Title: save the world (one kindness at the time)

Summary: One doesn't need to be a hero to be a hero. Midoriya never gets One for All, never enters UA, never becomes Hero Deku. It doesn't mean he did nothing worthwhile with his life.

Or: the roads Midoriya's life could have taken, from the eyes of the pro heros who would have been his comrades. A set of future AUs from Class 1-A POV. Soft Dekubowl.

Rated: T

Warning: Kidnapping, acute stress disorder, telepathy.

Note; updated by alexai!

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Invisible Gal

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The rat blissfully nibbling on what is left of the door doesn't have the decency to move out of the way when Tooru comes in. It hasn't noticed her. Of course it hasn't, why would it? Tooru is too good to get spotted by the local fauna, a fact she kind of hates right now. Talent is a curse sometimes, she thinks as she avoids the dirty rodent.

The theater of the day's mission is an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. It looks like the stage of an horror movie, which is something that Tooru is used to, sadly. When it's not gloomy squats, it's empty warehouses or dark sewers. Why can't criminals hide in fancy places for once? Tooru would love to infiltrate luxurious villa or priceless hotels. But nooooo.

Can you focus on the mission, for fuck's sake?

Yes, yes, Tooru is on it, jeez, people should chill already. This is exactly why she doesn't like working with Wireless. She's not even able to ramble in her own thoughts without the unasked for commentary of the telepath.

Rest assured I have no wish to be in your head either. The sooner we finish this, the sooner we'll be free of each other. I honestly don't know why Eraserhead recommended you for this mission.

It takes all Tooru's willpower not to laugh out loud at the foolish implication. Clearly Wireless doesn't know Aizawa as much as they think if they assume the teacher would indulge in favoristim. He recommended Tooru because she's the best at infiltration. Nothing more, nothing less.

Yes, yes, whatever. Take the stairs. Radar says he can feel both the target and the villain's presences on the second floor.

Tooru eyes the decrepit stairs unfolding on the front of her skeptically. This ancient thing looks two seconds away from crumbling. Seriously, those things she has to do for the sake of her job. Still, she manages to reach the second floor without falling, breaking the house, or making a single noise.

We get it, you're a genius. Go to the right.

Muffled sounds of talking reach her ears as she creeps down the corridor toward what used to be the main bedroom. Odd choice for a cell. How is the kidnapper supposed to escape when shit goes south? Such a sloppy plan. So inefficient. Villains those days, honestly.

Twice is mad.

There is a difference between mad and stupid. Tooru really hopes the villain and his hostage aren't in the bedroom for … bedroom stuff.

He doesn't fit the profile of a sexual aggressor.

Wireless sounds uncertain, though, clearly not any more fond of sexual abuse than Tooru is. But there's no point worrying about it, because whatever's happening at the end of the corridor, Tooru can deal with it. She has to.

"...fortable, right? A bed is much better than some chair!" She recognizes the manic tone of Twice's voice slipping through the half-opened door. His voice switches from elated to threatening a second later. "Or not."

I can't believe that fool left the door open.

Tooru hardly can either. Such amateur work. Twice really has lost his marbles, hasn't he?

"I-I appreciate your consideration," a male voice stutters slightly in response.

She peeks inside through door's slight gap, catching sight of the villain's back. He's facing a nervous-looking, green-haired man handcuffed to the bed, and not even paying attention to the door. Tooru, from her position by the door, feels slightly offended by the lack of caution on the villain's part.

That's our target. He seems unharmed so far.

Ah, yes. Memories of the file she has been given flash rapid-fire through her mind. Midoriya Izuku, twenty five years old, psychologist specialized in PTSD. No known association to villains, aside from a resolved incident when he was fourteen, even less to the long-dissolved League of Villains. He does have contact with pro-heroes though, what with the amount of trauma in their line of work. Perhaps that was the reason Twice kidnapped the man from his workplace? To get intel regarding Midoriya's patients? But to what end? The League's days were long gone.

Tooru waits for Wireless to make another snarky comment, but the telepath doesn't add anything. Weird.

There is nothing to comment. Midoriya's safety is our absolute priority. Don't worry about Twice escaping. We have people surrounding the building. He won't get far.

Duly noted. That's how Tooru was planning to operate in the first place.

"Aww, you're so well behaved, Midoriya! Best hostage ever. It's not personal, you understand? I'll let you go as soon as possible, okay?" Twice cooes, before switching to a darker tone again. "Or not."

"I understand," Midoriya says, sounding shockingly calm considering the situation. "You're doing what you have to, right, Twice-san?"

"Yes exactly!" The villain enthusiastically claps his hands together and gives a little giggle, not unlike a sound which one might expect from a schoolgirl. "You're a good man, I like you! No, I hate you! Once this is resolved, maybe I'll come see you. I think I could use a psychiatrist to be honest!"

Pfft, is he even real? How deluded is he to seriously suggest using the services of the person he's currently holding hostage? What a riot.

"Ah, I-I'm a psychologist, actually. A-and I'm afraid it wouldn't be very professional for me to take you as a patient," Midoriya replies, polite as fuck, "Due to the, you know...situation."

Hagakure.

One minute. She wants to be sure Twice won't notice her. And it's a very interesting conversation, she has to admit. She's astonished by Midoriya's coping skills. She can vaguely tell the guy is terrified under the veneer of blank civility, but she doubts Twice can. It's genuinely impressive. Most civilians would either be crying hysterically or shell-shocked into muteness. Not having a casual conversation with their kidnapper, and keeping said kidnapper's state of mind relatively stable.

