Inko: Yes, please, find Izuku.

Mitsuki: Quickly.

Group message

87657: (Mr. Brave)

Hey, I heard an SOS and it mentioned UA. @12579 Is everybody okay?

Aizawa(tense): No...

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Shou, when someone asks you a question, you're supposed to respond.

Midnight: He's really busy right now...

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Shou?

72598: (Sir Nighteye)

I'm sure they're fine. If something had happened, Deku would have informed us.

Uraraka(sick): Except Deku's gone...

87657: (Mr. Brave)

You see, I know you're right, but now I'm panicking and my brain is trying to convince me that they're not responding because something happened to both of them.

Recovery Girl: Technically yes but...

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Stop worrying. I'll text him. And if he's still being dumb, maybe Shinso'll have his phone on him. Goodness knows the kid's sleep schedule is messed up enough that he'll be awake.

Tamaki: I think everyone's awake now considering Deku was kidnapped...

87657: (Mr. Brave)

Um, guys? An article just dropped saying that the training camp was attacked. It says a student was abducted. Are we sure they're okay?

Gran Torino: They're not.

72598: (Sir Nighteye)

They've survived villain attacks in the past. We have to trust that they can take care of themselves.

87657: (Mr. Brave)

@58726 Any luck contacting anyone?

87657: (Mr. Brave)

Great, now she's not responding either. Are we just slowly getting picked off one by one?

(a few people awkwardly chuckled but it wasn't really funny)

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Sorry, I just got off the phone with Shinso and Shou.

72598: (Sir Nighteye)

And?

58726: (Ms. Joke)

Deku's gone.

Aizawa: Problem child stop sacrificing yourself okay!

Midoriya: Well I have to save people!

Hound Dog: Without acting passively suicidal!

Izuku wasn't alone when he woke up, but it would have been better if he had been. It wasn't as if Kurogiri was doing anything violent or disturbing, he was just cleaning glasses at what looked like a bar, but it would have been a lot easier to plan, or better yet attempt, an escape if he wasn't being watched. The room he was being kept in had several doors, but even if he hadn't been tied up and unable to get to them, Izuku had no way of knowing which one, if any, led outside and choosing the wrong one could get him hopelessly lost and trap him further.

Dabi: Yeah our old base was a maze.

Not that he was in any condition to be running or fighting right now, of course. He had a splitting headache from the aftereffects of the gas he'd been exposed to and the marble he'd stuffed in his shoe was digging painfully into his foot, which was ironically comforting considering that it meant the league hadn't managed to find it yet. A quick souffle in his chair was enough to figure out that the few weapons he'd had on him when he was abducted hadn't gotten the same treatment.

Jirou(weakly): At least he still has the tracker...

Kurogiri caught him squirming and stopped to glare at him, "There's no point in struggling. Those knots are far too tight. They're not going anywhere."

Izuku huffed and gave a final tug at the ropes, "Yeah, sure. But hey, as long as I'm here, mind telling me why? I already told you guys I don't want one of your boss's stupid quirks and pretty much every single one of my classmates is stronger than I am and would make a bigger splash in the news, not to mention that some of them are rich and would make much better ransom victims. Why go for the quirkless kid?"

Kurogiri sighed and set down the glass he was wiping, "I'll be honest with you, young man, I have no idea. Young Tomura would have much rather murdered you in your sleep than bring you here."

Bakugo: Somehow getting kidnapped was the better option.

Izuku gulped. Getting kidnapped was the better option? He was lucky?! Somehow, it didn't feel like it.

"It wasn't Tomura, however, that gave the order for your abduction." Kurogiri continued. "It was Sensei."

"Sensei?" Izuku breathed. "All for One? Why would he want me?!"

Spinner: Because of the stuff you've been writing about.

"I have no idea." Kurogiri picked his glass back up. "But I would recommend not fighting too hard against it, whatever it is. Sensei has a talent for getting his way."

Shigaraki(growling): He sure does, doesn't he?

Izuku fell silent. This was bad. Well, it was always going to be bad, considering that getting kidnapped was awful, but if it was really All for One who had given the order, then Izuku was screwed. Even if Eraser and the others managed to find out about the tracker, they might not be in time to rescue him. He was screwed.

One of the doors opened and he made a note that that particular door was not an exit as Shigaraki strode in, "So, the little brat's awake, huh? High time for the game to start. I was getting bored."

Izuku glared at him, but didn't say anything as Shigaraki came up to him, "So, not so high and mighty now, are ya? None of of your stupid classmates are here to back you up this time!"

Mitsuki: Leave him alone!

He couldn't help flinching when Shigaraki raised his hand and slapped him across the face, thankfully with only four fingers, but Izuku knew what the point was. It was a threat. A demonstration of total power and control.

I can kill you at any time and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

(everyone tensed even further. This was so bad on so many levels.)

"I'd say stop playing with the brat, but it's fun to watch him flinch." Dabi smirked as he followed Shigaraki into the room. "Hey, do you think the kid already has burn scars?"

