Beacon inhaled deeply through his nose. His lungs filled with the early morning air expanding his chest and shoulders. Positioned at the center of the assault team gathered outside the Shie Hassaikai, he closed his mind to the outside world and blocked out every sound, focusing intently on his breathing.

At the front of the scene, the lead investigator was cautiously approaching the intercom at the main entrance, flanked by two additional officers on either side. Beacon turned his face toward the sun and bathed in its warm rays, breathing in the light and feeling its energy cover his body and seep into his pores. A dim glow slowly began to radiate from his figure, surrounding him in a sheen of translucent white light. He exhaled calmly and the glow seemingly sank into his figure, just as a thunderous crash resounded from the front gates. 

The wood splintered as the large bolts broke free of the structure's frame, sending the heavy spruce doors flying towards the raid team. The massive force created a gale wind that swept up splinters and debris, covering the scene in a cloud of dust. The heroes nearest the front pulled who they could out of harm's way, but the large doors still shot like a cannon into the smoke cloud where the police were gathered.

Those that had not been crushed looked dreadfully toward what had been the center of the raid forces, waiting for the bloody scene that was sure to reveal itself. But through the smoke they saw a beacon, his body ablaze with a flaring white aura that danced in the wind, like an ethereal flame. The shattered remnants of the door lay discarded behind them, deflected by an angled wall of shimmering light and straight ahead stood a mammoth of a man that blocked the path forward.

"That's good, I'm waking up a little." He flexed his right arm, the muscles stretching and expanding so his arm grew in size.

"Brace yourselves." Ryukyu quickly stepped in front of the officers in the villain's line of fire.

"Why are you people here?!"

The goliath's punch met with Ryukyu's talon and created a shockwave that scattered the wind and sent those closest to the epicenter flying. Shooting into the sky, Beacon extended his arms and opened his palms, catching the falling officers in pockets of hard light while at the same time conjuring a large hand that descended like a sunbeam upon the villain, forcing him face down into the pavement.

"Listen to me!" Ryukyu called out. "We shouldn't split up too many of our forces yet. The Ryukyu Agency will take care of this villain. The rest of you go!"

The heroes and officers raced forward, but Beacon held his position. He could feel the goliath struggling against his own power in his efforts to break free. (L/N) was about to push him further into the concrete when he felt the pressure let up as Ryukyu grabbed the villain with one of her clawed hands.

"We've got this one under control." She said to him as her three sidekicks moved to offer what support they could. "Go help the others."

Beacon only hesitated for a moment before releasing his hold on the villain and advancing. As he flew overhead, he witnessed as dozens of yakuza came rushing out of the compound and threw themselves at the police in an endless swarm. Coming to a halt, he hovered in the air and quickly surveyed the area, separating friend from foe. Near the center of the courtyard, he sensed the infiltration team struggling to break through the sheer number of bodies, and behind them the riot units that had interlocked their shields to form a wall to fend off the mob.

Rising in altitude to get a better angle, Beacon reached out his hand and pointed it toward the ground, firing a single beam that punched into the dirt. Dragging his hand through the air, the beam drew a line in the ground, scaring the yakuza back several feet and giving Beacon the space he needed to safely erect a dome around his allies.

Kirishima went to throw a punch at one of the nearest thugs when the sudden appearance of hard light caused him to jump back. Around him he noticed the other heroes had done the same and were all looking around for the source.

"Dammit!" Rock Lock shouted impatiently, glaring up at (L/N). "What's that kid think he's doing? We don't have time to be standin' still, we need to keep pressing forward!"

No sooner had Rock Lock finished speaking did the front of the barrier start to expand outward. Cutting through the swath of enemies like a wedge, it forced them to either side, like Moses parting the Red Sea. At the same time, hundreds of glistening orbs the size of golf balls began forming in the sky. The top of the dome rippled in waves beneath the raging storm. From inside, it looked like a meteor shower as the small stars rained down upon the courtyard.

"Let's move, people!" Sir Nighteye hurried onward as the last of the Yakuza were pushed away from the entrance. Shaking off their surprise, the infiltration team followed after him.

Beacon waited until they were inside before flying down and following behind them, releasing his hold on the photons in the courtyard as he did so. The other heroes and riot officers quickly leapt into action, taking advantage of the Hassaikai's disarray and the staggering number of criminals Beacon's attack had incapacitated. 

