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][ Previously: Mob, still a child, chills with the LoV as his friends and brother from home team up with a few UA students and scheme to save their friend for real this time. Reigen and friends are there too. ][

      "Can I have the tiger onesie?" Shoto.

      "Sure!" Izuku.

     "There's no time for that! Everyone just put on the ones you've been given." Reigan barked as he unfolded his own to have a look at... Instant regret.

     Serizawa dragged in bags full of white fluff and everyone put the onesies over their normal clothes -- the UA kids didn't have access to their hero costumes since it was the weekend. Everyone did so in a rush since this was the sixth day Mob had been missing and the threat of him being disposed of or brainwashed was reaching critical heights.

Since I know people wanna know:
Team distraction:
Elyse - moose
Shoto - tiger
Serizawa - kangaroo
Iida - penguin
Sho - raccoon

Team grab Mob:
Reigan - hippo
Izuku - bunny
Ochako - bear
Hanazawa - alligator
Ritsu - frog (he was the only one who got the one he asked for)

Team watch out:
Bakugo - black hoodie and cargo pants

     The entire circus -- and Bakugo -- piled into a rental van driven by Elyse. Though she sat intently at the wheel, she had growing doubts that this plan was going to work now.

"Quit pushing!"
"Get your fat a## out of my face!!"
  "Ow! Who just stepped on my foot?!"
   "Sorry!"
    "I have nowhere to sit!"
     "Lay on the floor, dumb###!!"

     "Hey, Sho?" Reigan called back to the kids as he pulled off the city road.

   "Yeah?" Sho.
   "Yeah?" Shoto.

     "Uhh, the short one. Your mom is calling you." He passed the kid's phone back over his shoulder. Deku grabbed it since he was closer and passed it further back. Shou and Ritsu were double buckling, an even more impressive feat when you factor in the fluff filling their costumes.

     Sho accepted the call and cupped his hand around his phone to hopefully block out some of the noise. "Hi, Mom."

     ""Sho, where are you? And what's with all the noise?""

     "Uhh, school field trip."

     ""Oh, okay. Just wanted to know what you were doing... Heard anything from your father?""

     "No, not yet." Sho turned his head, elbow bracing against the window cill to stare out the window. Trees and houses now lined the road as they passed through a suburban area.

     ""Oh, well it's Sunday. When you're done with your field trip, I'd like you to come over for dinner... That..sound good?"" The young teen smirked as he stared out the window. It was mid-day still... He should have plenty of time.
  
     "...Sure, Mom. Heh, I'm hoping it's good!"

     ""See you, sweetie!""

     He hesitated, so she hung up before he could respond. "...Seeya..."

     "She sounds nice.." Ritsu smiled. Shou cracked a small smile as well.

     "Yeah.. She really is... Too bad I just don't know her too well."

----------

     "Shh-sh-sh-sh-sh! Everyone be quiet!" Reigan crab walked in front of everyone else sneaking around the biggest mail station in this side of the country!

     "You're the only one making noise." Serizawa commented behind him. Reigan rose his hand and instantly everyone in the line behind him froze. The blonde peered around the corner.

     "Ugh! I think I'm going to need a fork lift for this one!"
     "No kidding. What's even in this thing?"

     A small handful of dudes were attempting to carry one massive box. They left to get better supplies to lift it onto the truck in the driveway.

     "Wait here one second." The second team leader scurried over to the box and checked that it was addressed to the right house. He scurried back in the same, derpy way. "This is the one!" Then, for the third time, scurried away. Everyone bound after him, delicately slit the box open, smuggled out the original stuffed animal plushies, and jumped in themselves.

     Bakugo was the only one left outside. ">.< Wait, how the heck am I supposed to get there!?"

     Reigan pushed himself up enough to stick his head out of the box. "You're a kid with an imagination! James Bond it or something!"

     "H### YEAH!" The teen ran ahead of them and parkoured his way on top of the semi-truck, where he proceeded to lay down flat. Elyse closed up the box and Serizawa used telekinesis to tape up the box again by memory.

