Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Hopefully I have paid my taxes for this year.

"Welcome to our EVIL LAIR (trademark)!" Mastermind cheerfully gestured to Twice to follow them into Gentle Criminal's apartment.

Gentle Criminal bowed deeply. "Please, welcome. I'll get us some tea."

"Sounds lovely - miss me with that hot leaf water!"

Gentle Criminal paused, then shrugged, gesturing to the living room. "I've got the heater Mastermind built in here. It will definitely help us tolerate the freezing winter."

Twice fidgeted with his mask. "This is - I mean-"

Mastermind grinned. "Well, you wanted to join us, right? So we're going to do some pre-Christmas stuff together! I mean, my mom was interested in meeting some of my co-workers for the family and friends thing we have, but I haven't told her you guys are actually Villains, and-"

Golden Grin perked up. "Oh! She made that really nice cake, didn't she?"

Mastermind twitched. "W-well, yeah? She thought it would be nice to treat my co-workers to something. I've- I've sort of told her that it was a coffee shop job, and she may be a bit worried-"

Inkblot looped an arm around Mastermind's shoulders. "Come on dude, we can pretend to be work friends or something." Then she seemed to think better of it, pulling her arm back like Mastermind had turned on his taser. "I mean - if you want to. You know."

Mastermind tilted his head. "Uh..." Trying to shake himself, he gestured to a different room, where several items could be seen. "W-well, anyways! This is my back-up lab! I've got the big one at home. I've got a couple of projects developing!"

Twice looked at the gear. "Wow..." he breathed. "Eh, I've seen better!"

The other Villains traded a glance, before deciding to go with it. Twice's problem seemed somewhat manageable at least. The Villain pointed at the large item in the middle of the room - what looked like a ray gun the size of a fridge. "Kind of curious but what's that?"

Mastermind glanced at it. "Oh that's the Quirk Erasure Ray. Still working on getting it to work."

Gentle Criminal and La Brava sighed as Twice choked on nothing. They remembered when Mastermind had initially brought it up...

About a month and a half ago...

The League of Supervillains stared at Mastermind as if he'd grown a second head. Gentle Criminal was the first to speak, sounding rattled. "You... you figured out how to replicate Erasure?"

Mastermind nodded. They could hear the manic grin in his voice. "Yep! Really cool, huh?" He held up the small screen, displaying a squiggly line proudly.

La Brava was the first one to speak. "But... how?"

Mastermind grinned. "An easy explanation, fellow Villains!"

With a booming laugh and a crack of thunder, he dramatically swept his cloak to gesture at a screen (Gentle had spent quite a bit of time coaching the younger Villain on how to do that.) "Much earlier, I faced off against Eraserhead. In that time, my visor's scanner picked up that Eraserhead was emitting a specific energy - an energy that must have been trying to suppress the Quirk I do not possess."

He clenched a fist. "Unfortunately, I needed more time to properly examine his energy signature. Way more time."

Golden Grin looked confused. "So how did you build this thing then?"

"You remember back at the mall, where we clashed with Eraserhead?"

With their hesitant nods, he pointed at the screen. "First of all, I was seeing the energy suppressing Mr. Compress' Quirk and La Brava's at close hand, got a lot of practical information from that. While I was in close contact with him, I took the opportunity to smear a tracking chemical on his clothing."

To demonstrate, he tapped his gauntlet. A small hatch opened, revealing a stamp plate with an 'M' engraved on it. The substance coating it glowed a dull green.

"A tracking chemical? How does that work?"

Mastermind gave Mr. Compress a dramatic wave of his cloak. "It emits a harmless radiation that I can track remotely! From there, I tracked him back to the Naruhata ward - I think he has a base there."

He tapped the screen. "From there, it was a simple matter of deploying scanners in the most likely areas for Heroic conflict, and bam! I was getting a whole bunch of data. I only got the full scan of Erasure's energy signature a couple of days ago."

