Ring, ring...Ring, ring...Ring, ring...-click-"Hello?"
A girl with short brown rounded hair and a permanent dimple blush on her cheeks perked up when the other line of her call answered. "Hi, Mom, it's me!"
"Ochaco! Hi, sweetheart! How did the exam go?"
"I think I did pretty good. The written section was a whole lot easier than the physical. We had to fight robots! Actual giant robots! Can you believe it?!" The girl laughed as she walked down the sidewalk after the gruelling Entrance Exam for UA academy.
"Wow, that sounds pretty intense! But I'm sure the teachers made sure you were safe the whole time."
"Yeah...About that..." Ururaka's positivity shrunk for a moment. "During the exam, I got caught under some rubble, when this huge robot came out of nowhere, bigger than all the others... Taller than a building! I honestly thought I was gonna..."
"Ochako?" The girl's mother sounded worried over the phone.
The Zero Gravity girl caught herself and put on a forced perky attitude. "But then, the exam stopped! They told us that they expected us to retreat from the big one, saying that some problems we might face can't be solved by engaging the enemy or something, so it's okay!"
"Well, that's good to hear!" The girl's mother answered in relief. "You said you wanted to become a rescue hero, anyway. You can leave fighting villains to the other heroes."
Ochaco giggled as her mood improved. It was true, she wanted to become a hero so she could help people more than fight villains. That and hopefully provide for her family in the future. Her parents had done so much for her, so she was desperate to pay them back as a successful pro-hero. "You're right. I'll be home soon. See you later!"
"Bye, sweetie!"
Ochako hung up her phone and pocketed it in her coat. While she headed toward the train station, she passed a retail store with a bunch of TV's set up in the display window. A trio of bright yellow letters caught her eye, drawing her attention to one of the screens.
She stopped and turned to one of the screens, where a news reporter with a pair of large horns, one sticking out and the other filed down, spoke from his notes with the image of a man in a green hoodie with what looked like bunny ears displayed in the top corner.
"...In other news, the mysterious villain known only as 'The Green Rabbit', has struck again. When the pro-hero, Air-Jet, attempted to stop a daylight bank robbery, he was intercepted by the 'virescent vandal', who tampered with his signature jetpack, and sent the airborne hero flying into the window of an office building. We go live to Tsuki Monogaturi, who is on the scene."
"Thanks, Miyagi! Two hours ago, a clash between the law and lawless took place here in front of the first international bank of Musutafu. A gang of Villains, led by the increasingly infamous 'Green Rabbit' attempted a daylight robbery, tearing down the vault door and making off with over two billion yen in cash."
"The airborne pro-hero, Air-Jet, arrived on the scene and attempted to put a stop to the gang's escapade. The Green Rabbit engaged the hero, showing feats of athleticism that would put many other pro-heroes to shame, as he dodged the hero's air blasts from his arm cannons."
Inko was barely listening to her TV. She was sat in her living room, huddled up on her couch as she leafed through a photo album, containing pictures of her, and a happy, smiling baby Izuku Midoriya. On the lamp table to her side sat a pile of missing person photos, with a picture of her son's face from his school photo day.
She also had her house phone on her other side. Her hopes of getting the call she had been praying to receive since her baby's disappearance had dwindled over time, yet they still stayed alight. Every passing day, she swore to herself that if-When! When she could hold her little Izuku again, she would support him in being the hero he always wanted to be, no matter what.
All she could do for now, though, was keep praying...
"Unfortunately for Air-Jet, his efforts to stop the acrobatic assailant were in vain. After avoiding the hero's attacks, the Green Rabbit managed to inflict his own damage, rapturing the airborne hero's trademark jetpack, sending the airborne hero flying into a nearby office window. The Green Rabbit and his associates have long since made their escape, leaving emergency responders to come to the hero's rescue. We have been told that Air-Jet will make a full recovery, but his reputation has more than certainly taken a nosedive."
