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I was referring to the Musutafu News Helicopter that was circling overhead.

I'd been desperately trying to move fast enough to completely skip past the news catching me, but I'd been too late.

Now, the world would see me like this. My friends and teachers would see me like this, and worst of all, my mother would see me like this. They wouldn't see my face, but it's still me regardless.

My mother probably pieced it together already. She'd probably be pissed for a while, so I'd have to figure out a solid way of explaining why holding two students hostage was my only option. She'd probably ground me, if she didn't do something much worse.

Honestly, thinking about her right now made me happy and sad at the same time. Oh well, I'll see her at the end of the day. I'll fight whatever battle she'd throw at me a little later.

I failed when it came to moving fast enough to avoid any large news stations, and now, Pro-Heroes were guaranteed to flock towards the Ultraphone Tower. And yet, because of that failure, I may've had a route out.

"These children will be loaded onto the helicopter. When the first is on, you'll let my ally go. As he starts to walk away, I will load the second onto the helicopter. You go on your way; I'll go on mine. Do you have any issues with that, Kenji?" I asked, and I could see the gears turning within his head.

He couldn't trust me, for good reason. And honestly, I couldn't trust him either.

He wanted me captured and I wanted to escape, but he also wanted the children to be safe, and I could tell he wanted them safe more than he wanted me captured. Unfortunately, because he couldn't trust me, he had no guarantees that I wouldn't just kill the second hostage when Dabi had begun to flee.

I couldn't trust that he was willing to cooperate with me, and I knew that as soon as the students were safe, all attention would go to capturing me and Dabi.

Still, I was at a large disadvantage when it came to this situation, so it was that much more important to take initiative and push forward.

"Of course, if not, I'd be more than willing to just―" I began to squeeze down on Kirishima's arm, feeling as the bone was pushed to its limits.

Kirishima yelled in pain, and I could see anger rise on several people's faces. It didn't quite make it to Kenji's, but he took another step forward.

"Those children must not be hurt anymore! If they are untouched, I will let your ally go," He spoke strongly, choosing his words carefully.

I noted that he never said we'd both be let go without a chase. A smile came to my face as I pulled my hand away from Kirishima's arm, leaving him silently groaning in pain. Mina looked at me with rage in her eyes, even when she was still being held over the edge of the building.

"Come down, Musutafu News," I spoke calmly, meeting Mina's enraged gaze with an unfazed one.

I made sure the Ultraphone was off as I looked to Mina specifically.

"That fire in your eyes is important. Do not lose it," I advised her, smiling. "Ah, and before you two leave, I'll leave you with a gift."

The news helicopter took its slow time coming down to our position, so I turned to Kirishima and had Fulgur return the ice back to water, with Shui completely getting rid of the water. Once he was freed, I didn't try to grab him, allowing him to understand that he must work with me or face the consequences.

"You two must be strong to survive this harsh world of ours. Not just in body, but in mind," I reached out and tapped two fingers against Kirishima's chest, pulling him in with Fulgur's help to stop him from resisting.

I healed Mina and Kirishima, topping their HPs off and healing any injuries that I could've caused and any that could've accumulated over the past several months as well.

I allowed Mina to stand on her own at the very edge of the building, before taking a step back, holding the Ultraphone in one hand as the news helicopter slowly descended onto the building.

Mina and Kirishima slowly backed away from me, confusion, anger, disappointment, and several other emotions rising and falling on their faces. They didn't speak, they didn't try and take the Ultraphone, they didn't do anything.

I could see Mina's fists shaking as Kirishima bit his lip and looked towards the ground.

Observe told me that they were disappointed, and it only took me an additional moment to realize just who they were disappointed in.

Themselves.

They probably believed that they were the reason why the Ultraphone would be stolen. They were probably blaming it on their weakness or their choices, or anything like that.

I knew the feeling. The feeling of nonsensical amount of dread that'd fill your mind as you blamed yourself endlessly for something that you honestly didn't have much control of anyways was something that I felt every day before I'd gotten The Gamer.

I didn't have some magic "cure-all" words that would cheer them up, and even if I did, I didn't know if they'd truly take them from the same person who held them as hostages. But still… I didn't like the idea of leaving them in such a sorry state, even if I did heal them already.

"I must admit, I'm trying to find true strength as well," I admitted before shrugging, a more… true smile on my face now, one unbefitting of the villain persona I was trying so hard to keep up. Honestly, I don't think it came from Minoru Mineta either. "You are children, and as such, will continue to grow. Do not blame yourselves for this."