The Villains were silent for a bit, each thinking about this new development."So... we can erase Hero Quirks," Inkblot breathed. "That's... I mean, that's a game changer!"

Mastermind shook his head. "Oh, God no. This will need months of work before I'd deploy it against Heroes."

That surprised the Villains. "But... I thought you said that you had Erasure?" Inkblot managed to get out.

Again, he sadly shook his head. "I have his energy frequency. I'd need to get my energy modulator to put that frequency out. I'd also need to make sure that the energy projected is nonhazardous - I don't want to accidentally give Heroes brain damage or cancer."

That sobered the Villains up quickly. "That sounds like a good idea, Mastermind," Gentle Criminal muttered.

Mastermind patted it appreciatively. "I'm getting closer to replicating the energy signature, but it's a ways off yet."

Twice seemed to stare at his new boss. "That's pretty incredible! Wish I knew what that even meant."

Mastermind cheerfully bounded over. "Basically, a lot of Emitter Quirks have to do with some form of energy. Usually it's just a matter of examining the frequency. There's another project that took a lot of effort to realize," he nodded over to a diagram of a much larger, more complete looking ray gun, "but that's for a rainy day!"

Twice seemed a bit overwhelmed as he took in the sketches and half-finished pieces. "Have to say that's all pretty good, but maybe later? Tell me now, science man!"

Normally Mastermind was good at keeping his obsession with technology at a minimum. However, permission had been granted. "Say no more, Twice!"

He started to rattle off a stream of enthusiastic jargon, the poor man barely staying afloat. Various pieces were taken off, Twice trying to find a way out.

Fortunately, he was tossed a lifeline. Gentle Criminal delicately coughed. "As enlightening as demonstrating your technology is for our newest team member, maybe he would appreciate some tea?"

Mastermind paused his stream of dialogue, then nodded, "Alright! We can talk about Support Gear later."

Twice mouthed a silent 'thank you' to Gentle Criminal, who gave him a short nod in return.

Gentle had laid out a small number of sweets to go with his preferred tea. As the League of Supervillains' fortunes had increased, so too had the general quality of his tea. As they sat down, Gentle Criminal frowned at an unexpected addition to the table.

"Who brought champagne?"

Inkblot grinned, already putting another bottle and some glasses on the table. "Guilty!" She looked at the other members of the League. "What?"

Mr. Compress coughed tactfully. "Should we really be drinking in the afternoon like this?"

He got a hard, flat stare from the feline Villain. "It's a party! Come on, it's good quality stuff as well!"

Stitch smiled, eyes creasing behind his mask. "I have to agree. Let's have a nice drink." He'd already poured himself a glass, already waiting to take a sip.

Mastermind looked at the rest of the group. "I, uh, don't really drink-"

"You don't?" Inkblot looked at Mastermind quizzically, then shrugged. "Well, that leaves more for the rest of us then!"

Gentle sighed. "Very well. Let's have some tea first. Give the champagne a welcoming friend."

The League of Supervillains raised their delicate cups, the warm brew within sloshing around. "To our newest member, Twice!"

Twice flushed brightly enough to be seen through his costume. "Aw, you guys! I'll murder ya in your sleep!"

The other Villains stared at him for a few seconds, then shrugged, having gotten used to his sudden outbursts. "So, Twice, I'd like to hear more about your Quirk!" Mastermind leaned in closer. "If you don't mind, that is."

His notebook and pen were already in hand.

Twice looked at the Super Villain for a couple of seconds, pulling his mask back down. "Giran didn't tell you?"

Mastermind shook his head. "He told me that. you were somebody who needed friends. And besides, it's much more interesting to talk to somebody about their Quirk than to hear a second-hand account!"

Twice took a deep breath, then took a more confident stance. "Well, my Quirk's called Double! I can produce two copies of anything, living or dead! Why, the copies I create are so good that they can even use their Quirk!"

Mastermind stared at him admiringly. Already he'd filled an entire page with notes on possible uses based on his initial impressions. "That's incredible, Twice! A Quirk like that is simply amazing! So, what are the limits?"

