The Black Phoenix
Author's Notes: My apologies for the delays. Thank you to all who have been patient with the updates!
Chapter 9: Guilt and Regret
"If I may, Queen Karma." Compress spoke up, the tremor in his normally calm and confident tone alerting her to the terror he was experiencing. "Don't you think this a bit extreme? It's three against ten, the odds are not-"
"You're mistaken, Mr. Compress…" Phoenix's curt tone cut him off. "The Shie Hassaikai are not here to assist me in killing you. They are merely here to ensure you don't try to escape. All three of you will die by my hands.'' She stretched out her leathery taloned fingers. "Otherwise the cure won't work."
"That hardly changes any-"
"Shut it, Compress!" Shigaraki ordered. "This isn't the logical and fair Queen you once knew. This is an imposter." He pointed an accusing finger at Phoenix. "She's a shell of the woman I once loved; crippled by fear, and hatred. I look forward to ending your suffering, bitch."
"Humph…" Phoenix laughed, using her quirk to control a chain that slithered across the ground like a thick metal snake. "...and I can't wait to see you try,"
"She's mine!" Shigaraki called and the two former lovers rushed each other. The chain Izumi had control of snapped out like a whip, breaking apart he concrete floor where Tomura had dodged away from. Having predicted his movements Izumi closed in on him quick. She feinted a punch his quick dodge giving her the right trajectory to grab the back of his head and ram it down into her updrawn knee.
Tomura reached out with his ungloved hands, reaching for skin, clothes, or weapons, But Izumi quickly dropped the chain so the barrier surrounded her body and protected her from his touch.
"I wonder what's stronger. My resolve, or your stamina?!" Tomura gripped her arms firmly and dug his heels in so she couldn't pull herself away. He returned the updrawn knee attack she'd used on him before, ramming his into her stomach over and over. Despite the shield, the impact of his leg forced her to let loose more energy, and he could see the damage he'd done in her fury filled eyes.
"Doesn't matter, because my resolve and my fury far out lasts them both!" She screamed at him, her quirk lashing out and tangling his limbs in her massive black sentient aura. His body collided into the pile of crates. Toga recalled seeing this same fury used when Izumi had killed Endeavor.
Fearful that Tomura would suffer the same fate she rushed in, ready to defend her friend and leader.
Phoenix knew about Toga's disappearing technique, but still she hadn't been prepared for the sudden stab from the side. She dropped her aura, releasing Tomura who lay in the debris for a moment to collect his breath. While Toga kept Izumi busy, Mr. Compress reached for his bracelet in an attempt to summon Kurogiri.
"Kai!" Phoenix screamed, having noticed the movement. Chisaki slapped his palm to the ground, a mountain of spikes rushing the floor. Compress dodged but a spike impaled his leg, crippling him to the ground. His bracelet skittered away from him, and was crushed underfoot by Chronos.
"You heard Phoenix… it is our job to ensure you don't attempt to escape your fate." Chronos crouched down eye level with him. "Your time is up." He stabbed Compress with his arrow, slowing his movements so he could not respond any further.
Meanwhile, Phoenix dodged and rolled against Toga's wicked fast attacks. Remembering the lessons she'd been given by Rappa, she took up a boxer's stance rather than her more open one. She smoothly dodged the knife, turning her body to grip the arm and roll them both down. She trapped Toga in an arm lock, making the teenager wince and glance back fearful.
"That hurts! I thought you were my friend! You said friends don't kill other friends!" She struggled against the lock, but couldn't seem to break free.
"You're right, mmmph I did." She gripped the knife and slid it across her own hand so that a small line of blood dripped down. "... but was I really right about that Toga? After all, haven't you wanted to kill me since the day we met?" She reached out, covering toga's mouth with her bleeding hand. "Don't you remember the very first time you drank my blood… how I showed you my loyalty and my trust by letting you feast on it whenever you wanted?"
"I remember…" Toga panted, the scent and sight of the blood making her moan. Her eyes rolled up and her tongue lapped out to drink the blood offered to her now. "It's so yummy!"
"That's because it's given with love." She released Toga, holding her back against her. Her hot breath tickled Toga's neck and ear as she cuddled her close. "I love you, Toga-chan."
"I love you, Queeny." Toga murmured and turned into the embrace so the two hugged. "I want more of your blood… can I have more?"
"Of course you can…" Izumi unzipped the front of her costume so it opened just enough to expose her neck, collarbone, and the swell of her breasts. Toga immediately sank her teeth into her shoulder, feasting like a vampire. "Consider it your last meal."
"Mmmph?" Toga's eyes snapped open wide and before she could pull back, the knife she'd tried to stab Izumi with, instead stabbed her in the back, and right into the heart. Toga slowly pulled away, her mouth bloody both from the blood she drank, and her own that was filling up her lungs. "W-Why?"
