Alternate versions of the USJ and Izuku's escape from the villains' base!!

~

Izuku crouched by the water's edge with his classmates. They were keeping themselves small and quiet, so as not to accidentally garner unwanted attention from the multitudes of villains in the plaza. Aizawa was doing an impressive job at handling them, twisting with the grace of a gymnast and fighting with the strength of All Might. It was clear he was starting to struggle, with his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, constantly on alert and never letting the villains catch him by surprise, even as the intervals between his blinks became shorter and shorter. Shigaraki rushed towards him, catching the teacher's elbow and disintegrating it down to the muscles before Aizawa was able to pull away, his arm hanging limply by his side.

The villain turned to the great, hulking beast that stood nearby, muttering an order that made Izuku's blood run cold. Before he could even register what he was doing, green lightning flashed across his form and he was halfway across the plaza in a blink, throwing out his arms and launching himself forwards. He tackled the Noumu with all the strength he dared, fueled by desperation to keep his teacher from getting crushed once more, because he still sometimes had nightmares about the USJ incident, and he didn't need to relive them. They landed heavily and the Noumu seemed confused that its order had been countered, lying in the dust with bulging eyes swivelling blindly.

"Midoriya, what are you doing?!" Aizawa's voice was vaguely stressed. "Get away from that thing!"

"Another NPC getting in the way... so annoying, so annoying..." Shigaraki snarled, his nails tearing down along his neck. "A stupid kid thinking he can play hero..."

Izuku bared his teeth in a smile that teetered between emboldening and terrifying, before rolling off the creature and standing in front of it in a fighting stance perfected over the years. "Sensei, do me a favour... Could you erase the Noumu's Quirks so I can beat it?"

"I'm not- you're a child, Midoriya. I'm not letting you fight that. It's not your job!" The teacher snapped, rapid footsteps against the ground implying his approach.

"...right," Izuku hesitated, staring down at the prone monster with narrowed eyes. "But I'm also the only one currently here who can take this thing out."

"So cocky. You think you can beat the final boss? Noumu was made to kill All Might – a low level like you doesn't stand a chance," Shigaraki's voice was low and dangerous, and a crazed chuckle spilled over his lips from behind the pale hand concealing his face. "Stupid. Heroes are so stupid. Noumu, kill that kid."

Aizawa said something panicked, but Izuku's focus was locked onto the creature as it jolted back to its feet, throwing forwards a bulky fist that the boy met halfway. The impact of two powers colliding sent out a wave of dust around them and caused a painful twinge in the student's shoulder, but there was no time to contemplate it as he was forced to duck under another swipe, dancing between jabs and flashing over the Noumu. It may have been worryingly fast, but he was marginally faster, and had a lot more tricks and techniques up his sleeve to keep himself from getting hit.

"Mido-"

"Please, erase his Quirks, sensei – preferably before I'm pummelled into the ground," Izuku ordered breathlessly, darting behind the Noumu and getting a glimpse of his teacher's worried face.

The man had one hand clasped around his capture gear, clearly ready to scoop up the kid and deposit him far out of the danger zone, but they were moving too quickly. His expression grew conflicted but he finally gave in after a particularly close call, his dark hair lifting off his shoulders and his eyes glinting a dangerous red behind his goggles. Izuku beamed at him in thanks before flipping over a large arm, landing on his palms and springboarding off the ground so he was in front of the Noumu once more, already powering up his Quirk as he drew back his arm. He couldn't punch too hard because he'd still end up hurting himself, but he needed to punch hard enough to render the Noumu immobile.

Izuku slammed a fist into the creature's gut, feeling the flesh ripple around his knuckles. It tried to grab him, but he whipped around and kicked the offending arms out the way with such force there was a loud crack as the bones broke. The arms fell limp, unable to regenerate while Aizawa kept his Quirk up. Izuku knew the man couldn't hold it for much longer and mimicked All Might from the alternate timeline, taking in deep breath before rapidly pummelling the Noumu, weakening it before landing a brutal uppercut and sending it flying out of the USJ dome. He watched it fly for a moment with faint disbelief somewhere below all the adrenaline, clutching at an aching forearm as he turned around.

