Queen Karma
Chapter 2: A New Plan
All Might lay in his hospital bed, the kids of class 1A surrounding his bed and presenting him with flowers and other get well gifts.
"Thank you, everyone." He said with emotion thick in his voice. "I'm sorry to have worried you all."
"We're just glad you, Todoroki, and Baku-bro are okay." Kirishima gave his arm a pat causing him to flinch. "Whoops my bad."
"Is it true that you're retiring from hero work, All Might?" Uraraka asked with tears in her eyes.
"I'm afraid so, Uraraka-san. My body can no longer withstand my heroic form." He coughed into his bandaged hand. "My most serious wounds will heal with time, and when they do I shall return as your teacher. There's still much I want to teach everyone."
"We'll be waiting for you." Iida saluted with tears in his eyes.
"Good… now there's something I want to say to you all in regards to Midoriya." He started and everyone immediately tensed up.
"Don't you worry, All Might." Kirishima frowned and clenched his fists. "We'll make Izumi pay for-"
"Do not thrust all your anger and resentment on young Midoriya. She is not altogether to blame for what happened." All Might rubbed his ribs. "I'm not sure what to make of the current situation… but one thing I know for sure is that she and the other members of the league are broken souls. They need to be stopped, yes, but they also need to be healed."
"Healed how?" Kaminari frowned over that.
"I'm not sure...but what I wanted to say is that what you lot should be concentrating on right now is not Young Midoriya." His fave turned serious. "I know you all have a vendetta against her, but you need to focus on attaining your licenses, and preparing for internships."
There was a solemn group sound of compliance. Mirio's head popped in, literally, and beamed at All Might.
"Hey, who started the party without me?" Mirio laughed then opened the door correctly. He set his cluster of flowers with the rest of the pile and greeted the others. "Hey everyone, long time no see."
"It's good to see you senpai!" Uraraka smiled.
"Likewise… Hey, do you guys mind if I have a private word with All Might here?" He pointed to the bed ridden teacher.
"Of course, please excuse us. Alright class 1A you heard him. Please file out in an orderly fashion, everyone!" Iida instructed and led the way out of the room. Once the two were alone Mirio set a hand on All Might's shoulder and gave a sad expression.
"I'm sorry, I should have been there to help you."
"It's quite alright, young Mirio. The most imposing threat is dealt with. Now we just need to focus our efforts on Young Midoriya, and the League of Villains."
"Leave it to me, All Might. As your successor I promise I won't fail you." He grabbed his hand now firmly gripping it in his. "Sir and I will find them and bring them to justice."
"I know you will… but I want to ask a favor of you first."
"Of course, anything."
"There's four students from class 1A who interacted with Karma during the siege at the camp. Tokoyami, Shoji, Bakugou, and Todoroki. They have some insight on Karma's state of mind. They might be able to help you pinpoint a weakness we can exploit and use it to take her down."
"Bakugou, Todoroki, Shoji, and Tokoyami. Okay I got it. I'll bring them to Sir right away!"
"No… not yet. Let them concentrate on their hero licenses for now." All Might glanced out the window, watching the storm clouds roll in. "There will be plenty of time for dark thoughts down the road."
~Meanwhile~
Rain stirred in the stormy clouds, lightning and thunder clashing and creating a dramatic backdrop for the League's safe house.
The building they'd taken shelter in had all manner of health code violations; mice, broken glass and shoddy repairs to the stairs and roof. The water ran hot but sputtered and wasn't as clear and clean as it should be. There was electricity, if you were brave enough to use it, room enough for everyone, and plenty of privacy for mourning.
Twice sobbed hysterically as he held Karma's limp hand. He crumpled beside her bed the moment they laid her down.
"Karma! It's not fair! She was so young! Ow!" He held his head where Toga smacked him. "That tickled!"
"Stop crying, silly, she's not dead. She's just exhausted from what happened." Toga sat beside Karma, her eyes sad and serious. "All for One was really mean to her. She deserves to rest."
"She needs more than rest, she's gonna need medical treatment. More than what we can provide her." Tomura frowned and turned as Ace walked into the room with Dabi and Broadcast."What news have you brought us?"
"We've successfully invoked chaos." Dabi announced and set newspapers on the table, various headlines exploding with the aftermath of Last Night's events.
The Symbol of Peace Triumphs for the Final Time?!