"Air-Jet hasn't been the only hero that the Green Rabbit has proven to be more of a match for. After making his debut seven months ago after bringing down the heavy-lifting hero, Death Arms, he has gone on to become a well-known name among hero society."
Katsuki Bakugo scoffed as he listened to the newscast on his laptop, whilst lifting dumbells as he sat on his bed. The Entrance Exam into UA had been a piece of cake. Heck, it was like the teachers practically invited him into their school, it was so easy.
And best of all; no whiney, weak, Quirkless 'Deku' to get in his way.
"Before the viral video was removed from the web, courtesy of the site's owners, as well as the HPSC, there was speculation over social media on whether or not the Green Rabbit was possibly Quirkless."
Bakugo nearly laughed out loud at that last comment. Like somebody without a Quirk could take out the likes of Death Arms, Kamui Woods, and even Midnight!
Well, it's not like it mattered to him, anyway. Pretty soon, he was going to show all those mouth-breathing extras who the real hero was!
And if he ever got the chance to take on that glorified bunny boy...he was gonna blast him into so many bits, there'd barely be anything left to make rabbit stew...
"The matter of the Green Rabbit's quirk or lack thereof is one of the many anomalies that revolve around this mysterious mastermind. Who is the Green Rabbit? What is he after? And is there any hero out there who could possibly stop him? Tsuki Monogaturi, signing off."
"Thank you, Tsuki. And now the weather..."
Deku was starting to notice exactly how much time he now spends down dark alleys since he became a villain.
He dumped a large bag filled to bursting with cash on the ground before the tailored black shoes belonging to his work proprietor. Giran looked up at the boy who dumped the bag in front of him, taking notice of the sour expression on his face. "...So, how'd it go?"
"Oh, the job went great! No heroes showed up, no cops, it went real smooth..." The young analyst perked up, only to give an even deeper frown. "Until the gang who hired me decided to try and cut me out of the deal, once they found out I was Quirkless!"
"Ah, geez! I told you to keep that under your hat, kid." Giran lectured as he unzipped the bag in front of him, his eyes marvelling over the endless green inside. "So, if they cut you out of the deal, where'd all this money come from?"
"This is my cut! The gang had a sudden change of heart after I...persuaded them." The Quirkless child gave a cocky sneer as he retrieved his Taser-Knuckle. Squeeze, squeeze. Zap, zap.
Giran couldn't help but chuckle as he retrieved his share of the score. "Y'know, that's a good way to lose street-cred with Villains who wanna hire you."
"I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm Quirkless," Deku stated without any hesitation. "If no one wants to do business with me because of that, that their problem, not mine...not anymore..." His eyes lit up as he recalled something. "Speaking of which, I've been meaning to ask you something."
"Shoot." Giran offered.
"You knew I was Quirkless long before we met, didn't you?" The young analyst queried. Giran said nothing as he took another drag from his cancer stick. Taking his silence as a 'yes', Deku pressed on. "If knew that I didn't have any powers the whole time, what was it that made approach me in the first place?"
Giran blew his smoke before giving his answer. "Kid, when I invent my time and effort into a client, I make sure I'm getting my money's worth. I need to be sure that I'm not gonna end up throwing my money away for some random street-tough with delusions of grandeur."
The green-haired boy thought about a certain blonde-haired explosion fanatic who fit Girna's description perfectly.
"I look for something that I know it's gonna be good for me in the long run. That I'm making the right choice in putting my faith in someone. The gap-toothed man went on.
"And that is...?" Deku asked passively, slightly fearing what the answer could be.
The villain broker grinned. "Promise. You got a lot going for you, kid. You know how to fight, you can move like a track star. And all that know-how you got about heroes and their Quirks is a guaranteed goldmine!" The gap-toothed man leaned back in his seat with confidence. "Face it, kid...you're worth something!"