Bakugo(wincing): Yeah.

"I mean, he grew up with that Bakugo brat, so probably." Magne said, walking in. "He's annoying enough that if I went to school with him, I'd probably beat him up myself."

"Hear that, brat?" Shigaraki gave him an unhinged grin. "Everyone here just wants to see you suffer. How does it feel to be completely alone?"

Izuku didn't give him the satisfaction of seeing him flinch again, "I'm used to it."

(a lot of people flinched at that)

Dabi snorted, "Yeah, you should be. So Dusty, can we kill him yet?"

"Not until Sensei gives permission." Shigaraki shot a glance toward an old TV in the corner. "But I informed him our mission was a success... mostly."

"We lost most of our recruits and all we have to show for it is one useless kid?" Dabi grumbled. "Yeah, sounds real successful to me."

Bakugo: He's not useless!

The villains all snapped to attention as a scratchy voice echoed out of the TV, "All is not as it seems at first. Perhaps young Deku will still surprise us."

Izuku's eyes widened and he had to work to calm his breathing as he whispered, "All for One."

All Might: All for One...

Ochaco hadn't stopped crying since they'd gotten the news that Deku had been kidnapped and Himiko hadn't had the heart to leave her side. Sure, they'd survived, but when it really mattered, they'd been too late to save him to save anyone. Their wounds were treated, backup had arrived, and most of the villains had been captured. It should have been something to celebrate, but instead it just felt empty.

"That idiot." Ochaco wiped her eyes furiously. "I swear, if he doesn't survive, I'll kill him."

Himiko giggled, "Get in line. I think Aizawa is gonna want a piece of him first."

Inko: And after him is me!

"It was brave of him to sacrifice himself like that." Tsu said. "I just wish he hadn't had to."

Tsu(hiccupping): Yeah...

"Well he did." Ochaco snapped. "Ugh, I'm sorry, Tsu. It's just, Deku's my friend! I don't want him to get hurt or..."

Himiko clapped her hands together abruptly, "You know what we need right now?"

Ochaco huffed, "An infinite supply of ice cream?"

Kirishima: A plan to save Midoriya!

"A plan to save Deku?" Tsu added.

"Well, yes to both of those things, but no." Himiko forced an excited smile onto her face. "What we need is a distraction! Get moving! Feel useful!"

Compress: ...Not very bad advice actually.

"Doing what?" Ochaco's shoulders slumped. "Recovery Girl said we weren't allowed to do anything too strenuous, which means helping clean up is out and what else are we supposed to do, huh? It feels wrong to just sit and do our nails or something."

Tsu nodded and Himiko frowned, "Well, I guess... oh! That might work!"

Vlad: What might work?

Ochko looked at her suspiciously, "What?"

Himiko shook her head, "You know that training exercise I was doing with Deku?"

"You mean the one where you turned into us and chased him around the forest?" Tsu asked bluntly.

(everyone snorted)

Himiko giggled sadly, "Yeah, that one. Well, when we were deciding what to do, the pussycats made us promise that we'd try to leave no trace, which meant that we wouldn't leave any of the trackers. Deku got most of them, but we could probably go around and collect the rest, since... well, you know..."

(everyone froze)

Mt. Lady: They'll find out that there's one missing!

Nejire: And then they'll find Deku!

"Since he's not here to do it himself." Ochaco took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, okay."

"It's better than just sitting here being anxious." Tsu shrugged. "Let's hop to it."

"Perfect!" Toga pulled out her phone. "I didn't look because that would be cheating and super not cute, but Eraser gave me a list of where he hid all of them..."

Nezu: Yes, that will help.

The villains weren't gentle as they forced him through the portal. Dabi grabbed him by the hair and dragged him, chair and all, to the inky black spot in the floor and Izuku had to resist the urge to shout as he fell into the new location, grimacing in pain as the chair tipped and he fell hard onto his side.

"I would give my apologies for Tomura's behavior." A chilling voice said. "But if you had just been a little more polite, maybe he would like you more."

Midoriya: Somehow I don't think he would...

Izuku put on a brave face as he turned to All for One, who was terrifying in an unbeatable cyborg kind of way, even if it looked like he was on life support. He glared at where his eyes should have been, "Sorry. Being nice to villains hasn't exactly been that high on my priorities list."

"Of course." All for One sighed. "I suppose you've been rather busy training to be a hero and writing anonymous articles. Yes, I know about those. Like Kurogiri said, I have a talent for getting my way."

Izuku froze. He supposed it made sense for All for One to know about them, considering that he hadn't really made a lot of moves to hide it, but what was more surprising was the fact that he seemed annoyed. He wiggled slightly to get a bit more comfortable, "Of all the things I've done to get in your way, I would have thought that one would be pretty tame. Shouldn't you be happy about hero society getting torn down?"

Dabi(angrily): Well he would be if he wasn't the one who made it like that in the first place.

