As Saiki and his girls begin to made their way down to the meet-up spot, two floors down another pair of UA students were also getting themselves ready.

"Do you have to pout like that the entire time?" Ochako asked with a beleaguered sigh.

"Shut the hell up, I'm not pouting!" Katsumi turned to bark at her as she buttoned up her red waistcoat. "Can't believe I let you talk me into going to this stupid party!"

"I get why you're mad," the more bubbly girl offered in an attempt at commiseration. "You feel like Saiki stood you up when he and I switched rooms–"

"Like I care what that creeper does!" The blonde froze up for an instant, her eyes darted about as she realised what she said, paranoid that said creeper would pop out of somewhere to declare her misdeed. She shook her head realising how stupid it was. "He can do what he wants."

"And despite packing fancy clothes you suddenly decided not to go," Ochako responded, silently tapping at her phone a few times.

Katsumi didn't like her tone. It was like the pretend sweetness her mom used when she knew her daughter was spewing bullshit. "Whatever."

"Come on, Katsumi! If nothing else this is an opportunity you don't want to miss!" Ochako argued. "This is an exclusive party! The invite list is all pro heroes, support company execs, all kinds of business moguls! It's a perfect networking opportunity! Sometimes being a real successful and popular hero is about who you know as much as how good you are."

"Yeah, well, it shouldn't be!" the explosive girl retorted, still irritated. "All that should matter is that I'm the best!"

The infinity girl rolled her eyes. She didn't know why Izuku was so enamoured with her childhood friend. Trying to have a pleasant conversation with her was like pulling teeth. "People are people, Katsumi. It's just how they work. If you're so mad about it go to the party and see if any of the engineers could turn you into a robot cyborg." Her expression turned thoughtful as she put on her earrings. "Maybe with grenade launchers?"

Katsumi tried to swallow her irritation. It was clear Pink Cheeks was making fun of her. "Robot and cyborg are mutually exclusive. If you've still got organic parts, you're a cyborg. If not, you're a robot."

The mostly dressed Ochako put her hands on her hips. "Yeah? Well right now you're neither. So best thing for you to do for your hero career is take the opportunity handed to you and wring every last drop of success out of it as you can!" She mimed to match her words, wearing an expression of malicious glee as her hands... Well it looked less like wringing out a towel or sponge and more like wringing someone's neck.

Katsumi looked at the display over her shoulder, grimacing. "You're weirdly intense sometimes, you know that?"

"Nothing wrong with being a go-getter!" Ochako took the comment as a compliment as she circled around her room-mate for the trip. She nodded in approval. "Looking sharp!"

The blond looked at herself in the mirror, seeing her slim-fit suit, charcoal grey with a red waistcoat and red chequered tie. "Tch," she tutted, the irritation rising again. "I was gonna wear this to fuck with the creeper. Figured he'd think I'd wear some froofy cocktail dress or whatever. Bet that's what Tits is gonna wear."

"Her name is Momo."

"I know. I don't care."

"I figured," Ochako sighed again. "And yeah, she'll probably wear a dress. But if Saiki knows you at all he'd probably expect you to wear this too. You're weird about him, you know?" she asked against her better judgement.

She could hear Katsumi's teeth grinding. "Whatever. I'm going."

"Hey wait, I still need to, ugh!" the bubbly girl raced back to her dresser table and grabbed her imitation pearls, fastening them at the back of her neck as she ran after her not quite friend.

Katsumi really was weird about him. And defensive when it was brought up. It wasn't surprising. Saiki could be pretty weird about half the girls in class. It wouldn't be inaccurate to call him the class playboy by now. Katsumi was doing a bad job pretending she didn't care for him. Momo and Kyoka both seemed to give him a lot of attention. And Izuku... Well, that was a can of worms Ochako didn't feel ready or willing to open. Everyone knew they were together, everyone knew they broke up, yet somehow they still remained friends. And Ochako knew she hadn't been imagining the longing looks her friend sent her ex's way when he wasn't looking.

She felt like she should be angry at him for it. But honestly she was more amazed that she met a real person who could act like he did and more or less get away with it. Heroes really were larger than life.

-(-)-

"Iida, I get that whole hyper-anal thing you have going on and all," Saiki drawled as he walked into the meeting place two floors above the auditorium, Momo on one arm and a blushing Kyoka on the other, "But did you really need to yell at me on the phone?"

