Izuku Midoriya was in the support department's workshop, tinkering with his latest project alongside Mei Hatsume. His hands moved methodically as he adjusted a few wires in the device he was creating—an amplifier designed to extend the range of his telepathy quirk. Mei was nearby, energetically working on her own gadgets, her usual excited chatter filling the room.
"Midoriya! You've got to see my new Baby Number 38—it's going to revolutionize—"
Suddenly, Izuku's focus shifted. His telepathic senses flared up. His connection to the minds around U.A., which he usually kept muted, suddenly buzzed with alarming intensity. Something was wrong. A flood of malicious intent surged into his mind, and Izuku's breath hitched.
He stilled, eyes narrowing. "Mei… something's not right."
Mei blinked, pausing mid-sentence. "Huh? What do you mean?"
Izuku didn't respond immediately. His mind stretched out, seeking the source of the disturbance. It was unmistakable—there were hostile presences within U.A.'s grounds. Dozens of them, with thoughts full of destruction and violence. And they had suddenly appeared near the USJ, where Class 1-A was training.
"There are villains," he said, his voice tight. "They've broken into U.A. They're at the USJ."
Mei's eyes widened. "Villains? Are you serious?"
"I'm serious. They're here to attack."
Without leaving his seat, Izuku closed his eyes, focusing his telepathy. He connected to the minds of the teachers and Principal Nezu, projecting a calm but urgent message.
Principal Nezu, Aizawa-sensei, Thirteen—there are villains at the USJ. They're after Class 1-A. It's an organized attack.
Within seconds, he felt the sharp response from Nezu's mind. Understood, Midoriya. Stay where you are. I'll alert the staff immediately.
Izuku opened his eyes, exhaling slowly. Mei was staring at him, concern on her face. "What do we do?"
"We stay here," Izuku said, though his mind continued to stretch out, monitoring the situation. He could sense the chaos unfolding at the USJ, but there was nothing he could do physically. His role was clear—he'd stay in contact with the teachers and track the movements of the villains through his telepathy.
"I'll help them however I can… from here," he added quietly.
Izuku took a deep breath, focusing his telepathy again, this time directly linking his mind to Aizawa and Thirteen, who were both at the USJ. He projected his thoughts carefully to avoid startling them, speaking as clearly as he could within their minds.
Aizawa-sensei, Thirteen—I'll try to help from here. I'm monitoring the situation remotely.
There was a pause before Aizawa's voice echoed in his mind, his tone cautious. Who is this?
Izuku hesitated briefly, then replied, It's Izuku Midoriya. I'm a student in U.A., from the hero support course. I have a telepathy quirk.
He felt a slight shift in Aizawa's mind, a hint of surprise mixed with curiosity, but the response came quickly. Telepathy, huh? And you can sense everything from over there?
Yes, Izuku confirmed. I can feel where the villains are. I'll let you know if there are any changes or if any new threats appear.
Thirteen chimed in, their voice calm but filled with gratitude. That could be incredibly useful. Thank you, Midoriya.
Aizawa crouched low, ready to leap into action as the villains emerged from the swirling portal. His scarf unfurled, poised to strike the moment his eyes made contact with the enemies. He sized them up—the man with hands all over his body, the one with the clouded, fog-like head who had created the portal, and the massive, terrifying creature with exposed brain tissue.
Before he could make his move, something strange happened.
Every villain—every single one—froze in place.
Shigaraki, with his twitching fingers, halted mid-motion. Kurogiri, the misty villain, became eerily still, his dark form suspended in the air. Even the monstrous Nomu, which radiated raw power, stood completely immobilized. Aizawa's grip on his scarf loosened slightly as confusion spread across his face.
"What…?" Aizawa muttered, his instincts flaring. He hadn't activated his quirk yet. This wasn't him.
Then, he heard it—a calm, steady voice in his mind.
Aizawa-sensei, it's Midoriya. I've stopped them.
Aizawa blinked, his eyes scanning the battlefield in disbelief. Midoriya? he responded telepathically. What do you mean you stopped them?