Twice had a confident smile on his face. "Well, first of all I can only provide two copies period, not two copies of anything. Secondly, the copies are much less durable than the original - an injury about as potent as a broken bone would be enough to dispel the copy."

The smile slipped off his face. He stared at some horrible scene only he could see. "Believe me, I know."

Mastermind gently patted him on the shoulder. "I'm sorry to have brought it up, Twice. I wouldn't have asked if-"

"It's okay! I'm fine! Everything sucks!"

Mastermind looked at him with concern. "If you're sure..." He picked his cup of tea back up.

Twice shook himself. "Today's a good day! Where was I? Oh, yes!"

He pulled out a pair of measuring tapes from his wrist bracers. "The other thing is, I need to know the exact details of what I'm copying! Height, weight, hairstyle, facial features, age-"

Mastermind nearly choked on his tea. Coughing, he managed to wipe his mouth clean. "Age? Really?"

Twice nodded. "Yep! It's not the most important detail but it's a factor!" He looked at Mastermind with a raised eyebrow, the other Villains also curious. "Is that a problem? It better not be!"

Mastermind froze slightly. "Uh..."

Just for a second, then he was back on track.

"...It's not a problem!" Mastermind laughed it off. "I've just never seen a Quirk with an age restriction!" His pen resumed its blur, hastily copying this information down.

I've been so worried about keeping my age under wraps. It's why I'm careful leaving - I always make sure that I'm safely away somewhere else before I remove my costume and head home.

I mean, it's not as if I don't trust my friends with my age! That would be silly! It's just... I like having the barrier of my suit.

With the suit on, I'm Mastermind, a Super Villain! The Villain that the Heroes need and deserve!

Out of the suit, I'm just... Midoriya Izuku, giant Hero Nerd and tinkerer. Quirkless. Useless.

I... I knew that my friends would support me! They had to, we'd been through so much!

But...

I guess I was afraid that they'd just...

Send me back to being Quirkless Izuku.

...I didn't want them to do that. So as long as I could, I was going to keep Izuku out of my life for The Plan to work.

I didn't want to keep lying to my friends, but was it really lying if nobody directly asked me how old I was?

The party had been going for a short time. After the tea and cake, the other Villains were entertaining themselves with various means. Mostly making small talk, talking about the holidays and what they held. Stitch had flopped onto the couch, napping.

La Brava looked at Inkblot slightly disapprovingly. "How much champagne have you had?"

Inkblot shrugged. "Not much! Come on, I've got great tolerance!"

The shorter Villain gave her friend a look. "Uh-huh."

Her feline friend grabbed the bottle, pouring herself another glass with a slightly shaky hand. "Come on, it's Dutch courage. Just one more."

La Brava took the bottle away from her friend. "I'll give it back if you tell him," she coyly suggested.

Inkblot glared at her friend, then sighed. "Fine! You win, and you're probably right. I've gotta ask before somebody else does."

Mastermind was chattering away to Mr. Compress, excitedly mentioning the possibilities of Twice's Quirk in conjunction with his own. La Brava gave her friend a smile. "The worst that can happen is he says no!"

Inkblot groaned in despair. "Thanks for the reminder, Aiba," she groused.

The shorter Villain only grinned at her taller friend. "Go for it!" She sneakily reached into her pocket, pulling out a small bunch of mistletoe. "In case you need it~!"

Inkblot slammed her glass of champagne back, gripping the small bunch of mistletoe.

Inkblot found Mastermind cheerfully chattering to Twice. "-so what happens to a copy if they change out of their clothes? Can you make inanimate objects based solely on a description or do you need to see the item itself?"

Twice looked like he was a bit overwhelmed by all the questions.

Inkblot steeled herself. Well, all I have to do is... ask him out. No biggie. Surely he's gotten the hint by now?

"...hey."

Twice looked up. "Hey Inkblot! Want to join in? Fuck off and die!"

