By the time Izuku walked in the door, he was in such an obvious daze that Mom picked up on it immediately. She wrung her hands in worry, fretting as she looked him over, "Izuku, what's wrong? Did something happen? Are you hurt? What is it, baby?"

Izuku blinked a few times, then panicked when he realized that she was panicking, "It's nothing bad! I'm fine!"

(everyone giggled at the mutual panic. They were so alike it was adorable)

Mom huffed, "Well, obviously something happened, baby. What is it? You know you can talk to me, right?"

Izuku nodded quickly, but still hesitated for a moment, biting his lip, "Um... Denki kinda..."

Mom's face fell, "Oh... baby, I'm so sorry..."

Inko: Ah no it's not that!

"No, it's not that! I mean, I wouldn't blame him if he decided not to be my friend anymore, but, um..." Izuku smiled hesitantly. "I think he just took me on a date?"

Mom's eyes widened and she grinned, pulling him to the couch, "Tell me everything, baby."

Katsuki couldn't sleep. For some reason, he'd just assumed that because Ogawa had escaped the villain factory, they'd be able to protect him and he'd be safe, but looking back, it was pretty obvious that he had been a naive idiot. Of course the villain factory would have ways of tying off loose ends! Using a brainwashing quirk to do so, however, just left a really nasty taste in Katsuki's mouth. With assholes like All for One out there doing @$#*& like this, no wonder Shinso had gotten bullied so much...

Shinso(huffing): And sometimes I can't really blame them. There's a lot of mind controlling villains.

Katsuki shot up in bed at the thought. His first assumption when Ogawa had gone blank like that was that Shinso had somehow accidentally caught him in his quirk, but even Shinso himself had seemed panicked for half a second because he had a brainwashing quirk! Katsuki grabbed his phone and ran out the door, barely taking the time to put on his shoes as he searched through his contacts.

Izuku picked up on the second ring, "Kacchan? What are you doing up in the middle of the night?"

Katsuki ignored the question. There were more important things to think about, "Can a brainwashing quirk undo a brain washing quirk?"

Midnight: Yeah, because Shinso was able to do that in Cheat Code.

Bakugo: Which means he can do the same thing to Ogawa.

"Like two different quirks? Or is the quirk undoing itself?" Izuku asked. "I'm sorry, I guess I'm still a little confused?"

"Nevermind." Katsuki replied gruffly. "Where are you right now?"

Mitsuki: In bed, like you're supposed to be.

Bakugo: Shut up hag, this is an emergency.

"At home?" Izuku answered hesitantly. "Are you okay...?"

Kacchan cut him off, "And Auntie?"

There was a long moment of silence, "Asleep."

Inko: ...You're sneaking out aren't you?

Midoriya: ...Viridian has been sneaking out every night?

Inko: Good point.

Katsuki nodded resolutely, "I'm on my way. See you in five."

Midoriya: But you live ten minutes away?

"...But you live ten minutes away?"

Izuku stared at the receiver in confusion, but Kacchan had already hung up. He rolled over and cancelled his vigilante alarm even though it wasn't set to go off for another hour. At this point he probably wasn't going to get to sleep anyway. Mom had ended up demanding a full play-by-play and they'd stayed up way too late making cookies as they talked and squealed together. He'd only managed to convince her to go to bed a little over an hour ago and even then, Izuku himself was still too keyed up to sleep.

He'd been so nervous when Denki had grabbed his hand and declared that they were going on a date. He'd been half-convinced that he'd change his mind halfway through and end their friendship despite his own insistence that they'd stay friends whether it went well or not. Izuku still couldn't believe that that hadn't happened and he couldn't help wondering why he'd been so convinced that it would, especially considering that Denki had never given him any evidence that he was considering ending their friendship. Izuku's brain had just jumped to the worst possible conclusion and now he was left feeling happy and a little bit silly because looking back, there hadn't been anything to panic about.

Jirou: Yes, he's realized it!

Hound Dog: Progress.

One of the things that had been keeping him awake was obviously just shocked happiness for how well the date had gone, but the other was the thought that if he'd been wrong about this afternoon going terribly, what else had he been wrong about? Izuku couldn't explore that train of thought for long though, because if he did, he would start panicking. Denki had still agreed to be his friend and even taken him on a date even with everything, so why was he so sure that the heroes would wrap him in bubble wrap if they knew he was quirkless? Was he missing out on other close friendships because he was too scared to let himself get caught?

