Hey guys, I AM ALIVE! Despite the madness going on right now, I am alive. Being an essential worker is why I haven't come back to this sooner, but I am back and I bring news: I am going to finish this fic by the 5th at the latest. I will also be looking at my other fics and seeing what moves me. No promises but I am trying to finish up my long-running fics so that I don't lose interest and struggle to update as I have been.
Anyways this chapter marks the next to last chapter and I hope you all enjoy!
MHA belongs to its owners, Batman and his associated characters belong to Detective Comics Comics, and my plot is my own!
The Demon's Vengence: Dabi, Spinner, and Twice.
"Breaking news: Ground Zero, Uravity, and Todoroki are continuing the full-court press on the League of Villains that started almost one month ago with the capture of the tenth League base. Early on the League of Villains seemed to be all but unstoppable. Their attacks on UA, releasing the Nomu's during the Hero Killer affair, and their conquering of the Meta Liberation Army marked them as all but unstoppable. As the pro heroes were scrambling to answer their new rivals their forerunner, All Might, lost his powers and was forced to retire. Then, the scandals and arrest of several high ranking Pro's left us all wondering: Will the next generation of heroes be ready soon enough?
We now have the answer, and it is a resounding yes! The tragic death of a fellow student, Denki Kaminari, has apparently been the limit that these heroes will take. In the months that followed, base after base has been raided, and with today's numbers over fifty-two villains have been arrested. When asked about their new success all three were quick to point to the other heroes. Saying that they were only finally finding the last pieces of the puzzle thanks to a new source.
As they continue to make things just a little bit safer for us all, we are left to wonder: Just who is this source? Why has he waited for so long? And will he be-CRASH
Tomura screamed as he threw the glass into the television. Kurogiri flinched. Tomura was becoming dangerously unstable the longer that Ra's continued to unravel their plans. Much longer and he would become dangerous to everyone, ally, and foe alike.
"Why can't we find him?"
Kurogiri paused to ensure he phrased his reply properly. "Because he doesn't want to be found and he has the advantage. Ra's has always hidden where we have always been in the open. But there might be a way to catch him…"
Tomura growled as he turned on Kurogiri. "You know how I hate when you trail off."
Kurogiri straightened his tie and raised his hands. "Apologies, Master Tomura. I believe all we need to do is apologize." Tomura's eye twitched and Kurogiri quickly continued. "We set a trap, then bait Izuku in with a false show of repentance. He is clever but naive."
Tomura's glare slowly morphed into a vicious grin. "Prepare our meeting place. I'll begin our…' apology'."
Tomura couldn't hide his smile as he saw Izuku enter the chamber. He shook his head and looked down as if distraught. "Brother, I…..have made a terrible mistake. I was driven to madness, I would never-" He paused as Izuku's armored form slowly stepped closer. Kurogiri gave him the signal and he thrust his hand throw the portal at the same moment that it appeared in front of him. "-have fallen for anything this obvious!" His hand latched on to red and black armor covering his former brother's face.
Slowly he felt the metal give way, and within a moment his fingers met, and the only sound in the chamber was his mad cackling and the thud of a body hitting the floor. His cackling was interrupted as Ra's voice came from the chest of the decapitated body in front of him. "I thought I had already covered that you were unprepared and unskilled? How did you ever think I would have fallen for such an obvious trap?"
Tomura felt his rage boil over, and with a primal scream, he roared "WHERE ARE YOU?!"
"Oh, I left almost thirty minutes ago. Your setup was quite adorable. Really, it was. I was just not there for you." Tomura felt a pit begin growing in his stomach as Kurogiri began attempting to contact Dabi, Spinner, and Twice. At the same time, Kurogiri reported that only Dabi had replied, an explosion came from the main entrance. "Oh, what a shame. It looks like our time is up. Guess you three should probably start running. It sounded like Ground Zero is quite pumped up right now. Try not to let the game end just yet."
Tomura could only let out a howl of fury as Kurogiri teleported them away, humiliated.
"Alright guys, the intel was good. Dabi Is all by himself on the second level."
Katsuki frowned as he turned towards Shoto. "Why would he be by himself?"
Shoto shrugged. "They have been on the run for a while now. Maybe Tomura doesn't want to risk anyone else?"
Katsuki's frown deepened. "Maybe, Icy-Hot…. Maybe."
Uraraka felt the queasiness beginning in the bottom of her stomach and she popped one of her anti-nausea pills before resuming her watch. Her visor tagged and highlighted the various heat signatures through the brick walls, marking the human ones from the various pipes and air vents, and she went over the plan in her head again. She wasn't happy that they were still working with The League of Shadows, but so far they had been playing things straight. Memories of her parents flashed into her mind and she shook them away as a fourth signature appeared on her visor. This signal was cold but she recognized the monstrous outline of Ra's in his armor. "Groundzero, Shoto, Ra's is on the field. I repeat Ra's is on the field."
