"This is bullshit."

BOOM.

"This is bullshit."

BOOM.

"This is bullshit!"

BOOM.

"Ha... Ha... ha... Just how many walls did that bastard put up?!" Saiki asked himself as he panted for breath. Body-checking his way through dozens of cement walls would've been a cakewalk with Deku and Red Riot to help share the effort. All on his own, it was a little more tiring. Even so, a moment to catch his breath and he was on his way again.

BOOM.

"... Seriously?" he asked of the open hallway ahead of him. "The second I stopped to breathe I come out the other side? Figures." Wings buzzed lightly, lifting him again, then adjusted to take him forward with all speed. The problem became, how much had Yuki... Ichi... Yama... How much did the wall guy change the floorplan of the place? It didn't seem like he could completely reshape the structure. Twist it, coil it, open and close holes in it, but completely reshaping routes and making them perfectly indistinguishable from unmoved halls took time and effort the guy didn't have. Even the blocking walls weren't that substantial. Flygon could have faith that the map was mostly unchanged, especially for places Wall Guy wasn't paying attention to.

He was still headed in generally the right direction. Could be he was even still on the right path, though where on that path he couldn't guess. With it being such a maze down here, that still posed a problem. But, he was still him. And if a wall blocked his path, he could bulldoze through it just like he had for everything else.

... Though. Lemillion couldn't fly. He must've left traces, especially since he would be booking it to get to the girl. Flygon slowed down, enough to scan the floor of the hallway. Sure enough. There was no cleaning crew in the world that could maintain a maze like this on the regular. Footprints marking long strides told him Lemillion had definitely gone this way. He was still on the right track. Though, the prints stopped, turned at one point toward a wall. That peeping tom must have cut through a wall to take a shortcut. Well, a wall wouldn't stop Flygon either–

The ground shook. And for once, it had nothing to do with Flygon's breaking of walls. Instead... He could hear the rumbling coming from behind him. The sound of a heavy impact echoing down the hall. It was the others. It had to be. They were coming up behind him. He couldn't quite gauge the distance but it sounded pretty far. He could go back, regroup with them. Deku was–

... Lemillion was still ahead. He was alone. The mission was to find and save the girl. Slowing himself down for them wouldn't help that.

The Wall Guy was harassing them. That had to be it. And whatever else that was going on. That group was the biggest danger, that had to be why the Wall Guy left Flygon alone. Of course! Eraserhead was with that group! If he caught up, he could shut down anything Chisaki and his flunkies could throw at him! But he had to catch up first!

What was the right call?! Lemillion needed backup! Chisaki might get away! Eraserhead needed to catch up! Deku might need help!

... There wasn't really a choice.

He turned, his wings buzzed once again as he flew straight into the wall with his fist smashing through it, before he continued following Lemillion's footprints while tuning out the rumblings behind him as best he could.

There wasn't really a choice. He knew what the right move was, he just didn't want to accept it because it wasn't what he wanted to do. "The pros are with her," he had to tell himself, his hands squeezing into fists. "Endeavour will protect her. Nighteye will protect her. Rock Lock will... Well he'll bitch and moan but he'll... No! Fuck that! She doesn't need protecting! She's a damn hero and she's as strong as I am; she can protect herself! And... And she promised me." His eyes regained their focus, his flight speed increased. If he was going to be a hero, he couldn't just protect the people he wanted to protect. "I'll help you save that stupid kid. You better be grateful, Deku– The fuck?"

A corpse? No, not a corpse. He had no idea what was with the plague doctor mask but he had to assume it was because the guy was one of Chisaki's men. But far more importantly, it was clear Flygon had reached the end of the road.

The hallway opened up unnaturally into a much wider space. The entrance marked with vicious stalagmites jutting upward and inward. Chisaki's quirk, Nighteye's briefing said he could disassemble and reassemble an object.

