-A/N-

This story deals with many dark themes and subjects. I will put warnings in each chapter if particularly traumatizing content is mentioned, but you have been warned.

Since this is an alternate universe there will be changes to canon events and characters. Some characters might have different personalities compared to their canon version, and this is on purpose because of previously mentioned changes to various things.

Not all the world information will be revealed at first. This is on purpose to show how various characters change in response to new information/revelations.

Feel free to leave reviews and constructive criticism, I hope you enjoy the story.


The world is not as beautiful as it may seem.

Peel back the layers, look behind the curtains, read between the lines, and the ugly truth will be revealed.

The year is 2264, and the world is seemingly at peace.

A little more than two hundred years ago, genetic mutations started appearing in people around the world. These mutations ranged from harmless changes in appearance, to powerful abilities that could destroy cities. These mutations became known as quirks, and they changed the course of human history forever.

In a short amount of time, things like nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles became obsolete. Why invest the time, money, and resources in such weapons when a single citizen of your country could unleash the same amount of destructive power with the snap of their fingers?

The balance of power around the world was shattered, and a new type of arms race was born.

A race to secure as many powerful quirk users as possible.

For a century, the world was plunged into an era known as The Second Dark Age. It was a time of instability and uncertainty, as countries all over the world rushed to increase the number of powerful quirks amongst their citizens. No longer were military resources the measure of global power, quirks had taken the world by storm. As a result, nations fell and others rose in their place.

The United States of America, Canada, and Mexico joined together to create the North American Alliance.

In response to the formation of the North American Alliance, the countries of South America banded together and created the South American Union.

The economic and political union formerly known as the European Union quickly fell apart as the individual countries fought over quirk users. After a brief but bloody free-for-all between nations, a peace was brokered between the survivors and the North Atlantic Republic was formed.

The Scandinavian countries banded together and formed the unified nation known as New Scandinavia.

Russia is still standing to this day. Because of its already massive population, the nation had no problem assembling large amounts of quirk users. However, the government fell apart during the rise of quirk users and a singular ruler simply known as The Tsar rose to power.

The continent of Africa, once regarded by the rest of the world as a collection of third-world countries, is currently experiencing a golden age of prosperity. Instead of fighting each other over petty differences like they had in the past, every country in Africa agreed to work together and step onto the world stage as a new superpower. With vast numbers of quirk users in their ranks during the early days, the newly formed African Federation became a dominant force on the global level.

The geographic area known as the Middle East unfortunately fell into anarchy during the Second Dark Age. Old feuds, grudges, and ideological differences amongst the various nations led to the total collapse of law and order as new quirk users slaughtered each other. Eventually, the chaos reached a fever pitch and nuclear weapons were detonated in the dozens. Currently the entire area is a blighted graveyard. Thanks to unified efforts by various nations and alliances, the nuclear fallout was mitigated significantly so that the rest of the world was not affected. However, the Middle East is now a dead land that is cordoned off from the rest of the world. The only people who voluntarily visit the region are scientists and researchers who constantly search for artifacts and records of the lost cultures.

In an ironic twist, the overpopulation problem China had been suffering before the rise of quirks gave them a huge advantage over other smaller neighboring nations. As such, China was one of the very first nations to utilize quirk users offensively against other nations. China quickly conquered the smaller nations to the south, and then forcefully allied itself with India and the newly unified Korean peninsula.

After seeing what happened to other smaller countries and nations, the island nations in the pacific banded together and formed the Pacific Nation Coalition. The notable exception being Japan.

Australia enjoyed a relatively peaceful Second Dark Age. Due to its geographical isolation and unified people, Australia had no need to ally itself with any other nation for increased defense.

Lastly, is the nation of Japan. Similar to Australia, Japan was able to stay independent due to its ocean borders and unified people. Now one of the most advanced nations in the world, Japan has become a world leader in quirk research and training.