Criminal Mastermind, All for One Behind Bars.
League of Villains: Psychotic Murderers or Vigilante Heroes?
"The people are at civil war with their opinions. Speculations on the events of last night are widely decided amongst the spectrum. Some paint you and Karma as the ringleaders of a cult. Others see us as sympathetic figures who need psychological help, and only a handful of factions actually support our cause and rally behind the league's motivations."
"The illegal crowd no doubt…" Tomura rubbed his chin. "Not the kind of statement we were going for."
"All for One put a huge hitch into our plans and turned everything upside down, including our motives." Dabi agreed.
"Which may actually be a good thing." Karma's voice spoke raspily from the makeshift bed. All heads whirl to her.
"Karma! Izumi!" Tomura and Dabi shouted together.
"Queeny!" Toga squeezed her hand with happy tears in her eyes.
"Mommy!" Twice hugged her head while sobbing once again.
"You're crushing me," she wheezed out a cough and everyone backed up letting her sit up on her own. "All for One threw our initial plans into the garbage, but he also revealed the part he played in orchestrating everything prior to that. Sympathizers weren't what we were after but they're not necessarily a bad thing. We've got the attention of the world on us, their eyes trained in on what we plan to do next. Our follow up move is crucial in how we really want to be perceived."
"What do you suggest?" Tomura rubbed his gloves fingers together, his urge to scratch subdued for the moment.
"We need to lay low, lick our wounds, and come up with terms of negotiation." She explained and winced as her bruised rib pulled.
"Negotiation?" Magne pondered over the phrase.
"That's right. Now that we've got everyone's attention, and they know what our problem is with society, we need to give them a viable solution, and pair it with some form of leverage."
"So we tell society how we think it should run, give them instructions on what changes to make, then blackmail them into following it through?" Dabi interpreted.
"To sum it up, yes." She lay back down whooshing out a breath. "I need a faster method of healing. Ace can you dig through your contacts, and see if there's anyone who'd be willing to work under the table? We can bribe them if we have to."
"On it…" he pulled out his cellphone and started making calls. He motioned Broadcast to follow him.
"Dabi, take Twice and Magne and go visit Giran. See if there's any more potential recruits we can rally together; any form of a healer is a priority."
"As you wish…" Dabi nodded his head at the two and led the way out, hands in pockets.
"Spinner…"
"Yes, your majesty!" He immediately took a knee and bowed.
"We lost a good chunk of our supplies during this run. I need you and Mr Compress to catalogue what we have left. Have Kurogiri take you to the underwater supply room and make lists of what's useful, and what we can sell to pay for new and better gear."
"On my honor, your grace! I shall not fail you!" He jumped up and hurried out. Mr compress in turn took a bow.
"Let us know if we can be of any further assistance, your grace." He left with the excited Spinner.
"What about me Queeny?" Toga gripped her hand. "What can I do?"
"I need you…" She squeezed her hand back smiling. "On a top secret mission." She crooked her finger and pulled Toga in. She whispered in her ear and Toga squealed with delight.
"Really? I can do that?"
"Knock yourself out…" she nodded in approval. "... just remember, no killing."
"Aye, aye!" She saluted and ran out leaving her and Tomura alone. Tomura finally came to kneel down beside her and ran fingers over the bruises on her face.
"He really did a number on you. The sooner we find you a physician the better."
"Not that I didn't deserve the knocking around. I'm just glad he's finally where he belongs." Her initial smile dropped. "I'm sorry."
"For what?"
"For everything. For cheating on you, distrusting you, yelling and screaming at you. I completely lost my patience and let my fear get the best of me. I'm so grateful that you chose me…" She looked away for a minute, blinking back tears. "... even though I don't deserve your forgiveness."
"I need you, that much is obvious." He turned his hand over, brushing the knuckles across her temples. "I told you before that you need to take responsibility for making me dependent on you."
"That you did… but if I'm being honest Tomura I don't think you need me as much as you think." She closed her eyes, inhaling slow and deep. "You're still learning, but I can see the potential of a true leader hiding inside of you. When All for One showed up, I was afraid you'd realize that… and leave me to die."
"That kind of thinking has to stop." He glared at her. "The lack of trust, the secrets, the lies… all of it stops now."
"I agree…" she turned her eyes back to him, a harshness and courage. "... and I promise you, Tomura, that from now on I won't ever give you a reason to doubt or distrust me again."