Deku gave a small smile. Giran wasn't the touchy-feely kind, but the fact that he'd managed to impress the villain broker this much was an achievement he was certainly proud of. "Thanks."
"Just being honest." Giran dropped his rundown cigarette to the ground and stomped it out before retrieving another. "Now, back to the matter at hand. I got another job for you."
"Already?" Deku groaned tiredly. The last job had really taken it out of him, with the bigoted band of thugs he worked with being half of the problem.
"You know what they say? Ain't no rest for the wicked." Giran smiled.
"Fine..." Deku sighed in agreement. "So, what's the job?"
"Well, I can't exactly give you all the details," Giran explained. "The one planning it wants to keep this job on the down-low. He doesn't want many people knowing about it."
"...Sounds iffy." Deku deduced.
"True," Giran agreed. "But, in this line of work, you're bound to come across a shifty job or two. You're a smart kid. You should've known that it wasn't always gonna be robbing banks and knocking over convenience stores, right?" Giran defended himself.
Deku didn't like it, but the Villain broker had a good point. "Is there anything you can tell me about this 'big job'?"
"Well, I can't give you much," Giran blew a puff of smoke before showing a grin. "But it's got something to do with UA high."
Deku's face dropped. "U-UA High? THE UA High?!"
"I ain't talking about any other," The gap-toothed man chuckled. "You seem interested."
Of course, Deku was interested. For the first decade of his life, he'd always dreamed of going to UA; the most prestigious hero school in all of Japan. To be trained by the greatest heroes in the nation, and go on to become a great hero himself!
Life, as he had learned long ago, had a pretty twisted sense of humour.
"What's this job got to do with UA?" Deku asked, desperate to know more.
"Sorry. Can't give out any more on that matter." The Villain broker clarified. "But since we're such good friends...I can tell you that you won't be the only one joining in on this gig. A lot of other villains are gonna be joining in on this little endeavour."
With everything that Giran was saying, as well as what he wasn't saying, Deku was feeling more and more sceptical about all this.
"If you wanna know more about it, there's gonna be a big pow-wow at an abandoned warehouse outside of town." Giran took notice of the doubt on Deku's face before continuing. "Look, kid, I don't blame you for being cautious. But this is a once-in-a-lifetime gig! You may never get another chance like it! So, are you in, or out?"
Deku took a moment to speculate the proposal. He had always wanted to go to UA academy, and it seemed like the only way he would even be able to set foot on his most dreamed-of hallowed ground was to take part in an immoral venture like this. Not to mention the opportunity he would have to research the quirks and skills of any UA students he'd possibly come across. To know of their powers before they become pros, would come in quite handy in the future.
Then again, the whole unspoken operation seemed too vague and indistinct to have any faith in. For the likes of even Giran to be so secretive about it told the young analyst that this was going to be an incredibly high-risk operation. It would most likely be extremely dangerous, but also the motives behind it would be immensely sinister.
But he was smart enough to know that it was only a matter of time before he joined a job such as this. As Giran said, it wouldn't always be small-time bank jobs forever. Sooner or later, he was going to have to get his hands dirty and do something truly immoral as a Villain.
Yet as he thought that, deep down inside of himself, a small ache made itself known in the centre of his chest...
"Kid?...Kid?...Yo, Deku!"
The Quirkless child snapped his head back to the Broker. "Huh?!"
"Where'd you go, kid? You've been muttering up a storm for the past five minutes!" The gap-toothed man looked at the boy with concern.
"Oh! Um...sorry." Deku smiled innocently.
Giran sighed before proposing his offer again. "So, what do you say kid...Ready for the big leagues?"
Deku stayed quiet for a little while longer until he came to a decision.
"What time is the meeting?"
Deku took in the sight before him with wide, bewildered eyes. Giran said that there was going to be a large selection of Villains that were taking part in this operation. But it looked like there was a small army of superpowered criminals scattered around the vast, empty accommodation.