The Second Dark Age came to an end when individuals now known as "the first heroes" emerged. As quirks became commonplace, the concept of superheroes and supervillains became a reality. Not all quirks are created equal, and for some the temptation of their power was too great to ignore. When the number of supervillains began to skyrocket, the first heroes stepped in to protect the weak and innocent. At first, many governments tried to stop these supervillains with regular law enforcement agencies, but it was soon apparent that the best way to stop an evil quirk user was with a hero of equal power.

Thus the concept of professional heroes was born.

Fast forward to the current day, and pro-heroes are some of the most venerated and popular individuals on the planet. These powerful quirk users are paid to protect the public at a moment's notice, and do so for both fame and fortune. Governments around the world follow the same template for organizing and rating pro-heroes, and as such pro-heroes are often seen as a way to quantify how powerful different governments are. Of course, there are a handful of pro-heroes that are known around the world no matter which government they represent. These legendary figures are household names almost everywhere, and many pro-heroes aspire to achieve the level of fame that will put their name in the pantheon of greats alongside their idols.

But what happens when you find out everything you believed was a lie? That your entire life's work was chasing an ideal that never existed in the first place?

What happens when someone digs up the secrets of the past, and shows the world just how many bodies are buried underneath the floorboards?


It was a sunny summer day in Japan. The sky was a perfect blue, and a soft breeze carried flower petals through the air.

On top of a tall apartment building, a group of friends sat in cheap folding chairs watching the city around them. With various beverages in hand, they chatted with each other as they relaxed and soaked in the sun.

However, this was not your average group of friends.

These young adults were all the same age, for they had all been in the same class at a world-renowned pro-hero school.

Friends since their first year in UA, these young heroes were all talented individuals with the common goal of climbing the professional hero ranks.

First there is Denki Kaminari. Slim and athletic, he had short gold hair, parted to the right with a black lightning-shaped streak on the left of his side fringe. He also sported a small goatee that he insisted was going to grow into a nice beard. His quirk gave him the ability to generate and discharge electricity. An energetic and friendly person, Kaminari loves being social with others. Whether it be cracking jokes or simply lazing around, Denki Kaminari is a free spirit that enjoys life as it is.

Secondly, there is Eijiro Kirishima. A brawny man with spiky dyed-red hair, Kirishima stands out from the rest of the group due to his size, muscles, and loud voice. His quirk allows him to harden his body to a degree where bullets, explosions, and heavy impacts don't even leave a scratch. Honorable and straightforward to a fault, Kirishima is the protector of the group and will throw himself headlong into danger if it means he can protect someone else from harm.

Next there is Momo Yaoyorozu. She is tall and has a body that makes swimsuit models green with envy. She has long black hair that is normally tied into a spiky ponytail, and a level-headed personality that makes her an excellent tactician even under pressure. Kind, yet reserved, Yaoyorozu is sometimes called a princess due to her wealthy upbringing as well as her excellent manners and professionalism. Her quirk gives her the ability to create any non-living material/object from her exposed skin by transforming the molecular structure of her fat cells.

There is also Mina Ashido. A short woman with a toned and athletic body, Ashido is one of the most unique looking members of the group. Her skin is pink, she has eyes with black sclera and yellow irises, fluffy pink hair, and two thin pale yellow horns jutting from her head. Ashido is a cheerful and easygoing girl who always seems to be wearing a smile. Highly social and excitable, she loves to hang out with her friends and make new ones. She possesses a strong fashion sense and likes to go shopping, but has moments where she can act like an airhead and get easily carried away with things. Her quirk allows her to produce a corrosive liquid from her body, and can control the solubility and viscosity of the acid as well.

Next there is Tenya Iida. Tall and with the lithe body of a runner, Iida has short dark blue hair that is usually flattened neatly down and parted on the right side of his head. He used to wear glasses when he was younger, but upon graduating UA he had corrective eye surgery to improve his eyesight. Iida is an earnest, intelligent, disciplined, and noble person. While not as socially awkward as he used to be when he was a teenager, Iida still sometimes has trouble reading the room. Iida's quirk gave him car-like engines in each of his calves, giving him incredible running speed and extreme kicking power.

