Third person pov

Harper wasn't too sure how she managed to do it. Tsukauchi and Sansa liked her enough, but their ability to listen and take her words into account really lacked outside of legal situations. She told them not to do something using her own common sense alone, and the two idiots would go and do it anyway, inevitably fucking something up. Just this morning she'd told them not to use the broken coffee machine. They'd assured her they wouldn't just before going and-- that's right, you guessed it-- using the damn thing. Harper had always wondered what it was like to use a fire extinguisher. Now, she could finally say she knew.

That was besides the point. When she'd asked if they could patrol about Hosu today, they'd miraculously said yes! They even went through with it and actually drove there. Even they seemed surprised at their own compliance. Last time Harper had asked to go somewhere, they'd ended up in a candle store instead of at a scheduled interrogation at another office. Harper was so done with these two men it was hard to process all her fucks she no longer gave. How had they not been fired? Harper had more brain cells than the pair of them combined. 

Still, Sansa was growing on her. He still thought Harper was the bastard child of Tsukauchi and her own mother, but that was besides the point. They were bonding. She wasn't sure how to feel about it, to be honest. Outside her family and some of her family's close friends, she'd never had any close relationships with adults. Harper actually tended to dislike them, because most were assholes, creeps, or both. It was weird to enjoy the presence of anyone other than those she'd known her whole life. Especially the presence of cops.

"Weather's nice." Tsukauchi noted as Sansa very loudly slurped his slushy. The sign welcoming them into Hosu passed leisurely as traffic crawled along. "I wonder why Harper wanted to come here of all places. I can't tell if it has something to do with what happened to Ingenium, or the fact that this place has a higher crime rate. Even if we do see anyone breaking the law, I don't know how I feel about sticking them in the back with Harper. The criminals here are shady as hell."

"It's kind of stuffy." Sansa noted, ears twitching. "Tsukauchi stole the last strawberry jelly-filled donut, and I am determined to rain on his parade. Nice weather, you say? I don't think so."

Harper snorted to herself at his sorry attempt to put a damper on her fake dad's day, her head leaning casually against the window. She gazed intently at the back of Tsukauchi's headrest as her quirk searched through the city, the dial on her headband turned up only slightly to help widen her already broad range. It had been a long time since she'd tried to stretch it far. It always hurt, and sometimes she'd end up so worn out that she fell asleep for a full twenty-four hours or so. Her parents had been forced to take her to the hospital once, when she was ten. It had been well worth it at the time, and it still was looking back. That had certainly been a day.

For as hideous as the cat ears on her head were, they definitely did their job. Stretching her quirk was like stretching out a rubber band. The further you pulled it, the more it would hurt when it finally snapped back. Harper could tell the gaudy support item was lengthening her metaphorical rubber band, making it able to reach further. It was more useful than she cared to admit. As she searched desperately for a sign of the Hero Killer, Iida, or both if she was lucky, she couldn't help but huff.

Iida worried her to no end. The guy didn't want to share the burden of his issues with anyone else. Harper could of course understand that. She sure as shit didn't go around telling people about her personal problems these days. The difference was the fact that she could manage her problems, and had been. Hell, she'd even confided in her parents in the past. Even if it was just to let them know, so they could support her while she dealt with it. His depression was crushing him. When they'd parted ways, his anger had too.

Just a month or so ago, she'd been going to school in this total rat's nest of a building, full of drug addicted teenagers and some of the most bat shit crazy people she'd ever known. She hadn't had any friends in comparison to the amount she had now. The one person she'd tolerated in middle school hadn't come over to her school, and the chick had been relatively insane anyway. Harper's days no longer consisted of sitting around and eating whatever food she could dig out of the fridge. She didn't walk around outside at odd hours and compliment people contemplating suicide or having a bad day to curb them away from that path, and she didn't try to give anonymous tips to the police. Now, she was in the police.