"Just like your first day of school, huh?" Giran noted as he stood to the kid villain's side. "All the other kids are either secluding themselves or making their own little huddle of friends."
"Yeah...except I feel more comfortable here than I ever did at school," Deku confessed.
The gap-toothed man looked at the boy out of the corner of his eye, taking mental note of the small clue as to why the Quirkless child turned to a life of crime. "Well, tell you what. Why don't you go try and make some friends? Could pay to have a few not-so-friendly faces on your side. Plus, it'd be a good chance to find some job offers after this operation's over."
Deku gave the idea some thought. "...Sure. I guess I can do that."
"Good to hear," Girn beamed as he turned to leave. "Now remember; play nice with the other kids, listen to everything your teacher tells you, and I'll be back to pick you up later!"
"Ha-ha!" Deku mocked back with a smile of his own. Once the broker was gone, the green hooded villain decided to have a wander, when he spotted one of the villains who had chosen to keep himself away from the rest. An enormous bulging beast of a man, wearing a stitched-together, dark green onesie, with a bull-shaped helmet mask, with three large horns sticking out of his head.
Deku decided to make his way over to the bull-man. The massive villain was busy sharpening a massive machete in his hands when he took notice of the boy approaching him.
"Hi!" Deku greeted kindly.
The Bull-man snarled, his nostrils glowing red.
Up in the rafters of the warehouse, a single blood-red eye peeked through the fingers of a severed hand attached to the face of a pale young man. He glared down on the numerous villains chatting to themselves, surrounding the bunny-eared villain.
"Is this really the best you could find, Kurogiri?" The hand-man spoke in a raspy, spite filled voice. "I bet none of them is at their max level!"
"There is no use in complaining now, Shigaraki" Kurogiri, a living mass of dark cloud wearing a bartender tux and a large metal collar around what was supposed to be his neck pointed out. "The plan is set, and we have the numbers we need. If all goes as planned, this will be the day that the symbol of peace falls."
"Fine...!" The hand-man growled as he slouched on the rail, leaving two fingers open to not touch the bar completely. A selection of other severed hands was clasped onto his forearms as he reached up and scratched at a red, raw spot on his neck ferociously. "Besides, they're just the first wave. They're nothing compared to the final boss!"
Kurogiri looked over the various Villains and noticed that there was a slightly large gathering in an area of the warehouse. He kept his burning yellow eyes on the centre of the crowd, a small boy with a green hooded sweater talking to every villain that approached him. His eyes became fixated, almost as if someone else was looking through the eyes of the living cloud other than himself...
"Wow~! So, your quirk allows you to shoot laser beams out of your nose? That's amazing! Does the heat from the laser hurt the inside of your nostrils? Do you have to lean your head back to aim, or do they shoot to where you're looking? And what's with the cow-shaped helmet?"
The bull-man was starting to get annoyed by the green hooded boy's constant questions. He rose from the crate he was perched on, easily towering over the green hooded boy. "Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?"
Before Deku could answer, he suddenly found himself ensnared by a multitude of grey snake-like hairs and hoisted into the air. The boy looked to see where the mysterious living hair came from. A woman wearing a dark purple pantsuit and a lighter purple striped shirt underneath. "Looks like someone doesn't know how to mind their own business."
Deku showed no sense of danger as he was raised off the ground, being more interested in the coils of hair that wrapped around him. "Wow! A manipulative hair quirk! From how high you can lift me, it must be able to extend to about twenty feet! Maybe more! Not to mention the amount of strength your hair fibres must have to lift me up in the first place!"
The bull-man and snake-hair woman looked at the strange boy like he was crazy. Which from how he was behaving, didn't seem that far off.
"Hey! I've seen those bunny-ears before!"
The three villains looked to see a man with the bodily structure of a dinosaur, with a fossilized head, stomping his way over and pointing a tiny arm at the suspended child. "You're that Green Rabbit guy, aren't you?"