Twice slapped his mouth. "I'm sorry! I'm... just going to go over here!" He darted off.

Mastermind turned to her and what she was about to say next left her mind. She pushed on anyway. "W-well, uh..." she trailed off.

He turned a bit to focus on her. "Is something wrong?"

Just say it, Inkblot! I'm not in goddamn High school anymore!

She took a deep breath. "I... like you. A lot."

Mastermind seemed to beam. "I like you too, Inkblot - Sumi-san!"

Hearing her name used so familiarly caused the massed butterflies in her stomach to multiply. "R-really? You... you like me?"

The other Villain looked at her oddly. The rest of the League seemed to have disappeared. "Well, of course I do! You've been a great friend, and I'm not so embarrassed by the banter-"

A lead weight sunk into her stomach. Did he not pick up on it? "Wait. Banter?"

Mastermind nodded, oblivious to the feelings in her head. "Yeah! You flirting with me like that. It's just banter, right?"

Inkblot wanted to slap a hand to her face or get another drink. She settled for staring at her boss, amazed that somebody so smart hadn't figured out that she was actually interested in him. Then again, if he'd grown up Quirkless, maybe he wasn't used to that kind of positive attention?

As Mastermind took another sip of tea, Sumi cast a helpless glance out to La Brava. The shorter lady, perched on the countertop, made frantic gestures to keep talking.

"W-well... I, really, really like you." She took a deep breath. "You're kind, and smart, and you don't actually seem to care about me being all..." she waved her hands, trying to convey the typical standard she dealt with.

"I really want to go out with you, is what I'm saying."

Mastermind froze in place. "Um...alright?" he squeaked out. Then he seemed to remember himself, hastily pulling his mouthpiece back on. "I-I-I mean, um? What? R-really? That's, uh-"

A bit too late. Sumi's eyes widened. She was sure that Mr. Compress had choked on his sip of tea. Stitch sat up, eyes focused on the drama happening behind him. La Brava was looking at her friend with concern, the same thought obviously having just struck her.

Oh no.

With a sinking feeling in her stomach, Sumi looked closer at Mastermind, really looked at him. The Villain was short - that could be put on his natural adult height, but there was something about his build even through the armour that suggested he wasn't an adult. A few other things clicked - how Mastermind wasn't available during normal hours, that he lived with his mother, his general awkwardness and that latest high pitched squeak...

She was aware that the room had frozen with that outburst but she had to ask. "Mastermind, please, tell me you're an adult."

If the room hadn't been tense before, it was now as the other Villains looked at the pair of them. Gentle Criminal and La Brava were looking between each other and her. Twice seemed uneasy, Mr. Compress having swapped his mask for one that had a raised eyebrow design on it. Golden Grin had sat up properly, face serious.

Mastermind stayed clutched, then he slumped, sighing. "I guess I had to take my helmet off sometime."

He tapped some panels on the side of his mask, the seals hissing and clicking. The mouthpiece came off first, followed by the upper visor. Sumi stared at Mastermind's face.

A mass of dark green fluffy hair. Brilliant green eyes. Freckles on slightly chubby cheeks. He winced, looking away from her. "Um... w-well, I'm not. I'm... just leaving middle school."

He put on a wobbly smile.

Inkblot managed to find her voice, low and quivering. "Oh my god, you're a teenager."

Visions danced in her head, of the thoughts she'd had about Mastermind. The teenager's face superimposed itself on a particularly intimate thought involving rather a lot of oil.

She was able to make it to the toilet before she threw up.

Gentle Criminal simply stood there, Mastermind looking just as stunned as he felt. Mastermind, a teenager... he really hadn't thought about it.

The shorter Villain looked around the room. "You... probably don't like that I lied, huh?"

When nobody responded, he slowly stood up. "I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll just leave now."

Gentle felt a dark pit opening in his stomach with those words. Was Mastermind...? The other Villains looked at each other uneasily. "...Why are you leaving?"