My telepathy quirk. I can freeze their movements from here. I've immobilized every villain at the USJ for now.
Aizawa's thoughts raced. He had only just heard about Midoriya's quirk, and yet the boy had already managed to halt an entire group of villains from a distance. It wasn't just the lower-level thugs—he'd stopped the most dangerous ones too. Even the creature that looked built to withstand anything, couldn't move an inch.
You… stopped them all? Aizawa's voice in his mind carried a note of shock. How strong is this kid's quirk?
For a moment, Aizawa just stared at the frozen villains. He had faced numerous threats in his time as a pro hero, but this level of control over enemies from a distance was unheard of. Izuku had neutralized the entire group before a fight had even begun.
Aizawa quickly assessed the situation. The villains were frozen, completely unable to move, but he couldn't afford to waste time. He turned sharply to the students of Class 1-A, who were huddled nearby, their faces a mixture of confusion and fear.
"Everyone, listen up!" Aizawa barked. "You need to get out of here. Now. Head to the entrance and stay clear of the villains. Don't stop until you're outside the USJ!"
The students, still processing the bizarre scene in front of them, hesitated for a moment. Kirishima spoke up first, his voice tense, "But, Aizawa-sensei, what's going on? Why aren't they moving? Did you—"
"That's not important right now," Aizawa cut him off, his voice firm. "The villains have been contained. We've got it under control. The other teachers are on their way, but you need to leave, now. Thirteen and I will handle things here."
Though unsure, the students complied, rushing toward the exit in a hurried but orderly fashion. Aizawa watched them go, making sure they were all heading to safety before turning his attention back to the villains. Beside him, Thirteen gave a nod of understanding as they moved cautiously toward the immobilized enemies.
"Let's start securing them before anything changes," Aizawa said, his tone low but urgent. "We don't know how long this will last."
Thirteen moved toward Kurogiri, who remained frozen in his mist form, while Aizawa approached Shigaraki. Though the man's eyes glared wildly from beneath his mess of hands, his body refused to respond. One by one, they began to secure the villains, cautiously restraining them in case whatever force had frozen them wore off.
Aizawa, however, knew this was all thanks to Izuku.
He hadn't explained to the students who was behind this, choosing instead to keep it quiet. It wasn't the right time for them to know that their fellow student, Midoriya from the hero support course, had such a powerful quirk. Aizawa respected Izuku's decision to remain behind the scenes and not use his abilities for flashy heroics. Still, the fact that Izuku could single-handedly freeze such dangerous villains in their tracks was astonishing.
As they finished restraining the last of the villains, Aizawa received another telepathic message from Izuku.
Nezu is already sending the other teachers, and the police have been informed. They'll be here to secure the area soon.
Aizawa responded in his mind, Good work, Midoriya. You've done enough. Stay where you are and keep an eye on things from your end. We'll take it from here.
Just as Izuku had promised, within moments, Nezu had dispatched the remaining teachers, and police sirens could be heard approaching in the distance. Aizawa glanced at Thirteen, who gave him a relieved nod.
"We've got this handled," Aizawa muttered, more to himself than anyone. As much as the situation had been surreal, it was under control now—thanks to the quiet power of one student, far away in the support department's workshop.
As Bakugo walked with the rest of Class 1-A toward the exit of the USJ, his mind was racing. The scene back there didn't sit right with him. The villains, all of them—including that monster with the exposed brain—had just frozen in place. It wasn't Aizawa-sensei's doing. Bakugo had seen his teacher's quirk in action enough times to know it wasn't capable of something like that.
No, this was something else. Something... familiar.
Izuku.
The thought hit him like a punch to the gut. Who else could stop people from moving so easily? Bakugo had seen it before. Years ago, in junior school, when Izuku had made him freeze during one of their confrontations. No one else knew about it, but Bakugo had never forgotten. That quirk of Izuku's—it was more than just reading minds.