The walls. They weren't all the Wall Guy. They were Chisaki's doing. Blocking the path behind him with barrier after barrier until he felt he was secure enough. Every quirk had a limit, and it was likely Chisaki didn't want to exhaust his. If fifty walls didn't stop the heroes, a hundred wouldn't either.

"OF COURSE YOU'D DO THAT, MONSTER!"

Lemillion's voice.

-(-)-

Coordination. That was the one thing Mirio needed more than anything else for his power to work. Sakaki might have made it harder than normal to keep focused, to keep coordinated, to control his balance and positioning. But if there was one thing the hero named Lemillion had trained, it was his coordination. If he could keep himself stable and guide his body without sight, sound our even touch, he could manage just fine when a villain was messing with him a little! He wouldn't stop! Wouldn't give up! Eri was counting on him! He would be her hero no matter what it took!

His body listed to the left, turning more than he intended after that satisfying punch to Chisaki's face. But he could recover. He–

"Master!"

Mirio looked, saw not only Sakaki had stayed conscious but the other one as well. He overestimated the impact, or the strikes of his ultimate move had been more glancing than he thought. His anger got the best of him, he made a rookie mistake assuming they were out for the count!

"NEMOTO! SHOOT!"

Mirio's eyes widened as he saw the case leave Chisaki's hand, flung in the direction of his subordinate. Opened to reveal the anti-quirk bullets. Nemoto scrambled to put one in his gun, loaded, pointed at Lemillion. That was fine. He'd just phase through it–

His aim changed.

Mirio looked back at Eri, that poor little girl who had already been through so much. He didn't even think. There was no need.

He was her hero.

He smiled, telling her without words that no matter what happened, everything would be okay. He didn't flinch at the sound of the gunshot.

... He didn't feel the impact.

Forcing down his own unsteadiness, he turned to see a familiar back. Clad in black, a blue ponytail hanging from the back of his head. Four insect wings spread wide and buzzing irritably. "That all you got?" Flygon asked, tossing the bullet that had flattened against his skin. "Bombshell hits me harder during sex."

Well that was just inappropriate! There was a child present! Still, while Saisei kicked forward toward Nemoto to put him down, Chisaki was going for his back. Couldn't have that! Lemillion let himself slip through the floor, angled toward Chisaki's back and sprung out at high speed, only for him to drop and plant his hand on the ground. The entire area reshaping to take him far away, spikes rising in his place set to pierce through Flygon's back.

Only for Flygon to rise over them with casual ease. The spikes continued on, driving into Nemoto. "Gah, Master!" the villain cried, "I'm sorry! I failed!" Even after being impaled by his own boss, he still held that kind of loyalty. Sometimes even the worst people deserved pity.

"Looks like you're my hero today, Flygon!" Mirio called up as he turned his attention full toward the most dangerous person in the room. Chisaki's glove dissolved into dust, baring his other hand.

"You're nowhere near cute enough to say that to me," Flygon responded. "What's his deal?"

"What you just saw," Lemillion answered. "He can do it to people too, don't let him get his hands on you." Assessing the situation, there was one clear priority. "Get Eri to safety."

"You wanna go against this guy alone?"

"If she's still here he'll–" Suddenly Flygon seemed to vanish, an instant later so did Eri right before the place she had been sitting folded in on itself.

-(-)-

Flygon held the girl close to his chest as he flew away from the trap Chisaki had created. Then continued flying as the room itself continued attacking from all possible directions.

"Don't you idiots get it?! You're all diseased!" Chisaki screamed, his hand planted on the floor. Lemillion tried to rush him down, only for the floor under Chisaki to shift him out of the way, while continuing to obstruct the use of his Permeation quirk. Barriers formed with spikes, denying the blond any safe approach. Every use of Permeation a hazard, every lack of use another hazard. "You get powers and you think that means you matter! That you could be something more; it's just a disease of the mind and that girl is the cure!" Even as he said it, Flygon had to continue protecting her from the room itself. "I'll kill you! And if that kills her, I can just put her back together! Then, I can use her to cleanse this world of your FILTH! Your DISEASE!"