Mastermind looked up. "Well, I-I mean, it's late, and... maybe me being a Villain was stupid."

With a quick switch of his mask to a worried face, Mr. Compress stood up. "I must admit this is a surprise. But-"

"It's fine, it's fine!" Mastermind put on a shaky smile. "It might be better if I just... stopped the Villainy thing. Focus on something realistic. You don't have to put up with me and my dumb plans anymore."

La Brava's face crumpled. "You really want to leave?"

Mastermind winced in turn, already turning to grab his bag. "W-well, who'd want a Quirkless teenager around? It's fine, it's fine!"

Gentle Criminal could see Mastermind's smile turning steadily more plastic. He'd seen those eyes in the mirror before. "Mastermind..."

"A-and! If you guys need any gear upgrades, you can just call me! I'll get it done!"

"Mastermind-"

"Who was I kidding, this was a mistake, I-"

"MASTERMIND!"

Midoriya Izuku stared at Gentle with his mouth open. Gentle Criminal had shouted.

Gentle Criminal had shouted?

The older man took a deep breath. "Apologies, Mastermind. I just..." he sighed. "This won't be easy to say."

Izuku looked at Gentle as he continued to talk, slowly and carefully. "I won't deny that, if you had told me after the robbery that you were a minor, I would have probably advised you to stop. Being a Villain is a hard life, and you've got your whole life ahead of you."

Izuku's heart tightened. "S-so it's fine! I'll just leave now-"

Gentle Criminal held up a hand. "Young Man - Mastermind - that was then, this is now. What I mean is that, time and again, I have seen you in action."

Izuku was aware that there were tears in the corners of his eyes. "You-you don't have to sugarcoat it-"

Golden Grin piped up "You've built all of this gear when you're not even in high school? You're frickin' awesome!"

Mr. Compress chimed in. "You managed to get away from actual Pro Heroes, young man. Most Villains can't claim that!"

Mastermind seemed to shrink in on himself. "...You don't have to be so nice about it... it's alright, I'm not going to be hurt, it's-"

La Brava stepped closer, concern on her face. "You're clearly not okay. I - believe me, I know what it's like to be pushed away."

Gentle Criminal stepped closer to his young fan. "As do I."

Mastermind looked at him with wide eyes as he continued. "I can't deny that I'm offended that you never told us how old you really were but I get why you hid your age from us. But Mastermind... whoever you are..."

Mastermind's eyes were brimming with tears. "M-Midoriya... Izuku..." he choked out.

Gentle Criminal and Mr. Compress traded a look. "Midoriya-kun..." He smiled at his young fan, feeling like history had repeated itself ever so slightly. Just like with Manami before him, this young man needed help.

"What I'm trying to say is that we want you to stay."

Izuku stared at his idol, open mouthed.

The other Villains in the room grinned, looking at Mastermind with surprising smiles.

Golden Grin, with a smile as wide as his namesake. "You helped me ace my mid-terms man! Course I want you to stay!"

La Brava's own smile was a bit teary but she was still determined. "Remember when I said you were my first real friend? That didn't just change you know!"

Mr. Compress chuckled. "I believe there is still some prestidigitation I can teach you, young man!"

Twice gave him a big thumbs up. "Look, you treated me nicely before and I want to help you with your Villain thing! You ain't getting rid of me even if you want to!"

Stitch rubbed the back of his head, scowling. "You're a bit infuriating, but I can respect the expertise behind your technology. It's only logical for you to stay here with your creations."

"You... I..."

He knew that he would have to talk with them. He needed to make a lot of apologies, for keeping himself secret while learning about each of them. But in the moment that just... didn't seem to matter.

Izuku stared at the rest of the Villains. There were tears coming from his eyes and he had sunk to his knees as the knot of emotions in his chest unravelled. For a few seconds, he just sat there as the Villains simply looked on. No words were said. Then La Brava got closer.

"Izuku."

Izuku looked up, managing to push himself up. La Brava looked at him with a sad expression of her own. His mind ran quickly. "Inkblot," he breathed.