Then there is Ochako Uraraka. She is short and slender, with fair skin, and brown hair kept at a normal shoulder-length. Uraraka is a warm and caring woman, with plenty of empathy and positivity to share. While not as intense as some of her friends, Uraraka makes sure her friends are always doing their best, and provides valuable emotional support to those she cares about. Her quirk gives her the power to nullify the effects of gravity on solid targets by touching them with the pads on her fingertips, causing them to become weightless and float. She is able to cancel the effect of her quirk by touching her fingertips together again.

The last girl of the group is Kyoka Jiro. She is a petite, fair-skinned girl with a slender build. She has somewhat short hair that is dark purple in color with an asymmetrical fringe. She also has flexible, plug-like earphone jacks hanging from each of her earlobes at the end of two thin cords. She can also control these earjacks at will. Jiro has a pragmatic, unenthusiastic, and teasing personality. She does not open up to new people easily, but is more open and snarky around those she trusts. Her quirk features the earjacks hanging from her earlobes. When the jacks are plugged into something, Jiro can channel the sound of her heartbeat through them in the form of a violent vibration attack. She can also stretch her earlobes several meters. The quirk also allows her to hear minuscule sounds and vibrations from her surroundings.

One of the most powerful members of the group is the man named Shoto Todoroki. He is of average height, and has a lean but muscular body. His hair is evenly split between two colors. White on his right side and crimson red on his left. Somewhat quiet and reserved, Todoroki used to be a cold and distant lone-wolf. However, befriending his classmates allowed him to open up more and grow as a person. While still a bit unsociable to outsiders, Todoroki trusts his friends greatly and uses his skills, focus, and keen intellect to protect those he cares about.

The final member of the group of young heroes is the man named Katsuki Bakugo. He is of average height, with a slim, muscular build, and a fair skin tone. He has short, spiky, sandy blonde hair, and his eyes are red in color. HIs quirk allows him to secrete nitroglycerin-like sweat from the palms of his hands and ignite it on command, allowing him to create strong explosions.

Bakugo is generally aggressive, crude, and blunt. To everyone but his friends, his attitude borders on arrogantly toxic. With his friends he is more subdued, but still not outwardly friendly. For the first year of highschool, Bakugo was an arrogant and violent individual. But halfway through the second year, he seemed to change overnight. Nobody knows the exact reason for this change, but Bakugo was suddenly more cooperative with his classmates. Eventually, that cooperation turned into genuine friendship. While Bakugo would never admit it out loud, he does care for his group of friends.

The group of young heroes had decided that their team name would officially be 1-A, in honor of the class that brought them all together.

Looking out at the city before them, the group of friends had a few seconds of silence as they all drank their beverages. Dressed in their hero outfits, it was a strange sight to see young pro-heroes sitting around in folding chairs like workers on a lunch break.

"You guys see that article in the paper about the bank robbery over in Tokyo?" Kaminari said with a slight yawn.

"Yeah, what about it?" Bakugo said flatly.

"Is it bad that I wished it could have happened in our city?" Kaminari sighed.

There was a hearty laugh from Kirishima. "I get what you mean Kaminari. Lately it seems that we have been doing our jobs too well. Not much going on lately."

"You guys really are pining for a fight that bad?" Ashido said as she rolled her eyes. "Cmon, you can't be happy that we actually have free time on our hands for once?"

Iida tossed his empty can of orange juice into a small plastic bucket nearby. "While I do agree with you Ashido, I will admit that part of me is getting bored of training. Nothing compares to an actual test of your skills."

Crossing her legs, Yaoyorozu took another sip of her green tea. "If you boys are so bored. Why don't you commute to a different city? Nobody is stopping you from taking the initiative."