The bull-man and snake hair woman looked back at the boy in shock.
Deku gave a tired sigh. "They're not bunny-ears! ...But yeah, that's me."
The dinosaur man laughed happily at his accuracy. "I knew it was you! This guy's practically famous! He nudged at the snake hair woman and bull-man with his little elbows. "He's been all over the news, taking down heroes one by one!"
The snake-haired woman looked back at the boy, taking notice of his green hoodie and the two flaps of cloth stitched to the head. "Oh, shoot, I think you're right!" She then lowered the boy down gently before unwrapping her coils from him.
"Thank you," Deku responded kindly as he dusted himself off.
"Hey! Is it true that you took down Kamui Woods by setting him on fire?" The dinosaur man asked earnestly as he approached the boy.
"Technically, I set his wood tendrils on fire. It's not my fault his costume proved to be more flammable than it looks." The young analyst explained.
The dinosaur man cackled with glee. "I told you it was him! This kid can figure out a hero's quirk, what their weakness is, and then use it to bring them down!"
The snake-hair woman and bull-man suddenly felt quite nervous being near the kid villain. They too were aware of the infamous villain the news had been talking about, who can decipher a hero's vulnerability and use it to his advantage. After hearing so many stories about the green hooded villain in the media, they had no intention of getting on his bad side.
"H-Hey, listen, kid! Sorry about grabbing hold of you like that! Hope I didn't hurt you, or anything." The snake-hair woman apologised with a forced laugh, hoping to ease whatever tension could be between them.
Deku merely gave the villainess a warm smile. "That's okay! Your hair is actually really soft."
For some odd reason she couldn't fathom, the villainess felt a little flattered at that, doing her best to hide her reddening face with her sentient locks.
Deku then looked to the bull-man, who flinched when the boy turned his way. The young villain then gave a small bow. "Sorry for asking you so many questions. I didn't mean to annoy you."
"U-Uh, no, no! That's okay!" The bull-man waved his hand in dismissal. "Y-You can ask me whatever you want!"
An elated smile came to the boy's face as he opened his notebook once more when a familiar voice called out. "Deku?"
The green hooded boy looked to where the call came from and spotted a familiar face. "Rock-Slide?"
It was the four-armed, grey-rock skinned bouncer from the Masquerade. The two had gotten to know each other quite a bit from the young villain's first appearance in the ring against Rappa. The two even spared against one another, forging a small kinship between them.
"Hey, Deku! Good to see you, buddy!" The rock-man, Rock-Slide, came up to the young trainee, only to spot the two other Villains surrounding the boy. "These guys giving you trouble?!"
"No, no, no, no!" Deku waved his hands in front of Rock-Slide to stop him. "I was just asking them about their quirks! "They didn't do anything, honest! I was just asking Bronco here about his quirk."
The bull-man raised an unseen eyebrow at what the kid just called him. "Bronco?"
"Oh! Sorry." Deku scratched the back of his head nervously. "Sometimes, when I'm taking notes, I like to make up nicknames for people I see and what quirks they have. Judging by your costume and your laser-nose quirk, I was thinking about calling you 'Blasting Bronco'..."
Deku's voice shrunk as he explained, feeling the bull-man's eyes bore into him.
"Hmm...'Blasting Bronco'..." The large villain thought the name over. "I like it!"
Rock-Slide gave Deku a hearty smack on the back, nearly taking the boy off his feet. "Kid's got a sick imagination. It's how he came up with my nickname!"
"Think you can come up with a name for me?" The snake-haired villainess asked cockily, yet curiously.
Deku placed a hand to his chin as he gave the question some serious thought. A light-bulb seemed to go off in his head. "How about...Split-Endz?...With a 'Z!"
The villainess gave her new nickname a thought before smiling to herself. "Hm. Not bad."
"Hey! Hey, hey, hey! What about me?!" The dinosaur man asked eagerly, almost like an excited toddler.
