Mustard was at home, but as one can expect after what happened, it was crowded. So many people come to say comforting words, no one understanding what that kid was going through. That he mourned his adopted mother because he hated her and now he would never be able to make her realize that.
Izuku sent him a message, telling him to bear with it and not do anything nasty until they get a moment together to talk. Whether he read it or not was hard to say, but his district wasn't randomly enveloped in a poisonous fog, so…
In the meantime, he and the League members (mostly patched up) get to watch Nedzu's press conference concerning the attack. It was interesting, to say the least.
Izuku had no idea what Lemillion told Nedzu, but it worked. Nedzu went full truth. The attacks concerning the dead students were repelled with Nedzu pointing out that the school did everything it could to defend them, including deployment of massive death robots, artillery strikes and amassing several times more pro heroes that were to go originally.
Nedzu also mentioned how it was a debut attack of a newly formed alliance of several major groups of villains, a development that avoided the attention of not only the school, but also police and the Hero Commission.
The rat decided to be borderline sassy when he pointed out that investigating threats of that level is certainly not his school's job, and that he had the training camp prepared for every threat known to the hero society. It wasn't UA's mistake that the hero society didn't know about the formation of the Paranormal Liberation Front.
As an example of 'preparation for every known threat' he described the automatic counter-missile battery built into the fortress that was supposed to shoot down an incoming quirk suppressing missile if the QLF decided to bring one. It was apparently a laser capable of melting the warhead and deactivating its chemical contents safely. He also described the robots.
Izuku was certain that a lot of people would still complain, but even many media vultures were taken aback by the level of preparations that Nedzu just admitted to.
Then Nedzu briefly summarized the events of the attack. How PLF took down the hero comms through an usage of currently unknown but probably boosted with trigger quirk, and how majority of the casualties were suffered during the early chaos. How League of Villains intervened (according to Nedzu, because of Legion hating Overhaul for unspecified personal reasons), bringing the communication network back on and allowing Nedzu to organize the defenses and finally repel the attack. Denying the enemy victory (officially, Overhaul attacked the camp to kill All Might and Nedzu, plus kill as many students as possible).
He even admitted that one of the League of Villains members, Zealot, died while pulling a lone rear guard action against a crowd of enemies, delaying the attack enough for two hero classes (he didn't specify which ones) to retreat from an indefensible position and get to safety.
The talk then shifts into some rather stupid allegations. And it continues on and on. At some point Legion has enough and switches the TV off.
"Holy shit." Mindscrew stares at the now blank screen. "Did that one idiot just have an issue with Nedzu telling students to use lethal force while being under attack by a literal fucking army of killers and bioengineered horrors?!"
"If they had a brain, they wouldn't be part of the media." Dabi mumbles from the side.
"What about the guy that helped us expose Endeavor?" Izuku decides to ask.
"Exception to the rule." Dabi says and shrugs. Izuku sometimes wonders if there is any influential and notable social group that Dabi isn't dismissive of. Probably villains, but even on this field Izuku isn't sure.
"I can barely recognize Nedzu." Stain decides to add. He is back from the hospital because of course he is. Even if half of him is bandaged, he wanted to recover at the base. Hospital staff was probably too scared to say no to him. But he was forbidden from exertion for a long while and Izuku was going to enforce that if needed. "What happened to him?"
"Lemillion did." Izuku replies. "Apparently Nedzu tried to pin the blame for the attack on us, but Lemillion told him to take his head out of his ass and start thinking. Eraserhead and All Might supported him."
Silence. Then Stain speaks.
"Could you please STOP corrupting All Might's successor?" Stain has a very well-defined opinion about 'true heroes', and All Might is its definition. He is probably the second biggest fan of Lemillion in this country after Izuku.
"Hey, we're just playing video games together!" Izuku replies. Tenko shivers in the background, probably remembering what Lemillion did to him while being the League's captive. "And talk through the internet."
"I vaguely happen to remember being recruited to the League after talking to you through the internet." Mindscrew replies with a smirk. He doesn't add that it was the only way in which he could talk back then. "You have no idea how crazily persuasive you can be, simply by accident."
"I'll try to tone it down, sheesh." Izuku is slightly irritated. He isn't persuasive, he has no idea why Mindscrew claims otherwise.
Vampire and Vantablack (Shihai decided to keep his hero name after turning to villainy) were out, on a special meeting with Giran about expanding their little spy business. Kurogiri was probably teaching a class. Blueberry was busy with QEM work. The rest was just lazing around.
Mustard, Mirio and Mr. Compress sent him messages almost simultaneously. So much about being bored.
