Freeze Frame

Chapter 23

Third person pov

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck.

Lillian isn't a vulgar person, usually, but fuck.

Villains have arrived for whatever reason. Why do villains do anything, these days? Lillian doesn't know, but that doesn't really matter. They had come here thinking they'd be saving other people, but it was becoming abundantly clear that they were going to have to save themselves instead. 

"The only real heroes I see are Thirteen and Eraserhead. Perplexing. According to the schedule we retrieved from UA, All Might should be here as well." A deep voice rumbled below, and the purple fog morphed into something vaguely resembling a human shape. Yellow eyes glared up at them. The students were paralyzed.

"So, you scumbags used the press as a cover and sneaked onto campus." Aizawa bit out dangerously. Lillian felt her heart rate pick up as the villains began to approach, her mind racing. They were here for All Might? That explained how the reporters were able to get onto UA grounds. They hadn't actually been the ones to take down the gate; it had been someone here instead.

Thirteen stepped up as the villains approached, the one covered in hands seeming to be the lead. Aizawa's scarf expanded around him as he prepared the fight, loosening and floating around him in a manner that was nearly ethereal. Lillian momentarily wondered how exactly he did such a thing.

"What? Real villains? No way." Kirishima was in disbelief, and he wasn't the only one. Though Lillian was pretty sure this was serious. Mr. Aizawa and Thirteen would scare them-- not like this. Lillian felt her palms begin to sweat. "How could this many of them get into a UA facility this secure?"

"Yeah, Thirteen." Momo stepped forward, putting a comforting hand on Lillian's shoulder as well as Ochako's as she did so. "Why aren't the alarms going off?"

"Good question." Thirteen breathed out thoughtfully. "I'm... I'm not sure."

"Is the entire campus under attack? Or is their their only target?" Todoroki seemed freakishly calm. Lillian shook out her hands. This was going to be just fine. They were all members of the hero course, and even so, their teachers wouldn't let anything happen to them. "Either way, if the alarm sensors aren't being triggered, then one of these villains must have a Quirk that's masking their presence here. They carefully chose this facility as an entry point at a time when a class was being taught. They're fools for trespassing here, but they've thought this out. Whatever their plan, they must have a concrete objective in mind. But what is it?"

This was the most Lillian had ever heard Todoroki say. She liked him better when he was quiet.

She rolled the thought of freezing them around in her head, but they were already so fanned out that she wasn't sure she'd be able to get them all in one fell swoop. Not only that, but she wasn't sure she could hold so many for long enough to make a difference. Even holding Aoyama and Ashido long enough to tie the red string around them during the battle portion of their training had proved to be tiring, and they were only students. She'd only had them stopped in time for around four minutes. How long could she hold a group of villains for? Sixty seconds? Five?

"Thirteen, get them outta here." Aizawa stepped forward. "And alert the main campus. Actually, if they've got the ability to block our sensors, then they might be jamming our regular communications, too. Kaminari, try using your quirk to contact the school."

"Yes, sir." He said quickly. Lillian clenched her fists. The villains were getting closer. Should she try stopping them? She could see nearly every one of them in her line of sight, but not quite. She knew her endurance wasn't good. She cursed herself for not practicing more.