I turned away from them, looking over the edge of the building. As Mina entered the helicopter―being force-fed questions of her safety and compliments of her bravery, I saw Kenji make some very sharp gestures to the surrounding civilians and the two heroes present.

Dabi took some slow steps forward, walking away from the still crowd. After he got about ten steps away, Kirishima was quick to follow Mina's steps.

The helicopter started to rise into the sky, and my nine eyes met Dabi's two. Time seemed to slow between one step and the next.

This plan was built entirely on being secretive and now that just wasn't an option.

We'd have to run.

God, this plan was taking several steps to the left.

I wished having Dabi by my side could make me feel more confident but having Mt. Lady and Kamui Woods both chasing us with the chances of other Pro-Heroes arriving increasing every second kind of snuffed out that confidence.

We couldn't just go straight to our goal either. With these heroes so close to us we'd only doom ourselves by doing that.

We'd have to kite them around and get away, but that would only increase the amount of time we'd be spending running around town and it'd only make our chances worse in the long run.

If that was the case….

Like I'd been desperately doing all day, I was making yet another plan on the fly.

As I Flew from the rooftop to another roof, a notification appeared.

[New Quest Created]

An Ultra Fight Begins!

Escape, subdue, or defeat the Pro-Heroes standing in your way and complete the rest of your mission!

[Time Limit: 30 Minutes.]

[Completion Reward: 350,000 EXP.]

[Failure Penalty: Death or Imprisonment.]

Death or Imprisonment, huh?

As I fell into a roll, I could feel the smile on my face widen. I mentally accepted the quest before I was Flying again.

I wasn't planning on failing anyways. I had too much to do to fail. For the people I needed to save, for the people I had to get back to, and for the things I had to stay alive to finish, I wouldn't lose here.

I Flew from one building to another, but soon leapt to the ground, enhancing each of my steps with anything that would make me faster. I barely ran next to Dabi, who was still running faster than me with his pure physical stats.

We ran straight through the streets and blew past everything that stood in our way, whether it be cars, civilians, or anything in between. We moved as fast as our bodies could take us, but Mr. Lady and Kamui Woods weren't far behind us.

I Flew high into the air, snatching the Ultraphone from my Inventory.

I took a deep breath, and I could feel Fulgur and Shui both sitting on my shoulders, their natural affinities being funneled through my body at the same rate of my mana, soul, blood, and whatever else made me… me.

All that energy came together and pushed through my fingertips with a gentleness that I could only compare to a trickling water faucet.

I'd never tried this before, because I couldn't ever replicate something like the Ultraphone, but that didn't mean I was about to suddenly give up.

Necessity was the wise mother of innovation, and I needed this now more than ever.

I felt the energy swell and relax, and while it wasn't what I wanted, it was something.

I took a deep breath and spun around, sliding against the concrete as dust was kicked up into the air. Dabi slid to a stop right beside me, just as I'd expected him to.

I pulled the Ultraphone to my mouth as I met the eyes of the two heroes chasing us. I made a point to smile before I spoke.

"Begone," I grinned as an unsuccessful mix of mana, electricity, and water shot out in waves. The energy spiraled around as my voice was amplified and mixed with the elements of the world. The energy slammed into the nearby buildings and bounced off them despite the power of them.

I led the power with all my ability, pulling them into bizarre spears before twisting them and leading them into the stomachs of Shinji and Yu, blowing the two heroes through the streets. The power fizzled out before I could properly finish the attack.

I clicked my tongue before shaking my head. I'd have to retry something like that at a later date.

As civilians responded with about as much shock as anyone who'd ever seen a Pro-Hero show expected, Dabi sighed next to me. Kamui Woods and Mt. Lady were already approaching us at incredible speeds, as if my attack had done nothing but bat them away.

"This is gonna be annoying," Dabi groaned, but the grin on his face told an entirely different story.

"We've got this," My voice was quiet, but it held strength unlike anything else I'd ever said. I glanced towards his hands, noting the completely decomposed parts around his wrists, where he was grabbed. I tapped his shoulder and healed him up to full, the exposed skin returning to the state it was in hours earlier.

Dabi glanced at me as blue flames built up in his hands. He turned his attention towards our enemies as everything slowed.

"Yeah," He smiled.