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Izuku is kneeling in the middle of a parking lot at night, wrists cuffed behind his back. Someone's hand is on his shoulder. He doesn't remember how he got here.
"Don't move," the stranger behind him says. The hand on his shoulder slips away.
Izuku nearly jumps up and bolts. Instead, his training kicks in, and he quickly glances around. Right is more empty parking lot, a row of unfamiliar buildings. Left is a group of masked men, a dark duffle bag, and Aizawa Sensei.
His first instinct is relief, but a lot doesn't add up. This can't be training—Izuku graduated last year. And Sensei isn't an active hero anymore. If a fight breaks out, he won't necessarily be able to protect them.
One of the strangers is opening the duffle, rummaging through contents Izuku can't quite see. Sensei notices him staring and cuts his eyes at him. It's a look that says, You had better not try anything, problem child.
Izuku keeps still but continues watching.
After a moment, the man by the bag zips it up and grabs it by the strap. Another man tosses something small. It arcs, glinting in the streetlight, and Sensei catches it.
The men walk away across the parking lot. Sensei keeps facing them, walking backward until he can grab Izuku by the shoulder.
"Get up."
Izuku jumps up. "Aizawa Sensei—"
"Don't talk," Aizawa Sensei says, taking him by the forearm like he's making an arrest.
They set off in a brisk walk in the opposite direction from the masked men. It seems like their destination is a nondescript van parked in the far corner of the lot.
Izuku can tell by now that he's being rescued, but he's still trying to figure out how much trouble he's in.
After a moment, Aizawa Sensei reaches down and unlocks the cuffs. Izuku pulls his hand forward at the same time as Sensei reaches for the other band around his wrist.
"My All Might watch!" Izuku blurts, jerking his arm away.
Sensei rolls his eyes, but his shoulders relax a little. He doesn't try to remove the watch again.
When they get close, the back of the van opens from inside. The seats are folded down flat, and Shinsou and Todoroki sit in the empty interior, wearing their hero costumes.
"Hi guys," Izuku says, waving limply.
Todoroki grabs him by the arm and practically yanked him inside.
Sensei climbs in quickly, closing the door behind him. Immediately, the engine turns on and the van peels away.
Izuku scrambles to grab a handhold on the ceiling. Then he sits back against the wall, one shoulder over the socket where the window sat.
"Creati made the money," Todoroki says.
Izuku nods, distracted. He's still trying to parse how his friends are doing. Shinsou looks really annoyed, but that's his resting expression anyway. Todoroki seems closer to very concerned.
"For the ransom," Todoroki says, "It's fake. If a bank scans it, they'll be able to notify us. We'll catch more villains that way. I thought you might worry."
"Oh," Izuku says. He blinks hard, trying not to cry.
"You'd better have some amazing intel," Shinsou says.
"Um," Izuku said, bracing himself as the van makes a hard turn. He'd already gathered that one of the villains erased his recent memory, but he's just now discovering the strategy of the move. "Actually—about that—"
Kacchan's agency is secure, pretty close, and apperantly he was already working on busting the same villain ring, so they end up crashing there. Izuku sits on a couch, trying to keep his eyes open until somebody brings him his phone. He hasn't quite figured out what day this is, and he's too embarrassed to ask. Hopefully, he didn't miss a Friday quiz. That would definitely make his quirk age history professor worry.
Another team of heroes is working with the police, observing the retreating villains and trying to pin their actions to the suspected ringleader. That's why Kacchan and Uraraka aren't here, and Todoroki and Shinsou are distracted, listening to their progress through the coms.
Without much to do, Izuku spins the watch around and around his wrist. He doesn't remember putting it on, and he can't quite figure out why past-Izuku would do that. It's a toy he had as a kid, prone to run out of battery. There used to be a light that flashed when you hit it. He and Kacchan would pretend that they were a secret coms system, setting off the lights and then screaming their messages across the playground.
Curious if it even had a battery inside, Izuku finds the clasp at the edge and flips the face open. On the right is one of the different paper faces that can be inserted, showing All Might in different costumes and poses. On the left should be the clock guts and battery. Instead, it's Izuku's body camera from his hero costume.
Izuku blinks. There's no way that got here by accident, especially since it has wall putty securing it in position. Suddenly understanding, he flicks the face closed again. The camera lens sits right in the center of the hole where the digital numbers should be displayed.
"Guys," Izuku says.
Shinsou doesn't react, but Todoroki's head snaps up.
"Is something wrong?" Todoroki asks.
Izuku pulles out the camera and offers it to him. "Um, did you guys want information about the villains?"
Slowly, Todoroki takes the tiny camera from Izuku's hands. He turns it around, inspecting it from every side. "Is this from your hero costume?"
"Did you know Bakugou was trying to catch these guys?" Shinsou demands. He's completely focused now, staring daggers through Izuku's skull.
Izuku thinks back. It's hard to tell, since he's probably lost pertinent memories, but he does remember a text conversation that might have developed in this direction. Even so, he's kind of a civilian, and he doesn't want to throw Bakugou under the bus. "I don't know."
The line of Todoroki's jaw goes very hard, which means he's definitely figured it out. Now he's looking at the camera like he wants to crush it between his fingers, burn it beyond recognition. Instead, he sighs and closes it in his fist. "We should plug this in. I'm sure the video will teach us a lot."