(***)
WorldIsAStage: We might be interested in your offer. But this is the sort of thing that has to be talked about face to face.
SmallMight: Sure. I expected nothing less. This is Serious Business™.
SmallMight: Send me the meeting place coordinates and the preferred meeting time.
SmallMight: How many people on both sides?
WorldIsAStage: Me, Gentle Criminal and one more member. You don't know him, but I think you'll like him.
WorldIsAStage: So take two more people on your side. Warper + someone, I believe?
SmallMight: Sure. I'm a bit busy right now, so send the coords and time, I'll check back in a while.
(***)
Mirio Togata: I have been semi-officially authorized by Sir Nighteye to ask you about the possibility of a temporary (and secret) alliance between the UA and the League of Villains.
Akatani Mikumo: Oh?
Akatani Mikumo: Sounds like UA finally understood the gravity of the situation and started gearing up for war.
Mirio Togata: Yes. We start by checking out who is willing to fight alongside us. But I can't tell you anything more than that.
Akatani Mikumo: oh pls, Ms. Joke's Underground Hero Network, Knuckleduster's Vigilante Alliance, and Miruko's Table of Rejects (yes, I know the name, she is surprisingly sneaky but not THAT sneaky).
Akatani MIkumo: you literally have no one else left to ask but them and me - and I'm probably Nedzu's LAST choice of allies so since you are already asking me...
Mirio Togata: ...
Mirio Togata: stop seeing through me like that
Akatani Mikumo: seeing through heroes is literally my job as a villainous mastermind though
Mirio Togata: sigh
Akatani Mikumo: What are the terms?
Mirio Togata: Information exchange concerning the Paranormal Liberation Front. Non-Aggression Pact - both sides are free to continue investigating each other, for as long as they do not engage in open combat. There might be deals such as 'we deal with base A, you with base B', but even more unofficial than the general cooperation. And only in truly critical situations.
Akatani Mikumo: What about our subsidiary groups? Villain Industries for example has barely started operating but it doesn't do background checks and there is an option that some of the merchandise will be used against an UA hero somewhere.
Akatani Mikumo: Plus the QEM isn't centralized, and I can't guarantee that some of the Sunset's lieutenants won't have a stupid idea (although chances are low, the bit with quirkless heroes bought you some positive feelings in the QEM).
Mirio Togata: For as long as the Villain Industries does not supply the Paranormal Liberation Front, we'll ignore its merchandise. But be aware - if we locate VIs or the QEM's headquarters, we WILL attack. The truce is between the LoV and UA. And we're not helping you in any way or degree if the Hero Commission attacks the LoV. We cannot aggravate our war against them rn.
Akatani Mikumo: No problem there, I'm looking forward to working with you!
Mirio Togata: Plans for the evening stay the same?
Akatani Mikumo: Sorry, I'm going to be extremely busy. Something came up. Tomorrow is free though.
Mirio Togata: alright
(***)
Mustard was living in a decent neighbourhood. One of those suburban areas of semi-identical detached houses with small gardens and nosy neighbours.
It wasn't until nightfall and people who knew Midnight stopped pouring in and out. And he was finally alone.
Kurogiri dropped Izuku behind the house. He knocked on the door and waited for maybe half a minute before Mustard opened them up.
"Come in." It was hard to read the look on his face.
Izuku obeyed. He ended up on the couch in Mustard's living room. Mustard was sitting in the armchair across from him.
The place looks surprisingly normal and unassuming, despite it being Midnight's house. Izuku expected it to be… somewhat… lewder? Hard to say what he really expected. Something else, certainly.
"So, how are you doing?" Izuku has no idea how to start that talk. What is he supposed to say? 'I'm sorry that you didn't get to kill your adoptive mother'? Awkward like hell.
"I… don't know what to do." Mustard replies, his eyes descending towards the floor. "I just… I became a villain to spite her. I killed PEOPLE over that. I was angry, constantly and extremely. But now she's dead, she didn't even find out what I did, and now I just… it's as if all the anger evaporated. I'm just empty on the inside, and…"
At least Mustard IS talking. Everything is salvageable for as long as you still want to talk about it. When you stop… well, tough luck.
"I know." Izuku sighs. "I actually expected that you would react like that. Listen, I'm going to tell you some things. Some of them might sound harsh. But please, listen to them. Once I finish speaking, you are free to do whatever you want. Before that though, just listen. Alright?"
Mustard nods.