     The workers came out not long later and loaded the big box into the truck. The truck took off, Bakugo happily sitting on top of the truck giving a middle finger to whoever noticed him. Now all that was left to do for those inside was sit it out in a sea of packing peanuts.

     "...So..." Ochako. "Anyone have any fun stories to share?"

     "....My dad's a jerk." Shoto.

   "We know."
   "We know."
   "We know."

     "...Same, man." Sho.

----------

     "Oohhhh, goodie!" Toga bound out the front doors to the comically large box.

     "Arrived just on time! Thanks (insert sponsorship)!"

     The box was opened right there in the front lawn and everyone had to remember to act as stuffed animal-like as possible. Yep...definitely the right base this time. Thanks to Uraraka's quirk, everyone was just light enough that they were as easy to carry as a stuffed toy. Gotta keep this charade going as long as possible.

     "How are you even going to fit all those toys into your room?" A wild Spinner appeared in the doorway, instantly mocking the sheer amount of oddly human shaped animal plushies laying around the yard.

     "Hmhm, watch me!" The girl smiled. "Hey! Will you help me bring these things into my room?"

     "Psh, no."

     "I'll pay you~"

     "Guhh, fine! Where'd you even get the money?" The ninja turtle held a plush under each arm -- Iida and Sho -- and started carrying them inside. Toga picked up the tiger plush and giggled.

     "Can't wait to show all these toys off to Mob! I'm sure he would love them! Ehehe.." Definitely the right place.

----------

     Spinner groaned when the girl's door wouldn't open no matter how he turned it. The hall was darkly lit and the windows peering outside were sparse. "Oh! The key's right here. Sorry, I'm such an airhead sometimes!" She giggled, not really meaning a word she said. She took Spinner's place beside the door and pulled out her key. Suddenly, she stopped in thought. "You know... This one smells an awful lot like my little Deku~" She had another sniff of the massive toy in her hold. A her lips curled upward into a crazed smile. "I wonder if he ever touched this to-" As her face was close to the tiger's face, she felt its arm twitch. "Wait a second.." She found a zipper along the tiger's neck and yanked it open. Out gushed stuffing, behind it the cute, freckle-faced boy she loved oh so much. As excited as she was...this could only mean one thing. "Spinner, check your toys!"

     Izuku tore past the loose threads closing up his sleeves, grabbed her wrist, and twisted his body so he was out of her hold in a flash. The other two stuffed toys started to flail in the lizard hybrid's grip, elbowing and kicking him. But since they were so lite their blows had little affect. So Izuku made the risky move and shouted, "URARAKA, NOW!!"

     Seconds later, his full weight returned. The kid smiled like Bakugo always does before a good fight. "Take THIS!" He kneed Spinner in the face. The guy finally released the others and the two were quick to release their hands, feet and heads from within the onesies.

     "Uggh, why do you have to be so annoying sometimes, Deku?" Toga growled. Deku twirled, barely dodging her knife. He stomped his shoes out of the plush and rose his fists, ready to defend himself.

     "She can turn into you if she drinks your blood, a-and he is strong!" Deku called to the others instead of fighting, something neither of the villains understood at first. No, instead of that, he just ran away in the direction that they came. The villains watched him flee curiously... He wasn't being a coward, was he?

     "So..." An even younger, redhead boy rose from the ground. Electricity flashed around him as he charged up. "Your quirk requires that you drink others' blood...?" Sho's silver eyes darkened with glee. "Well then, how about I make you drink some of your OWN!?"

     The fight was on.

----------

     "Guysyoubetterhurrythey'realreadyfigting!" Deku nearly fell through the front door. Everyone was already freeing their limbs from the costumes in a rush. "Youallrememberthemaprightbecausewedon'thavemuchtime?!"

     "Woah, slow down there!" Reigan gestured with his hands to take his time.

     "He'srightthoughwebetterhurry!" Elyse spilled, then bolted right inside at 2x speed to cause some mayhem.

     "Team grab Mob, with me!!" Reigen ordered and ran in after. Everyone beforehand had deduced where Mob would most likely be held. They had settled on the one room that looked like it was meant to contain his powers. Deku ran ahead of Reigen, also remembering the layout of the place. Hanazawa, Ritsu, and Ochako followed.