Dabi frowned as he paced around his spot. He had become disillusioned long before this, but now it was so much worse. He had idealized the first Ra's. The only person who seemed to understand the true man his father was. The only one to take a stand. His successor even finished what he had started. And yet he had helped Tomura burn his home to the ground. To help Tomura kill his best friend. And why? Because Tomura felt betrayed. But now everything was going wrong. Scouts and foot soldiers kept getting grabbed off the streets. Heroes seemed to know every move they made and every bolt hole they had. He looked through a doorway to where Tomura and Kurogiri stood to wait and he sighed. He turned away and he closed his eyes, only to be confronted by memories of Toga, or instead the bent broken creature that had been left in her place. She-
His musings were broken as he heard Tomura let out a roar of frustration before the temperature dropped rapidly around him. Before the ice could form, however, his blue flames quickly formed around his hands and he focused on raising the temperature as he scanned the area for his brother. He found the source and turned to the wall that the cold seemed to be coming from and prepared to fire a wave of flame once the wall broke. Instead, there was an explosion from behind him and something collided with the back of his head before it all went black.
Ra's couldn't help but grin as he ran a hand through his hair. He hadn't had a chance to cut it recently, and it was starting to look as wild and green as it had been before he left Japan. As his phone dinged his grin widened. Katsuki and Shoto had captured Dabi. As he turned towards the screen in front of him he let out a sigh and relaxed slightly. It would end soon. He was certain of that.
Spinner was kneeling before Talia as Ra's entered the room. He remained kneeling as Talia turned towards her husband. The two shared a brief look before Ra's turned to Spinner. "Rise, Spinner. Your loyalty will be rewarded on this day."
The reptilian man slowly rose, head still lowered. "Thank you, my master. I am most grateful."
Ra's waved a hand dismissively. "Nonsense. I am the only one who should be grateful here. You have been invaluable to the League and to me. So raise your head, and let us prepare for the end of an era."
Spinner's eyes widened. "So soon?"
Ra's green eyes hardened. "Tomura's time has come."
"Yes, master."
Sensing the question on his disciple's tongue, Ra's sighed. "He cannot be a part of this."
Spinner's eyes widened for only a moment. "But master, he is a valuable asset as well as one who values justice above all else-"
Ra's put a hand on his shoulder and Spinner stopped, instantly aware of his misstep. However, Ra's gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze to assure him that he was not in trouble. "I am aware. But he needs help. Real help. And he is receiving that help." Spinner nodded and opened his mouth to thank him, but Ra's continued "But he will never be able to be a part of our world. He will be rehabilitated and released back into the world once he has. But our crusade would only undo all of that work."
Spinner hung his head and nodded. He knew that Ra's was right, but hearing that he and Twice would never be able to work together still stung. Ra's watched him for a moment before removing his hand and walking back towards his throne. "Send Sakin and Hatsume to me. I have much that I need to talk with them about." Spinner nodded and with a quick bow headed out from the room. He hurried past Talia and Kyoka who stopped their conversation as he passed. He felt their eyes on him as he continued down the hall and they were still watching as he brought Toga and Mei back to the throne room.
Kyoka shot a worried glance to Talia as she felt her friend tense as Spinner left the throne room again. "Easy girl." She muttered just low enough for Talia to hear.
Furious grey eyes met hers and Kyoka almost took a step back. Then the anger faded into sadness and Talia looked away. "...we were supposed to be partners….do this together…."
Kyoka felt a pang as she remembered a similar promise that she had once made before she shook the memories away. "Hey now, you know that he is just stressed right now."
Exasperated, Talia let out a sigh. "Then why won't he ask me for help? We promised that when things were hard we would rely on each other." She turned towards the closed doors and her shoulders slumped. "But he barely speaks to me now. He calls for Toga, or Hatsume, or even Katsuki before he comes to me."
Slowly Kyoka wrapped an arm around her friend's shoulders. "Hey now….you and I both now the romantic idiot that you fell for." Momo felt herself smile slightly and Kyoka smiled as well. "But your father turned him into his successor. The head of The Demon. King of Shadows. And in order for that to have happened, he would have had to suppress the man you love in order to be the man he must be." Momo's smile fell and she opened her mouth but Kyoka wasn't looking at her anymore. She had turned to where Toga and Mei were exiting the throne room and she muttered her next words. "But that man is still in there." Then she pushed Talia towards the closing doors.
"And he just needs his queen to remind him of that."
The black-robed guard by the door met her eyes for only a moment before looking straight ahead once again. "He has requested not to be disturbed, my lady." His voice was level, though he became deferential at the end.
Talia raised an eyebrow. "You will prevent me from entering?"
The guard shook his head and stepped slightly further away from the door. "I will do no such thing. I was just informing you, my lady."
"Good. Let no one disturb us."
