A distant crash echoed through the rubble - sharp and sudden, like concrete splitting under weight. Then came the shrill ring of laughter. Footsteps. Dozens.
"Company," Mina said grimly, her hands already glowing with acid.
Kirishima cracked his knuckles, hardening up with a fierce grin. "Guess we're up."
Souta's eyes swept the terrain, catching movement from behind a collapsed support beam. Shadowed silhouettes slinked out - some tall and lumbering, others crouched low and twitching with energy. Scarred faces, mismatched weapons, and the unmistakable arrogance of thugs who thought this was a game.
There were about twenty of them.
A one-sided ambush, they must've thought.
'Fine,' Souta thought. 'Let's make it one-sided.'
"Stick to high ground when you can," he called quickly, voice sharp. "Cut off their mobility. Mina - corrode the narrow approach. Tokoyami, create chaos in the middle. I'll back up Kirishima on the right flank."
"Got it!" Mina snapped, already dashing up a crumbling ledge to gain height. "Let's melt these creeps!"
"Dark Shadow - Rampage," Tokoyami muttered, and the entity burst forward with a roar, its claws slicing through the dusty light like a living shadow, scattering their attackers.
Kirishima shot a grin at Souta. "Let's give 'em hell, huh?"
Souta didn't answer. He was already moving.
What followed was swift, brutal, and clean.
They moved like four limbs of one machine - Mina laying down acid curtains that cut off movement, Tokoyami sweeping stragglers into corners, Kirishima charging the toughest targets, and Souta flickering in and out of close-range skirmishes like a ghost, using his cremation fire quirk to keep pressure high and minds panicked.
It took barely a few minutes.
By the time the last villain groaned unconscious beneath a cracked slab of debris, Souta was already wiping his hands on his pants, his breath steady, though sweat clung to his brow.
"...That's all of them," Tokoyami confirmed, glancing around.
"For now," Souta said, already moving. "We're going to the plaza."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Tokoyami asked, though he was already jogging after him. "Wouldn't we be safer sticking here and waiting?"
Souta shook his head. "No one's coming to save us. And Aizawa-sensei's probably already fighting. We need to back him up."
No one argued after that.
---
The next zone was a half-submerged urban ruin - the flood zone. One collapsed bridge jutted out awkwardly, half-sinking into knee-high water. As they began to wade across cautiously, voices rose from the far side.
"Get back!" Sero shouted from a wrecked platform, firing tape from both elbows as he swung sideways to intercept a blade-wielding villain. Beside him, Uraraka floated a large piece of debris into the air and slammed it down like a wrecking ball, her brow furrowed with uncharacteristic intensity.
They were surrounded - six villains in the water, two more on high ground.
Souta didn't hesitate. "Help them. Mina, with me. Kirishima - take high. Tokoyami, flank left."
This time, they didn't need to coordinate. Their rhythm returned instantly, the two groups clicking together like puzzle pieces.
Kirishima broke a villain's weapon in two with his hardened forearm. Tokoyami knocked one straight into Uraraka's reach, where she launched him up, only for Sero to use his tape to slam him right into the ground. Mina sealed off an escape route with a wall of melting acid. Souta dropped two more with a burst of concentrated flame to their backs.
In under a minute, the remaining villains turned tail.
Uraraka exhaled shakily. "Thanks… we were getting overwhelmed."
"You alright?" Souta asked, quickly scanning for injuries.
"I'm fine," she nodded. "Just - what is even happening? This was supposed to be a lesson…"
"It still is," Souta said. "Just not the kind the teachers planned."
Sero stepped in beside them, rubbing a scrape on his chin. "Where to next?"
"The plaza," Souta answered. "Sensei definitely can't take on all of them."
Uraraka hesitated, then nodded firmly. "We're coming with you."
Sero grinned. "Count me in. I can get us across terrain quicker."
Souta gave a tight nod. 'Perfect.' With Sero and Uraraka, getting close to the Nomu later might actually be possible. 'Now we just have to survive that long.'
---
But not everyone was so lucky.
Elsewhere - across the burning rubble of the collapsed zone - Ojiro's group had been hit harder than most.
He, Shoji, and a couple of others had landed near a structural collapse site, where thick dust and narrow beams made visibility nearly impossible. And they weren't dealing with just normal goons.
A towering villain had emerged from the shadows - arms like tree trunks, covered in jagged scars and wielding a jagged steel pipe like a club. He didn't speak. Just moved with intent.
He swung straight for Shoji, but Ojiro saw it first.
"Look out!"
He shoved Shoji aside and took the hit square across his back.
The sickening crack of impact echoed loud.
"Ojiro!" Shoji shouted, catching him before he fell. Blood ran down the side of Ojiro's head, but he was still conscious, barely, breath coming in shallow gasps.
The villain raised the pipe again - but this time, a massive explosion tore through the side of the building.
BOOM.
Bakugo stormed in, hands smoking.
"Move!" he barked at the injured students, already launching forward with a deafening blast that sent the brute crashing backward.
"Should've figured you extras would get your asses handed to you."
Shortly behind him, Shoto followed, cold and precise, freezing a secondary villain solid in a split-second.
Shoji's grip on Ojiro tightened as he turned to Shoto. "He needs help. Fast."
"I'll stabilize him. You get moving," Shoto said, already summoning ice to lower Ojiro's body temperature and slow the bleeding. "Don't let his sacrifice go to waste."
---
Meanwhile, Souta's group was closing in on the center.
They reached the plaza's edge - just in time to see Aizawa taking on dozens of enemies by himself, a blur of motion and fury, his scarf lashing out like a whip. Nevertheless, he was getting pushed back, and that quite fast.
And further behind him… they saw the Nomu.
Still motionless for now. Awaiting orders from Shigaraki.
Souta's jaw tightened.
'Time to move.'