"Please, stop," the girl whimpered in his arms. "He'll kill you."

"Hey, look at me," Flygon said, "Look at me." He could admit, he understood why Deku got so broken up over the kid. She needed help. For this girl, every day was the worst day of her life, so he smirked at her with the confidence he earned. "Who's cape are you wearing right now? He never gave up on you. Don't give up on him either."

"Hnn!" She held the cape tighter around herself, squeezed her eyes shut and hid herself in his chest. That was a plus, if she was relying on him, he could focus on getting her out. Unfortunately, the exit had been sealed over, after spending so long evading Chisaki's attacks Flygon couldn't even remember where the exit had been. Even if he wanted to get the girl away so Lemillion could fully focus on fighting, he couldn't. He needed an out.

"Uagh, UAAAAGH!" Chisaki's roar had become a grotesque and guttural thing. It was only on seeing him again that Flygon understood why. The yakuza villain had become a monstrosity, his body bulked up, two extra arms grown from his back, his expression wild and manic even behind the mask that had fused to his face. "FILTHY!" He leapt toward Lemillion, forgetting Flygon for the instant it took to reach out for Nighteye's protégé. Lemillion was as aware as ever, let the hand pass through him so he could drive a fist into the villain's face.

Not seeing the spike shooting between the villain's left arms. His new right hand still settled on a surface of the room. He could still use his power through his new hands. One moment the spike was punching through the hero's fist. The next, Lemillion was fully permeable, knowing he would be dead if he stayed where he was. He disappeared from the room at an awkward angle, letting Chisaki focus on Flygon. The dragonfly hero grit his teeth, reached for the control on his suit. Eri was going to be in for a rough ride.

BOOM. "ERI!"

Flygon's eyes snapped to the broken wall, as did Chisaki's. Two heroes stood side by side behind the third, the girl who had just kicked right through the concrete wall.

-(-)-

Uravity watched the police cordon. The ongoing suppression and arrest of the yakuza thugs outside of their compound, as well as the low tier villains. The big guy Ryukyu took down was out cold. She really was amazing.

That was all good but... "Do you think Deku and Flygon are okay?" she couldn't help but ask Froppy.

"It's frustrating to say it, but both of them kind of felt like they were on another level from us from the very start," the frog hero admitted. "Ryukyu knew it too, or she wouldn't have let Saisei go in."

"Is that what you think?" the dragon hero asked, having listened to their conversation. "I trust in his capabilities. Honestly part of it was worry that he would do what his unwilling mentor would do and go in anyway. But he knows what he's doing and has abilities that would help." She glanced at her three student sidekicks still outside with her. "Nejire and Uravity, you both excel outside tight confines so were better suited to staying out here. But Froppy, you would have been more useful going in with Flygon." She shook her head. "If it weren't for your lack of confidence."

The frog hero shrank in on herself.

"Don't take it as a harsh judgement. Most heroes start out that way, and caution is important. The issue is when caution prevents you from taking action. From doing what you can, because you doubt if it would help even knowing it would."

"Sorry, boss."

Uravity remembered hearing about Froppy's first experience as an intern. The smugglers. How she felt like she only made things worse and needed to be rescued. It was experience, but she wasn't sure it was good experience. Some reacted to that kind of thing worse than others, and Froppy had always been the type to think first and second before doing anything. She had learned to second-guess herself.

"You'll learn to trust yourself," Ryukyu told her with the kind of confidence Uravity wished she had. "That's part of why you're working with me. Just give it time."

"Th... Thanks uh... Boss?" Froppy said, the words slurring strangely as she spoke them, her eyelids drooping.

"Huh? Froppy? What's...?" Uravity swayed even as she asked the question. "What?" Now that she noticed it, it seemed to hit her all at once. A bone-deep weariness that came out of nowhere. "Boss–!"

The dragon hero turned from her students, searching for the most likely culprit. A villain's quirk. Sure enough, the big guy she had taken down was awake and breaking free of his restraints. "Damn villain," she cursed as she retook her dragon form. "LEARN TO STAY DOWN!" She pinned him with a clawed hand, only for him to push back with a surprising and new level of strength.