"I told you…" Tears spilled down Izumi's cheeks as she watched Toga's already pale face go stark white. "I love you, Toga-chan."
"Oh…" Toga smiled slowly. Killing something had always been, in her mind, the deepest and most intimate expression of love. "I see… I guess you loved me, more than I loved you."
Toga's body collapsed onto the ground, and bled out around hers and Izumi's crouched forms. Izumi stayed where she was for a moment, the knife still gripped tightly in her hands, and small trickles of blood oozed down her shoulder from where Toga had bitten her.
"Yeah…" She whispered as the tears fell one by one. "I guess I did."
Tomura emerged from the rubble of boxes, a bit cut up but otherwise fine. Izumi heard him and also got to her feet to face him.
"You're gonna pay for that, you bitch!" He scratched at his neck irritably.
"Yes, I imagine one day I will." She flicked the knife, Compress letting out a slurred cry as his slowed body took a moment to register the pain of impact as the knife caught him in the chest and he slumped down dead. "Just not today."
"And then there was one…" Kai murmured, a look of pure delight in his eyes as Phoenix crossed to Tomura.
"You're really gonna kill me, the man you gave up everything for, your mother, your hero career, your ideals... just because this lunatic tells you you're sick? I don't buy it!"
"You're right…" She reached into the pocket of her jacket, stepping close enough so she could whisper to him. "Overhaul can say whatever he wants, I don't trust his words or his plans by a long shot. He's not the real reason I'm gonna kill you."
She pulled out Dabi's pin and rubbed her taloned fingers over the metal. Tomura's eyes glanced down, saw it, and sneered.
"I should have had master kill him more slowly… so I could watch the look on your face as he screamed and pleaded for his life." He smirked when he saw the furious look in her eyes. When she lashed out this time he was ready. He gripped her hand. Making her his and pull back the talon, the pin dropping to the floor. The skin alonger her fingers cracked and started to peel but she didn't let up.
Her jacket flared up and she pulled something out of the slot of her belt. It was a small metal cylinder that fit in the palm of her hand. With one quick click it unleashed a metallic silver whip that glowed from the energy she poured into it. She gave it a crack, smacking it across his face and drawing blood. On the second crack he grabbed it, but was unable to disentigrate it due to the energy surrounding it. He gave it a quick pull to bring her forward, but Izumi dug her feet in, tugging back.
"I see… Giran. You've been working with Giran all this time." Tomura grit his teeth. "I'm gonna have to kill him once I'm out of here."
"Ha, even if you manage to kill me, do you really think my new friends will just let you waltz out of here?"
"No… but then-" He turned his wrist, and Izumi saw the red pulse on his watch indicating that Kurogiri had been summoned. "They're not gonna have much of a choice."
"No!" Izumi's eyes went wide and she set her teeth. "You're not getting away!"
"Watch me!" He let go of the whip, the force she'd been using to pull him to her, causing her to stumble onto the ground. He rushed back towards the boxes, knowing that would be the place Kurogiri would emerge.
"He's getting away!" Kai screamed at his team, but it was too late.
"I won't let you!" Izumi screamed as tears spilled down her cheeks and her emotions went haywire as did her quirk. "I won't let you leave me again!!!"
Tomura skidded to a stop as all the broken wood, rusted metal, and other various debris floated upright and launched directly at him. He held his palms out in an attempt to protect himself but it was no use. He was impaled, over and over, thick rocks of concrete bludgeoning his head and limbs. Within seconds he was dead… and the room went silent.
Blood soaked the ground and the stench of death was thick in the air. The building was in shambles, dust and debris kicked up making Chisaki grunt with disgust.
"Ugh, filthy." He coughed and waved his hand to bat the dust away. "... but effective." He deduced walking up to see the damage that had been done.
"Boss, we need to go before cops and heroes show up." Mimic suggested,
"Right, get the van loaded up." Overhaul agreed and turned his attention to Izumi who sat on the ground, staring in disbelief at what she'd done. "You alright?"
"I killed him…" Izumi murmured to him, her face looking a little shell shocked. She stood up, stumbling over to Shigaraki's bleeding corpse, eyes fixated on his hollow expression. "That was too easy."
"Yes…" he agreed, cautiously approaching her. "You were right to take out Twice first. Had you tried to deal with his copies you would have been overpowered and outnumbered. You evened the odd efficiently and it paid off."
"Kurogiri never came… Tomura, he… he called him but Kurogiri never came to help him." Izumi held her head as that logic bounced around her head like a rubber ball. "Why? Why didn't he come?"
"Does it matter?" He scowled, not liking the tone of her voice. She'd killed mercilessly just moments ago, but the tough exterior she had put on was now crumbling away.