Todoroki tilted his head slightly to look at Yaoyorozu. "You make it sound so easy. Working in a different city means more paperwork, and more competition. Plus, all of us are still relatively new pro-heroes. We are only twenty-three years old."

Jiro idly played with the straw sticking out of her can of soda. "He is right Momo. On top of that, working in a new city would mean joining a new hero agency or going completely solo. Right now we are all on a team together thanks to Hawks. We are lucky we managed to convince him to station us in this city without much supervision."

Obviously anticipating an argument starting, Uraraka leaned forward with a warm smile on her face. "Guys c'mon, lets not worry about it right now. If things are still this slow in another week or two, maybe we can talk to Hawks then about relocating."

It seemed that Uraraka's words worked, as the group went back to simply staring at the city in front of them. The sound of quiet electronic beeps emanated from Ashido's smartphone as she pulled it out and began scrolling.

"Geez another system update." Ashido whined. "You would think that the government would try to do a better job maintaining the IIS instead of regular TV and cable."

IIS is the acronym for the International Information Service. An electronic information system created by governments around the world to allow the rapid exchange of information and data. Unlike things like radio and television, the IIS gave individual citizens unparalleled access to information like never before. More commonly known as the internet, the IIS heralded a new age in information sharing. Once you registered your citizenship information with the government, you were given an account that allowed you to freely browse the dozens of sites on the IIS. Things like social media sites, video sharing sites, world history sites, and many more. Of course, each country had its own network. So if you wanted to browse a different country's sites you had to go through a short application process to gain access.

When the IIS had first been created, there had been a number of critics who were concerned about a government-run information service. There had been a push to put this information service in the hands of the citizens themselves, but governments around the world had been quick to point out that allowing for such unregulated freedom would create more harm than good. So shortly thereafter, the IIS was created and united citizens around the globe. Thirty years later, the IIS was currently on the verge of becoming more popular than television itself. With things like online games, video streaming, and podcasts gaining popularity by the day, it was said that the IIS was on track to become the next pinnacle in information technology.

There was a pause before Ashido spoke again. "Huh, apparently the oldest quirkless person in the world just turned seventy-one."

Nobody noticed the slight twitch in Bakugo's hands as Ashido continued talking.

"It must really suck to have been quirkless." Ashido mused out loud. "Like, I can't imagine it. Not having evolved enough to adapt to new things."

Kaminari nodded in agreement. "I honestly didn't know there were any quirkless people still around. I thought they all died out more than fifty years ago."

Yaoyorozu shrugged. "If I remember correctly there are still a few around. But those are the ones lucky or wealthy enough to get the proper treatments and medical care. As sad as it is for the individuals, it is just natural evolution."

Iida scratched his chin in thought as he stared up at the sky. "I remember one of the history lessons in middle school talking about quirkless people. Basically their genetics did not evolve properly like everyone else and as a result were much more prone to things like cancer and all sorts of diseases. As such their life expectancy is very short, thirty years at best."

Uraraka sighed sadly as she fiddled with the soda can in her hands. "I just can't imagine something like that. Being doomed to live such a short life."

Kirishima shrugged. "Like Yaoyorozu said, it is just a fact of nature. Evolution and all that."

Jiro nodded in agreement. "Even if quirkless people did have normal lifespans like everyone else, it would be a living hell. Just imagine, not having a quirk of any kind. Nothing to make you special, just a bland, boring huma-"

"SHUT UP!"

Everyone fell silent at the sudden outburst from Bakugo, who was glaring daggers at Jiro.

"Why the fuck are we still talking about this?" Bakugo growled. "We get it, quirkless people are shit. Let's just move on."

Jiro frowned, but simply stayed silent. Leaning forward to stare Bakugo in the eye, Todoroki gave his friend a curious look.

"Why are you so bent out of shape about this?" Todoroki asked plainly.