"I'm not one to judge people's villainous motivations." Izuku says. This is going to be a tough talk. "But I always thought that yours was childish and immature." Something on Mustard's face flinches, but he continues listening. "Dabi hated Endeavor, but spite against him wasn't his ONLY motivation. He wanted to see him dead - but he also knew that there are other asshole heroes out there. Endeavor was merely an end-goal of his, one that he achieved way faster than he thought. But when he lost his end-goal, he still had his general goal, taking down the unworthy heroes, to retreat to. You had nothing but Midnight. And this is why you are so lost now."
Mustard grits his teeth, but says nothing.
"I'm not going to blame you for wanting to leave the League." Izuku continues. That's what Mustard talked about during their brief chat through the Villain Network. "For as long as you do not rat us out to the heroes or other villains, it's your decision to make. I'm not going to go full on my dad and pull a 'no leaving, now die' shit. I also will not take the advantage of your villainous past to blackmail you, even if it would benefit the League in any way. If Tenko is my adopted older brother, then you are my adopted cousin, I don't do stuff like that to my family. If you decide to distance yourself from us, we'll all understand. We'll miss you greatly, but we won't blame you."
The brief hostility he spotted earlier vanishes. Mustard is once again lost, conflicted and in emotional pain.
"You are in a position to do all that." Izuku continues. "Mustard's true name and face are unknown. Do not take a line of work that will make you use your quirk, and you can stay undetected. Or just sell your adopted parent's belongings, move elsewhere and then, after you graduate from school, move overseas. Eraserhead and the rest will think that it was done out of grief. The people you killed were all monsters. Villains that did horrible things to undeserving people. You only did horrible things to deserving people. Think of yourself as a retired vigilante and live on. Or…"
He pauses for a few seconds. Mustard stares at him in silence.
"... rethink your motivations for villainy." Izuku continues. "Find a new reason to fight alongside us. You know what I want. I want a better society. One where fake heroes like Midnight aren't venerated by the public, and villains do not annihilate entire cities and do not threaten to destroy Japan. You can join me again, if you want. So for now, take some time. Your decision to leave was done in a hurry, and not in your normal emotional state. Rethink it for a week or two. Decide what you truly want to do in your life. Then send me a message. Either telling me your goodbyes, or asking me to send Kurogiri to bring you back to the base to rejoin us officially. Alright?"
Few seconds of silence. Mustard is mulling over Legion's words. Eventually he nods.
"I'll… wait for a week."
(***)
"We're meeting Mr. Compress?" Stain asks, in clear surprise. "And you want to bring ME with you? I'm not exactly a diplomat." Understatement of a century, to be honest.
It was three days after the battle, and Stain's speed of recovery was just damn inhuman. Izuku dragged him to the underground hospital for a check-up, and he was now allowed to operate normally (though advised AGAINST going extremely all-out for a while longer).
"I'm bringing you with me mostly because you are the only member of the League to be able to fight him in melee." Izuku replies with brutal honesty. "You being a walking successful intimidation check might be useful. You don't have to talk at all. Just be there in case things went wrong."
Mindscrew is in the living room with Izuku and his two uncles. Not because he is joining the mission, but because Izuku had a few words with him about what to do if it was a trap. The plan included Vanguard attacking the location with Sunset. He still has his curiosity.
"Mr. Compress is that dangerous?" He asks. Izuku isn't surprised. Mr. Compress cultivated his image of a mostly harmless oddity to perfection.
"Didn't we already have that talk about my mom?" Mindscrew flinches when the mention brings back bad memories. "I didn't fully dissect his quirk, but I suspect that he is capable of 'compressing' or otherwise storing objects on touch. The problem is that 'objects' include humans and probably parts of them."
They are listening intently. Especially Stain. He never met Mr. Compress, after all, but knows that they're talking about an SS-Rank villain. There are no weak supervillains - Legion is probably the weakest out of them all when it comes to fighting, but he can still instakill people on touch. Stain leaves nothing to chance.
Mindscrew listens to, in case he had to lead a rescue operation.
"So one touch KO, like you, but less bloody." Mindscrew summarizes. Izuku shakes his head.
"Not quite." He adds. "He trained his quirk to perfection. I don't think he needs to directly touch you - he can probably store an entire area of space, for as long as his hands are in contact with said area. That's my theory, but I think that this isn't instantaneous unlike direct touch, so he prefers to avoid doing that. So, if you see something weird happening to space around you, jump out of the affected area immediately."
Stain and Hitoshi nod scarcely. Kurogiri stays unreadable.