"Hmmm...Skullasaurus?" Deku suggested.
"...I love it! Because I've got a skull, and I'm a dinosaur!" The newly names Skullasaurus cheered as he waved his little arms.
As the Villains chuckled at the dinosaur man's celebrating Deku looked around at all of their faces. All these people were dangerous, deadly, and violent criminals, yet not one of them wanted to cause him any harm. While in his old life, on the 'moral' side of hero society, he was insulted, beaten, blasted, put down and pitied by everyone.
It would have been funny if it wasn't such a bad joke...
"Wait...did somebody say 'Deku'?"
The four villains looked to see the newcomer. A white-skinned, fish-faced villain, with gills in his neck and red streaks down his blad head. "You guys talking about the Quikless fighter in the Underground?"
Rock-Slide wrapped one of his multiple arms around Deku and brought him in close. "Who do you think we're talking to?"
Skullasaurus, Split-Endz, Bronco and the fash-man stared wide-eyed at the boy, struggling to register what the gravel-man just said.
"Wait...this kid?" The fish-man pointed at the green hooded boy. "This is supposed to be Deku?"
"Yup! It sure is!" Rock-Slide went on.
Deku sighed. He figured he might as well show his face as he took off his mask and goggles. "Hi, there."
The fish-man blanched at the familiar sight of green messy hair and freckles. "Holy cow! It really is you! The Quirkless kid who took on Rappa!"
A moment of silence.
"...Wait...you're Quirkless?" Skullasaurus asked the boy quizzically.
Deku showed a proud, fearless smile. "Yup! Sure am!"
"I heard a rumour that the Rabbit was Quirkless, but I never believed them." Split-Endz chimed in. "I mean, who could believe that a kid without a quirk could take on all those heroes, and win?"
"I'll tell ya who? Nobody!"
All heads turned to see a villain wearing a skull-shaped helmet and military-grade armour stomping their way. "You expect me to believe that this little twerp is the Green Rabbit, AND the Quirkless fighter in the underground?! Give me a break!"
"Hate to disappoint you, but it's true," Deku interjected. "I took my coach up on his offer to get me into the circuit, figuring it could help me get better at hand-to-hand combat. I'll admit, it's a little riskier for me since I don't have a quirk, but I think I'm doing pretty well, considering."
"Don't be modest, Deku! You've made a big splash in the Masquerade! The crowd loves it when you step into the ring!" Rock-Slide objected to the boy's bashful attitude.
"Oh, yeah? Well, how's about you and me go a few rounds right here and now, punk?" The skull-head challenged as he cracked his knuckles.
Rock-Slide stepped up to the skull-man with a fire in his eyes. "You're gonna have to go through me first, bone-head!"
The skull-man scoffed as he leaned around Rock-Slide to taunt Deku some more. "What's the matter? You gonna let your pal here do the fighting for you? I bet that's how you got your reputation in the first place! Letting guys with all the power do the heavy lifting for you, and you sit back and take all the credit!"
The Quirkless child scowled as he reached behind his back, his hand coming close to grabbing his trusty Taser-Knuckle...
"Silence!"
The warehouse went dead quiet. All heads turned to where the dry, venomous voice came from. Deku squinted his eyes to see the figure on the rafters. One he could easily make out, but the other seemed to be made out of complete shadow.
The one he could see wore a ratty black long sleeve shirt and slacks, with withered, shaggy ash coloured hair draping down from his head. Whatever he looked like was obscured by what looked to be a severed hand, clasping its fingers over his face, but Deku was able to make out a single, blood-red coloured eye gazing down at all the villains present.
What disturbed him more than the single severed hand concealing the man's identity, was the multiple other severed hands gripping the boy's forearms and the back of his head. It made for quite the disturbing site, as many of the villains around the boy grimaced at the sight of him.