"Don't think I will! I'm feeling good now that I got to drain all you idiots dry!" Police all around them had slumped over. Ryukyu had to fight not to step on them as the villain pushed her back. "Did you think the Hassaikai would let you get off that easy?!"

"NEJIRE!"

"On it, boss!" the blue haired hero declared, floating up into the air and firing a spiralling beam of energy at the villain's back. Enough to distract him and give Ryukyu the upper hand.

"Uraraka!"

The drowsy girl slumped against Froppy's body looked up at the familiar voice. "Flygon?" Sure enough, there he was. His wings weren't out and his suit looked a little different. But it was definitely...

"Uraraka, we need backup! Underneath that intersection! We have to break it open!"

Her eyes filled with what looked like determination. "... I got it." Fighting through her exhaustion, she got to her feet, forced herself to run, to chase after him. "Ryukyu! Froppy! Nejire!"

For all the world it sounded like she was calling them to help her bust open the road, just like Flygon asked. And so he didn't realise her true intentions until she tagged him between the shoulder blades and tossed him into the sky.

"What?! Uraraka, what are you doing?!"

"It's URAVITY!" she shouted up at him as he hung helpless in the air. "He's even more insistent on that than I am! He'd never call me Uraraka when we're on the job and he can fly!" While whoever this was did nothing but float helplessly. "So who the hell are you and what did you do to Flygon?!"

"... Hmhm!" She heard the fighting behind her, Ryukyu and Nejire still trying to subdue the rampaging Hassaikai member, but all Uravity could focus on was the disturbing sight of Saiki's demented grin. And giggle. "Hmhmhmhmhm! You two are closer than I thought! What's going on there? Are you sweet on him? Ooh, does that make us rivals?!" Akin to a cutesy schoolgirl, Saiki's hands cupped his cheeks as he blushed. "I'm so excited! I've never had a love rival before! May the best girl win!"

Showed what whoever this was knew, Saiki was taken like six times over. "Where is he?! What did you do with him?!"

"Uravity!" Froppy hopped toward her, Nejire following from the air with her hand extended toward the impostor.

"Teach me to try to do you heroes a favour!" the fake Flygon tutted, sighing, "He's exactly where I said, below this intersection, fighting Chisaki. He could probably use some help." He grinned again. "So, what will you do? That poor little girl is suffering so much, heroes! You should go help her! Not like you can arrest me and help the boys downstairs."

"The heck we can't!" Nejire exclaimed blasting the fake Flygon in the chest from above. Yet even with the impact, he continued to smile. As the impact drove him down, he got a foot under himself and kicked himself backward. Just like that, he was gone. Launched up and far into the distance. He had Flygon's strength too. "Shoot! I'll chase him down!"

Uravity shook her head. "Ryukyu!"

-(-)-

Finally, the cavalry had arrived. Flygon breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Eraserhead's hair floating.

"No! NO!" Chisaki hid in the structures he created, trying to find a place he could be completely out of Eraserhead's view.

"Eri!" Deku shouted.

"She's okay!" Flygon shouted back. "I don't know where Lemillion went!"

"RIGHT HERE!" From out of nowhere, the grotesque form of Chisaki launched upward, sent skyward by an uppercut from beneath the floor. "POWERRRRRR!"

"Excellent work, boys!" Nighteye congratulated them. "Eraser, keep him locked down while we subdue him!"

"You don't need to tell me!"

"WAKE UP, CHRONO!"

"Hunh?!"

Flygon had let his guard down. Yet even if his guard was up, he didn't know if he ever would have been able to prevent it. From seemingly nowhere, something stabbed at Eraserhead as he was leaping over stalagmites. With that one touch, he floated helplessly in the air, unmoving. The source, a body Flygon had completely dismissed as defeated by Lemillion before the dragonfly hero even got on the scene. The villain seemingly named Chrono leapt up to grab Eraserhead.

