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Momo ran down the row between stores, dodging other mall-goers and shouting apologies when she clipped someone's shoulder. She hated to be so impolite, especially out of costume, but this was important.
"Almost done sweeping floor two," Jirou said through the coms Momo had made.
"Where's Creati?" Kaminari complained, voice tinny. He must be around the wrong corner, too far from the signal in Momo's drones, "Can't she track Uravity's phone?"
Uraraka's flip phone was too old to have GPS. Momo would have to hack a cell tower, maybe several, which would be illegal. But she didn't have time or breath to explain—one of her drones pinged her control system, alerting her to a potential lead. "I've got something!"
"Did you find her?" Ashido exclaimed.
"I don't know!" Momo panted, turning to skirt a fountain.
She hadn't had time to program in a map system, so the small control on her wrist only showed her the direction of the significant element, lighting up red in the correct direction. Momo followed it down the rest of the hall, through double doors and out into an open-air courtyard.
The light was still pointing forward, slightly to the right.
"She might be outside!" Momo exclaimed, hurrying down a set of brick stairs.
She'd been worried ever since their groups met up for lunch and realized Uraraka was not with any of their groups, but this was even more concerning. Uraraka knew better than to leave the building without the rest of her classmates.
The courtyard ended at a main road. Momo looked both ways and saw one of her drones in the distance, hovering over the sidewalk. Someone was standing below it.
"Uravity!" Momo shouted, running toward her.
Uraraka didn't respond. She staggered to the side, until she could rest her arm on the wall. Then she bent over and started retching. That was a little reassuring—Uraraka was often nauseous. Still, why had she come out here instead of heading for a mall bathroom.
"She's here, near the east courtyard," Momo said, finally catching up. She muted her end of the coms, sure Uraraka wouldn't want her to broadcast the sounds she was making.
"On it," Sero said. There was static behind his voice, air rushing. He was using his quirk to travel.
Momo tapped Uraraka's shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?"
Uraraka looked up, blinking. Blood dripped down the side of her face.
"We need to get back to the mall," Momo said, grabbing her by the shoulder. Clearly something was going on, and this isolated street put them in more danger. "Can you walk?"
"Yao—momo?" Uraraka said, still blinking.
Momo slung Uraraka's arm over her shoulder and started dragging her back toward the courtyard. Luckily, Uraraka walked with her, bearing her own weight.
"Where are you guys?" Sero said.
Momo unmuted herself. "Down the street! Heading back!"
Uraraka make a concerning kind of gagging noise, but managed to swallow.
"Were you—using your quirk?" Momo asked. She didn't want to make Uraraka talk, but if there was a threat, she needed to know about it.
"Mmm," Uraraka managed, "Easy."
They rounded the corner of the last building, back into the wide mall courtyard. Sero swung by in the distance, facing the wrong way.
"Are there villains?" Momo asked. She had her eye on the bench rimming the edge of a second fountain, and she directed them toward it, maneuvering through the sparse crowd.
"Watch out," Uraraka said. Then she stuck her free hand over her mouth.
Momo stopped, waiting for more vomit. It never came.
"The villains," Uraraka continued, "Yaomomo—be careful."
"You should sit down," Momo said, giving up on getting anything useful.
As they got close to the fountain, Bakugou came stalking out of the mall doors. He glanced back and forth, scanning the area, and almost immediately locked eyes with Momo.
"There you are!" Sero said, voice in the earpiece and from air. That was all the warning that came before he landed behind her. "We called Sensei already. He'll be here soon."
While Momo was distracted, Uraraka sat herself down on the fountain bench and leaned forward over her knees.
"I think she was attacked by villains," Momo said. She started brushed through Uraraka's hair above her temple, trying to find the place where the injury was. "I'm having trouble getting information out of her."
"Oi, soy sauce," Bakugou said, finally reaching them, "Keep the extras away."
Sero saluted, just exaggerated enough to be mocking, but he did turn around and start forming a perimeter.
Momo finally found where Uraraka was bleeding. Then she made a piece of gauze and held it down against her head.
"I can talk," Uraraka said.
"Tell us about the villains," Bakugou demanded.
Uraraka was silent for a moment. Then she said, "The—car was—green."
Bakugou frowned. "Did you get hit by a quirk or in the head?"
"My head," Uraraka said, "Not my hands."
"That was fortunate," Momo said. Unimpeded hands meant Uraraka's quirk was still available to her. If Momo had been in her position, she would have been totally incapacitated, unable to remember the chemical arrangement of the objects she wanted to make.
"Well?" Bakugou said, "What'd they want?"
Uraraka looked up and around, squinting. Momo had to quickly adjust her grip to keep the gauze from slipping.
"Try to hold still," Momo said, "We'll get you looked at soon."
"I—told you," Uraraka said, "Already."
One of Bakugou's eyebrows shot up, pulling his cheek after it, until his whole face was twisted in a grimace.
"Wait," Momo said, stomach sinking. She'd been withe Uraraka longer, heard more of what she said, "Were you the intended target? Or was it—was it me?"
"Mmm," Uraraka said, She tried to nod, but couldn't push harder than Momo's grip.
"Hah," Bakugou said, "She is richer than you."
Momo was starting to feel weak in the knees. "Uraraka—I'm so sorry."
Uraraka closed her eyes. "Don't. You helped."
"Even so," Momo said. If Uraraka hadn't been mistaken for her, then she wouldn't be hurt right now.
"Idiot," Bakugou said, "You think you're making her feel better? Be glad it was a good quirk matchup."
Momo nodded. She knew her friends were right, and she'd be sure to smile, at least for Uraraka's sake.