Izuku busted into a hysterical state of laughter. It was raw, unhinged, and unyielding laughter. His voice filled the bar and it reverberated against the walls, further irritating Tomura until a vein protruded from his forehead.

"I will take that as a yes!"

Tomura charged directly towards Izuku, who continued his maniacal laughter. However, before he could make contact with him, Toga suddenly appeared to Izuku's side and wrapped both of her arms around him. In one quick motion she managed to move him and herself out of harm's way with a tackle that turned into a harmless barrel roll across the ground.

Izuku continued to laugh, and Toga helped him onto his feet and began to dust off his clothes.

"Toga, what are you doing?!" Tomura snapped at her.

"Wait Tomura!" Twice shouted.

"Fight to the death!" Twice also shouted.

Izuku's laughter died down as he scanned the room. Kurogiri remained motionless, his expression was unreadable as always. Dabi appeared to have been remarkably unphased and unbothered, he seemed almost bored. But he had always been the most difficult member from the League Of Villains to read. Where did his loyalties lie?

Mr. Compress and Spinner both stood out of their seats and postured in Izuku's direction. They awaited Tomura's orders no doubt. Spinner had a hand shading the hilt of one of his katana blades, and Mr. Compress sulked along the perimeter, but he made sure not to stray too far from Tomura's vantage point.

Twice seemed rather conflicted, to say the least. He didn't want to see his fellow League members tear each other apart, but he also was willing to allow "justice" be carried out on Izuku if he was found guilty of betraying All For One.

Fortunately for Izuku, everything that had occurred up until this point had been by his design, so he already knew what card to play in his hand.

"Am I the only one who noticed it? Really? This is rich!" Izuku chuckled.

"What's so damn funny?!" Tomura spat at Izuku, his tone dripped with potent venom.

"Isn't it obvious? All For One wanted to be captured! It's a message!" Izuku exclaimed.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dabi sneak a glance at him before turning his attention back to the television monitor.

"What?! If All For One had a plan like that then I would have known about it! Do you really think that-"

Izuku wagged his finger at Tomura.

"Poor Tomura, unable to pick up on context clues?" Izuku mocked him in a sing-song voice. If looks could kill, then Tomura's glare would have struck the quirkless boy dead on the spot.

"While you were out on your useless excursion, I gathered valuable clues at the police station headquarters in Tokyo. I even spoke with the Chief Of Police himself, Kenji Tsuragamae."

"So? I already know who the Chief Of Police is, why would that matter to me? It's a public record. And what clues could you have picked up at the police station?"

"So...I know how to get to him. I have the entire layout memorized. It wouldn't be hard for us to capture Kenji and initiate a hostage exchange."

Tomura was taken aback by Izuku's plan.

"A hostage exchange?"

Izuku nodded his head.

"The city's beloved Chief Of Police in exchange for All For One."

"And what if they don't accept our deal?"

"Then we ask them to please kindly release another prisoner for us, or we kill him. Is that a simple enough plan for you to follow?"

Tomura's gaze softened, as if he had been enlightened. He finally understood the mind of the boy that stood before him. He was cunning, calculating, and shrewd. His mind was maniacal, and he thought several steps ahead. The boy was sharp.

But he was also clinically insane.

His plan was devious, but it didn't make any sense. All For One would want to be captured to be exchanged? That didn't make any sense. No, this kid was lying. He must have tipped the police off while he was at the station, that's why the pro heroes's response time was as quick as it was.

"You're insane, and I don't know what All For One saw in you," Tomura stated in a matter of fact manner.

"Spinner! Compress!" Tomura shouted their names and they were immediately on the move. Spinner drew his katana blade and jumped high into the air, ready to strike down Izuku who was being guarded by Toga, the femme fatale armed with a butcher knife.

Mr. Compress attempted to move in from the rear in order to sneak up on Izuku from behind, all the while Twice was screaming in the background, roaring for them to cease and desist, and to tear each other apart at the same time.

Suddenly, a pillar of blue flames emerged around Izuku and Toga to erect a makeshift barrier around them, forcing Spinner and Mr. Compress to back off lest they get burned alive and die in agony.

"Tomura," Dabi stood up from his chair, his expression was the same as ever, a mix of boredom and impassiveness, yet there was a glint of curiosity in his eyes, as well as realization. He had been following along what Izuku had said and he had put all the pieces together for himself.

"Shut up for a moment."

Tomura was vexed, but before he could attempt to move another finger, azure flames encircled him and spewed forth from the ground, forcing him to stay within the confines of it.

"You," Dabi turned to face Izuku, his emerald irises were absent of any and all discernible emotions.

"You betrayed All For One." It wasn't a question, it was a statement.

Izuku raised both of his arms up in jest. "Guilty as charged."

"You little-" The flames around Tomura grew more intense and closed in on him ever so slightly.

"Shut up," Dabi said once more without turning to face him.

"All For One recruited you, but he destroyed your life in order to do it," Dabi spoke plainly.

Izuku nodded his head in affirmation. "Guilty on both counts."

"Oh snap!" Twice shouted.

"I knew it all along!" Twice also shouted.

"Toga, you knew about this too, why didn't you tell me?" Dabi asked her. His facial expression feigned hurt.

Toga smiled at him sheepishly.

"I'm sorry! It slipped my mind!"

"Regardless, I knew something was fishy the day that All For One had his sights set on you. Everything happened too sudden to be mere coincidence, I'm honestly surprised that you hadn't figured it out sooner, but maybe it was easier for me to tell since I was on the outside looking in ," Dabi mused.

Izuku was, to say the least, shocked yet he was also extremely pleased. Dabi rarely spoke, if at all, but he was so observant! He knew how to read people too, and how to read a room and control a situation. Izuku knew that he had to recruit him by any means necessary.

