Successors

Standing on Fourth Kind's shoulders, Principal Nedzu directs the teachers through the open door of the USJ. "Hurry!" he compels them, gesturing wildly.

Inside, the four armed, six eyed monstrosity of Six glares up from the ground up at Snipe, his pistol levelled right between the second set of eyes, only a meter apart.

"Ah, I see you have things well in hand, Snipe. Have any of the students been hurt?" Nedzu asks from his perch.

The masked teacher doesn't move as he answers. "One of the goons he brought caused a nasty fungal infection in a half dozen kids. Also, the kids with the reporter are still unaccounted for. I sent Hagakure in to try and get a signal out to you through the emergency exit in the Downpour Zone. Did she make it?"

"I'm afraid not. We were alerted by Gang Orca," Fourth Kind tells him. "Ectoplasm?"

"On it," the math teacher says before spitting up a clone, which rushes out the door.

At that, Six starts a low chuckle. In short order, he leans back, laughing madly.

Snipe tilts his head, keeping his pistol steady. "What the laughin 'bout, you Curly Wolf?"

"You, all of you. You have no idea what you're doing," the villain tells them.

The principal explains, "We are protecting our students."

"Your students, ha. More like your reputation. Don't ever forget that ultimately you are making child soldiers, with a nice coat of paint to hide this fact," the beastial man says as his form shifts to a more human one, the six eyes reverting to two while his size shrinks back to normal.

With a growl, reaching the top of the stairs supported by Nejire, the students a few meters behind him, O'Clock Kind belts out, "As if you're one to talk. You send in kids yourself."

"What can I say? I'm a hypocrite," Six admits. "But, thanks for reminding me."

A wave of sound floods the room, between some organic, gooey noise and the cries of alarm from the students.

Snipe draws back the hammer of his pistol, demanding, "What did you do?"

"The villains down in the plaza all vanished!" Tinkertoy calls up the stairs.

The four armed man laughs, the scar under his left eye a pale indication of fragility. "Got rid of the rabble. I'm your target, right? I got what I needed from them."

"And what was that?" Nedzu asks. "What was so important that you would put my students' lives at risk?"

Six's smile becomes wolf-like as he answers, "Why, what I want is you, right here, now!"

And across the distance, the massive lake of the flood zone erupts skywards as a swarm of Villain Factory creatures, the feared Bombers launch themselves into the air.

"I don't think so, Six," a voice behind the teachers pipes up.

A genuine yet vicious smile crosses Six's face. "Why, there you are. Was wondering what happened to you."

Stepping in, Chikara Kugo narrows his eyes at the villain. "Give it up, Six. You can't win this."

"What do you mean? I have the perfect ploy. Imagine the fallout from the entire teaching staff of UA and two classes of students being killed in a villain attack! Would leave the system wide open to be reshaped by whomever is left standing," the villain says, gesturing around the room as the bombers grab ahold of the USJ dome overhead. "If only the Master were alive, to see this moment! He would be so proud!"

"You always wanted him to be proud of you, after all. You never did have any sense of self worth," the white haired man in a business suit tells him. "He never cared about you. He never cared about any of us."

"Us?" Midnight whispers to Nedzu, who holds up a paw, telling his teachers to hold.

Six scoffs. "Like you'd know."

"Well, I certainly know more than you," Kugo says, a thin smile on his face.

The villain crosses his arms defiantly. "And what do you know?"

"I know that one of the more notable features of the dome to this building is the inclusion of eleven thousand, eight hundred, and forty seven lightning rods." With that, the man raises his right hand, and points to the sky.

From the clear sky outside, the low rumble of thunder ripples across the facility.

"The weather report said nothing about storms today," Midnight comments, looking up out of instinct.

Six growls as he focuses his concentration on his minions, the hive mind at work as the bombers try and outrun the incoming attack. A smile settles in as the explosive monsters reach the metal support structures of the dome.

Kugo just looks at the now human looking figure, and says simply, "It's over, Six."

Out of the blue, a bolt of lightning falls right onto the dome covering the facility. The sharp blue arcs of electricity envelop the overhead structure, wrapping themselves around the beasts overhead. In an instant, the Bombers all become large electrical capacitors, silently absorbing the energy as Six screams in pain as his shared link to them makes their pain his own.

As the light fades, the sizzling noises of arcing plasma settles down. With a trail of smoke, the dozens of enemies fall away from the dome, clearly charred from the power that just flowed through them.

Gasping for air, Six has fallen to the ground, on his hands and knees. Glancing up, he sees his target moving past the platform, and out the door. With a snarl, the villain vanishes in a glob of black goo.

Looking at Kugo, the principal narrows his eyes. "Care to explain anything?"

"No," he says simply.