There were some things she still did miss despite the seemingly vast improvement in her time-spending ways. Though her quirk gave little to no privacy to those around her, her parents adored her. If you walked into their house, you'd see photographs galore. Their bright personalities contrasted against hers. They were giddy and excitable, with a plethora of friends and other family that loved Harper just as much as they did. The only person Harper had really spent any one-on-one time with was one of the few cousins she had. Helping to babysit the fucker, and all. Little gremlin. She missed her parents, and the other members of her family that would happily come to visit. Harper wondered when she'd finally be able to see them again.

Another thing that had changed was her drive. Before, she didn't dive into people's issues the way she had been lately. She didn't convince people to propose to their long-time love, nor did she try to rip out the roots of one's depression. She didn't give subtle dating advice to gays with anger issues, and she sure as shit didn't confront sort-of-schizophrenics about the voices in their head. At most she'd tell someone their hair looked nice, or to have a good day. Maybe she'd purposely trip so they could help her up and feel good about themselves when she gave a thank you. But she didn't get personal. 

Now, she had friends. She cared about her classmates-- even the shitty ones. She'd begun to research a bit more on how electricity effected the brain, and had tried a few teas Momo had recommended. She'd let Jiro add to her playlist, and had oddly analytical conversations with Midoriya despite being somewhat of a dumbass. She chatted with Todoroki when he felt like he was suffocating under his thoughts, and a hot guy had a crush on her. Tokoyami explained the darkness to her (or at least tried), and Aoyama tried to teach the entire class several french words she no longer remembered. She wasn't all that social, but she'd had her moments with her class since joining. 

Her quirk had always been an accursed thing she wanted erased. For a while, she'd contemplated getting some sort of quirk suppressing bracelets that would keep her from hearing anything at all. She quickly realized that couldn't happen. If her quirk turned off-- and it had been turned off in the past-- she'd panic. All the emotions she usually felt radiating from people, and all the thoughts she heard, vanished. Suddenly everything was empty. It was like going deaf, only it was so much more. Harper felt entirely blind when she couldn't access her quirk. It was like looking into your bedroom when it was pitch black, and somehow not even remembering the placement of your furniture despite it being your living space.

Lately, her quirk had been useful. She'd never thought it useful in the least. Yeah, it was good for getting information, but she hadn't realized what one could do with knowledge alone. Just knowing about Tensei before everyone else did had helped her to comfort someone she cared about. Knowing Kirishima liked her (again, what the hell?) let her know to be conscious of his feelings so he didn't get hurt, because she was brash, and could deal some serious damage if she didn't stay aware of the wonky pedestal he'd placed her on. Aizawa was now on his way to a happy marriage with Mic, and Sero was a traitor who potentially could have killed some of the people she called classmates had she not caught him sooner.

It felt good. To help the way she was, she meant. Her quirk was vile, yes, but she was able to reach into people and just know what they needed without having to ask. Who knows if Iida would have lived up until this point had someone not told him how amazing and strong he truly was. Who knows if Aizawa ever would have gotten with Mic! Who knows if Todoroki ever would have gone to a teacher about what was going on at home. No, she hadn't had their permission to dig into any of their business. But she damn well had anyway.

She was prying, and butting in, but she was helping too. And if that was what it was to be a hero, Harper thought that might be exactly what she was meant to be. If she was going to hear things she didn't ever want to know, she may as well do something with it. Or she supposed she could go back to being a useless damn cabbage for the rest of her sorry little life instead.

"Hey, is that smoke?" Tsukauchi leaned forward, squinting. "There must be a fire. I don't hear any sirens yet. Should we call it in? The radio's been kinda quiet." 

Before Harper could perk up and try to get a look herself, her quirk hit something. A gasp of air left her before she could stop it. What felt like TV static accompanied by a high pitched squeal entered her mind, followed by a jumble of frantic, terrified, pained thoughts. Like a dozen or more people had been shoved together into one being. Compressed into a single person. It hurt. 

They were screaming. Everything there was wrong. It didn't feel right, and a tremor wracked through Harper violently as her quirk ached. It didn't understand either, but it was pulled to the terrifying force nonetheless. People calling out for helping, cursing the heavens above, asking 'why me?' and calling out for loved ones swirled together into a terrifying tornado of thought that absolutely wrecked Harper. Screams and shrieks of pain mingled with it, internalized sobs unlike anything she'd ever heard before injecting themselves between the chunks of panic and overall mayhem occurring within this single entity. How could this be one person? One thing?