"When you choose to be tardy?" Iida asked, chopping the air with one hand, "Absolutely!"

"Guhhhh!" Kaminari groaned, sinking to his knees in misery at the sight before him. "Saisei I hate you! I hate you so much! Two beautiful girls on your arm?! It's just not fair, dammit!"

"Is Sparky whining like a little bitch again?" Katsumi drawled as she rounded the corner with her hands in her pockets, Ochako hot on her heels. "How about you try sucking less, see if people give a shit then."

The blue-haired playboy gave the girl who was technically his date for this thing a quick once over, noting her sharp suit was almost identical to his. The only differences being the feminine cut, the suit being a slightly darker tone and the waistcoat and tie being a different colour. Saiki's cobalt blue and Katsumi's wine red. "Nice, Katsumi! Looking sharp! You even chose a colour to match my eyes, that's so sweet!"

"I didn't–" The ill-tempered girl stopped her vehement denial to check. They did match. And worse, if she tried to deny it no one would believe her. "Dammit!"

"And Ochako, may I say you're looking cute as a button?"

The girl in pink giggled slightly. "It's weird to hear you pretending to talk fancy."

"It is unnerving," Todoroki agreed quietly.

"How! How is he still doing this?!" Kaminari continued to moan.

"Oh good! We didn't miss everyone!" Izuku's voice rang out as she appeared through the doorway.

Saiki did his best not to stare with only partial success. She wore a green, shoulder-covering dress that hung just below the knee. It wasn't skin-tight but it did enticingly hug her plentiful curves. Her hair straightened and contained in a short braid. Her make-up tastefully done to bring attention to her wide and innocent eyes. A little effort had been made to downplay her freckles, the only thing Saiki took issue with about her look. "You look beautiful, Izuku."

She smiled with appreciation, uncertain as it might have been. "Thanks."

"Phew! We aren't late are we?" Melissa asked as she arrived.

Kaminari looked up and saw a true vision of beauty. He shook his head, wiped the tears of lament from his eyes and shook his head as he stood, hoping she didn't see that as he approached. "Ahem, Miss Shield, may I say you're looking lovely this evening?" he asked, bowing slightly.

Kyoka leaned toward Momo around Saiki and whispered, "Is he trying to do the super lame thing that Saiki just did?"

"I'm right here."

"I believe so, but it's better than crying on the floor," Momo whispered back.

"Oh!" the blonde engineer in training blushed at the sudden and unexpected compliment and formality, raising a hand to wave away the embarrassment, "Well, um, thank you! I–"

He took her hand, kissing her knuckles. "Your outer beauty is only matched by your inner beauty, your generosity of spirit that allowed me to attend tonight."

"Oh!" Melissa responded, or tried to respond as what comes out was only embarrassed, blushing babble. "Well umm, wow, I uhh, thank you, I mean you're very–"

Kyoka's eyes went wide as she watched the spectacle unfold. "Oh my god it's working."

'Son of a bitch, it's working,' Saiki thought to himself, outwardly calm but inwardly gnawing on his own shirt in impotent fury. 'Keep it calm, Saiki. Keep it cool. Don't ruin a sure thing just because Zappy McDerp is stealing your shtick and somehow making it work. You can get hold of him later and shake him like a ragdoll. For now, cool.' He tore his attention away from the pair of blondes to flirt with his dates instead.

Unfortunately for all of them, especially Kaminari, circumstances then chose to interrupt the good mood. Namely an announcement over the loudspeakers. "This is an announcement from the I-Island security system. We have received a report that an explosive device was discovered somewhere on the I-Expo grounds. I-Island will now be in high alert mode. Your safety is our top priority. Residents and tourists should return to their lodgings at this time. Anyone on the street in ten minutes will be in violation of the law. Please clear out of public areas."

"What the hell?" Todoroki muttered in confusion.

"Someone planted a bomb here?" Izuku asked. "Ah!" she turned as she heard the sound of machinery to see shutters lowering to cover the windows.

"As a precautionary measure, most of the main island buildings will now be sealed off. I repeat, we have received–"

"Well now what do we do?" Kyoka asked with folded arms. "Can't really 'return to our lodgings' if the building is sealed off with us inside."