"How," Shigaraki hissed, both hands tearing at his throat, his posture slumped and cautious. "That's not fair. You cheated!"

"Sorry, Shigaraki-san," Izuku responded with a sheepish sort of shrug, although he didn't seem all that apologetic. "I couldn't let you hurt my teacher."

Aizawa paused, presumably staring in disbelief behind his goggles, before moving to stand protectively in front of the student. "You're outnumbered. Surrender."

"No, no, no..." The villain growled, scratching so hard he drew blood, taking wary steps backwards now he was unprotected. "This wasn't supposed to happen. How could we lose..."

Shigaraki spun on one foot, sprinting across with one hand outstretched as he rapidly approached Tsu. Izuku dashed forwards, only to skid to a halt as a portal of swirling purple mist opened up.

"We need to go," Kurogiri stated, voice deep but trembling with something that might've been fear.

There were a few snarled complaints, but the doors to the USJ burst open to reveal a horde of furious teachers, with All Might's imposing figure at the front, and Kurogiri expanded to cover his fellow villain from gunshots. Aizawa blinked, and the two had vanished. He let out a ragged curse under his breath, tension visibly rippling across his form from the frustration of the enemies getting away – Izuku understood exactly how he felt. The teacher glanced around him before slipping the goggles off his eyes, turning to face the student with an unreadable expression as his gaze skimmed across the boy's body for any injuries.

"I think," he said finally, eyebrows drawn together, "you have some explaining to do."

~

Izuku hurt. That was fine. He could deal with pain. Even if every breath rattled painfully in his chest and he felt extremely lightheaded, like he was going to float away the next time he jumped using One for All, he wasn't going to stop running back to safety so he knew for sure that his friends were alright after the attack on the training camp. Guilt twisted in his stomach at leaving Kacchan to the villains, but he reassured himself with the knowledge that he and his classmates would go and rescue him soon enough.

The empty corridors of UA swam in his vision, twisting into a confusing labyrinth that he knew he'd get lost in if he thought too hard about where he was going. Sound seemed to carry a lot easier through the halls, ringing in his ears and spurring him onwards, even as his steps became unsteady and his entire body was ready to give out. Not yet. Not while he still had people to help.

He squinted and fumbled his way along, only feeling a little guilty at the smudges of blood he left on the walls as he reached up to steady himself before continuing on. The noise was louder, and he stared curiously at the white double-doors, finding himself unable to see clearly enough to read what the sign said. Izuku heard a familiar voice and his heart stuttered in relief, giving him the energy needed to accidentally slam open the doors and face-

Oh. That's... That's a lot of people. Probably. Unless his concussion was really bad.

Cameras suddenly turned his way, glinting painfully in the bright light. Almost everyone started talking at once, words rolling together and merging into a painful spear through his skull. He placed a palm back over the stab wound in his side from Toga, wandering forwards through the aisle and smoothly dodging reporters thanks to years of practise. His shoulders loosened with relief and his face broke into a tired smile as he could finally see his teacher, and a delirious laugh spilled from his lips as he saw how unexpectedly formal Aizawa looked, wearing a pressed black suit with his hair carefully slicked back. The man himself paused for a moment, taking in the beaten appearance of his student with worried eyes before slamming a hand onto the desk in front of him, literally vaulting over the top with as much grace as the suit would allow, before crossing the last few steps to reach the boy.

Hold on a second... Didn't that reporter insinuate that Kacchan was villainous? No. Oh no. He's not getting away with that.

Izuku suddenly tore his gaze from his teacher, lazily pivoting on one foot to face the reporter. He glanced at his bloody hand for a moment before letting it drop back to his side as he summoned his courage and confidence as Deku, keeping a pleasant smile playing on his lips even as his gaze hardened into a dangerous glare.

