyone with a mind-reading Quirk or I would've been found out by now, but uh, yeah."

"Glad you understand. Now please shake my hand already so I can add you to the network." Izuku bobbed his head and quickly gripped her hand, and her eyes briefly flickered turquoise. Within less than a second she released her grip and said, "Done."

"Already?" Izuku had expected to feel something, but he hadn't noticed anything. "Wow, that's really useful! You're able to mark people without them noticing, which would be great for tracking... villains..." He trailed off, gears turning in his head as he glanced at the door to Wacdonald's. When he turned back Anjou's eyes had gone wide as she stared at the door too.

"You want me to mark her," she guessed, and Izuku nodded. Tagging Toga would be risky, but it'd only be useful in the long run to know her location. He expected he'd have to argue for it but Anjou smirked, a sly glint in her eyes. "Nice to know someone in this mess has brains."

"Um, thanks?" he replied uncertainly. That was a compliment, right?

"Shouldn't be too hard," she continued. "Just need to touch her for a second. Think that's doable?" Izuku thought back to every interaction with Toga—

"Yes," he replied instantly, not even bothering to try to think of any beyond the first one to come to mind. Toga was absolutely a tactile person who would probably drape herself over anyone she remotely liked. Thinking back to his conversation with Uraraka yesterday, and also the conversation on the rooftop, he added, "If you ask to exchange phone numbers or something, I think she'd try to hug you or hold your hands or something like that. She really wants female friends her age."

"...Okay, that's kinda sad," Kaminari said after a moment.

"I'm not giving her my phone number, but I can probably get friendly enough to get a reaction like that," Anjou murmured, more to herself than them. "Just act like she's Ashido or Kirameki." Izuku had no idea who Kirameki was, but it sounded like a good strategy to him so he'd leave it up to her. For now, he just needed to get the poster to Present Mic and get the autograph, and then go back to the Alliance.

Preferably without getting recognized.

While he'd love to bring in Pro Heroes to help rescue Aizawa-sensei, now was not the time. Aizawa's reaction after Aiko left had made it all too clear that any outsiders would be at severe risk if they tried to break into the Alliance's headquarters, and he doubted the Pros would listen to the warnings of Shigaraki's little brother. Even if he knew all of this was technically way over his head, Izuku couldn't have that risk on his conscience.

The stakes were higher than anything else he'd encountered so far, but that made it all the more important that he not risk anyone more than strictly necessary. He was the only one on the inside, the only one who wouldn't be at risk of death or harm if things went south. Everyone else was ultimately expendable in the eyes of the Alliance and Aiko.

While his hands were tied in so many other ways right now, Izuku knew that he was ultimately the only one who could pull off that part of the rescue.

After Kaminari left, they should have gone back to the meeting. Jirou should have started briefing them on her meeting with Yaoyorozu, or they should have talked about the runaways some more. Shouto figured they'd still wait on revealing Shouji's dream until Kaminari came back since that was the biggest revelation of all, but they had plenty of other stuff to talk about in the meantime.

Of course, they talked about none of that.

"So, you're the friend An-chan helped run away?" Ashido asked, eyes sparkling as she practically cornered Kabuto. The boy had slipped and called Anjou "Ran", and Ashido had immediately jumped on the obvious familiarity.

"W-we went to the same school, and she's my senpai, s-so," he stammered, but Ashido remained undeterred.

"But you called her Ran," she pointed out, mischief on full display as she smirked at him. "That's really familiar for just a classmate. Especially a senpai."

Kabuto looked even more panicked now. "Th-that's, uh, i-it's not that weird," he replied, shooting a panicked look to his fellow runaways. Mime and Shouji looked a bit sheepish, but neither made any attempts to intervene. Rogue meanwhile seemed more interested in watching Hatsume at the moment as she tinkered with the bomb anklet, whether due to genuine interest or just wariness from having a bomb nearby.

Uraraka was the one to come to Kabuto's rescue, stepping forward to pull Ashido back. "Come on, give him some space. You're freaking him out. Think of him like—like Kouda!"

"Oh yeah, he kinda freaked last time I tried to hug him," Ashido said with a nod as she backed off, making Kabuto slump with relief. She then glanced at Shouto as she added, "Wait, isn't Kouda here too?"

"Yeah, he calls himself Rockfish," he confirmed with a nod. "We've only talked a few times though, mostly when he helped look for Tokoyami. Even after he left." He shot an accusing glance at Rogue at that part, having pinpointed him as one of the driving forces behind that.

"Actually, I have another question," Jirou interjected, making them all glance at her. "Shouji said some of you guys are vigilantes?"