Bakugo crossed his arms and went back to staring at the city. "No reason, just a fuckin pointless conversation to me."

Clearly the conversation about quirkless people had struck a nerve with Bakugo. However, nobody in the group wanted to press the irate man on the issue. They all knew that Bakugo rarely revealed his inner thoughts to anyone, that was just how he always acted. They all trusted that if he wanted to talk about it, he would let them know. So for now, they simply decided to leave the topic alone.

There were a few seconds of silence, but they were broken by the sound of flapping wings and rushing air. Soaring effortlessly through the air. The pro-hero known as Hawks gracefully landed in front of the assembled friends with a grin on his face.

Hawks, now thirty years old, is a man of average height with a slim build. He has feathery blond hair, swept messily backward, and some faint stubble on his chin. His quirk was very obvious, a set of large, bright red, feathery wings sprouting from his back. His wings not only allowed Hawks to fly, but he could also control each individual feather telekinetically. Currently the second-highest rated hero in all of Japan, Hawks had a meteoric rise to fame as a young hero and is consistently rated as one of the most popular pro-heroes currently active. His hero agency is one of the best in the nation, and is highly praised by the government for its efficiency and success rate.

"You guys seem to be having a good time." Hawks said teasingly. "No patrolling to do or anything?"

Bakugo rolled his eyes. "I fucking wish. We all spent the whole morning looking for shit to do. Best I could find was a single purse-snatcher, not even worth my time."

Todoroki nodded in agreement. "We all have our phone alerts set to pick up any police alerts, but nothing is happening."

Hawks chuckled softly. "I'm just messin with you guys. No worries. That is not what I am here about anyways."

Well that certainly got the attention of the young heroes. Hawks was known to be very laid-back and somewhat lazy. The majority of his interactions with his subordinates occurred over the phone. If he needed to talk to someone in person, then he usually summoned that person to his agency office. It was very rare for Hawks to go out of his way to talk to a subordinate face-to-face, which meant the topic was very important.

"This morning I got a call from the government about a special mission." Hawks said. "They are looking for a team of pro-heroes. Preferably a team with a variety of skills, quirks, and talents. Of course I have several teams that fit that description, but most of them are split up at the moment with different tasks. So that left me with only one real option."

"What is the mission?" Kaminari blurted out curiously.

Hawks shrugged. "I don't know. My contact was keeping the details very close to the chest. All he said was that he needed a team quickly, and promised a substantial increase to the skill rating of all the members involved."

There are two systems in place around the world that rank pro-heroes.

The first is the popularity ranking. This ranking is based off of public polls, and shows how well a pro-hero is doing in the public eye. Just because a pro-hero is number one in the popularity ranking does not mean they are the most powerful. It simply reflects how popular they are to the citizens they protect.

The second ranking type is the skill ranking. This ranking system is solely based on the data and statistics of each pro-hero. Data such as the number of people saved, criminals arrested, catastrophes averted, etc. The higher the skill ranking, the more skilled the pro-hero is in their field. Obviously this means that the higher a pro-hero's skill ranking is, the more desirable they are as staff and recruits. The lowest skill rank is D, then increases to C, B, A, then finally S rank. Each letter rank has tiers to it as well. Meaning a B-plus ranked hero is statistically more skilled than B-minus ranked hero, even if the two heroes have the same level of power. In the modern day there are less than a hundred S-ranked pro-heroes around the world, and only a handful of those elite heroes have earned the highest tier possible of S+.

Hawks is currently an A+ ranked pro-hero, while the young heroes around him are all ranked C. Out of the nine young adults, only two of them are on the verge of increasing their skill rank to B. Those two being Todoroki and Bakugo who are in the upper tier of the C+ ranks. The lowest ranked of the group are Uraraka and Kaminari, both still in the C- division.