Uraraka: Yes you are!

Shigaraki: Finally.

Thankfully, Kacchan had called and given him something else to panic about. Izuku took a deep breath and started reviewing what he knew about brainwashing quirks. A lot of it depended on the natural limitations of the quirk, but he couldn't think of any reason why a quirk wouldn't be able to undo itself, they would just have to order the person to ignore the first order.

The other possibility, the question of one brainwashing quirk being able to undo another, posed a few more issues. In that case, it would depend on both the relative natural strengths of the quirks as well as the strength of the users. Did the two quirks work the same way? Because if they both affected the brain, it was probably possible, but what if one took root in the brain and the other was more like a puppeteer quirk that affected the limbs and bypassed the brain entirely, then even if opposing orders were given, they wouldn't really cancel out.

Shinso: I'm pretty sure both are mind-based though.

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock at the door. It was just loud enough for Izuku to hear it without waking up Mom and he ran to answer it, opening the door to see Kacchan in his pajamas, breathing hard from the run, "Hey, are you ready to go?"

Izuku looked at him in confusion. "What?"

Sero(snickering): He looks so confused.

Kacchan looked annoyed, "Get your shoes and hurry up already, nerd! I'm not about to wait and risk being too late to save him again."

Kirishima: Oh...

Izuku jumped into action, putting on his shoes as fast as he could and grabbing whatever hoodie was on the hook by the door, since it was still a little chilly out at night. He still had no idea what was going on, but Kacchan wouldn't have run all the way to his house for no reason, so he'd just have to figure it out on the way. He pulled the hoodie over his head and ran to keep up with Kacchan, who was already halfway down the street, "Kacchan! Wait up!"

Hitoshi scrolled through his phone, debating whether he should get up and make himself a cup of tea. He probably wouldn't be able to sleep for at least another two hours anyway, but the tea would at least break up the monotony. He got up and stretched before heading to the kitchen. Did he still have chamomile or had he used all of that already?

A soft knock on the door made him freeze. The only people who would be knocking on his door in the middle of the night were police or murderers, and he really didn't want to deal with either of them, so he resolutely ignored it and turned back to making his tea. The knock came again, slightly louder this time, before whoever it was apparently gave up. Hitoshi let out a breath he hadn't quite realized he was holding.

Aizawa(snorting): You're seriously going to ignore that?

Shinso: Good people usually don't bother you in the middle of the night!

Kurogiri: For the record, murderers usually don't knock when they want to enter a house.

Then his phone rang.

Hitohsi jumped, spilling water all over the counter and cursed as he grabbed both a rag and his phone, "Bakugo? What do you want?"

"Why aren't you opening your door?" Bakugo demanded. "I know well you're awake right now."

Shinso: Because I don't randomly open my door to everyone who shows up at midnight!

"Wait, that's you?!" Hitoshi scowled and threw the rag down on the counter. "I thought it was a murderer!"

"It will be if you don't get out here right now." Bakugo growled.

(everyone laughed)

Hitoshi was almost tempted to make him wait. He deserved it after giving him a heart attack like that, because who in their right mind just showed up at someone's house in the middle of the night and didn't think that was creepy? Bakugo, apparently, but Hitoshi had to admit that he was just a little curious and this was better than boredom, so he hung up the phone and went to the door. Bakugo looked pissed off, but that was fairly normal. What wasn't normal was the kid standing next to him drowning in what must be a custom made Eraserhead hoodie, looking just as confused as Hitoshi felt.

"Took you long enough." Bakugo huffed. "Hurry up and get your shoes, we're leaving."

Hitoshi sighed, "Bakugo, it is literally one o'clock in the morning. What are you even doing here?"

Bakugo: Rescuing Ogawa.

The look that Bakugo gave him was more of a challenge and Hitoshi didn't know whether he should feel excited or scared out of his mind. "You wanna be a hero? Then hurry up and come on already because this is your chance to actually do something heroic."

Tsukauchi: I see they're completely forgoing quirk usage laws.

Endeavor: At this point everyone is.

By the time Hitoshi's brain actually caught up to his actions, he was walking quickly alongside Bakugo and his mystery friend with no idea of where they were going or even exactly why. He wasn't about to give up a chance to be a hero, though, and they were already on their way, so he figured he might as well go along with it.