"Does this mean you'll stop being physical with Dabi?"
"Yes." She said it automatically and slowly sat up. Tomura sat with her, pulling into his arms as she came to him. "I have an affection for Dabi… but the love and loyalty you showed me today proves that what we have is real. I won't let anything tarnish it or take it away… so I'll end it with Dabi."
"Good…" He brushed a kiss on her lips. "Then he can live."
"Hmmm…" she laughed softly wheezing in response.
"Since we're being honest… there's something I've been keeping from you. Something the master said to keep hidden from you because he didn't trust that you were loyal enough." Tomura hooked his arm around her, supporting her body and keeping her warm.
"Well he was right. I'm not at all loyal to him… but I'm loyal to you Tomura." She looked in his eyes. "If you trust me with it, then please tell me."
"I do trust you…" without breaking eye contact he kissed her fingers and divulged the hidden truth. "It has to do with All Might… and a quirk called "One for All."
~Giran's office~
A steady patter of rain trickled down the tinted window of the dark and dismal hideout. Giran sat behind a battered wooden desk flipping through files; a cigarette lodged tightly between his front teeth.
"These are all the files on those that have formalized an interest to join the League. There's no one of any real value, just the low grade lackeys that are good for skid work. I'll have more for you once I sort through the swamp of requests I was given today. As of right now, however, the best I can offer you is a hot spot." Giran notified his colleagues.
"Hot spot?" Twice inquired while shuddering.
"A hangout, a common hit zone for criminals and smaller villain organizations. With All Might out of commission, the scum of the Earth have come out to play." He explained.
"I guess it's a start." Dabi flipped one file open. "Any potential healers on file? Karma is in pretty bad shape and she needs proper treatment."
"Fraid not… though you could try the Yakuza."
"Yakuza?" Magne scowled. "Aren't they all on lockdown?"
"There's a few straggling clans who remain active despite being on the radar. The Shie Hassaikai would be the closest and largest one in the area."
"I don't care for the Yakuza. I'll do my own search. You know that area, don't you, Twice?" Dabi slapped his back. "Go check it out."
"Eh?! Why me?" He jerked forward from the slap but then quickly saluted. "Understood, Sir!"
"Hey wait," Magne protested with a pout. "What about me? You expect me to check out the hot spot all on my own?"
"Do whatever you want. As far as I'm concerned, finding a healer is our #1 priority. Everything and everyone else can wait." He waved her off and left. Magne huffed and snatched the folder from Giran.
"I'm starting to wish Shigaraki had just killed him."
~With Karma~
"You have cracked ribs, two wrist fractures, 3rd degree burns, and an extreme amount of bruising. I managed to halt any internal bleeding, and life threatening injuries, but your body is gonna be bed ridden for a while." The meek doctor told Karma with a hard swallow in his throat.
"I don't have a while…'' She grit her teeth and narrowed her eyes on the young, scruffy-looking, doctor. The insane deadly look in them had his back going rigid and blood running cold. "What good are you to me if you can't do your job properly?"
"Hiiieeee!" He let out a sound of sheer terror. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing else I can do for you, Queen Karma. I'm only a grad student, and a relatively new one at that." He held his hands up defensively. "My quirk isn't that powerful. It can only heal life threatening wounds."
"Damn it… fine.. Ace, pay the man and get him out of my sight." She waved her good hand and lay down sighing heavily. "Guess I'll be outta commission for awhile, Tomura." She turned her head towards him. "Will you be able to handle the next stage without my help?"
"I can… doesn't mean I want to. I'd much rather spend my time and energy finding you a proper healer." He took her hand kissing her fingertips. "When it comes to negotiations and handling people, no one excels more than you."
"We can't dally for long. The longer we stay MIA the more time the spectrum shifts and we lose what little ground we have." She slowly sits up. "We need to start wrapping our brains around a plan. Chaos and confusion will only get us so far."
"We have a plan, what we lack is the means to execute it. We have no leverage against the heroes."
"So let's find the means. Can you find me a computer, preferably a laptop, and a flash drive? I want to draw up the details of my plan and I'll need something I can upload the data on." She asked him, knowing she couldn't force him to do anything for her.
"I think I can manage that. In the meantime sleep, my queen." He lay his gloved hand over her eyes. "I need you at full strength, so rest and leave the small details to me."