His breath caught as All for One turned to him and he had no idea if the terror he felt was the result of a quirk or if All for One's presence was really just that strong, "You know that the system creates its own villains, boy. Why would I want to destroy what works?"

"But..." Izuku's mouth was dry. "But Shigaraki..."

Shigaraki(wanting to disentigrate something): Is just a pawn, apparently.

"Wants to destroy All Might and the society he represents, yes." All for One nodded. "But, unlike your precious little critiques, I can easily point Shigaraki where I want him to go, which makes him useful. Would you like to be useful, Deku?"

Deku swallowed, "Not to you. Why? Were you hoping to convince me? You're going to have to try harder."

All for One grinned, "Oh, I've barely begun."

Kurogiri: He is going to torture him isn't he?

Toga(slapping the mist lightly): Hey don't say that around his mom! She's right there!

"We can use search to find him, right?" Vlad asked. "We recovered Ragdoll before those villains were able to abduct her."

"It's not that simple." Mandalay sighed. "Yes, Pixiebob technically recovered her, but the villain who tried to take her trapped her in a marble and we haven't been able to reverse the effects yet."

Compress: She is still stuck in a marble... well she will get out when the time runs out but that won't be for a while...

"Can't Eraser just cancel his quirk?" All Might asked. "Taking away his quirk should free her, correct."

Aizawa: That's how it worked in Mastermind but I doublt it'll work here.

"We already tried that." Shouta said tiredly. "But while I was able to cancel his ability to create new marbles, my quirk doesn't always affect the effects of a quirk. For example, even if I erased Todoroki's quirk, the glacier he just made wouldn't instantly melt. We were hoping this would be an actively activated quirk like Warp Gate, but..."

Spinner: It's not.

"But it seems as though our dear Ragdoll is trapped until we can convince Mr. Compress to free her." Nezu finished. "Which we are working on, but I believe we can all agree that shouldn't be our only plan of action. And that doesn't even begin to address how we are going to spin this for the media..."

The door slammed open and the heroes jumped to their feet, ready for a fight, only slightly relaxing when they realized it was just Toga. Uraraka and Asui followed close behind her and to Shouta's confusion, all three had wide, almost hopeful grins on their faces.

"Himiko, we're in the middle of a meeting." Vlad scolded. "I know you're still working on getting a hang of a lot of social skills, you can't just barge in here while we're working on a case."

Dabi(snorting): Yeah Toga's social skills are horrible.

"Does it count as barging if I have information on the case?" Toga asked. "Probably, but oh well!"

"Wait." Shouta straightened up in his seat. "You have information? Why didn't you already tell Tsukauchi during your interrogation?"

Monoma: Because they didn't have it at the time.

"Because we didn't have it yet." Tsu said bluntly.

"And what information did you uncover?" Nezu asked curiously.

Uraraka didn't seem like she could hold it in anymore as she blurted out, "One of the trackers is missing!"

Mitsuki: Hurry up and track Izuku!

The heroes looked at eachother and Nezu rested his chin on his paws as he learned forward, "Trackers? Would you care to explain?"

"Deku was supposed to find those little tracker-marble things while Toga was hunting him, right?" Uraraka bounced in place. "Well, he had a couple left, so we were out collecting them, but one of them wasn't there! And it was the one closest to camp, so if he managed to grab it on his way out..."

Shouta stamped down on the tiny spark of hope before it could hurt him, "How do you know he didn't collect it earlier and forget to check it off the list?"

Inko: Because Izuku doesn't forget things like that.

The girls deflated and Shouta felt terrible as Toga scuffed the floor with her toe, "We, uh, we hadn't thought about that."

Snipe: Hurry up and count them!

Thirteen: Deku really took one!

"Well, you've got the rest of 'em, right Eraser?" Tiger asked after a long moment. "We can see if it's really missing."

Shouta nodded. Counting all the marbles took a few minutes and it felt like they were wasting their time with such a ridiculous task. Shouta wanted to scream, but if there was even the smallest chance that this could lead them to Deku, then he owed it to the kid to investigate, right? It was his fault the problem child had gotten kidnapped in the first place, afterall, if he'd just stayed with him instead of going off to save the others, the kid would still be there."

"We're still one short, right?" Pixiebob asked. "Eraser, you can track the signal, right?"

Ectoplasm: It should be trackable all the way to Kamino, right? Right?

Power Loader: Hopefully...

Shouta took out his phone, preparing for the signal to show up in the woods. There were a million possibilities for why this one marble could be missing. A crow might have stolen it, or he wrote down the wrong location on Toga's cheat sheet. Hell, even the wind could have rolled it away. Rolling it all the way to Kamino Ward, however, was a bit of a stretch.

Shouta gave a terrifying grin as he looked up, "Good work girls. It looks like Deku didn't give up without a fight after all."

Kaminari: Yes, they know where Midoriya is!

All Might: And we'll rescue him.