"It's only a threat, right?" Kaminari asked. "The announcement said someone tipped security off about a bomb. Might not even be real." A little of the tension in the room eased at the thought.

"We should go down to the party," Izuku suggested. "All Might will be there. He'll know what's going on."

"All Might's here?" Iida asked.

"It is our best course of action," Todoroki agreed. "Gathering in one place with the heroes would be the wisest course if the threat turns out to be legitimate."

Nine hero students and one engineering student made their way down the nearest flight of stairs, taking them to a room overlooking the auditorium. Todoroki who had been leading stopped and pushed everyone back up the stairs the moment he got a look inside. "Villains. Several armed. And the heroes have been restrained by glowing cables, including All Might."

Melissa's eyes widened. "The restraining system! To have it target the heroes they must have taken over security!"

"Don't know whether to be glad the bomb threat is a sham," Saiki uttered. "Just a way to lock down the island without anyone asking questions."

"You're probably right," Iida agreed. "What should we do? We've been caught in the middle of a dangerous situation."

"Again," Kaminari groaned.

Izuku appeared resolute. "I have an idea. Kyoka, I'll need your help. Does anyone have a mirror?"

A minute of preparation and the plan was enacted. Izuku getting All Might's attention by reflecting light in his eyes, then signalling that they could hear him. With that, he relayed the current situation to Kyoka listening with her earjacks. As well as what he insisted they do.

"So they're holding the entire city hostage," Momo scowled as the group mulled over what they've learned.

"All Might gave us our instructions," Iida stated firmly. "As our instructor, we should do as he says and find a place of safety and stay there."

"Figures the tight-ass brown-noser thinks we should do that," Katsumi mocked him. "I'm not just gonna stand by and let some jackass in a dumb mask think he can get one over on All Might and get away with it!"

"And what do you propose we do?" Momo asked archly. "Even if we wanted to act, we don't have hero licenses. We'd end up as criminals, same as them."

"Exactly!" Iida readily agrees.

"Not true," Saiki countered, frowning with his arms folded. "This isn't Japan, or America. We're in extra-national territory run by corporate interests. We have free use of our quirks and whether we get punished for acting is down to the corporate bigwigs. And if we help resolve this shitshow, I can't see them giving us a hard time over it. In fact I bet at least one of 'em is down there with the hostages right now."

"Someone talking sense, I just wish it wasn't you!" Katsumi jabbed a finger in his direction. "See? The heroes are stuck, no one outside knows what's really going on! We're the only ones who can do something!"

"All Might told us to leave!" Iida nearly shouted back. "Are you so willing to ignore his instructions?! We'd not only be putting ourselves in danger but everyone else at the party!"

"Everyone at the party is in danger now!" Katsumi growled.

"I want to help," Izuku cut in, prompting Iida to look at her, his mouth open and ready to continue arguing. "Look, we don't need to fight anyone. They don't know we're here. We just have to get to the security system and shut it down. The heroes will be free and the villains won't be holding the town hostage anymore! From there it all resolves itself!"

Melissa stepped forward. "The villains will have already unlocked security for us. All we have to do is get to the top floor to disable it."

"Elevators are locked down," Kaminari noted. "How many floors?"

"Two hundred."

There was a long, pregnant pause. It was obvious where Izuku, Katsumi, Saiki and Melissa stood. Kaminari was the first beyond them to declare his allegiance. "I'm in."

Izuku beamed at him. "Kaminari!"

"So long as our purpose is to free the heroes so that they may defeat the villains, and not for us to defeat them ourselves," Todoroki spoke next, "I'm in."

"I feel like should we allow this to go on unchecked, the end result won't be pretty," Momo admitted. After all if the villains did something this brazen, if they neutralised the number one hero, there was no limit to what they might do to ensure their escape. "I'm with you."

"Same," Kyoka agreed.

"Let's do it!" Ochako cheered.

The group looked to Iida, the lone holdout. His eyes close as he took a centring breath. "Fine, but if the situation deteriorates to the point we only become a hindrance, I'll put a stop to it."

Saiki and Katsumi rolled their eyes at the arrogance of that statement.

"Melissa," Momo turned to the blonde local, "Which way is the most direct route to security?"

"This way, follow me!" she said as she started walking.

Only for Izuku to grab her. "Wait, you shouldn't go. You're not trained for this."