He pushed himself upright, but La Brava held up a hand. "You should probably leave her," she said.

Izuku stared at the doorway, then back to La Brava. "I just-"

La Brava simply shook her head. "That was a bit of a shock. I don't think she's... angry, per say? But I'll talk to her tomorrow."

For a second Izuku thought of running after her. Then he saw Gentle Criminal and Mr. Compress shaking their heads. "I... I guess I should work on my apology, shouldn't I?"

Stitch pulled his mask down so that he could leer at Izuku properly. "You sure do, kid. Maybe you should buy her some flowers or something."

It was a couple of days later. La Brava had called Inkblot and had managed to help get a meeting. She'd managed to stress that Izuku had genuinely been unaware that she'd been flirting with him properly.

Sumi was sitting across from Mastermind - Midoriya. The other Villains had decided to leave the room. She looked him in the eye, then sighed. Trust Mastermind to be cute.

Like a puppy.

Midoriya sighed. "I-I'm... really sorry. For hurting you like this."

Sumi gave him a pained smile. "I know. You didn't do it on purpose."

Didn't make it feel any less humiliating or make her feel less depressed with herself. You didn't need to do something on purpose to hurt other people, she knew that.

Midoriya stared at his hands. "So... I mean, why would you even... like me like that?"

Sumi whipper her head back up from where she'd been looking at the ground. "What? You're smart, kind, you've got muscle... I don't get why you don't have more people interested!"

Midoriya shrugged. "Most of the people in school think the mumbling is weird. I'm still a massive nerd."

Sumi gave him with an odd look. "Right."

With Midoriya looking even more miserable, Sumi pinched her eyes shut in frustration. This was... how did you go on with this kind of thing?

Midoriya was the one to break that silence. "Things aren't going to be the same, are they?"

Sumi twisted the hem of her jacket. "Probably not."

Looking at the kid, she managed to suck in a breath. "Look." As Midoriya turned, she gathered her thoughts. "I mean, sure, this whole... reveal sucked, but at least we figured it out like this. Rather than having to find out who you are by pulling your helmet off your body."

Midoriya nodded, face ashen. He looked up. "Being Mastermind has been... fantastic. I'm not a Quirkless teenager anymore when I'm wearing my armour."

Sumi managed a small grin. "You did pull the wool over everybody's eyes this whole time though. Pretty Villainous if you ask me."

Midoriya looked up at her. "So-"

She held up a hand. "It sucks that you're not exactly..." she waved her hands, settling for, "...old enough. For me. But... you're also a great friend, and I really don't want to lose that."

She grinned. "Now then, who are you again?"

Midoriya stared at her for a second, then he beamed. A wicked grin split his face, the light of burning buildings shining in his eyes. "W-well then! I'm Midoriya Izuku! Also known as the Brilliant Supervillain... MASTERMIND!"

Thunder roared.

Sumi grinned back. "The name's Anime Sumi. Inkblot."

It took a bit of time, but eventually the League of Supervillains got back together again, stronger than ever! I owed everybody for not trusting them with my real identity and obviously I had to prove that I meant it - mostly by giving some help here and there. But it all worked out!

I'd made a strong connection with the helmet on, and with it off I had a bit more freedom. Most importantly, I knew beyond a doubt that we are all friends, united beyond just big heists and Villainy.

Sure, I still occasionally felt that I should have kept my helmet on. Worked a bit like Doctor Doom, where nobody saw my true face. But it meant that I could get up to bigger and better plans...

And it meant that I had an excuse to show of the basement area!

After Christmas... I had such big plans. And it felt like the U.A entrance exams were coming closer than ever!

Author's notes:

This one beat me up a bit. Took a lot of doing!

I've never been a fan of protracted drama, even though I could take this Third Act Misunderstanding on for another chapter or two if I really wanted to. Not my style. We should be getting back to something lighter next chapter!

Next time... we may finally make it to the exams! Maybe another Villainous escapade! Who can say!