"And don't get manipulated by him." Izuku adds. "He is an expert in appearing like a harmless loony. He is pretty much a street magician turned melee master - he excels in one-on-one combat, since he can use his assortment of 'parlour tricks' to manipulate your perception. If we start fighting, expect him to make nonsensical and bombastic movements that are supposed to draw your attention from what he is truly doing. Be extremely wary of openings, because most of them will be a trap. When Yoroi Muusha cornered him two years ago, he somehow managed to STEAL his sword from his hands, with the hero failing to notice how he did that. He is no pushover."
He keeps talking for a few more minutes, before the time comes and Kurogiri teleports to the designated coordinates.
(***)
Izuku almost chokes on air when the warp ends and he sees where they are now. He recognizes the look beyond the window, and the massive room he is in. If not for Mr. Compress in front of them, he would immediately shout to Kurogiri for a warp out, thinking that it was a trap.
"You are absolutely insane." Izuku finally settles on saying. Kurogiri and Stain appear surprised by his reaction. Mr. Compress is hidden behind the mask and so is an unfamiliar person next to him. Gentle appears to be on the verge of laughing. "You set up a meeting in ENDEAVOR'S OFFICE?"
Stain has a look of genuine surprise on his face - an extremely rare feat. Kurogiri is unreadable as always.
"He doesn't need it anymore, doesn't he?" Mr. Compress says, before laughing loudly. "We've decided to invite ourselves as La Brava found a nice backdoor into the agency's systems. Enough to keep us hidden for… thirty minutes. Setting a time limit on the meeting should keep useless words to a minimum. So, unless you have a different idea… should we proceed?"
Was Mr. Compress trying to set up the pecking order with this stunt? Probably not. Knowing him and his approach to unworthy heroes (oddly similar to Stain, all things considered), he probably considered it a form of practical joke.
"Fine." Izuku decides to go along with this madness. "Paranormal Liberation Front is a threat to us all. I want to rule the underworld. You want to continue the Peerless Thief's tradition of stealing from heroes unworthy of the title and people unworthy of their wealth. Neither of this is achievable if the PLF wins and burns Japan to the ground."
"How much of a threat they truly are?" Mr. Compress asks. Izuku sometimes forgets that not everyone in the underworld is as knowledgeable as he is. Being his father's son (and student) has its great benefits.
"An existential one." Izuku replies honestly. "Situation is bad enough that I had someone from Nedzu's inner circle approach me about a truce and alliance against the PLF." Gentle's face shifts slightly. It's a surprise, but also a slight fear. Others are unreadable, but Mr. Compress' body language seems… shaken. Slightly. But it might be staged. It probably is.
"They have no less than five thousand soldiers from the former QLF…" Izuku continues. "...unknown number of quirk suppressing warheads created by Overhaul, and no less than one hundred noumus of Doctor Ujiko. Noumus, for the record, are bioengineered and unfailingly obedient former humans granted multiple quirks through some really fucked up science. During the Training Camp War, the PLF also deployed ten High End Noumus, each armed with a particularly powerful quirk combination and with some intellect left. Five of those were enough to put All Might on the death's door, and as a general analysis goes, each is an equivalent of a supervillain or a Top Ten hero."
Gentle is terrified - he is extremely expressive and honest about things like that. There is a high chance that Compress brought him to telegraph the honest thoughts of the Levellers in general, while keeping the more… subtle thoughts of Compress himself obfuscated. That's something that Compress would certainly do.
The other masked person is moving their face between Legion and Mr. Compress, visibly nervous. Mr. Compress appears to be the calmest of the bunch.
"That's… certainly an existential threat." Peerless Thief's heir finally replies. "And I think we can all agree with your analysis of the results of the PLF's victory and their influence on our long-term plans. A quick question: why do you think that I won't decide that PLF WILL win and try to throw my lots with them, my dear Legion?"
Stain freezes a bit. Legion is much calmer. Mr. Compress is just testing them.
"Because Overhaul kept the adoptive daughter of Mischief in a dungeon for years, repeatedly bleeding her to death and resurrecting her with his quirk." Legion replies. "Occasionally also killing her for some minor mistakes and then bringing her back. She was four years old when this started… and now Overhaul wants her back to start everything anew. And you, my dear Mr. Compress, are an honourable thief and not a psychopathic monster."
Silence in the office. Mr. Compress is the one to break it.
"That's an extremely valid reason not to join them, I admit." Judging from Gentle's face, he would have to face a rebellion if he tried anything else. "Very well, I'm interested in working together against them, then. What are the terms?"
You can say a lot of things about Mr. Compress. But not that he lacks morals. There is a reason why he is one of the few supervillains Izuku can even consider working with.