"Do you know how to operate the security system?" Melissa asked with an arched eyebrow. The greenette grimaced and let her go. "I thought not."

"Fine, but someone else takes the lead."

"On it," Saiki volunteered, taking point as they begin their long ascent.

Twenty floors of running up stairs. Thirty. Already a couple of the group were panting for breath. Especially one.

"Melissa, are you okay?" Kaminari asked the panting girl as they kept running.

"Yes, I," she breathed heavily, having long since disposed of her heels like all of the other girls who had worn them, "I'll be, fine!" She grinned as if that would reassure him.

It didn't. "Here, get on my back, I can carry you!"

"No he can't," Katsumi shot him down before Melissa could respond.

"I'm fine! Save your strength in case you need it!"

"In that case," Saiki cut in, having fallen back on hearing the conversation, "I'll carry you."

"No, really, I–"

"Lady," Katsumi called back, "he doesn't get tired and he could probably bench press all of us at once! If you slow us down for your pride I'll throw you up every staircase myself!"

"She's a hypocrite but she's not wrong," Saiki commented as he crouched down in front of her with his hands ready for her to jump on.

She didn't look happy about it but, "Fine."

Saiki rose, blonde in tow as Kaminari sped up to catch up to him and send him a betrayed look. Saiki returns that look by glancing up toward where they were going, back toward a scowling Melissa and then back at Kaminari. As if to ask 'Is that really your priority right now?'

Much more climbing later, the group came upon their first obstacle. "They have blast doors?" Ochako asked, bemused. "Why only here?"

"They aren't only here," Melissa explained as Saiki let her down. "They're all over the building. I guess the villains haven't figured out the controls for everything yet."

"What now?" Iida asked. "Is there another route we could take?"

"There are multiple staircases but we'd need to go through security doors to get to them. That will let the villains know where we are."

"If they're paying attention," Kyoka added. "Besides, I don't see another way out of here with shutters over all the windows."

Katsumi tutted to herself before kicking open the nearby door. Melissa gasped but the explosive girl ignored her. "What're you idiots waiting for? If the villains come at us, they come at us! We've got a job to do!"

It was too late for arguments. Suddenly it became a race as the villains were indeed paying attention and attempted to seal the corridor. Only quick reactions of Todoroki and Iida managed to keep one of the closing doors open long enough for the group to pass through into a multi-story botanical garden with an elevator at the other end.

A moving elevator.

"They're coming for us," Kyoka whispered as if the elevator occupants could hear her.

"We should hide, hope they pass us by!" Iida suggested.

Katsumi and Saiki looked at one another and an unspoken understanding passed between them. They stepped out into the open, Saiki continuing to move until he was flush with the elevator wall. Katsumi caught on quickly. "Heh, sometimes I like your style."

"What are you two doing?!" Momo demanded.

"Like Katsumi said," Saiki rolled his shoulders, "If they come, they come. Todoroki, you can get everyone up to the upstairs of this place, right?"

The two-tone legacy hero looked from the group to the elevator, stepped forward and planted his right hand on the floor. A column of ice formed and rose out of the ground behind him, carrying the rest of the group up.

"Todoroki!" Kaminari shouted down.

"We have one objective here. Keep going. We'll catch up."

The elevator dinged as it reached their floor, the doors opening to reveal two figures, two men. One squat and round, the other tall and lanky to the point it must have been quirk-related. They immediately saw the ice pillar, the boy making it and the group of teens on top of it. They rushed out–

Saiki was already there, his leg coming around to kick the shorter villain in the midsection. Only the good instincts and quick reaction time of the man was enough to protect him as he activated his own quirk. Saiki's foot landed in a rapidly expanding wall of densely packed muscle, the villain's transformation giving him the shape of a giant, purple, ape-like man. The gorilla caught Saiki's foot and lifted him by it, intending to slam him.

Saiki was surprised to find himself in this situation again so soon. But the monkey was no All Might. Just like that battle, Saiki's other leg came around to slam the ape in the face with a kick that did not at all hold back like the first did.

"Augh!" the ape cried out, letting go of the hero in training to clutch at his own head as he stumbled back.

On the opposite side, the lanky figure saw his partner getting attacked by one of the students. He whirled around to see another coming at him with her arm out and a malicious grin on her face.

His grin matched her.