Harper barely heard Sansa's shout of alarm as she clumsily brought her hand up and pressed the button on her headband, snapping the connection and finally managing to draw herself from her shocked stupor. Tsukauchi's alarmed eyes were the first thing she saw when she looked up, her own eyes wide. Her breathing was labored as though she'd just ran a marathon, coming out heavy and quick as she tried to ease her heart rate.

"What... the actual fuck was that?" Harper breathed, the ears of her quirk left ringing in the aftermath of whatever that had been. Holy shit. Something was wrong. Harper had never felt such drowning fear from something. It had been somewhat far away-- definitely in Hosu. It hadn't been... natural. She wanted to say she'd run into this before, but the truth was that she hadn't. Not even close. Here she'd assumed she'd run into the jackpot of weird at UA, and yet here whatever the fuck that thing in the city was, existing and proving her dead wrong. She'd just hit the 'please tell me this is bullshit' goldmine, because she truly almost didn't believe what she'd just heard, and she'd been the one to hear it.

"Harper, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Tsukauchi's eyes darted between the road and the rear view mirror as he drove into the city and in the general direction of the smoke, for lack of anywhere else to really wander off to. His hands were gripping the steering wheel as his anxiety spiked. "She looks like she saw a ghost. Is she dying? Did her period start? I heard cramps can get as painful as a heart attack. I've never seen her so pale. We need to get her some water. And a shrink. That, and a hospital. Chocolate? Oh, god, I don't know what I'm doing. I'm a horrible father!"

"I'm fine. Just... something's wrong." Harper shook her head slightly, finally bringing her hand up to her head. 'Wrong' was the understatement of the damn year. That hellion of the creature needed help, and it needed it now. A part of her wanted to try and find whatever that was again so they should go investigate, but that side of her was a dumbass. The other, which was significantly smarter, told her to book it like she was escaping a house on fire. "I think we're about to drive into some dangerous shit."

"On a scale of one to Australia, how dangerous are we talking?" Sansa asked. He was awkwardly twisted around in his seat, his paw on his knee from when he'd been trying to get her attention earlier. He seemed too concerned to let go. "Shit's fucked. I knew the apocalypse was on its way; I just didn't realize how soon it'd be here. I really should have invested in a bunker."

Harper thought back to the feeling she'd felt. The fear, the pain, just- she couldn't even begin to describe how potent and vivid it was. Words did not do whatever that was justice in the least. She wished she could make it stop for them. So many voices had just been screaming. Begging, pleading-- she hadn't even heard it for that long, and her stomach was still churning. Harper tried to prepare herself to feel it again. 

"Mash Australia, Texas, and Florida together." Harper said. Both men looked moderately startled. Harper then added, "Plus Sansa's liquor cabinet."

The cat-headed officer drew back. From the look on his face, you'd have thought Harper had just put the fear of God in the man.

"Oh, shit." Tsukauchi whispered, horrified. "I hope everyone has their seat belts on. Because I am not afraid to break the speed limit. I knew I should have just taken us around the corner to McDonald's!"

Sansa leaned back in his seat, taking a deep breath. Harper realized her hands were shaking and immediately narrowed her eyes at them as though to accuse them. It was pretty pathetic. Why was she afraid? It wasn't here in front of her or anything. It was off in the city. The city they were... driving into. It's not like she could feel it if she focused too hard or anything. Gnawing at the edge of her quirk, scooting closer and closer even as Harper brought her power's radius down to the smallest it could possibly be without giving herself a horrifying migraine. If the brunette didn't know any better, she'd... almost say it was approaching.

"Well... it was great knowing you guys. Harper, I'm sorry you won't make it to twenty. If I had any vodka on me, I'd let you have your first shot." Sansa's tone was morose, and Tsukauchi let out a scandalized gasp and swatted at him indignantly. "I hope my family goes through with my written funeral plans and plays 'Another One Bites The Dust' at my service while displaying my ashes. If they don't mix glitter in with me, I'll re-materialize and do it myself. That it's a bet. It's a promise."