But by then, Flygon was aware of what was happening. "Aerial Ace!" His wings clipped the villain and knocked him out of the air. "Deku!"

As the villain dropped, Deku met him on the way up, foot first. "South Dakota Smash: Double Impact!"

A flying kick ensured the white robed villain dropped back where he started, unconscious. But the damage had been done. Eraserhead was trapped mid-air, and "Eraser! Don't blink!"

It was no use.

"Power?!" Chisaki demanded. "POWER?! YOU THINK YOU HAVE POWER?! YOU'RE DELUSIONAL! TURNED TWISTED AND WRETCHED BY YOUR DISEASE!" The ground beneath Eraserhead rose up in spikes.

Shit! "Deku! Catch!" Suddenly, a six year old girl was soaring through the air, terrified out of her mind.

Only for another hero to catch her, smiling for her in reassurance. "It's okay, Eri! We're..." Her reassuring words fell silent as she looked up again. A mess of spikes. Eraserhead hanging from them by a leg and an arm. And where he would have been if not for Flygon's intervention, Flygon himself impaled in the abdomen and shoulder. "SAIKI!"

"Ff-fuck..." No matter how much pain it caused him, Flygon wrenched his body sideways, snapping the spikes made for punching through a sturdy body like his. The same movement tearing Eraserhead off of his own perch. "God, dammit, fuck..." Breathing heavily, the dragonfly hero, the ever-evolving hero rose to his feet. "I'm okay!"

"You're not!" Deku denied.

"I've had worse." The way he favoured his injury didn't sell it very well. "I don't know what that asshole did. I don't know if we're getting Eraser back in this fight. We'll have to do this the hard way."

"Lemillion and Nighteye are keeping Chisaki busy but Eri–"

With a thunderous crash, the roof of the cavern shattered under the bulk of a huge villain. "FLYGON! DEKU!" Uravity shouted down.

Flygon gaped at the good fortune. "I could kiss that girl. Gimme the kid." He stooped to take Eraserhead over his shoulder, took Eri in his wounded arm. "Don't die."

"You're the one who just got stabbed! Same to you!"

"Heh!" With a vibration of his wings, Saiki hovered in the air, then launched upward toward the opening in the roof.

"ERIIIIIII!" Chisaki roared.

The little girl flinched in Flygon's arm.

"Do you really think–"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP, ASSHOLE!"

Eri startled at the harsh words, stared up in awe at the person who carried her away from the one who hurt her, who hurt so many people. She felt the warmth of the sun. He was bleeding, he was hurting, but he didn't care.

"Flygon! Are you okay?!" Uravity asked with worry. "There was–!"

"I'm fine! Take care of these two, alright?" Gently as he could he let Eraserhead down from his shoulder. Let go of the girl–

"No!" It was weak, but it was fierce. A tiny hand grasping onto his arm.

It was... Weird. For a kid to latch on to him like that. But given the circumstances, he understood. He gave her the same confident smirk he had before. "Don't worry. We're gonna make sure he can never hurt you again."

"I'll go with you," Ryukyu stated. "What are his capabilities?"

"No offense, boss. But he can kill with a touch of his hand and you're a big target. Besides, someone needs to make sure he can't escape, right?"

"ERIIIIII!"

Just a glance into the pit was enough to tell him what happened. Chisaki didn't give a damn about Nighteye, Lemillion or Deku. He wanted the kid back. "We've got this covered." With a flick of the control, the lights of his suit shifted from green to red. He felt the telltale jab in his chest that made his injuries throb painfully, before the pain disappeared entirely under the sudden surge of adrenaline.

He smirked down at the villain rising to the surface on a spire of concrete. Then leapt down headfirst toward his enemy. Staring unflinchingly, challengingly, into the wild eyes of the Hassaikai leader.

-(-)-

A/N: This chapter seen very very early on THE GREAT FORBIDDEN P! FEAR THE P! LOVE THE P!