Chapter Text
Midoriya was excited to spend his Saturday afternoon at one of UA’s off-campus training sites testing some of Mei’s new support gear. It was outdoors with a wide-open space, so any explosions shouldn't be too much of an issue. And with Mei, there were going to be explosions. Uraraka had also agreed to come, much to his delight. So the three students hiked the short distance over to the site together, talking and joking the whole time.
A lot had been happening in Midoriya’s life lately. With the new developments with One for All, he had a whole new slew of things to worry about. So spending a normal afternoon hanging out with friends was exactly what he needed.
When they arrived the group was quite surprised to see Bakugo, Mina and Kaminari there as well. They seemed to be sparing on the next outdoor plot over to where Mei wanted to set up. So with a quick wave to the group, Izuku started helping unpack the gear.
There were a lot of gadgets to test, which is part of the reason they had decided to use the special training area. Midoriya wondered why Bakugo and his friends (as much as he liked to deny they were friends) were here.
Uraraka slipped the first gadget to test on her feet, a new and improved version of the hover boots Mei had showcased at the sports festival. Uraraka’s hero costume boots lay discarded at the side. Mei quickly fired up the boots and started rambling about all the improvements she had made, but Izuku wasn’t particularly paying close attention, more focused on watching Uraraka try not to fall over as the boots started to hover.
This was just what he needed. The sun shining bright, soft wind blowing through the rustling trees around them. The slight buzzing of bugs playing a melody in the background.
Then, a sharp mosquito-like sting flared on his neck. Midoriya was not a fan of bugs, so he cringed a little at the sensation. He brought his arm up to swat at his neck, but his limbs suddenly felt leaden. As quickly as the prick sensation in his neck began to fade, so did his vision. It was swimming as he felt himself sway, side to side like a flower in the wind.
Darkness was closing in as he heard muffled thuds hit all around him. They seemed to echo in the open air, reaching his cotton-filled ears over and over again. He felt himself sway a final time before the tickling sensation of grass could be felt on his face. The earthy smell of dirt just about made its way into his nose before his heavy eyelids closed and he slipped into darkness.
Little did he know that was the last he would be seeing, hearing or smelling of the earth in a very, very long time.
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Waking up was the hardest it had ever been in Izuku’s life. Nothing seemed right. The ground was too hard, he was too warm, the lights were too bright, his head was filled with cotton-stuffed bees and his body was as heavy as stone.
To Izuku, waking up had always been one of the easiest parts of his day. Once he was up, he was up, and ready for whatever the world threw at him. So once coherent thoughts were able to form in his clouded mind, he concluded that this was very odd.
Paying close attention to what was around him, Izuku realized some things. The warmth he was feeling was coming from five other bodies pressed up against him. He could hear their steady, sleep-slowed breathing.
But why? Why was he sleeping in a pile of people? As his thoughts started to come back, so did his memories of the day. The prick, the dizziness and blacking out! Had he been captured by the League of Villains?
No, it was someone else. Or something else. Pushing aside the mental fog, Izuku could remember figures emerging from the surrounding trees just as he blacked out. But they didn’t look human. Izuku’s first thought was some sort of bug mutation quirk, but there were so many of them.
As his brain started to return to normal, so did the rest of his body. He wearily pushed himself up to his knees, disturbing the bodies around him. A familiar groan of protest sounded from his right.
Looking down, Izuku saw Uraraka’s prone form tucked into his side. Sweeping his eyes across the rest of the group confirmed his suspicions about his other companions. Next to Uraraka was the slowly blinking face of Mina, pushed up against a dozing Mei. On Izuku’s other side, Kaminari was snuggled up against Kachan, who seemed to be stirring awake.
Moving his eyes further he was met with metal bars. The sight sent his heart rate soaring. His eyes desperately traced the outline of where they were but he soon came to the dreaded conclusion that they were in a cage. One not even tall enough for them to stand or wide enough to spread out all too much.
They were locked up like animals. And by the sounds of horror from around him, he figured the others were realizing this too.
“W-what happened!?!” Mina choked out, hands underneath her body as she pushed herself up. Izuku wasn’t quite sure what was going on, but he wanted to comfort his clearly distraught friends. So he tried his best to push down his own anxiety.
“I’m n-not sure. All I remember is a prick in my neck and those cockroach-looking people coming out from the trees as I passed out”. His voice was not quite steady but he was able to keep some of the trembling out of it.
“It doesn't matter,” Bakugo replied, “let's just bust our way out of here!” With that, he shuffled closer to the bars and put his hand out. But nothing happened. He let out a noise of surprised frustration and seemed to try again.
“What the fuck! Why can’t I use my quirk?!” Kachan growled, but Izuku could hear the undertone of fear in his words.
But then, what he said started to sink in. Immediately, Izuku tried to dip into the well that was One for All, but he couldn't. It wasn’t like when Aizawa sensei used his quirk though. It felt like there was an impenetrable wall in the way. He could feel the echoes of the quirk on the other side, but there was no way to get to it.
Izuku could tell everyone else was trying to use their quirks to just as much success. While it probably just meant they were on some sort of quirk suppressant, it was still nerve-wracking to be without his power. Izuku had spent 14 years quirkless, most of them bad. Being left without his newfound quirk had all those feelings of uselessness and worthlessness coming crashing down.
He had never really dealt with his feelings and underlying trauma. Just packed them all neatly into a little box and ignored them. He was starting a new chapter of his life going to UA after all, there was no need to dwell on the past.
But now everything was coming back.
No. He didn’t have time for this now. He couldn't be focusing on himself. His friends needed him right now.
Bringing his mind back to the present, Izuku looked around the cage. Kachan was trying to wrench the bars apart. Mina was still trying to melt the bars with her non-existent acid. Mei and Uraraka seemed to be doing ok but Denki was starting to visibly panic. Izuku pushed back his intrusive thoughts and rushed to calm Denki down.
He pushed himself next to the yellow-haired boy and opened his arms. Immediately Denki crashed into him, smothering his teary eyes in Deku’s costume. Denki had always been a hugger so Izuku held him close. Carefully carting his hand through the others’ hair.
Once it seemed Denki was no longer at immediate risk of having a breakdown of sorts, Izuku turned to the rest of the group.
“We are probably on quirk suppressants. Depending on the dose they could last a few hours to a few days. Right now we can’t do anything, but eventually whoever put us here will have to come back, that’s when we’ll have our chance”.
Bakugo was the first one to respond to Izuku, “Fuck off, don’t tell me what I already know. You think you're smarter than me?” he demanded. Oh , Izuku thought weakly, it seemed that Bakugo being stressed had him falling back into old habits. This wasn't good. After all, they were in a cage. There was nowhere to run if Bakugo got mad here.
Mina immediately butted in though, “Be nice Bakugo. We’re all stressed out but that does not mean you can take it out on Midoriya”.
Bakugo let out a huff and tucked himself in the corner. Izuku met Mina with a grateful smile. Things were different now. Even if Izuku was without his quirk, for now, he had people to stand up for him. He wasn’t back at Altera.
With that final bit of comfort and tentative peace, Izuku steeled himself for whatever was to come.