"Greetings to you all! My name is Tomura Shigaraki." The mysterious hand-man raised his arms in a grand gesture. "And welcome...to the League of Villains!"
The gathered criminals all began to mutter among themselves, wondering what the heck was going on.
"You have all been gathered here for one reason, and one reason only…" The ash haired man went on. "The destruction of All Might!"
All the villains began to mutter apprehensively at the bold declaration. Deku's eyes were open wide, unable to believe what the hand-man, Shigaraki, had just said.
The hand-man continued his monologue before he could lose any of the villains present. "For too long, the so-called symbol of peace has looked down on the likes of us…flaunting his power, basking in the world's praise! He thinks he's untouchable! He thinks he's unbreakable! He thinks he can protect everyone, simply because he is here!"
"But soon, we shall reveal his weakness to the world for all to see. The world will see All Might for the fraud he truly is! With our combined forces, we shall make the proud symbol of peace fall!" Shigaraki maniacally giggled.
The young analyst stopped writing, gazing back up at the maniacal hand-man with wide, bewildered eyes. Could it be possible that this lunatic knew All Might's deepest, darkest secret? That he was starting to lose his strength?
"And how do you plan on doing that?" A villain that looked like a half-man/half chameleon spoke up.
"I'm glad you asked." Shigaraki leaned down over the railing of the scaffolding.
Deku noticed that when the hand-man placed his own upon the safety bar, he only gripped it with his thumb and three fingers, keeping one from touching the railing. The young analyst had picked up the fact over his villain career, that everyone with a Quirk had a certain 'tick' to their powers that kept them from causing unwanted damage. His quirk deciphering mind immediately deduced that the reason this Shigaraki kept one finger lifted on each hand had something to do with his Quirk.
"Our plan is to attack the top class of the prestigious UA academy." Deku's focus was back on the hand-man's words in an instant, his eyes wide with shock. "They will be secluded from the main campus at an isolated location they call the 'USJ'. Word has it that All Might is to be teaching the class at that moment, which makes it the perfect time to strike!"
Silence filled the warehouse. Shigaraki looked around the vast hall of confused and doubtful faces. Out of the crowd of criminals, a villain that looked like a living paper doll covered with drawn-on eyes raised its hand.
Shigaraki's one red eye narrowed sharply. "Yes?"
"Uh, yeah. Listen, I think I speak for all of us when I say that we're not exactly fans of All Might," The paper doll man got a few grunts of agreement around the room. "But as much as I'd love to see the number one hero brought down a peg, I don't think any of us could stand any chance against him, even if we all ganged up on him!"
"Ah! But you see...you're not going to be fighting All Might..." Shigaraki interjected, gaining a chorus of confused muttering to fill the hall. The hand-man raised one arm and snapped his fingers.
The entire warehouse shook. Heavy, thundering footsteps came to the ears of everyone present. all the villains started looking around for where the noise and the quaking floors were coming from. Deku found it difficult to keep his balance the stronger the ground shook.
Shigaraki directed the crowds' attention to the far end of the warehouse. "He is."
It was then that all eyes turned to where the villain was pointing...and saw the single most horrifying thing they had ever seen.
"Holy...!"
"That thing's huge!"
Is that its brain?!"
"What the heck is that?!"
Deku was asking himself the same question but was failing miserably to find an answer. The creature was gargantuan. Possibly as big as All might himself, if not, bigger. Its brain was indeed exposed for all to see, sitting in the cranium of a beak-faced, fang-filled maw, with two wide-open bloodshot eyes that refused to blink...if it even could.
The only piece of clothing the beast wore was a pair of beige shorts, with a pair of skull-shaped kneepads covering his enormous legs. The rest of its dark blue coloured body was exposed for all to see, showing off the bulging, inhuman muscle that made up its ginormous body, which the creature's skin looked to be tearing apart just trying to hold all the overwhelming muscle together.