"Mmmmmm" She nodded and closed her eyes. Once she heard him leave the room she opened them again and pèered out the window. Her mind wandered to their earlier conversation.
The one about the beginnings of All for One and One for All…
With All Might and All for One out of commission the fight of Hero vs. Villain came down to the next generation. Karma had no doubt in her mind that Mirio Togata was the chosen wielder of One for All. Which left her and Tomura the opposers to his power.
She had always known Mirio was strong, but to think the guy had inherited All Might's quirk…
"Damn it…" she grit her teeth. How the hell was she supposed to compete with that? She could barely even fathom taking on All Might in his weakened state let alone him in his prime. Now that Mirio had the power, and was steadily getting stronger with it, they were completely outgunned and overpowered.
Her quirk started to swirl and she had to take deep long breaths to steady herself.
"Calm down, Karma… there's no reason to over react. You've outsmarted Lemillion before, you can do it again." She looked down at her bandaged hand. "Focus on getting better… then figure out how to eliminate that power cycle."
"Talking to yourself?" Dabi spoke from the doorway and had her tensing up. Had she really been so engrossed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard him come in? "That's never a good sign."
"What are you doing here?" She turned a tired look to him. "I gave you an assignment."
"And It'll be completed… but I wanted to come check on you first." He walked over and sat on the edge of her bed. "You look like hell."
"Thank you for your keen observation, but I'm fine. My life is no longer in danger. I'll just be bed ridden for a time until we can find someone to help finish healing me."
"That's good to know." He lay his hand over hers and smiled. "Soon you'll be making those heroes wish they'd never been born."
Karma had to smile and she turned her hand up to give his hand a squeeze.
"Your confidence in me is appreciated."
"Appreciation is nice but… you and I both know the kind of reward I'd prefer." He leaned in, his eyes closing as he lowered his lips, expecting her to follow suit. Instead he felt her cool fingertips against his lips, and he scowled against them. "Don't worry," he pulled her hand away and scooted in closer. "Shigaraki and the others are gone. It's just us."
"Stop it." She grabbed his chin firmly this time and made him look in her eyes. "This needs to stop. I can't do this anymore, Dabi."
"What the hell are you talking about? Why are you getting so freaked out?" He pulled back scowling at her. "Sure things got dangerous, but you worked your magic on Tomura like you always do. Take the damn victory."
"What victory, and what magic? Don't you realize just how close the two of us came to losing our lives yesterday?" She shoved him back a little. "This… thing… between us has gone on for long enough. I can't keep hurting Tomura like this or I'll just wind up losing him and his trust."
"You don't honestly believe he actually cares about you, do you?" Dabi narrowed his eyes. "I thought you were smarter than that."
"He does care about me, Dabi." She glared back at him. "He proved that to me yesterday by choosing me over All for One. You don't understand what that meant to me. " She argued and got a snort in return.
"He didn't choose anything." Annoyed, Dabi got to his feet. "Do you honestly think that idiot is capable of making his own decisions?" He waved it off with a temperamental flick of his hand. "Tomura "chose" you because you made him choose you. You used every female trick in the book to make him submit to you all over again, and it worked! The man's hopeless without you."
"Mind your tongue, Touya." Karma's eyes hardened. "You're making me sound as manipulative as All for One, and I don't care for it."
"Wake up, babe." He snagged her by the chin, smirking. "You're even more manipulative than he is. All for One merely dangles his power in front of others, and lets fear and anger handle the rest. Without that fear and anger, he's just a crippled old man with a chip off his shoulder." He nuzzled his lips over hers, his smirk growing when he saw the fight and fire burn in her eyes. "You on the other hand, use your words, and actions to stroke and soothe their hearts as if you were singing them a lullaby. You've got everyone in this league eating out of the palm of your hand like helpless puppies, and It's sexy as hell watching you tug on their leashes."
The harsh smack was expected, and Dabi grunted in turn. He held his cheek, wiggling his jaw to make sure the staples were still in place.
"How dare you speak to me like that?" She turned to sit on the edge of the bed, tears filling her eyes. "What the hell has gotten into you?"
"Gotten into me?" Fire trickled across his fingers as his temper flared up. "What about you? You were ready to watch the world burn, but lost all the fight you had after one little scare from the big bad super villain. That's not the Karma I know."