It didn't look like Bakugo was going to bother with introductions any time soon, so Hitoshi turned to the new kid, "So, uh, you like Eraserhead?"

Thirteen: Oh, he definitely does.

The kid almost jumped out of his skin, "What? W-why would you say that?!"

Vlad: Uh, the hoodie?

Hitoshi nodded to his hoodie, "I haven't seen that merch online from any of the normal creators, which means it's probably custom ordered, right? I don't meet many other people who even know who he is."

"Oh..." he bit his lip. "I mean..."

Bakugo snorted, "Oh, don't let him fool you, the nerd pretty much prefers Eraserhead to any other hero."

All Might(deflating): Well, he is a good hero.

Gran Torino(teasingly): Jealous?

All Might: I- well- (Gran Torino cackled)

"Kacchan!" the kid scolded, a bright blush on his face. "It, uh, it was a gift."

Snipe: Oh, right, Amplifier gave it to him, didn't she?

Hitoshi nodded, "Cool. So, Bakugo, do you mind explaining what's going on?"

Hoodie kid nodded, "Yeah, I've been wondering that too. It has something to do with brainwashing quirks, right?"

Hitoshi almost stopped walking, looking at Bakugo in betrayal, "What?"

Iida: Do not worry, Shinso, it's not anything bad.

The kid, who Hitoshi just decided to call Hoodie since he obviously wasn't going to be getting a real name, didn't seem to notice his distress though, because he just kept walking, "I mean, brainwashing quirks have so many possibilities, but from what you said, it sounded like you wanted to counteract brainwashing? Are we just working with one quirk or with multiple?"

"Multiple. I don't know much about the one we're gonna be fighting, but Eyebags here can tell you about the other one." Bakugo answered quickly, turning to Hitoshi, "The nerd is a top notch analyst. If there's a chance we can use your quirk to stop whatever's happening to Ogawa's brain, he'll be able to figure it out."

"It's not... I'm not really that..." Hoodie stopped. "Wait, what's happening with Ogawa?!"

Toga(hissing): They're making him kill himself.

"There's some stupid quirk linking him back to the villain factory." Bakugo scowled. "They can just make him bluescreen at any time and take control like some stupid toy soldier or something."

"Oh..." Hoodie frowned. "That's... okay, and it's Shinso, right? How does your quirk work?"

Hitoshi glared at him, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Midoriya: Yes, and I won't mind if you use it on me to better tell how it works.

Hoodie, idiotically, nodded, "I just think quirks are really cool and if we want to..."

Midoriya: 'Idiot'?

Hitoshi only took control of him for half a second, but it was enough to make him feel sick. Seeing him blank like that was just one more reminder that his quirk was meant for villainy. Why were these two talking like he could save someone when it was a quirk like his that was the problem in the first place?

Uraraka(sympathetically): Oh Shinso...

Hoodie shook himself out when Hitoshi released his control, then grinned, "Okay, that's really cool. Kacchan, that's kinda what you meant by bluescreen, right?"

"Yep." Bakugo nodded and led them down another street. "What do you think?"

Hoodie hummed thoughtfully, "Well, I still need to see the other quirk, but the good news is that if the bluescreen mode looks the exact same, then there's a chance the two quirks will be able to cancel each other out, but..."

Hagakure(worriedly): 'But'?

Hitoshi looked at him suspiciously, "But what?"

Hoodie shrugged, "But that depends entirely on which one's stronger."

Shinso(swallowing): Well I really hope I'm stronger.

Izuku's brain was whirling with ideas and theories and he really wanted to ask Shinso more about his quirk, but he was acting the same way Izuku acted when anyone brought up quirklessness, so he decided not to push until he knew which questions he really needed to ask, which meant he had to see the other quirk first. It was going to be a lot more difficult to figure out the limitations of the second quirk, considering that they were only going to be able to see its effects, but Izuku would figure it out. He wasn't about to not save someone, just because it was going to be challenging!

Recovery Girl: Of course he's not.

The trip to the hospital didn't take as long as Izuku had expected, but that might have been due to the fact that Kacchan had jogged half of it and the other two had had to either catch up or get left behind. Izuku was used to outrunning heroes, so he didn't mind, but he could tell that Shinso was pretty grateful when they finally arrived.