"Sansa! She's a minor!" Tsukauchi sounded genuinely offended. Harper was only half paying attention, her eyes directed out the window as her gaze flitted around. Something was off here. Where had all the other cars gone, and where were all the civilians? Hosu wasn't the busiest town, but this was unusual. She desperately wanted to stretch back out with her quirk. And she did begin to, though tentatively. The brunette was oddly alert today, and afraid of accidentally running into that thing again. She hated that it was hindering her. She needed to get over herself and find Iida. "I can't believe him! Vodka?!"

"And she'll die a minor at this rate! Think about the children, Naomasa! She said my liquor cabinet. We've both seen that mess!" Sansa exclaimed, gesturing with a paw. "I smell smoke. Not many civilians around. Harper is right; something is definitely going on here. Our radio went silent around the time we entered the city, as though the signal somehow cut out. We're Screwed, capital S and all."

The TV static and jumbled, agonized voices entered Harper's radar with a jolt. Her eyes went wide. Her radar wasn't that big. It extended only a ways out of the car, maybe reaching into some of the stores and alleys. Even with how loud the thing's thoughts were...

"Dad!" Harper barely managed to choke out before something darted out in front of the car. It was large, and black, and massive. Too big to be a stray dog with a death wish. Tsukauchi let out a colorful string of words Harper wouldn't repeat as he swerved to the side. The tired squealed alongside Sansa's surprised shriek. Harper braced herself against the door, her brain working overtime to try and process all the thoughts coming from the creature. It was overwhelming, blocking out the thoughts of Tsukauchi and Sansa both with its mere presence alone as it slowly turned to face them.

"It hurts, it hurts, it hurts, ithurts-"

"I want out! Let me out! I just want out, I just want out, let me out, please, let me out-"

"This shit sucks, man." 

"What am I?"

"Mommy? Mommy, I want to go home."
 
"HELP US-"

"Shit!" Tsukauchi's curse broke her out of her daze, and she blinked tears from her eyes. The voices were so, so desperate. Every single rational part of her wanted to run, but she also wanted to help. She just... didn't know how. All she knew was that those voices didn't want to be there, and hot damn did it hurt. She could feel it. Those were just the coherent voices she could pick out from the jumble, too. There were so many more mixed in, just screaming. A few begged in languages she barely recognized, a few English, maybe some French. "It's a Nomu. Dammit. The League is here! If there's one, there's bound to be more. We have to get out of here."

"Naomasa, not to be a hassle, but step on it!" Sansa shrieked as the creature began to stalk towards their car. The detective scrambled, putting the car in reverse. Harper almost got whiplash from how fast they pulled off the sidewalk they'd skidded onto and shot forward. She was still disoriented from the Nomu's presence. "Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. It's chasing us!"

"Shit." Harper shook her head rapidly, pulling her quirk into herself as best she could as Tsukauchi tried to put distance between them and the creature giving chase. It was fast, but not as fast as the one at the USJ was reported to have been. It lumbered after the car mindlessly, seeming intent on creating chaos where it could. It had probably been directed to attack whoever it saw. Harper swallowed back the taste of bile and brought her hands up to turn on her headband again. She didn't want to feel the Nomu. They hurt, and disoriented her. She hated a lot of shit, but she was pretty sure that after today, there wasn't going to be anything she hated more than this.

"Are you okay, Harper?" Sansa's voice was urgent and full of concern as the girl in the backseat grit her teeth. Tsukauchi risked a glance in the rear view mirror as he weaved around another car that had been abandoned in the middle of the road. "I can't imagine what that thing must've felt like. They're pretty mindless, but even people in comas are capable of thought. By the look on her face, there's definitely something. I'm going to need so many beers after this."

"I'm fine." Harper shook her head again. She had to focus. Where was Iida? Iida was here, in this city. She just had to find him. "Two Nomu on the next street over, one around a block ahead somewhere to the right. Another towards our left was just taken down. Heroes have set up a checkpoint. I hear... Endeavor, and a few of his sidekicks or other heroes maybe. Ambulances are gathering. I think... yeah, some officers are there, but they aren't ours."