"Oh. I see, I see. Anyway, I'll let you out as soon as Bakugou shows up."

Bakugou. As in, Bakugou Katsuki? Ground Zero? What does her former classmate and local human dynamite have to do with this? Is he a patient of Midoriya's? The simple thought of Bakugou condescending to do something as "extra" and "weak" as seeing as psychologist is absurd. Nope. Can't be real.

Wireless? Oi. Wireless, seriously.

"Ah, er. About this. I'm sorry, but I think you got me mistaken with someone else?" Midoriya says tentatively, wincing with unease. "There's no reason for a big shot like Ground Zero to come personally get me?"

Yes. That's what Tooru wants to know, too. It's not surprising that a former member of the League would hunt down Bakugou, even years later. The man had been instrumental in their destruction, after all. But why would Twice think kidnapping a random psychologist would bring Bakugou to him? That kind of mission is hardly Lord Explosion Murder's kind of scene.

Hagakure. Do your fucking job already.

"Don't lie, Midoriya!" Twice cackles. "I know that you and Bakugou were childhood friends.. Maybe even childhood sweethearts. How lovely! How gross!"

Wait. Wait, what. No way. No fucking way. Bakugou barely does acquaintances, hardly recognizing Kirishima and the rest of the self-titled "Bakusquad"'s existence. He certainly doesn't indulge in friends, much less sweethearts. No way a cute, nice dude like Midoriya would datethatball of rage. He's a psychologist. In the improbable possibility those two once shared the same space, he would know better than to involve himself with a walking disaster like Bakugou.

Right? Right?

Fine, yes. Bakugou knows Midoriya. Twice kidnapped him to attract Bakugou here.

Oh. See, this is exactly why Tooru loathes working with Special Ops. They're all secretive bastards who won't tell her the shit she needs to know for her mission. At least her fellow underground heroes actually trust her. If Aizawa-sensei hadn't personally ask her to work on that case, she might have flip them the finger. Metaphorically. It hardly has the impact she's looking for when she flips the finger physically.

You didn't need to know. Bakugou hasn't realized yet, and we're going to keep it that way. Ground Zero barging in could compromise the success of the operation. Now get working before Twice loses his temper and kills our target.

See? Fucking assholes. But whatever. Tooru has a mission to accomplish, and that's exactly what she's going to do. She slides her hand under the long sleeve of her costume and pulls out her beloved tranquilizer gun. Yes, the outside part of her hero costume is made from her hair. No, she tries not to think too much about it.

Her weapon sadly isn't invisible, but Tooru is confident enough in her capability to shoot the bastard even if he notices her. Not likely, considering how absorbed he is by Midoriya. The bigger threat is the clones.

There is one clone in the kitchen, and one out on the patio. We have them both on Sniper's line of sight. You're free to act, Invisible Gal.

She raises her arm. Green eyes flicker briefly in her direction. She shoots. The tranquilizer buries itself in the back of Twice's neck.

He goes down.

Good job. We got the clones.

"Don't worry Midoriya-san." Tooru declares as she swiftly walks towards the victim. "I'm a pro-hero. We're here to rescue you."

She presses her finger against the villain's carotid, searching for a pulse. Satisfied, she removes the dart and ties his hands and feet together. He should be out for a bit, but a hero can never be too careful. Aizawa will track her down and gut her alive if she dares to neglect her safety and put a civilian's life in danger because of laziness.

"T-The keys are in his pockets." Midoriya says. "T-Thanks for coming for me, Invisible Gal."

Tooru freezes, before turning quickly to rummage through Twice's pockets. She's a underground hero, civilians aren't supposed to recognise her.. That being said, Midoriya does work with heroes. It makes sense he would be more knowledgeable on their world than most people.

Don't worry about it.

Tooru isn't worried. It's not like her entire career depends on her anonymity after all.

"No problem! Ehe, got it!" She holds up the keys triumphantly, smiling widely at Midoriya. "Are you unharmed?"

"Physically, yes." Midoriya smiles back wobbly. "Mentally...I'll probably collapse once we're out of here. I'm coping for the moment."

Wow. Midoriya really is something else, she thinks as she frees him from his shackles. She's aware he's a specialist of these kind of fucked up situations, but still. Talking about trauma in the safety of his office is drastically different from living it.

His legs shake when he attempts to stand up. Tooru has to catch him before he falls.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Invisible Girl," Midoriya mumbles as he leans over Tooru, tremors shaking his body uncontrollably. "I thought I was doing okay aha!"

Don't move, Hagakure. We're coming to get you both out.

"Don't worry about it! You're doing great, Midoriya-san!" She rubs his back soothingly. "Let us do the rest of the work, okay?"

He laughs. The hysterical giggles coming out of his mouth sounds more like a nervous breakdown than actual amusement, but Tooru will take what she can get. "I'm...I'm not very good at that. Letting other people handle my problems, I mean."

Welp, ain't that a mood. She kind of sees how this guy and Bakugou can be...friends. Friends with Bakugou. What a revolutionary concept.

She smiles at him, and Midoriya smiles back. Damn. He's awfully pretty close up. Cute freckles. Not that Tooru has a type or anything. Ahem.

Hagakure. Really.

...Fucking telepaths.