They got a few weird looks from the nurses and receptionist as they made their way to Ogawa's room, considering that it was the middle of the night and all three of them were in their pajamas, but most everyone they ran into took one look at Kacchan and just seemed to accept it. Kacchan had always been powerful like that. Even in elementary school he'd been able to get away with anything.

Bakugo(huffing): Well I shouldn't have.

When they got to what Izuku assumed was the correct wing, a doctor finally stopped them, "It's not visiting hours yet, boys."

"We don't care." Kacchan growled. "You've got a problem and we're here to fix it! I'm not gonna wait 'till some visiting hours to save my friend."

"Please?" Izuku didn't think puppy dog eyes would work as well on the doctor as they sometimes did on Mom or Eraserhead, but he figured it was worth a try. "You can supervise the whole time. I promise we'll drag Kacchan out if anything goes wrong!"

Tsu: I'm pretty sure it'll work, ribbit. You're adorable, Midoriya. (Midoriya promptly turned into a sputtering, red mess, proving Tsu's point)

"Oi!" Kacchan scowled. "You're not dragging me anywhere, nerd."

The doctor hesitated for a moment before sighing, "Honestly, I don't think there's anything you boys can do."

He led them to one of the rooms and opened the door. Izuku gasped softly as he recognized the man strapped to the bed. He'd fought him a few times, but seeing him like this... Alright, he may have told the doctor they'd leave if things went wrong, but Izuku knew he wouldn't be able to leave until they'd saved him, so he'd just have to make sure nothing went wrong! Simple enough, right?

Aizawa(groaning): Problem children...

"It's been getting worse." the doctor explained. "We've had to restrain him for his own safety, as well as our staff's."

Sato: Oh no...

Kacchan went right up to the bed and kicked it, "Oi! Tentacle Freak! Wake up!"

Ogawa startled awake and he looked disoriented for a moment before he caught sight of Kacchan and the confusion cleared, "Oh, it's just you. Did you really miss me so much that you had to come in the middle of the night? And you brought more friends!"

Bakugo: I didn't miss you, I'm saving you.

Kacchan rolled his eyes. "These idiots are here to save you, dumbass."

Ogawa smiled sadly, "I'm not sure that's possible, man. It's alright, though, I'm..."

Ectoplasm: Yes it's possible, Shinso did the same thing in Cheat Code.

"Actually, it might be." Izuku interrupted. He had to force himself not to freeze when everyone turned to look at him. "Um, well, I mean, we can't save you from what's already happened, but, um, it's a brainwashing quirk causing the problem, right?"

Ogawa sighed and slumped against the bed, "At least one. I don't remember everything they did to me, they made sure of that, but I know they tried using quirks to make me more compliant."

Izuku nodded, "I assumed as much. The nomu from the USJ was made by the same people and from what Kacchan said, he was completely obedient. I'm not sure... you've already done brain scans, right? He's not showing any signs of mental deterioration, is he?"

Kurogiri: No...

The doctor shook his head and looked at Izuku suspiciously, "No... how do you even know about that risk?"

Spinner: Long story.

"I'm... a consultant on the case? Kinda?" Izuku said hesitantly. He wasn't in vigilante gear right now, and even if the hood mostly protected his face from the security cameras, it still probably wasn't the best idea to just admit that he was a vigilante. "I've done a lot of research about quirk theory and quirk transfer and since most people don't actually think it's possible, there's not really experts on it, so... I guess I'm kinda the next best thing?"

The doctor gave him a look, "You pushed your way into the case just like Bakugo here did, didn't you?"

(everyone snorted. The doctor was completely right.)

Bakugo laughed. "Way to call him out, doc! You know that Eraser would make you an official consultant in a heartbeat if you asked, right?"

"You don't know that." Izuku answered out of habit. "But, um, it's good that there's not any damage, I mean, obviously, but it'll make it easier to predict and track quirk behavior without the extra complications. So, uh... basically they can remotely take control of you, right?"

Ogawa nodded, "That's how it looks right now, yeah. What are you thinking?"

Shinso: Fixing brainwashing with more brainwashing.

Izuku smiled, "I'm thinking that even if we can't completely undo the brainwashing, there's a good chance that we'll be able to cancel out its effects. Shinso, would you be able to take control of him?"

"Wait, I'm confused." Ogawa interrupted. "Who's taking control of