"Something's not right… This was too easy. Did I really kill him? Or was this just a double like with One for All? Are they really all dead? Did I really kill them?" Izumi fell to her knees, her hands stained with Tomura's blood as she gave his body a quick shake. "Hey… hey stop faking. Wake up."
"He won't wake up, Phoenix." Kai placed a hand on her shoulder which she immediately shrugged off. "You killed him, it's done. Now let's go!"
"It doesn't make sense… it doesn't make any sense…" Izumi shook her head in disbelief. "Kurogiri was designed to serve Tomura, he wouldn't just abandon him! Something's not right! Why wasn't he here? Why didn't he come save him? WHY IS HE DEAD?!"
"Not good." Kai clenched his fists and looked around. He could hear the approaching sirens of cops in the distance. They needed to get out and now, but Izumi was in a state of delusion and disbelief. She was right that this little endeavor had been far too easy. It would only make sense that her logical brain and irrational heart couldn't make sense of it.
He wasn't sure what to do to calm her down. He debated on hitting her, but then she may just unleash at the compound and he couldn't risk her unloading at base. He needed to rationalize with her. He needed to come up with a way to explain the situation so this all would make sense to her.
A glint on the ground caught his attention and he saw the silver pin on the ground. He crouched and picked up the item with his gloved hand. As Izumi's breath kept getting more shallow, her emotions ready to unleash another surge, he presented it to her… and watched as the calm immediately washed over her face.
"This… is why he's dead, Izumi." He opened his palm in front of her eyes, making sure she got a nice good look at the trinket. "You killed him to avenge your lover, the man you cared for and trusted more than anyone else."
"Dabi…" Her bottom lip trembled. "He killed Dabi… so I killed him. Justice is served, so why do I feel this hole in my chest? Why does it feel like this isn't over?"
"That's because it's not over." He touched one of the metal chains on the ground, reforming a piece of it into a long silver chain that he attached to the pendant and put around her neck. "It won't be over until you kill everyone who was responsible for his death." Kai warned by tapping the pendant that now lay between her breasts. "Consider this as a reminder."
Izumi's eyes immediately sharpened, and her shoulders relaxed as that small piece of information suddenly made everything come into clarity.
"You're right. It's not over at all. All for One… and the doctor… They're both still alive and pulling strings."
"Not just them…" he pointed upward, the sound of the sirens getting closer. "Who else just sat idly by and watched Dabi die? Who else failed to save him?"
"The heroes… oh!" Her eyes suddenly lit. "Of course, that's it! Kurogiri must have gotten captured! That's the only reason he wouldn't respond when Shigaraki called him!"
"That's right… it was just bad luck for Tomura." Kai soothed and despite the discomfort he held her hand. "You did what you came here to do. You avenged Dabi, and removed one of your greatest sources of weakness. You are well on your way to being cured. You just need to take the next step."
"Kai…" Izumi stepped to him and wrapped her arms around him. "Thank you."
"Save your thanks once we're back home." He stepped back and gripped her by the arm, yanking her all the way out the door. "Right now we need to get out of here." They rushed out and jumped into the back of the van, the doors closing and the vehicle driving off the back streets just as cops pulled in from the front.
Detective Tsukauchi jumped out the car, gun at the ready as he raced to the big wide opening the Shie Hassaikai had formed. What he saw inside had him dropping his weapon in absolute shock.
"Oh my god."
~The Next Day: Nighteye Agency~
"Breaking news! Last Night police were stunned to find the dead bodies of the former League of Villains in an abandoned warehouse just outside of Genosia. While it's unclear just how many were involved, blood evidence proved that The Queen of Villains herself, Izumi Midoriya, was present during the attack." The young female reporter informed her audience in a grave and factual tone. "Just days before she'd appeared during a city-wide heist under a new identity known as "Black" and had caused the death of the Number One hero Hawks. Now with the death of the League it would seem all her allies have been eliminated, and spectators are confused on where "Black's" loyalties currently lie."
"Tch, idiots." Bakugou clicked off the set. "Her loyalties lie with herself. She'll kill whoever gets in the way of what she wants, that's just how psychotic she's become."
"So I guess the real question is… what does she want?" Mirio questioned, rubbing his chin curiously.
"We can make long and estimated guesses all we want, but it'll lead us nowhere." Nighteye adjusted his glasses. "Our best bet is to follow facts, and figures rather than emotional entanglements. This mass murder case is our freshest lead to Karma's location, and it's best we follow the trail while it's still warm."
"Okay, so what do we know about the incident?" Todoroki questioned.
"We know that Karma is using a different pseudonym due to the fact that she's working with another party. From the statements we received from the Reservoir Gang, they were approached by a third party… a broker going by the name "Giran" whom they're unable to give any concrete details about. From what I can tell they were telling the truth, and more than likely affected by some sort of quirk during the meeting to prevent them from divulging any of his secrets." All Might informed.