     Behind them, once everyone was inside Shoto blocked the front doors with a wall of ice. There was no getting out before a good fight either.

     "Well..." A raspy voice emerged from the largest hallway, directly in front of them. The tall courtyard windows spilled an impressive glow over the villain's back. "I thought I smelled the stench of a few heroes..." The man sauntered toward them. His hands slipped out of his pockets. Blue embers sparked between his fingers, new flame dancing in his hands. Dabi bowed politely. "But no..." He chuckled. "Turns out it was just a bunch of circus freaks."

----------

     Reigen panted down the hallway, envying the kids for their ability to run like this with so much energy to spare!

     "YYYAH!" Deku jump-kicked the metal doors this short hallway led up to, the one he knew was it. But it didn't budge. Even with his charge up and everything! "D###!" His outburst startled Ochako. He was still recovering and that bothered him.

     "It's alright, kid." Reigen placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, then pulled out the walkey-talkey. "Elyse, send the ice kid this way, pronto!"

-----

     "On it!" Came her response. "Shoto, the other team needs you!" Then she rolled to dodge a blast of fire. The dual hair-color boy nodded and sprinted away, forming multiple layered ice walls behind him so Dabi wouldn't follow.

-----

     "And, Spiky, you're in position too, right?!" Reigan called over the device as he waited.

     ""If by Spiky you mean me, then yeah you're d### right!"" Bakugo laid on his stomach at a nearby hill. There, he had a full view of the situation, a borrowed pair of Kirishima's binoculars and all at his disposal.

-----

     When Shoto arrived, the people already there were attempting a joint-effort takedown the doors, which also wasn't working as quickly as they had hoped.

     "Good, you're here! Now hurry up! Maybe if you freeze this thing enough, it'll make the door easier to break through." Reigen stepped back from the door along with the others as Shoto took their place. He didn't need any more clues.

     He pressed his right hand to the metal door and closed his eyes. "..Think negatives..." He mumbled to himself. A deep chill crawled up out of him and embedded itself into the very fabric of the doors. He gave it his all, dropping to lower and lower temperatures until his own skin started to crack! "Aagh!" He yanked his hand away when he had reached his limit. He tended to his right hand by summoning a small fire in his left palm and rubbing them together. The cracks started to drip blood onto he floor...but it was nothing severe. "That better work."

     Deku hoped the same. The greenette backed up, charged up, and, "YYHHAAAA!" jumped at the doors once again! This time, when his foot made contact, the metal completely shattered.

     The frigid air that had built on their side oozed through the doorway, entering the dark room in the form of an eerie mist. Deku rolled over his shoulder and jumped up to his feet. He froze in place, eyes instantly widening.

     "MOB!" Reigen broke through the wall of mist. Deku turned and stopped him in his tracks. "Wha?" Deku's hands...were trembling. Reigen's head twitched upwards. He stumbled back a step as well. The others entered after them, all with similar reactions.

     Mob shivered violently in the firm hold of Hari. One of the man's arms wrapped around the boy's chest, the other hand holding a knife to the his throat. The chains around Mob's wrists a weight too heavy to lift on his own. Yet, as the mini version of Mob stared at the gathering of rescuers before him...his wet eyes began to sparkle with hope. There were two others standing in the darkness, intimidating figures ready for the challenge these heroes brought.

     "Kai, remind me again how such a helpless little boy managed to damage you so..." Ryo took half a step further into the light. Though he was speaking to the man at his right, Ryo's full attention remained on his guests, useless eyes facing them cracked open just a smidge.

     The already beaten soul now looked past his captor, his right eye swollen shut by blisters, blood leaking down his cheek. "He was..." Kai could hardly even speak anymore. "..defensive about me injecting him..."

     "Which you were.." Ryo pulled a gun out from his upgraded suit jacket and aimed it to hit Reigen directly between the eyes.

     Kai's head lowered passively. "..Supposed to contact you first..before testing it..."

     "Mmhm, and now look at the mess you're in..." Ryo's smile was nowhere to be seen. In its place was a chillingly cold and calculating demeanor. At a much lower volume, he asked, "You logged every perceivable step of the process..correct?"