"Shut up! I never wanted that! I never wanted to watch the world burn!" She gripped her hair, tears spilling down her cheeks as the screams and fire from the night before haunted her conscience. "That's not what the goal was."
"The goal was to make All Might bow at your feet, but instead you were the one who wound up bowing in order to keep Tomura from killing me." He sneered, remembering the image vividly and couldn't stomach it. "If you're planning to stay on your hands and knees to protect me, you can save yourself the humiliation. I don't need your damn protection!"
"Well too damn bad, you're getting it!" She lifted her head again, her quirk going haywire as the furniture began to shift and wobble. "Because despite what you might think, I'm not here to manipulate anyone! I care about you, about the league! I want to make your lives better! I want to-"
"-to make the world a better place for us all. Yada, yada, yada… geez you're turning into a broken record." Dabi rubbed a finger in his ear as if to clear it of wax. "Say whatever you want to make people believe you're some kind of saint, but you're nothing of the sort."
"I never said I was a saint, but I'm not the cruel manipulative bitch that you're making me out to be. If that's what you've taken away from our time together, then perhaps it's a good thing I'm stepping on the brakes!"
"You're a villain, Karma, plain and simple. You plan, you scheme, you manipulate and coerce… and you're damn good at it. I know more about you than any of these losers, especially Tomura!" He stalked over to her, and gripped the front of her shirt. She winced in response and gripped his hand, her eyes no longer full of fire, but instead pain and fear. "You're nothing but a game piece to Tomura. You're his Queen, his ace in the hole… and in the end that's all you'll ever be to him."
"You're wrong… he loves me."
"I'm not wrong… I've seen his type before. So focused on his goals and his dreams that he doesn't care who he hurts. It doesn't matter to him that you're willing to do anything and everything he says just to earn a second glance from him. He won't see you as anything more than a pawn to play, and throw away once you've served your purpose and something better comes along."
They were no longer talking about Tomura, Karma realized and the anger died away and was replaced by sympathy. She reached out touching his face, reading into those piercing blue eyes that were so full of anger, resentment, and hurt.
"He's not Endeavor."
"Not yet…" he whispered, and the anger in his eyes died too. He slowly released her. "...but you'll see. Men like him don't change, Karma. He's hurt you before… it's only a matter of time before he does it again."
"I have faith in him…" She said it quietly, so quietly that even she didn't quite believe her own words.
"Your faith will be wasted." He turned his back to her to walk out. He stalled at the bedroom door to glance back at her. "So that's it then? You're just gonna let him demote me to a measly pawn?"
"You're not being demoted, Dabi. Just because we're not sleeping together doesn't mean you can't still be my knight." She gave him a soft smile. "After all we're still friends, right?"
"Tch, kiss my ass, Karma." He ripped the sword pin off his coat and tossed it over his shoulder. It landed with a plink on the old boards, and Karma felt a stab right in her chest. "Don't bother trying to sugarcoat this."
"Dabi, wait." She forced herself out of bed, picking up the pin. "Please don't leave like this. I mean it, I still need-"
"You don't need anyone, Karma, Not Tomura, not the league, and especially not me." He glared back at her. "You've got plenty of people who are more than willing to do your bidding for free. I'm not one of them. The only reason I obeyed you at all was because I believed there was something more between us than just sex… but you've made it quite clear that that's not the case."
"You…" fear pitted in her gut as she struggled to stand up. "You're leaving the league?"
"That's right… any lofty goals I had went up in smoke the day I met you. Now that you're through with me I'll do as I please as I always have. Don't expect me to follow orders without some kind of compensation." He flipped her off. "Later, your highness."
"Dabi wait… you can't just! Damn it I said wait!" She stumbled to her knees as the pain in her ribs prevented her from walking any further. Her breathing shortened and she stretched a hand out as he continued to walk. Her vision blurred as the tears formed and spilled down her cheeks. She collapsed onto the hardwood floors and gripped the pin to her heart.
Once downstairs Dabi paused and glanced up at the stormy weather. His body was instantly drenched in a sudden downpour and he let out a long heavy sigh of relief. He wiped a thumb over his scarred tear ducts, blood staining the skin there.
"Damn it… now what the hell am I supposed to do?"
~Ask Briry~
Briry: Oof I hurt myself.
Next Chapter: Toga's Mission