"Aizawa-sensei is right. Ka- Bakugou-kun is nothing but a hero. It's ignorant and presumptuous for you to suggest otherwise, based on minimal information, and I'm sure several people, myself included, would appreciate an apology for implying that a child would make a good villain. He may be volatile and aggressive, but I've known him all my life, so I believe that I'm a trustworthy enough source to say that there are few people with the same inspiring, virtuous drive as Bakugou-kun, and I know for certain that he's going to become an incredible Pro Hero one day. Thank you for your time, sir." Izuku flashed a painfully polite grin that faded into a dazed wince as his head throbbed with more flash photography, but he gritted his teeth and leaned into his teacher, squeezing his eyes shut against the man's chest. "Okay, now we can go to Recovery Girl... S'good to see you, sensei."

There was a gentle hand placed on his back before he was nudged to one side, allowing both to make their way towards the doors. "You should've gone straight to her office, kid. You look terrible."

"Thanks," he huffed back, taking comfort in the strong presence at his side. "I wanted to see you, first."

"At the risk of keeling over at any second? Did your head injury knock your brains loose?" Aizawa raised a hand, lightly placing it against the kid's cheek in a way that shaded his eyes from the worst of the media.

"Just admit you were worried about me," he teased, practically nuzzling into the cold palm and relishing in the brief relief it brought from the burning in his head

"I wasn't worried. I know you're a perfectly capable young hero," the man deadpanned, lifting an arm to pull open one door.

Izuku tilted his head to beam up at his teacher, radiating sunshine in a manner that seemed illogical with his injuries. "I should get hurt more often if it means you'll begrudgingly acknowledge my talents."

"Don't you dare," he shot back sharply, eyebrows furrowing.

The boy softened slightly, giving a languid blink as he gazed fondly. "Right. I won't, sensei. I know you'll keep me safe if there's danger."

Aizawa made a sound that was halfway between a laugh and a sob, his face marginally exasperated. "I've already failed with that, kid."

"Nobody's perfect," he said with a shrug, visibly wilting as the doors slipped shut behind them and they were left in the sudden quiet.

It was a lot dimmer in the corridor, which was a massive relief. He leaned more heavily against his teacher, soothed by the knowledge that he was finally safe and sound, and Aizawa would definitely protect him if there were any villains who dared try anything. The fabric of his jacket was a lot rougher than his usual hero costume, and Izuku wrinkled his nose in distaste as he pressed his cheek against it. Who were the idiots who decided that such an uncomfortable thing was a good idea?

"Kid, you in there?"

Oh, right, they were walking. Well, shuffling. Recovery Girl had probably been alerted at some point. Ooh, she was going to be mad – that's fine. She's just worried about him.

"Midoriya, pay attention."

He would, but suddenly his shoes were very blurry, and they looked kinda funny when they were just blobs of red. It's good that they were red, really, because that meant it would hide any blood. Although, most of the blood was on his head and torso...

"Stop daydreaming. Stay awake."

His teacher was warm and comforting. Ha, imagine telling actual-sixteen-year-old Izuku that he would be practically napping on Aizawa without the man grumbling and dropping him on the floor before walking away. Wow. Maybe he really underestimated how nice he was in the previous timeline. Or maybe Aizawa was exceptionally fond of him in this timeline. Either way, it was nice.

"Of course you would mumble even when concussed. Why am I surprised..."

The world was darkening around the edges. He would've been scared, but how could he feel nervous when he was so content? It was getting a lot harder to move his legs, though – wait, did he even have legs anymore? Did he have legs in the first place? Whoa. Weird.

"Don't you dare pass out on me. I don't care how much blood you've lost – I'm not carrying you the rest of the way. No, don't do it. Stay conscious. Don't pass out, kid, I swear-"

Izuku passed out.