The guard only nodded and stepped in front of the door as soon as it closed behind her.
"Izuku Midoriya!"
Ra's almost jumped off of his throne at Talia's shout. As it was he accidentally hit the button that activated his cowl and annoyedly he hit the button again to deactivate it. "Talia, you scared me. What is it?" His annoyance dissipated, however, under the fury in her grey eyes. Instead, there was only rage. "What is it?" He asked again, much softer this time. He stepped towards her and reached out a hand, but she stopped just short of him, and he awkwardly lowered his hand. "Beloved?"
"Don't you dare!" She snapped, causing him to take a step back as if he had been slapped. That didn't stop her however and she took a step forward. "Don't call me beloved, and act like nothing is wrong, after systematically shutting me out of your life less than a year after we promised that we would rely on each other! That we would always be by each other's side!"
Izuku felt every barb pierce his armor and the cuts only went deeper and deeper as he realized the truth behind her words. Crushed, he looked away. "Tha-that-that wasn't what I was trying to do…." He clenched his jaw, then relaxed it again to remove the stutter. "I wasn't trying to push you away. I-"
"Then what were you trying to do?" Her anger began to fade leaving only the hurt left in her tone. "You spend days locked in here. You eat, sleep, and plan in here. You only speak to those you send on missions. Toga. Katsuki. Shoto. Itsuka. But it took me barging in here and demanding your attention to get you to even think about me. Why?" Tears were running down her face and she looked at the concrete floor beneath them. "Was I just part of your training? Something demanded by my father? Have you already grown bored of-"
She was cut off when Izuku all but crashed into her, wrapping her tightly in his arms, before he began to sob. Slowly she returned the hug and the two simply held each other. After several long minutes that felt more like hours to the two, Izuku slowly got himself under control, and slowly Momo began to feel the regret of how badly she had hurt him. Before she could apologize though, Izuku beat her to it. "I'm sorry. I am so sorry. I never meant to hurt you or push you away. That's not what I was trying to do. It's actually the exact opposite."
Momo pulled back slightly and frowned. "Then what were you trying to do? You stopped even sending me out as if you no longer trusted me to-"
"I couldn't risk losing you….."
Momo froze. Izuku wouldn't meet her gaze and she could feel his shame radiating off of him and it hurt her. "Izuku…" She placed her hand on his cheek and slowly his calloused hand gently rested over her own.
"I can't lose you. I can't. I've already lost too much…." His voice was hoarse and weak, and Momo instantly thought of all she accused him of. She tried to comfort him but he continued. "I lost my mother… I lost my dream… I lost my mentor… and I lost one of my best friends right in front of me. I look at Kyoka when she thinks no one is watching and I know that she is far stronger than I am. If I lost you I would…" He let out a shuddering breath before meeting her eyes. "I would have nothing left to live for."
Momo felt her own eyes warm and she quickly pressed her lips to his. When they separated, she rested her forehead against his. "You won't lose me." She knew what he would say and she cut him off before he could start. "Let me help you and there will never be a chance for anyone to stop us." She took his hand and interlaced their fingers before looking into his eyes. "If we are together, who could even come close?"
Izuku wiped at his eyes with his free arm and smiled. "How did I trick you into marrying me again?"
"I believe you cheated in a sword fight."
"Your dad made me!"
"Uh-huh, likely story!"
In the weeks that followed Ra's dropped off the map entirely. Katsuki felt his teeth grind together as Ochako told him that they still hadn't heard anything and he felt a bit of fear begin to form in his stomach as he tried to figure out what his old friend was planning. Had they been wrong to trust him? As he launched himself into the air to resume his patrol a sickening thought filled his subconscious. If Izuku had played them, then he had been planning on playing them for years, and if he had done that…..then what was he really after? Then his thoughts clicked into place and almost made him miss the next rooftop. As he stood there he suddenly understood every move Izuku made. All of their meetings and actions clicked and moved into an elaborate puzzle that suddenly made sense. Izuku wasn't after a what or a who….. He was sending a message.
Those who scurry in the darkness, hero, villain, or neither should be afraid. Because Ra's Al Ghul was here and whether you were by yourself or part of a League, no one was beyond his reach….
Hey guys, me again. So I wanted to update you guys on why I have been gone so long:
I am really lazy.
That's it. I just haven't been able to bring myself to write lately due to my really liking videogames. But since I am now trying to work on a schedule to keep my original fiction on track, I figured I should do the same for my fanfics. I made a promise that none of my works would be left unfinished and I meant it! We have one to two more chapters of this story before it is done, then I will likely go to For your eyes only, followed by Dreams. I really hope you guys enjoy!
Also, as always feedback is crucial and if it is good or bad I still want to hear it. It helps me grow and see what you guys like and dislike. Until then, all stories must come to an end and the story of The Demon is nearing its end. But how much fire will he bring with his end?