The ghastly giant stomped through the crowd, the villains quickly scrambling out of the creature's path. It made its way to where Shigaraki stood on high, before turning about and faced the gathering of villains once more.
"This is the Nomu! A genetic experiment composed of a plethora of uniquely chosen quirks, specifically designed to do one thing and one thing only; Kill All Might!" The hand-man declared, his visible eye twitching with sadistic glee.
All the villains kept a vast distance from the grotesque monstrosity. Deku was still fathoming that such a thing could exist. A genetic experiment? How do you even begin to create something like that? How crazy do you have to be to even think of something like that?!
"Once we invade the USJ, we shall immediately sick our secret weapon on the number one hero, where it shall tear the self-righteous hero into a billion piece, with its bare hands!" The hand-man declared hysterically, a manic, unstable grin hidden behind the hand grasping his face.
"If you're so sure that thing can handle All Might, then why are we even here?!" A villain wearing heavy metal spiked wristbands and suspenders demanded, a handful of others agreeing with him loudly.
"That's the best part..." Shigaraki gazed back down at the masses below him. "While the number one hero has his hands full with the Nomu, the rest of you will attack the poor, defenceless hero students! He'll have to choose between saving himself, or the lives of others! The ultimate crossroads for a hero!" The hand-man leaned over the railing, coming close to falling over the edge in his sadistic joy. "I'm sure none of you here has any issues with killing a few kids...Right?"
As almost every villain in the warehouse shared a dark, harmonious chuckle on the fact, a pit had opened up in Deku's stomach.
Attempting to kill All Might was one thing, but...mass murder? Of students? Children?!
This was too much! He was way out of his league! Villain or not, there were some lines the green hooded villain was not comfortable with crossing! Coming here was a bad idea. He had to get out of there, now!
"You're crazy!"
The hand-man stopped cold. His one visible eye looked down to where the outcry came from.
A large burly man, wearing a black mask with red streaks over the eyes, wearing a black and red leotard, stepped forward with his arms crossed.
"...Care to repeat that?" Shigaraki hissed.
"Is anyone else here seeing how insane this all is?!" The burly villain looked around at all the faces staring at him. "Killing All Might? Killing kids?! That freaky thing?!" He pointed an accusing finger at the beast. "This is completely insane! You gotta be out of your mind to go along with this! And I'm crazy for even showing up! Forget this, I'm out of here!"
The burly villain turned to leave the building but was abruptly stopped by a large swirling vortex of pure darkness blocking his path. From out of the portal came the league master himself, trudging toward the burly villain like a zombie after its next meal.
Deku and the rest of the villains looked back to the rafters, where they could see a figure made of the same shadow as the vortex standing, holding open another portal. No doubt the one Shigaraki used to get down to their level so quickly.
"I don't think you understand..." The hand-man snarled as he drew closer to the black and red villain. "You've already logged in...and once you're in...you're in!"
Shigaraki grabbed the burly villain's throat with his right hand. A cry of pain escaped from the man until his wails started to grow weaker, turning into pain-filled gargling. The man turned toward the rest of the crowd, clutching at his throat, where the flesh and bone of his neck were disintegrating into ash.
Deku and the rest of the villain could only watch in utter horror, as the burly villain reached out to them in search of help, only to collapse to the ground, his entire body poofing into grey dust the second he hit the floor. No one said a word as they stared at the pile of soot that once used to be a living human being.
"I hate it when someone tries to leave the game early..." Shigaraki glowered at the mound of dust before stepping on top of it and walking up to the rest of the gathered villains, all of which took a drastic step backwards. "Now...does anyone else want to get banned?"
Silence..until a villain in the back gave a desperate cheer.
The hall soon echoed with the roars and cries of villains, who either wanted to go along with the hand-man's plan so as not to end up like the poor soul on the ground, or were looking forward to attacking the school, and bringing down the symbol of peace for good.
And Deku...Deku couldn't believe what he'd gotten himself into.