It was a mere chance that Dabi stepped in when he did, but he figured that someone would. Most likely Kurogiri, but for it to have been Dabi, well, it was perfect. It was a rare moment for the two of them to come to an understanding.

"With that said, you're lying about your plan aren't you? You don't really want to release All For One, do you?"

So, he could see through him.

"No, my plan was to use Kenji's hostage negotiation as a distraction while we broke inside of Tartarus and released the most terrifying villain of all….Stain."

Dabi's expression flashed with surprise before flickering back to their normal expressionless state.

That was it, that was his bargaining chip.

Izuku also saw it in the way Spinner relaxed his muscles and stood attentively.

There was one person that Dabi admired, and that person was Hero Killer Stain.

Izuku regretted how poorly Tomura mishandled him. Stain could have been an invaluable ally, but his potential was squandered instead. It was a waste, but it wasn't a wrong that could not be righted by more capable hands.

He knew that there would be at least one member of the League who shared his sentiments. Stain was an extremely polarizing figure, and he inspired many. Tomura was jealous of him, but Izuku saw an opportunity.

"I see," The blue flames that encircled Tomura dispersed into harmless embers that harmlessly flickered out on the wooden panels of the sports bar. The fire that surrounded Izuku and Toga had also dissipated.

"Kurogiri, what is the worst case scenario in all of this?" Dabi asked him.

Kurogiri took a moment to think before answering.

"Izuku successfully captures Kenji Tsuragamae, but fails to negotiate an exchange. Instead, they double down on not negotiating, and his distraction fails. Thus, when he attempts to break the Hero Killer Stain out of Tartarus, he along with the remainder of the League are captured."

Dabi shook his head.

"Wrong. The worst case scenario would be that we all die, and the League Of Villains flame out before we ever reach our peak. What you described would be pleasant by comparison," Dabi said.

"I don't care one way or another, but even I can tell that All For One fought All Might so that the League could remain intact. He also must have known that what he did to Izuku would bite him in the ass one day, otherwise he let a little boy out think him, in which case that wouldn't make him much of a 'Symbol Of Evil.'"

Tomura became visibly flustered by Dabi's statement. Did All For One really get captured on purpose? Was he truly outfoxed by a quirkless pipsqueak like Izuku?

"So, let's all make our decision now. And then we go our own separate ways. Got it?"

Toga wrapped her arms around Izuku's neck and clung to his body like a schoolgirl drunk on the love of her first crush. Her allegiance was never in doubt.

Spinner remained silent, but he slowly began to walk towards Izuku's side. Even though he had yet to speak, his silence still spoke volumes. There was one man that he admired as well - and it was Stain. Well, one could tell by his militant attire and his flowing red scarf that Stain similarly wore.

Dabi made his way towards Izuku, meanwhile Mr. Compress began to circle back around to Tomura's side, but Kurogiri remained where he was.

"I am a neutral party, but consider this bar to be a safe haven for any of you to come back to should you need to. I only ask that if any of you were to cross paths here to please abstain from fighting, or else I will be forced to warp you out of the premises."

Tomura was beside himself. He felt betrayed, he and All For One took every single one of these low lives into their fold and this was how they repaid them?!

One day, there will be hell to pay.

But that day wouldn't be today.

"You're all a disgrace to the League," Tomura spat. "And that boy won't lead you anywhere but to your graves, if you're lucky," He began to walk towards the exit, and Mr. Compress followed suit, but before he left he turned to speak to the remainder of his, now former, allies.

"It was fun performing with you lot, unfortunately the show was stopped before we could reach the grand finale. I do hope that we can all collaborate on another project together. But for now I must bid you adieu," And with those words, Mr. Compress made his exit.

There was a moment of silence before everyone turned their attention to Twice.

"Can't I just stay here and do nothing?"

"I would love to help out in any way that I can!"

"So it's decided, Twice you're with us."

Well, this development could not have played out any better in Izuku's eyes. Tomura is gone, although he will surely return, his threat level for the time being is negligible at best. He wasn't nearly as resourceful as Izuku believed himself to be, but it was unfortunate that he took Mr. Compress along with him. Still, now he could move on with the next phase of his plan.

"So bad boy, where should we go next?" Toga asked him.

"Didn't you hear Kurogiri? This is our new headquarters," Izuku said. He approached the bar and sat down on one of the bar stools. The rest followed his lead and took a seat near him, meanwhile Dabi leaned against the bar and Kurogiri began to sweep in the background for upkeep purposes.

"Now," Izuku rotated his bar stool so that he was facing the rest of the group.

"I am not your leader, consider me an advisor. If my life becomes endangered then that would be insignificant in the grand scheme. What we represent must never die, that would be the greatest travesty of all." Izuku's expression darkened as he recalled when he was left bleeding out all alone, with no police officer or pro hero in sight.

"Wherever heroes go they must be reminded of the shadows that lurk behind every alley, and between every crease and crevice. Injustices are being done right in their own backyards, but they will never notice them because the system is broken. But we will remind them that there is no rest for the wicked.

And that, in essence, is the Idea Of Evil. And this is an ideology that must never die. Our goal isn't to keep any particular member alive, but the Idea, never forget that."

Surprise update!

First of all I would like to thank kaine541204 for his (or her) awesome review!

Unfortunately I can't delve too deep into your critiques without spoiling what's to come, but just know that I have kept your critiques in mind long ago and the pacing as well as the dynamics of the story will elevate along with the stakes as we move on. I'm still somewhat setting the stage so to speak, as we haven't reached the climax of the overall story yet.

I encourage everyone to comment and review your honest opinions, it really motivates me and keeps me going.

Thank you very much and please be safe out there!