"Giran… yeah I remember hearing Izumi use his name at the warehouse when Todoroki and I got kidnapped. He was helping to deliver items but I couldn't get a good look at him."
"That was most likely on purpose. According to records the name Giran has been used before, but there's never been enough evidence to confirm an actual identity." All Might confirmed.
"If we can find this Giran we'll be able to find Karma, no doubt… But that's not the only lead we have to go off of." Nighteye slid a folder across the table. "My sidekicks took these pictures during evening patrol a couple days ago."
Bakugou flipped the file open and grunted when he saw Twice hiding in an alley and another figure standing just outside it.
"That's one of the league members… but who's the feather duster he's talking to?"
"His name is Kai Chisaki, and he is the current leader of the Yakuza family Shie Hassaikai." Nighteye explained. "From what we could make out from their conversation they were arranging a meet up time, but we quickly lost visual and audio on them and were not able to confirm when or where."
"So… you think this guy has some connection to Karma?"
"If he's not directly involved then he's certainly the reason Karma was able to find the League to exact her revenge." All Might concluded. "At the very least he's worth checking out."
"The trouble will be in gathering evidence. The Shie Hassaikai have several safe holds around Japan, and Karma could be using any and all of them as her base of operations. I've arranged our patrol schedule, today we're to scout out the areas around his main base of operations, and pick up on any suspicious activity. We'll need concrete proof of Karma's existence there if we're to set up a raid."
"I see what you're getting at." Bakugou cracked his knuckles. "With that many places to hide we can't let Karma in on how much we know. If she gets wind that we're onto her, she'll bolt."
"Precisely."
"So the plan is to take a casual patrol around the area and look for anything suspicious and out of place. We'll avoid direct contact with the Shie Hassaikai members as much as possible, and regroup once we've finished our route." Todoroki simplified, getting nods all around.
"Sounds like you boys have got the gist of it. I'll leave you two in Mirio's capable hands, whilst I and Bubble Girl form our own team. All Might can you stay at base and act as our eyes and ears?"
"Absolutely, I shall be watching from the cameras and keep a bird's eyes view of the patrol routes." He sighed. "I wish I could go out there with you, but I'm too recognizable now and I'll only give you away."
"Not to worry, All Might!" Mirio pat his mentor's back. "The boys and I have got this covered."
"Mmm…" All Might smiled and returned the brotherly pat. "I know you do."
"Alright then, you've all got your assignments. Let's get things underway." Nighteye stretched out his hand to give the order. "Heroes, move out!"
"YES, SIR!"
~meanwhile at the Shie Hassaikai~
Izumi curled up on her bed. Kai had healed all her physical wounds, but she was still emotionally exhausted and a bit ill in the stomach after what had transpired the night before. She kept playing the events over and over in her head, debating whether she'd been right to kill every single member of the league.
At the very least Twice and Toga would have been both useful and a comfort. It broke her heart that she'd been forced to kill them both herself, but Kai insisted it was the only way she could eliminate her weakness. So long as she had no one left to care about, then she'd have no reason not to listen to her brain when making decisions.
"All for One, and Doctor Tsubasa… I can't take them out until I'm 100% mentally prepared." She clenched her pillow to her chest. "In order to do that I have to finish what I started. I have to kill everyone I care about."
Which meant killing All Might, and nearly every single person in class 1A.
Including Kacchan and Todoroki.
Izumi curled tighter into a ball as her stomach twisted in knots. She couldn't do it. Everything inside her heart screamed and told her not to… but her mind could see the facts clear as day. There was no saving her now; no redemption, and no forgiveness. It was either kill them, or surrender and lose the game.
"I need to hit something!" She shoved the covers and pillows away and stood up. She heard some shouting down the hall but ignored it. Whatever these guys were doing was none of her business.
As Izumi stepped out, she felt a thump against her leg. She turned and looked down at the small girl who had rammed right into her.
"Huh? Where did you come from?" She crouched down, stretching her hand out. The girl immediately flinched and cowered. The frightened instinct tore her stomach into knots. "Hey, its okay, I'm not gonna hurt you."
She gently lay her hand on her head, giving it a little pet. Surprised by the gentleness, the girl looked up with wide red eyes. The woman looked tired but the soft smile on her face was genuine and kind. Her bottom lip trembled and she ran into her arms clinging on.
"Please…" she pleaded in a soft and shaky voice. "Please help me."
Izumi didn't know it at the time… but it was thism girl's three little words that ultimately sealed her fate.
~Ask Briry~
Bri: Thanks so much for remaining patient! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'll try to get the next one out much sooner.
Next Chapter: Kai's Proposal