"Oh yeah," Mime replied with a nod. "We got a few. I mean, some folks do it kinda casually if they see stuff happen, but Midori, Akai, Kaitou and Lee are all pretty serious about it. Got gear and everything. They actually tend to travel around Japan most of the year to do vigilante stuff. They just came back to Odawara for the winter." While he spoke Jirou, Uraraka and even Ashido all turned to look at Shouto.

"Midori is Tsuyu, and Lee is Ojirou," he supplied. "I don't know Akai, but she seems to be friends with Tsuyu. Though you should know that," he added to Ashido with a frown. "They were there when we met."

"Sorry, we ditched the codenames like right away so they didn't really stick!" She shrugged dismissively, and from the corner of his eye Shouto saw Hatsume set down her tools as she turned to face them.

"Where does the gear come from?" she asked.

"Another vigilante named Stendhal," Shouji replied. The name got more blank looks from everyone this time, Shouto included, which Shouji noticed. "He might not be around in your world. He actually trained Kaitou and Lee before they came here. From what I know, he's good."

"Um, doesn't Glitch do some vigilante stuff too?" Kabuto piped up.

"Glitch?" Ashido repeated while Kirishima jolted.

"Oh man, I totally forgot!" he yelped, looking around wildly. "Is he still here?" That had everyone snapping towards him with renewed attention.

"Wait, still here?" Jirou repeated sharply. "What do you mean by that? Who's Glitch?"

"Glitch is another member of the network," Shouji explained. "We're supposed to travel in pairs for safety, so he followed us to the train station since Kirishima's not a full member."

"Wait, what?" Uraraka jumped and looked around with wide eyes. "But—but I didn't see anyone else!"

"Me neither," Jirou agreed, frowning as she no doubt tried to listen for him.

"He has some kind of camouflage Quirk or something," Kirishima said. "I don't know, he showed up right before we left so Shouji could introduce him, but he kept looking all... glitchy. And then he just—vanished! I totally forgot about him."

"So he could still be here and we wouldn't know?" Shouto asked, feeling justifiably paranoid. He did not like the implications someone might have been spying on them this whole time.

Rogue just sighed at the obvious tension. "Yo Glitch," he called. "If you're still hanging around, stop being a creep and say hi or something."

"Fine." They all jumped and whirled to see an unfamiliar figure standing near the door. With only one glance Shouto understood what Kirishima meant by his appearance being "glitchy." His body kept flickering, sometimes in a manner similar to static, other times with the color and texture of the afflicted area seeming to change. Shouto couldn't pick out any defining features, just that he seemed to be wearing a coat that was either unzipped or unbuttoned, and some kind of hat.

He waved a hand that flickered between a glove, a mitten and claws. "Yo, nice to meet you or whatever." Even his voice changed pitch at random, undeniably masculine but constantly wavering like a faulty voice modifier. It made for an unusually eerie impression that left even Shouto wary.

The runaways seemed completely unbothered by it though. "Hey Glitch," Kabuto greeted. "Gonna do the glitch thing the whole time today?"

"They're all strangers potentially connected to villains," Glitch huffed, crossing his arms. "I'm still not entirely convinced about the other world thing, even if it matches up with Parasyte's memories."

"Parasyte's memories?" Jirou echoed, glancing at Shouji.

"I'll... explain when Kaminari is back," he replied. "There will be a lot of questions when I'm done, so it's better to do it all at once." Shouto, Ashido and Kirishima all nodded in agreement. Right now, Shouji's dream provided the best and only lead they had about how they got here and how to possibly get home. It was unfortunate Midoriya couldn't be here, but it would be better to have as many people together as possible.

"Okay, I guess we can wait," Uraraka muttered after a moment. "But uh, who's he?"

She pointed at a corner of the kitchen and Shouto glanced over to see another person he didn't recognize. The dim light from the lamp made it harder to see most of his features too clearly, though his pale orangish-white eyes stood out as they glowed in the darkness. He didn't seem dressed appropriately for the weather, wearing a short-sleeved dark blue polo shirt and khakis with socks, not even shoes. His features struck Shouto as foreign, so maybe it was a foreign thing?

Notably, like Glitch this new boy's features also seemed to flicker a bit, though not as severely. Parts of his body seemed to shimmer in a static-like fashion, but his overall appearance remained steady. Were they related? If so, it could explain why Glitch chose to conceal his own appearance since foreigners tended to stand out even after the advent of Quirks.

However, Shouto's thoughts were derailed when he heard Rogue's chair get knocked over. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded sharply, and that was all they needed to realize that this person was not part of the runaways.

Immediately the atmosphere changed. Kabuto and Mime both ducked behind Shouji while Uraraka, Ashido and Jirou immediately assumed battle stances. Shouto did as well, feeling his palms both warm and cool with the beginnings of flame and ice. Everyone turned to regard the intruder defensively, even Hatsume grabbing a screwdriver and Kirishima glaring harshly.