Todoroki, watching from a distance, noticed. Thinking quickly he realised something was wrong. The scrawny villain's quirk appeared to be a pair of large, scoop-like hands but he wouldn't be trusted to handle this situation if his quirk were so simple.

Before Katsumi could grab the villain, a shaft of ice blocked her path, just in time for the villain's scoop arm to take an enormous chunk out of it.

"What the hell, icy-hot?!" the girl demands.

"Did you see what his quirk did?" Todoroki asked in a slightly more urgent version of his usual monotone. "Think before you act next time!"

From far above on an elevated walkway, Izuku watched the fight, distressed. Iida grabbed her by the shoulder. "Midoriya, we need to keep moving!"

She looked quickly between him and the fight. Nodded.

The slightly smaller group came to the end of the walkway into another hallway only to find the blast doors sealed on both sides. "Dammit!" Kaminari cursed, "If only there were a control panel I could short out or something!"

"That only works in movies," Kyoka cut him down.

All Might's successor examined the area, hoping to find something that would let them ascend further. She blinked. Looks up at the ceiling. "Melissa, how sturdy do you think the ceiling is?"

"I... Don't know."

Iida caught on quickly, but, "The most destructive among us are still fighting below." As if to corroborate the statement, the sounds of explosions echoed up to them.

"Not all of them," Izuku corrected him. "Melissa, do you still have the Full Gauntlet on you?"

"Oh," she nods, reaching into her dress to pull out a small red device, "I didn't have time to get it back to my room after taking it off for you."

The greenette grinned. "Perfect! Everybody get back!" She waited for them to get clear of what she thought the destructive radius would be as the gauntlet forms along her forearm and over her hand. 'Alright,' she thought to herself as she takes a low stance, 'here goes. One for All! 50%!' "Alaskaaaaaaaa...!" She leapt upward with enough power to crack the floor, driving her fist into the ceiling, "SMAAAAASH!"

The ceiling buckled, broke, then with the rumbling roar and shearing tear of ruptured concrete and metal, Izuku tore through not one but two floors. She grabbed the upper hole and clambered up before looking back down. "Come on, you guys! Going up!"

From below, most of those watching were astonished. "Damn, Izuku," Kyoka muttered as they all snapped out of it and got to climbing after her.

Down below, the fight continue against the two villains.

"Hey, hold on a second!" the monkey said thoughtfully as he met Saiki's fist with his own, grunting with the effort of knocking him away. "I know you, don't I? You were in that sports festival thing!"

"I won that 'sports festival thing'," Saiki corrected.

"Yeah, yeah!" the monkey grinned. "You were that one-trick pony who could only take a beating!"

The cocky smirk that had wormed its way onto Saiki's face as he dominated the fight suddenly vanished. "Excuse me?"

"Yeah!" the purple ape laughed. "You got your ass kicked in like, half your fights. Only won 'cos the ref kept letting you keep going! Ha! Alright," he leapt into the air, fist cocked back, "Playtime's over kid! Time for you to sleep! If you're really that tough maybe it won't be forever!"

Saiki's cheek twitched. Some two-bit thug thought he could talk shit? His leg bent. And then he was gone.

"What the–!" The ape thug's fist slammed into the floor where the boy had been.

From above, standing on a walkway, Saiki sneered down at the idiot. He made another leap to the underside of a higher walkway and launches himself back down fist-first into the monkey's back.

"Guah!" Spittle flew from the ape's mouth, his face contorted from both impact and pain. He swung his muscular arm around to catch the brat, but he was already gone again, having kicked off toward the wall, then rebounded again to kick the purple primate in the face. His head reared back, the force enough to throw him backward. Saiki didn't rebound again. Instead, he planted his feet below the villain's belly and hammers him with fist after fist after fist, each impact ringing out with heavy thumps as the hero in training pulverised his opponent.

With a heavy, satisfied sniff, Saiki stopped, letting the monkey fall. Both physically and into a metaphorical pit of shame for being so pathetic, talking shit that he couldn't back up.

Todoroki offered Saiki only a neutral stare. Meanwhile Katsumi, the arms of her shirt and jacket ruined, was seething. "Tell me I didn't just see you steal my moves, Saiki!"

"I didn't steal your moves," he happily told her. "I stole Izuku's moves."

"Bastard...!"

"Come on, we need to catch up with the others."