"Endeavor? How do I get there?" Tsukauchi said, his tone serious but not snappish. Harper was trying not to internally panic. Deep breaths. In and out. She could lose her cool later. Things were okay right now. They'd make it to that flaming shit bag, and he'd take care of the little problem on their bumper. "We've got to get this thing off our tail. If Endeavor is here, he can handle it. I've got a kid in the car, and Sansa and I don't have quirks suited for a fight, nor does she. I... I don't want to risk her getting hurt."

"...Next left." Harper breathed. Where the fuck was Iida? She knew he was here in Hosu. He had to be here, and she couldn't fucking find the guy. It was driving her nuts. The Nomu were blocking her significantly. They were distracting, and made her heart wrench in a way it hadn't in a very long time now. It was not the same stomach-flipping sensation she got when Iida got a little too sad, or when Todoroki thought about his shitty dad. This was different. This felt like it was physically harming her somehow.

Tsukauchi took a sharp turn, and the Nomu adamant on catching up took it with them. It mentally wailed as it darted after their cruiser, those trapped within its hulking body clearly not willing participants. Harper could see Endeavor ahead, but decided to be disgusted and appalled at his very existence later when she wasn't about to die. The man noticed them almost immediately, and his eyes quickly found the creature chasing them. Harper had never been so relieved for the guy's ego. Everything in him literally, and yes, she meant literally screamed, "Oh, so you wanna go?!" 

They flew past the Flame Hero as he stepped up. Harper resisted the urge to flip him the bird through the window as they went, knowing it wasn't the time. He wouldn't see it anyway, so maybe she'd wait until he'd beat up the Nomu and then do it. It would be a good stress reliever. Right now, she was a bit more concerned with Iida anyway. The Hero Killer was in this area, and there were monstrous mutants running about like they owned the damn place. A bad combination if you asked her, but maybe that was just- wait a second, where was Todoroki?

The car screeched to a halt, and Harper was out of the car before Tsukauchi and Sansa could cry out in unison for her to, you know, not. She obviously didn't run towards the fight because Harper Rye isn't a fool, unlike some people. She instead stood on her toes, hand gripping the top of the door as her eyes scanned the area. Where the hell was Shoto? She knew he'd interned with his dad. It was possible Endeavor had been called in from another area, but she wasn't too sure. Harper cursed herself for not checking where the Flame Hero was patrolling today. Through all the Nomu's pained shrieks as it was burned, Harper couldn't find the half-and-half teen nearby. Her heart rate was reaching dangerous levels. Could she have a heart attack at this age? Harper would honestly not be all that surprised. 

"Harper, get back in car. It's not safe!" Tsukauchi called over the sound of the fight and all the yelling. "I've got to get her out of here. There's not much we can do here but provide firearm support, but we've got a kid to get to safety here." 

"You forget I'm a hero in training too, even if I didn't originally choose to be." Harper noted, sounding more nonchalant than she felt at the moment. She didn't stand a chance against a Nomu. She knew that, but if UA had taught her anything, it was keeping a level head in the midst of total calamity. Just being around Aizawa all day, five days a week had prepared her for this very moment. "I have to find Todoroki and Iida. That shithead, Stain, is still running around. I think Iida is trying to go after him."

"Harper, I'm sure they've been evacuated by now." Sansa was clearly worried. His nose twitched wildly, his ears pricked as his gaze continuously scanned the area for threats. Endeavor had successfully pushed his brawl with the Nomu further down the street and away from the checkpoint, but the officer still had his hand on his gun holster nonetheless. "We need to leave. Now." 

Harper opened her mouth to say she wasn't going anywhere until she knew they weren't dead in a ditch somewhere, but she never got the chance. Tsukauchi and Sansa could only watch dumbly as a portal opened beneath her feet. Harper had only a second before she fell through, her wide eyes meeting Tsukauchi's as the familiar emptiness Kurogiri carried around overtook her quirk.

"Oh, hell."

She fell through. Internally, she came to the conclusion that Tsukauchi taking them to McDonald's probably would've been better than this.