The boy blinked in surprise at the abrupt hostility, eyes going wide. "Hold on, are you talking to me?" he asked.

"No, we're talking to your shadow," Jirou quipped sarcastically. "Of course we're talking to you, asshole!"

"How long have you been here?" Shouto questioned.

"You're talking to me," the boy murmured, eyes going wide. "That's not possible, unless..." He turned to look at Glitch, and his mouth suddenly stretched into a grin. "I see, it's y—"

Glitch vanished mid-sentence, but so did the boy. The abrupt dual disappearances made everyone jump and turn to search the room. "Where is he?" Ashido asked frantically.

"I don't know, I don't hear anything," Jirou replied. "Actually, strike that. I hear footsteps going towards Rogue, but they're quiet."

"That's Glitch," Shouji murmured, one of his arms protruding beneath the poncho with the end transformed into an ear. "I can hear him breathing too, but nothing from the other guy."

"But that makes no sense!" Ashido whined, and Uraraka's eyebrows scrunched together.

"I didn't see Seiko breathe this morning either," she murmured, and then paused as she stood ramrod straight. "Wait, I can still say her name?"

"Not the time," Kirishima muttered lowly, looking around warily for any signs of the intruder. Shouto saw Rogue's hand subtly move to grip something, probably Glitch's own hand since the other boy was invisible. Clearly Glitch's Quirk impacted his visibility, but so did that other boy's Quirk—wait. Realization suddenly struck him, remembering how the flickering had looked so similar.

"What's Glitch's Quirk?" he called to the runaways.

"Uh, not sure now's the time with an invisible intruder," Mime said, Kabuto bobbing his head in agreement. Uraraka however seemed to pick up on Shouto's line of thought, head snapping up with a gasp.

"They disappeared at the same time!" she blurted. "And he was glitchy like him too!" That had the runaways sharing wide-eyed glances.

"Glitch, make yourself visible again!" Shouji called. "Use it on the whole room!" Rogue glanced at the space next to him and Shouto saw his mouth move but make no sound. He nodded before releasing his hand, and a moment later Glitch became visible again. Along with him appeared the unfamiliar boy, floating directly in front of the duo.

Ashido screamed like a horror movie while Rogue and Glitch both scrambled back, the boy's attention focused solely on Glitch. "It's you," he said, voice high with excitement. "You're compatible. You're compatible! Unbelievable, you're only the fifth person I've ever met who's compatible with me!" He backed off with a laugh, floating on his back as he nearly shrieked. "Of all the times and places, I found a fucking fifth!"

His laughter seemed to echo around the room, nearly hysterical and making Shouto shiver. Uraraka shuddered too, just as unsettled by the sound, and grabbed a chunk of plaster from a nearby counter to hurl his way. It passed right through him even as the boy kept laughing though, bouncing off the far wall.

"What's going on?" Jirou hollered irritably over his laughter. "Who are you?"

The boy's laughter tapered off as he righted himself, still grinning. "Right, right, introductions," he murmured, and turned to face them with a more polite smile. It still had a savage, almost feral edge to it though, laced with some sort of mischief and amusement that set Shouto on edge. "Hello everyone, my name is Mail. Sorry for not introducing myself earlier, but, well, I didn't actually expect anyone to see me."

"Because of Glitch's Quirk interfering with yours?" Rogue spat, glaring at the back of the boy's head, and Mail chuckled as he gave an overly exaggerated shrug.

"Well, yes, I guess that's one way to put it," he said, shifting in the air to assume a casual position like he was reclining on the floor. "Though to be fair, I wasn't actively trying to hide. People just usually can't see me unless they have a compatible Quirk, I really didn't expect to find one here."

"And what does that mean?" Shouto demanded. Mail's grin seemed to sharpen, growing a bit wider as he glanced their way with almost manic-looking glowing eyes.

"It means, most Quirks can't reveal ghosts."

Seiko's name isn't censored because Aiko wants Uraraka to be able to warn people of the demon child. It's basic safety concerns.

Today you get a MASSIVE chapter because these were originally two separate chapters! Kaminari's POV takes over 3k words on its own, but barely anything really happens there other than explaining Kabuto's Quirk and why they won't be able to use it as a quick cheat to bust out everyone on Izuku's side. So I decided to merge them into a giant almost 8k-word behemoth. Woo!

And guys, I only came up with him while thinking of this current set of chapters but I think I already love Kabuto. His full name is Houjou Rintaro, and he's an adorably shy kid who should be in his last year of middle school. He's still 14, his birthday is in spring. (Pangolins are adorable by the way, they're what Sandslash is based off of. They're also horribly targeted by poachers because their scales are used in Chinese medicine, which is awful. But overall they're just cute and deserve to be protected.)

Also: hi Mail!

Question for next time: What is the most hilarious/random worst case scenario that can happen at this meet and greet?