Following Nighteye through the stronghold, the group soon found themselves racing down a hidden set of stairs that spit them out into the depths of an underground labyrinth and what should have been the path forward.

"It looks like a dead end! So, what now?"

"So much for your Foresight, Nighteye." Rock Lock said from the rear.

"Hold on," Lemillion stepped forward and lifted his visor off his head, "let me go take a look."

Sir Nighteye nodded his approval. "The enemy knew we were coming, which means they've likely already moved the girl. Do you sense their presence anywhere?" He turned to Beacon.

Inhaling deeply and focusing on his breath, (L/N) extended the reach of his quirk. He didn't yet know if the wall in front of him was truly a dead end or not. Even if it weren't, it would significantly slow his search. Either way, he would know soon enough and would come back to it. He instead turned to look behind him and opted to send his sight racing down the path behind him, surging like a flood of water down the long hallways and many winding corridors, but the hideout was massive, and he was getting close to the end of his reach.

"The hallway's just been blocked with this wall." Lemillion said, pulling his head back. "Unfortunately breaking through it's not gonna be easy."

"I knew this Chisaki guy could tear crap apart and put it back together, but damn."

"It was just a cheap trick." Fat Gum said, half indignant, half enraged.

"Beacon!" Nighteye called over his shoulder.

Snapping his head back to the front, a feint glow escaping the edges of his blindfold, he punched a hole in the concrete wall with his quirk. Uninhibited by its presence, he went searching through the photons, his senses quickly expanding to fill every possible path, until...

"I've got him."

An aureate light sprung to life around Beacon's body, like a torch being lit, and lifted his feet several inches off the ground. Leading the rest of the infiltration team, he started to fly down the path that led to Chisaki, but before he could build up any real speed his senses were disoriented as the tunnel began to violently shift and twist.

"What's going on?" Kirishima stumbled as he struggled to keep his balance.

"This is something different." The detective said as he fell into one of the moving walls. "Maybe Iranaka. Chisaki's quirk can't do something like this."

(L/N) tried to use his quirk to brace the walls in the hopes of locking the building in place, but the constant warping had him dazed and unable to keep up with the way the tunnel's movement shifted the photons.

"With the passageway shifting and changing like this, they can create as many escape routes as they need to." Suneater panicked. "We have to think quickly if we wanna catch them. No, who are we kidding? They're gonna escape with the girl and we're all gonna die down here!"

"Tamaki!" Mirio placed a firm hand on his friend's shoulder. "No way that's gonna happen. Understand? You can do this, Suneater! Besides," he forced one foot in front of the other, slowly adjusting his balance until he could break into a full sprint, "this is just a stopgap. They can warp the path forward if they want, but as long as we know the direction of our goal, I can still reach it!"

"Lemillion!" Sir Nighteye shouted after his slowly shrinking figure.

"Speed is what matters right now!" He said, not stopping. "Those guys know it, too! That's why they're stalling for time! I'm going on ahead!"

Beacon scowled as he felt Lemillion race past him before he disappeared through another wall. Lifting himself into the air, he had just started to follow after him when the floor beneath gave way and the rest of the infiltration team fell to the level below. Coming to a halt, (L/N) looked down at the others, then glanced back over his shoulder in the direction Mirio had taken off. Should he go after him or regroup with the others?

He couldn't feel Mirio anymore, so there was no guarantee he would even be able to catch up with him. Even if he could, it would mean leaving everyone else behind. The chances of them being able to find Chisaki without him to guide them were slim, and that meant sacrificing almost all of their strength in the battle that would undoubtedly unfold. But with the path ahead constantly changing, Chisaki would likely escape with the girl in the time it would take to move such a large group of people. What should he do?

"Beacon!"

(L/N) looked back down through the hole in the floor where the rest of the team had started to regain their bearings. Eraser Head was standing in the middle of that group, looking up at him, waiting until their gazes met, until he was absolutely certain, that even from behind his blindfold, Beacon's attention was solely on him. Knowing his student was listening; Aizawa spoke the last set of instructions he'd been holding onto. The words that he knew would spur him into action.

"Save who you can."

If he'd said it at any other time, he knew it would have had no effect. Because it wasn't just something (L/N) had to hear. It was something he had to feel. And those exact words in that exact moment were the combination needed to start the paradigm shift.