Kai Chisaki, finally pulling himself free of the sludge, grunts his displeasure. "I think the interrogation can wait until after the children are gone?" Then in looking at his clothes, he adds. "And a shower. This stuff is disgusting."

"Well, that was certainly an experience," the reporter Chitose Kizuki says as she steps into the dome, escorted by the Ectoplasm clone and with several students behind her. "Care for a statement, Principal Nedzu?"

The small mammal narrows his eyes. "Yes, I think words will need to be exchanged. Such a coincidence that a villain attack happened on the day, the hour, when you were here."

"Y-you don't think I had anything to do with it," she protests, as the other teachers guide the students out behind her.

Nedzu considers. "A few years ago, I was presented with a photograph of you meeting with Six. Now here you are, when he attacks. I cannot help but wonder if these things are linked."

"Well, I don't know how you could have seen such a photograph. I've never met with the man, although I would jump at such an opportunity. Villain interviews are always popular," the reporter points out.

The principal considers, "While true, I can't deny the image."

"It's fine, Chitose. I think we can trust Principal Nedzu," Chikara says, watching as the last students leave the building. "I can easily give an alibi for her, if it is the event I think."

Nedzu quirks his head. "You two know each other?"

"Yes," the man says, gesturing to the door. "Can we keep this between us?"

The principal nods. "That depends, you understand, on what this is. After all, this is not a good position for Miss. Kizuki."

"My designation is Nine. Like Six, I was raised to be a successor for the villain known as All for One," Chikara says as his features liquify, shifting into a perfect replica of Six. "Chitose found me several years back, in pursuit of him. Instead of exploiting my naivety, she was kind and showed me a new path, new options forward."

Nedzu looks at him, and sighs. "Well, I don't know about you, but I could use some tea. Would you care to join me? Mr. Kugo, I have a feeling that this is going to take awhile to explain."

The man smiles. "I think I would enjoy that. Thank you."

As the ambulances begin to arrive, Kai Chisaki stands guard nearby, keeping the green haired boy and his cousin in sight.

"Hey, you," a gruff voice behind him calls out.

Not turning, the Yakuza says, "Gran Torino, how may I help you?"

"Just wanted to ask something." Being greeted with silence, the old hero continues. "You told Six that one of his targets was under your protection. Which one? And why?"

Sighing, the younger man nods in Midoriya's direction. "Him. A while back he pulled a train out from underneath a giant villain. The bosses grandkid was on that train. Needless to say, he was grateful."

"So, you have a kind of… stay away order?" Torino asks.

Kai chuckles. "You might say that. We remember what gratitude is."

The two men watch as the CEO of Detnerat steps up and begins talking to Izuku.

"Seems we're not the snakes you need to worry about, old man," the Yakuza points out. "We may not be the cleanest businessmen out there, but you know what you get with us. I'd be more wary of the plastic smiles from companies which appear too clean, myself."

In the principal's office, Nine takes a sip of tea before he continues his tale. "Each of us were to be given the resources to create our own criminal enterprises once we reached adulthood. As I was only fifteen when All for One died, I wound up on the streets."

"And that is how you met Kizuki, I take it?" the quirked animal asks.

He nods. "I broke into one of Shoowaysha Publishing's warehouses. She found me reading a book."

"It seems that is where this was taken." Taking out the photograph, the principal sighs before setting it down.

Nodding, Nine confirms this. "Correct."

"What now puzzles me is, what other surprises has All for One left for us out there. Will I need to worry about Twelve showing up in a few years?" Nedzu ponders.

Shaking his head, the man dismisses the concern. "No, that will not happen. As my caretaker told me, he was retrieving number Ten when he encountered All Might."

"How interesting," the principal says, hiding the alarm as he recalls the pale hair and red eyes of the youngest Shimura. "Do you know any way to locate Six, or any other of your… compatriots?"

"If I did, I would have given that information over to the authorities by now," Kugo says. "He kept each of us isolated. I did not even know of the others until after his death."

"Yet Six recognized you instantly," Nedzu points out.

Nine nods. "We've met, once. The Doctor liked to play each of us off each other, after All for One met his end. Teasing power, resources, to woo one of us to support him."

"Doctor?" the small mammal asks.

Kugo takes another sip, then sits back, tenting his fingers. "That is all we knew him as. One of the Masters oldest allies. He is who originally, I don't want to call it recruited, perhaps secured is the better term. He secured me for All for One. He is, frankly, some kind of mad scientist. The bombers are most likely his creation. My ability to reshape my face is due to the changes he did to me."

"For what it's worth, I am sorry that you wound up in his hands," Nedzu explains.

Nine smiles. "It was worth it in the end. I am among friends now."

"What I am curious about is, whose face is it that you and Six share, anyways?"

The man sets his tea cup down. "Why, that's simple. It's All for One's original face."