"You and Re-Destro aren't the only heirs of famous villains who are trying to measure up to their ancestors' image." Izuku replies. "My father had many names. You might know him as either All for One… or the Symbol of Evil."
Mr. Compress recognizes the names. The other two probably not, although Gentle would probably do it if Izuku called his father a 'Quirk Thief'.
"You are trying to rebuild his empire." Mr. Compress asks. He is unreadable. Izuku is certain that he isn't the only person who has SERIOUS issues with his dad's legend. He has to tread lightly, or the meeting will end in blood.
"With some notable changes." Izuku replies. "I dislike his methods. Way too bloody, way too nasty, way too 'you have outlived your usefulness now die' and so on. Not to mention brainwashing, extremely unethical experiments, killing families of his enemies slowly, etcetera. My goal is to stop the chaos that followed his death. Chaos that, right now, appears to be carrying the faces of Overhaul, Ujiko and Re-Destro. Rebuilding his empire appears to be the only option to do that without worsening the situation further, at least for a villain."
"All for One's son working alongside the UA." Mr. Compress comments and his head tilts a bit. He is probably staring quizzically through it. "Now that's a twist I didn't see coming. Would make for a great theatre play with a good director, huh." He pauses for a few seconds. "So, what's that new empire going to look like?"
"In short, the League of Villains is going to have numerous subsidiary groups." Izuku replies. "You might have already heard of the Villain Industries, it's not often that we get an S-Rank support villain. You also know of the Quirkless Liberation Movement being in our camp. What you probably do not know is that the threat of the PLF destroying everything has also urged a handful of information brokers to join our exclusive espionage and information gathering organization." He isn't going to mention that damnable name. He almost managed to persuade Himiko to agree to changing it. "There are more projects than that, for example Villain Academy, whose sole goal is nurturing the quirks and abilities of prospective young villains, not unlike the hero academies of today."
Mr. Compress laughs.
"Assistance." He adds once the laughter dies out. "Whoever joins you will get access to support items, to information sources, to potential qualified new recruits fitting their ideological point. Without needing to network on their own. A country-wide net, with you, the spider, in the middle. Smart. Very smart. And ambitious. What in exchange for all of that?" He asks curiously.
"Following the rules." Izuku replies. "No mass murder, no attempts to change Japan into wasteland, no going after heroes' families because that's honestly a really low blow and I have personal issues with that. A cut from your villainous incomes, of course. I need to pay my bills."
Mr. Compress chuckles faintly. Izuku doesn't ask.
"I'll also expect your support for League of Villains' operations, although this is something that can be refused on a moral basis." Izuku continues. "I know your approach to killing people, so I'm not going to ask you to help me or another subsidiary group in doing that. But I MIGHT ask you for help when it comes to messing up some corrupted hero group by stealing their black funds or exposing their corruption to the world. It works both ways - you will also be able to ask for assistance from other groups through me, when needed." He suddenly remembers something he forgot to say earlier. "Oh, and I'll probably end up having to open my own Bank of Evil at some point, so asking for monetary assistance to be paid back after the heists is an option too."
Mr. Compress laughs cheerfully. Gentle appears to be surprised by it.
"Oh, this is just wonderful!" The SS-Rank supervillain adds after the laughter dies down. "The UA, the greatest force of good in this country, is helping you reconstruct your father's empire, merely a few years after All Might killed him. And you, a villain, the son of the most evil man in the history of Japan if not the world, are seeking to curb the chaos and STOP people from killing families of heroes and committing mass murders! Oh, this is hilarious. You know what, I love this. This is… theatre play, a book, a TRILOGY OF MOVIES material!" He laughs again.
Izuku is almost certain that it's a prologue to an agreement. Almost. He calls for Reflex Boost just in case.
"I can't order around the Levellers." Mr. Compress adds after a few seconds, suddenly calm. "I'm their leader, yes. But I'm not going to make such a change without asking what they think about it. But let's make a deal - I'll tell them that this idea is wonderful… and in exchange there'll be a time when I'll get to write down your history. When you'll let me stage a play about your rise to power! When you'll let me make a series of films about it! I'll make a cameo in it, no one's going to recognize me under the mask, yes, that will be wonderful!"
"I believe we can come to an accomodation." Izuku replies. Mr. Compress is a man of culture and quality - he will make the play/films/book be worth it. "In the meantime… We still have a few minutes left. Why did you say that I'd like your mysterious guest?"
(***)
Oh no, the Clown Uncle is here. *screams*