He gritted his teeth, frustration building inside him. He knew Izuku had been accepted into U.A., but not into the hero course. No, the nerd had chosen the support department, thinking his quirk was better suited for making gadgets. But Bakugo knew better. He knew what Izuku was capable of. And now, it seemed Izuku had gone and shown just how powerful he really was, without even stepping onto the battlefield.
Behind him, the rest of the class was in a state of confusion.
"This is so weird," Kaminari muttered, scratching his head. "How did all those villains just... stop moving?"
"Yeah, and what about our training?" Sero complained. "We didn't even get to fight properly."
"It doesn't make sense," Mina added, frowning. "How did so many villains get into U.A. in the first place?"
As his classmates debated and complained about the situation, Bakugo's frustration only deepened. The more they talked, the angrier he became. None of them understood what had really happened. They didn't know the real reason why those villains had stopped.
But Bakugo knew. And it burned him inside.
And now, even though Izuku had chosen the hero support course instead of the hero course, Bakugo knew that choice was a façade. Izuku was stronger than anyone knew, stronger than anyone here realized. He didn't need to be flashy or fight villains directly—he could stop them all without even lifting a finger.
"That idiot," Bakugo muttered under his breath, glaring at the ground.
His classmates continued their chatter, but Bakugo couldn't listen. His mind was stuck on one thing: Izuku had done something incredible, and no one else even noticed. It gnawed at him, twisting inside like a knot of frustration and anger.
Izuku might have been strong, but Bakugo was going to prove, once and for all, that he was stronger. He had to.
Izuku sat in the workshop, his focus entirely on maintaining control over the villains at the USJ. His telepathy had been stretched to its limit as he froze hundred villains in place, ensuring they couldn't harm his classmates or the teachers. Sweat dripped from his brow, his head pounding from the effort of keeping them immobilized from such a distance.
Mei, working on her own project across the room, glanced at him curiously. She had noticed the intense look of concentration on his face but had waited patiently, respecting his focus. After several long minutes, Izuku finally let out a sigh of relief, releasing his control over the villains. The strain had taken its toll on him.
Mei asked, stepping closer. "You've been zoned out for a while."
Izuku leaned back in his chair, rubbing his temples as a wave of dizziness hit him. "Villains that attacked the USJ. I had to stop them with my quirk." his voice heavy with exhaustion. "I stopped all of them, but... using my quirk like that, it's too much." He winced as another wave of dizziness hit him. "I think I overdid it."
Mei's expression turned serious as she quickly moved to his side. "Come on, we need to get you to Recovery Girl."
Izuku started to protest, but the throbbing pain in his head was too intense to argue. Mei helped him stand, and they made their way through the halls to the infirmary. By the time they arrived, Izuku was barely managing to stay upright, his entire body feeling drained.
Recovery Girl looked up from her desk as they entered, her eyes narrowing in concern. "What have you done to yourself, young Midoriya?"
"He used his quirk to stop villains that attack at USJ," Mei explained, still supporting Izuku. "Now he's completely exhausted."
Recovery Girl sighed, walking over to them and helping Izuku into a chair. "You're really pushing yourself, boy. That kind of strain is dangerous."
"I had to do something," Izuku mumbled. "They would've hurt everyone."
With a soft shake of her head, Recovery Girl activated her quirk, quickly healing the strain on Izuku's mind. The pain began to fade, but the exhaustion remained. After a few moments, she handed him a small packet of gummy bears. "Here, eat these. They'll help restore some of your energy."
Izuku nodded, gratefully taking the sweets and chewing slowly.
"You need to be more careful," Recovery Girl warned. "Using your quirk at that level, for that many people, it could damage your brain if you're not ready for it. You haven't fully trained to handle such mental pressure."
"I know," Izuku replied, his voice a little steadier. "I'll be more careful next time."
Mei, standing nearby with her arms crossed, gave him a gentle nudge. "You better be. We've got plenty of projects to finish, and I can't have you passing out on me."
Izuku managed a small smile, though he was still feeling the aftereffects of the ordeal. "Thanks, Recovery Girl. And you too, Mei."