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Chapter Begins:
From the glass dome above the Reception Hall, Midoriya looked at the restrained All Might with wide eyes.
Taking a hold of himself, as All Might looked at him, Midoriya pointed at his ears and then at Kyoka next to him.
Getting the cue, Kyoka planted her earphone jack into the floor, and All Might began telling them that Villains had taken control of the Tower.
Shocked and unnerved a bit, both of them returned to the rest of the students waiting for them.
"It's serious," Midoriya told them. "Villains are in control of the Security System. They are threatening to kill civilians if All Might or other Heroes acted…"
"Did you see my Dad?" Melissa suddenly asked. "How was he?"
Midoriya and Kyoka exchanged glances, both shaking their heads. "We couldn't see him…"
Melissa gasped.
"Don't overthink it," Luke said. "There's no point in harming Mr. David. Villains must have taken him to the Control Room to open some inaccessible vaults, I guess."
Melissa gaped at Luke.
Luke's a genius — That's what Midoriya had kept saying to her, but she hadn't believed it. Not truly. Now, seeing how calm he was and how rational his explanations were, she regretted jumping to conclusions in the afternoon.
Tenya and others nodded, agreeing with Luke, too.
"What did All Might say?" Todoroki asked.
"All Might ordered us to either evacuate or stay put at some place where the Villains can't find us," Kyoka explained.
"Then that's what we must do," Tenya said authoritatively.
Momo nodded. "All Might must have a plan, if he said that. We are just potential hostages for the Villains. If they catch us, they will use us to force All Might and other Pro Heroes even more…"
"But guys…" Midoriya stuttered.
"Midoriya, snap out of it!" Kaminari said.
Mineta closed on Midoriya as well. "Have you forgotten what happened at USJ?"
Midoriya's mouth flattened into a thin line. At USJ, Thirteen, Dust Hero: Sand, and Erasure Head were injured mainly because they were trying to protect the students.
If something like that happened here…
"Luke!" Midoriya's eye shone, suddenly. "Can you use Exchange Positions to free All Might?"
Everyone's eyes lit up at that.
"Yeah…" Toru nodded. "Nyx needs to be in a 50-meter range and in direct sight of the target to use Exchange Positions, right?"
"If we free All Might…" Kaminari mumbled, smiling, "Then everything will be fine…"
Luke looked at the children and let out a sigh. "It wouldn't work," he explained. "All Might can free himself from those restraints anytime, too. Then, why hasn't he?"
Midoriya's face paled. "Oh, no…"
Luke nodded. "I-Island's security is on par with Tartarus. For Villains to take control over the Security System, despite knowing that All Might is here, it means they are crazy enough to go to any lengths… Unless All Might can be at thousands of places at once, there's no point in rescuing him alone."
Melissa, Momo, and Midoriya's fingers balled into fists. Next to them, Tenya and Todoroki stared at Luke, again realizing how differently Luke analyzed situations…
It was like he wasn't a part of what was happening at the moment at all and was looking at everything from behind a screen.
Just as Midoriya had lost all hope, a thought popped into his mind again. "Wait a minute…"
"No, Midoriya…" Melissa said. "Luke is right…"
"No, no," Midoriya said, shaking his head. "I get that. The entire situation will worsen if we rescue All Might, right? Then, what if we take control of the Security System, instead? From there, we can disable all the robots taking the civilians hostage and free the Heroes at the Reception Hall as well…"
"This…" Luke said, holding his chin. "— is a brilliant idea, Midoriya."
Midoriya's entire face beamed. He didn't know why, but getting Luke's nod for this plan felt like taking a huge step forward. He had only felt like this while training with Gran Torino… It was like gaining approval from a senior.
Burying the rubbish thoughts, Midoriya looked at others.
"We can reboot the entire System from the Control Room," Melissa added, agreeing with Midoriya as well.
"NO," Tenya said, raising his voice. "There are so many things that can go wrong. We are making the same mistake again, Midoriya. What if there are more Villains at the Control Room than there are in the Reception Hall?"
Midoriya, Tenya, and Todoroki had fought Hero Killer: Stain with their lives on the line.
So, they had a much better understanding of the sheer scale of uncertainties involved in such a mission.
Todoroki lifted his left hand, feeling the burn. "Aren't we trying to become Pros ourselves…"
"That's different," Momo said. "We don't have Hero License…"
"I want to save them!" Midoriya stared everyone in their eyes. "Even if it's dangerous… We can't just do nothing…"
"It might work," Melissa agreed. "If we avoid fighting, keep low, and reach the top of the tower where the Control Room is, then we can reboot the entire System…"
"… yeah," Midoriya nodded. "If we are fast, we won't have to fight them."
Momo held her chin. "Still… We have no idea who's up there and in what numbers… That's a risk…"
"Finally, someone called me by my Hero Name," Nyx cawed suddenly. "Dusk Empress: Risk!"
"…?"
As everyone looked at her with puzzled gazes, Luke stepped between them, his mouth holding a wry twitch.
"How about this?" he suggested, looking at everyone. "I will be your eyes outside. That's where my strength lies, anyway, remember? Surveillance, Reconnaissance… It will be hard getting out, but I will find a way. Once I confirm how many Villains are up there, I will join you guys…"
"Luke…" Midoriya said, knowing well that he and Nyx would be in the most danger if they went outside. "… You are going out to catch their attention, don't you?"
Luke raised his brows. "If anyone has a better idea, I am all ears."
Momo wanted to say something, but held herself back. It was the same for Melissa, Toru, and others as well.
Todoroki stepped forward and patted Luke's other shoulder. "Don't be late."
Luke grinned, walking away from the stunned students, and said, "… And that's how you avoid running on stairs… Haha!"