     "Yes... It's already been backed up into the database as well..." Kai breathed.

     "Mm, good." Ryo's arm rotated, gun aimed at his prisoner while he wasn't looking.

Ch--ch
    BANG!

     A splash of red stained the floor. The crippled body of Kai Chisaki flopped onto its side, now a lifeless husk.

     "If you knew what The League put him through then you'd consider it mercy too~" At last, some resemblance of a smile crawled onto the evil Esper's face. He strode forward a couple steps, reminding his enemies with a casual gun pointing at the child that the outcome of the situation was in his hands now. "Honestly, this could go any way and I wouldn't care any less. I'd win regardless. But I'm assuming you at least have a preference regarding the fate of your little Shigeo... So what'll it be..? Huh? Your power...or his..?" He stared directly into the eyes of Reigen. Ryo's eyes darker and emptier than the black void of space.

     Reigen was so scatterbrained, heart beating against his ribs so fast that it took him a bit to register what was even going on. The blood was still fresh and leaking on the floor. Mob's little body, now a child like when they first met, was helpless in the grasp of the enemy. He was stumped. A-and he couldn't even think of a way out of it!

     "So what'll it be?" Ryo repeated himself, reloading the gun and aiming it at Reigen. "You lose your power, or he lose his?!"

     Like a ray of light shining down from the heavens, the answer came to him clear as day. It was an obvious decision! He didn't even have any powers to lose! ..But he still had to make it look like he was losing something at least.

     "MINE-mi-mi-mine!" Reigen fell down to his hands and knees, making his decision clear. "I-I-I'll give up my power if it means you'll let him go!!"

     "Let him go..? Tch... More like let him live. We'll bargain one thing at a time, alright?"

     ...The loss of powers is a little different than the loss of a life but we'll ignore that...

     "A-alright, I yield! Just PLEASE!" Reigan crawled in front of Ryo's feet and bowed his head to the ground. He was terrified of making the wrong move, saying the wrong lie, or making the wrong face. All he could bring himself to do was to cour and pray that this would work. The kids behind him were stunned. They saw how diar the situation was and so didn't dare question the adult's decision. Mob's lip quivered. No... His master shouldn't give up his power for his. Mob's was an active danger to people at times! Surely the better decision was for Mob to lose his powers, right?!

     Ryo placed his heel on the Reigen's head and shoved it into the ground. "...Heh... You have no idea how long I've been wanting to do that." He lifted his foot. "Now get up." Reigen sat up. "Now hold out your hand." He did that as well. Delicately placed into it was a syringe with a thick needle, filled with a vile crimson liquid. "You're old enough. You should know what do do with it..."

     Deku stumbled a step forward, hand grasping air, mouth opening as if to shout... But nothing came out...

     Nothing at all.

     Reigen's hands shook. He absolutely detested needles. "Do-do I- have to take all of it??"

     "Mm.. Half of it will do. Just hand it back to me once you're done." Ryo's empty glare was deafening. Reigen could only look up at him for a second at a time. Hardly even that.

     Reigen's hands were full of sweat as he pointed the needle to the vein in his elbow. Its cold metal scraped his skin. His vision blurred. He just went ahead and did it. The needle pricked through his skin and he squeezed the contents of the vile out as fast as possible. He pulled it out when just a little less than half had entered his body, but that was enough for Ryo. Reigen gasped of relief and handed off the syringe with one trembling hand, which immediately after grasped at the puncture point. A bruise was forming already and a thin stream of blood flowed out of it, which the blondie used his thumb to plug up.

     "Good.." Ryo chuckled, standing with the syringe in hand. "Now on to the next bargain. Oh yeah, that was for his freedom, wasn't it? Well that I'm afraid I can't hand over so easily. You see, he's not exactly useful to me on your side now is he? So I'm afraid you're going to have to fight for it. Chronostasis! At my side!!" The other man slid his knife away and dropped Mob onto the pile of blankets to cry alone.

     Now the heroes in training could take their stances and prepare for a fight! This hadn't been their first fight over a child's freedom this week, after all...