Energy (D.P./M.H.A.)

. 4 9 .

Tucker was pretty sure he'd never run as fast as he did then.

After Todoroki had taken care of the villains in an absolutely brutal way with his ice, they concluded that going for the central plaza was the best course of action. People in the other zones could not clearly assess the situation because most of the zones were completely cut off from the central hub, like the Fire Zone. They'd make their way to the central plaza as well, and they'd have the chance to regroup and quickly figure out who was still missing by merely doing a headcount.

Tucker's new metal staff he had gotten from Todoroki proved its use seconds after getting his hands on it because a single villain decided then was the perfect time to come running at them. Tucker had never been more glad he knew how a baseball bat worked.

One more frozen villain later and they were on their way. They had to weave their way through the landslide zone meticulously, the ground trembling beneath their feet as they went every now and then. Walking with hands connected to elbows seemed to be the most stable option, so they went side-by-side down the hill towards the main floor level.

Looking at his partner in not-crime, Tucker took the quiet minutes they had to think. Todoroki's gray eye was staring down at the floor, keeping track of any loose stones that might mess them up pretty bad. His white hair was a little long but somehow didn't get in the way of his vision. The hand connecting to his elbow was a little cold, but Tucker hadn't flinched at the absence of normal body heat. Danny was always cold nowadays.

God, Danny. Where even did Kurogiri put him? And Sam? He was hoping they were together. Both of them knew how to handle stressful situations like these, but they had a habit of panicking about each other. And him, of course. It would just be better if they were fighting the same fight in the same spot. With each other, the three of them. That was just...how it went.

Tucker wasn't with them, but that was okay. Todoroki could hold his own and a little Tucker, which he was glad for. He was used to a little time to observe the situation, assess possibilities, all that. That was the Tucker Way.

Not right now though, while they were slipping and sliding through the sand to get down.

"On what basis do you think you can kill All Might?"

Todoroki was quick with everything. Getting into the fight, picking up on people's thoughts, processing information, and then planning the best approach. The off-hand comment that was made in the chaos had not gone unnoticed by him, and he'd actually thought about it well enough to figure it all out. Well, almost everything.

But Tucker wasn't about to complain.

"That was super badass, by the way," Tucker couldn't help but comment. Todoroki raised his eyebrow slightly, showing Tucker he was listening while they stumbled on. "The way you instantly froze all of them into cubes when we landed, I mean. I was barely up on my feet and you'd already taken care of it. That takes some serious skill."

Todoroki remained quiet for a bit, eyes on the floor, but now not only out of attention for where he put his feet. His white boots were stained brown and beige, suit ruffled from the moving around they'd done. His hair looked like a mess, white and red hair tangled atop his head. "I've trained a lot," he eventually said, and that was the end of it.

They turned the last corner, and Tucker felt his body freeze up before his brain processed what he was seeing. The plaza, unmoving with villains merely watching what was happening. Aizawa on the floor, barely awake, fighting for the lives of his students. Shigaraki was bolting toward the riverside, where Midoriya was now also moving at a speed Tucker was pretty sure wasn't normal.

Sam was there.

So was a Nomu.

Tucker didn't quite see what happened then because he let go of Todoroki, summoned all the willpower and marbles he had, and shot forward. Faintly he registered a big splash and the Nomu and Midoriya disappearing beneath the surface. The problems kept stacking, no matter how prepared they'd entered this godforsaken situation. Aizawa almost bleeding out, Midoriya almost drowning fighting the most awful creature Tucker had ever seen, and Sam...

Sam seemed to suddenly unfreeze as a ginormous Venus flytrap suddenly burst from the floor under Shigaraki and closed him in. It crumbled as Shigaraki used his Quirk on the inside, but at least it would buy them some time. Tsu also shot back into action and jumped out of the water toward Tucker. They stumbled a bit on the dirt, dripping wet. "We're okay," Sam immediately said as Tucker skidded to a stop beside the two, marbles shooting away from under his feet as his hands found Sam's. "Who else is here? We need the backup!"

"Todoroki and I came from the Mountain Slide Zone, I think he went to the Plaza to help out Aizawa. I haven't seen anyone else. I gotta go for Midoriya!" Tucker rambled. "Run and find Danny! He can turn this around!" He squeezed Sam's hands and shot a nod to Tsu in thanks before bolting towards the water.

Sam and Tsu shot in different directions: Tsu was headed for the rescue party sent to Aizawa in the Central Plaza and Sam was moving towards the Ruins Zone over the open space in the center of the USJ, which lay behind the plaza.

Tucker's mad dash towards the water proved to be useless because Midoriya shot from underneath the surface and yelped as he nearly collided with Tucker. They just managed to avoid the head-first collision and held onto each other for balance. "Hi," Tucker wheezed.

"We gotta run," Midoriya said.

The Nomu then burst through the surface of the water, making tiny droplets rain onto them. Shigaraki also chose that exact moment to break through his vegan confinement and stumbled out, scratching his neck in what Tucker assumed to be frustration and rage. "Insolent little fools, you have no idea what you're trying to prevent!"

They did, actually, but they weren't about to tell him that.

Shigaraki dropped his hands and slumped over a bit, mumbling to himself as he stared at the two of them. The Nomu seemed content just waiting for new orders next to him. Tucker and Midoriya had backed up a bit but didn't dare make any moves. The Nomu would have them crushed between its hands in seconds.

It was just Midoriya, whose full power had just proven to be useless against the Big Bad, and Tucker, who had had his powers for only two months. They were in a staring contest (and fight to the death) with Shigaraki, who made everything he touched flake away and die, and a Nomu, which was a bio-engineered mutant made from...well, Tucker didn't really want to give it too much thought.

He was thinking that their options were running out too fast for even Iida to catch up with. And speaking of Iida...

An enormous boom resonated through the entire building, the front doors having been blown wide open. Dust flared up, making Tucker have to cover his eyes. Gasps sounded from everywhere he could hear, All Might having revealed himself at the top of the stairs. "It's all right now. You know why?" 

Shigaraki started scratching his neck again and seemed to pale at the number one hero's presence, while seemingly chuckling excitedly. He opened his arms wide open and laughed out loud as he looked at All Might, ready for whatever was to come next.

"Because I am here!"