Stuck Between Realities-Remastered

Part 48~Magic Trick

Compress jumped away as the group charged after him. "Damn it, this guy's quick," Shoto complained as Uraraka nodded.

"If only Iida were here."

"Or Midoriya hadn't got captured," Tsu added.

Shoto tutted. "C'mon. We can't give up. Not now. We have to catch him."

"But he's pulling farther ahead with every second," Shoji stated as the group frowned.

"What if I make us float," Uraraka muttered. "Then Tsu, you can launch us as far as you can using your tongue. Shoji, you can use your Quirk to correct our trajectory through the air. And then, when the timing is right, I'll release us."

"I see," Shoji hummed. "Human bullets."

Uraraka nodded. "I'll be able to judge it better on the ground. Shoji, take Tod-Himura. Get them back." The group stopped as Uraraka took the 1B student from Shoji. Tsu wrapped her tongue around Shoji and Shoto as Uraraka made them weightless. "Okay, go ahead, Tsu."

Tsu lifted the boys up. "Make sure you've got a good grip on them." Then she threw them in the air.

They crashed into Compress as the weight returned, and they plummeted to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa, what's this," Twice called out. "Oh hey, wait, I know these kids- Who are they?"

"Out of the way, Compress," Dabi ordered, holding up his hand. Compress disappeared as the bright blue flame shot at the group.

Shoji and Shoto jumped out of the way, but Shoji was too slow. His arms burned as he cried out in pain.

Shoto looked at him in horror before his attention was brought to Twice, who was charging at him. "You're on Shigaraki's kill list! No, he wasn't."

Twice reached for something hidden in his costume when Shoto created a wall of ice, pushing him away.

Twice dodged the ice, laughing as he did. "This is easy. Give me all you've got." He cut through the ice with something resembling a measuring tape. "Hey, man, cut me some slack."

"What the hell is with this guy?" Shoto grumbled.

Behind them, Compress returned to normal, standing up in disgust. "I can't believe you wrecked my exit. Unrehearsed amateurs."

"You got the three?"

"Unfortunately, the Yaoyorozu one was a bit too beaten up for our use, but I got a different one that I thought would please the boss." Compress reached into his pocket until he froze, finding it empty.

"Himura, we're done," Shoji shouted, "he gave away his best trick. I'm not sure what your Quirk is, but it had to do with those little marbles, right? The ones you'd stashed in your pocket." Shoji held up three little marbles. "So I'm guess these are Tokoyami, Midoriya and Bakugo."

Shoto breathed out in relief as Compress laughed.

"Well, colour me impressed. Just as I'd expect from someone with so many hands. How splendid."

Shoji turned to run as Shoto made a wall of ice to protect them. "Nice job, Shoji."

Moron," Dabi growled as he held up his hand.

"No, wait," Compress ordered as Shoji faltered. A Nomu walked amongst the trees, forcing them to turn into a stop. Kurogiri was blocking their path.

"Not this guy," Shoji muttered as Shoto gulped.

"He was at the USJ. The warp villain."

"It's been five minutes since the signal," Kurogiri announced. "Let's go, Dabi."

The villains started to leave. Toga ignored them, not finding them at all interesting before Twice dove through his portal. Compress was about to walk off when Dabi stopped him.

"Hold on. We're not leaving without the kid."

"Don't worry. They were so proud of themselves for rooting through my pockets that I thought I'd let them gloat. But allow me to explain a basic tenant of magic. If I'm flaunting something shiny, it's because there's something else. I don't want you to see." Compress took off his mask and stuck out his tongue, revealing the three orbs.

"He's still got them," Shoto shouted in horror as Compress snapped his fingers. The orbs in Shoji's hand turned into ice. "My ice?"

"That's right. During the freezing attack, I prepared dummies and slipped them into my right pocket. A little bit of misdirection."

Shoto and Shoji dashed to the villains as Compress backed into the portal.

"Forgive me. I do so adore a twist ending. One last bow and then the curtain fal-" Compress stopped, a laser shooting at his face.

Aoyama kept his eyes closed as he shot. The orbs flew out of Compress's mouth as Shoji and Shoto reached forward.

Shoji grabbed the two that fell together as Shoto tried to grab the last one. Dabi got it first. "Well, isn't that a tragedy? Poor little Shoto Todoroki." Shoto fell to the side as Dabi turned to Compress. "Confirm it now. Release them."

"That laser ruined my finale," Compress complained as he snapped his fingers.

Katsuki appeared before Dabi as the villain grabbed the back of his neck. "Guess the nu.1 target is better than none. Checkmate." He pulled Katsuki into the portal as Izuku shot to his feet.

He ran past the others and Tokoyami, who was still trying to figure out what was happening.

"Don't be stupid, Izuku," Katsuki shouted before he disappeared. Izuku was ready to plummet into the portal, but it disappeared before he could. Izuku couldn't find the right words. He flopped into Shoto's waiting arms.

~~~

Aizawa held up the device as he ran through the forest. Would he freely admit that he tracked his son? No, but it did come in handy whenever the boy would run off.

Aizawa froze, stumbling on his step as he watched the signal jump, no longer in the forest. "No." The horror gripped him strongly as he continued to run in the direction he had been going, praying that it simply ran out of battery.

He stopped again at a large destroyed path. What looked like chainsaw cuts cut into the trees, and a splatter of blood dripped along the path. Running after the blood, he held his breath until he finally found them.

Hitoshi was with a 1B student, Yosetsu, who was hurt.

"Hitoshi," Aizawa called out as Hitoshi looked up.

Relief passed through Hitoshi as he put Yosetsu down and ran to Aizawa. "Dad!" Aizawa held Hitoshi close as Hitoshi lowered his head. "I'm sorry."

Aizawa pulled away, accessing Hitoshi closely. He had a nasty cut on his arm that he would need a couple trips to Recovery Girl, but otherwise, he was okay. He was still standing, at least. "What were you thinking?! You should have stayed with Vlad."

Hitachi gulped guiltily. "I know, but they were going after Izuku."

Aizawa's expression softened. "You still shouldn't have put your life in danger. What would you have done if you met a villain- they're trying to kill you."

"I did meet a villain- a nomu actually, but I wasn't being stupid." Hitoshi grinned. "I wasn't going after Izuku, but I wasn't going to risk them getting away with them either."

Aizawa paused before he realised what Hitoshi had done. "That was incredibly stupid."

"But not the dumbest thing I could have done."

Aizawa chuckled a little. "I suppose not."