To increase your skill rank as a pro-hero means one must constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to prove yourself. Usually this means relying on extreme planning or plain dumb luck to be in the right place at the right time to earn some points. However, government-assigned missions are a surefire way to earn a substantial amount of ranking points. The flipside is that government missions are very rare to come by for newer heroes, and often high-ranked pro-heroes get chosen for government missions simply because they have a better track record.

Needless to say, the prospect of taking part in a government mission was like getting a winning lottery ticket to these young heroes.

Standing up, Kirishima thumped his chest with a fist. "Count me in!"

Jumping to his feet as well, Kaminari smiled excitedly. "Same here!"

The rest of the team quickly followed suit, however Todoroki was noticeably less enthusiastic than the rest of his friends.

Hawks nodded proudly. "Alright, I will let my guy know. I suggest resting up and getting prepared. You all should get a call within the next two days with the briefing date and time."

With a flourish of his wings, Hawks leapt off the roof of the building and quickly flew off into the distance.

Turning to look at each other, the group of friends began to chatter excitedly.

"Hot damn we got lucky!" Kaminari whooped. "A government mission during this drought?! Talk about good timing!"

Uraraka nodded. "I will be honest, I was kinda starting to get worried about you guys leaving me behind. I…I know we would still be on the same team, but it would look weird for me to be hanging out with a bunch of heroes that have higher skill ranks than me."

Immediately Uraraka was embraced in a warm hug by Ashido. "Geez Ochako, don't talk like that! You really need to believe in yourself more! I don't care what anyone thinks, we friends will always stick together!"

Nodding in agreement, Jiro jerked a thumb over at Kaminari with a grin on her face. "Ochako, if anyone here needs to worry about being left behind, it's that sparky dumbass. He spends more time trying to look cool than actually ranking up."

Kaminari huffed indignantly. "That's so mean Jiro! You just can't comprehend how far ahead my plans are. Just you watch, I will be the first out of all of us to get ranked A."

That made everyone laugh, causing Kaminari to pout slightly.

Glancing over at Todoroki, Yaoyorozu spoke to him with a voice that was slightly more bashful than usual. "So…Todoroki. Are you worried about something? You don't seem that happy about this mission."

Completely oblivious, Todoroki shrugged. "I am not worried, just cautious. I remember my father talking about these types of missions in the past, and he always said that things were never as simple as they sounded."

Bakugo rolled his eyes as he cracked his knuckles. "Whatever, he probably hated not being in control. With all of us together, nothing can stop us."

Todoroki's father was the pro-hero known as Endeavor. A powerful man both because of his quirk and influence, but with a dark history not known to many. One of the moments that had truly solidified the friendship of the group was when they had all helped Todoroki stand up to his father. Endeavor was a man obsessed with ensuring his bloodline would always have powerful quirk abilities, and as such abused both his wife and children heavily in his quest for perfection. Endeavor considered Todoroki as the perfect successor, and relentlessly trained the young boy to a degree where Todoroki's own mother began to hate him. As such, Todoroki hated his father with a burning passion and declared that he would never become the successor his father wanted. As soon as he graduated from UA, Todoroki left his family and joined Hawks' hero agency with the rest of his friends. To this day Todoroki still holds a deep grudge against his father, and does everything in his power to make sure his father will never be able to control him again.

After talking for a few more minutes and discussing their plans, the friends dispersed and left to prepare.

All they had to do now was wait.


Far away, an average-looking cargo ship floated on the calm open ocean. At the bow of the large vessel, a single man stood looking at the blue expanse spreading out before him. The man was dressed in casual clothes, consisting of jeans, work boots, and a blue jacket. The man was a little taller than average height, with short green hair and green eyes. Though his baggy clothes hid his body shape, the man was in peak physical condition and had the muscles of someone who worked hard every day. The man's most striking feature was a jagged scar that started just above his right eye, and ended just above his lips.

The man's silent contemplation was broken as another man in casual clothes walked up behind him and came to a stop.

"Lieutenant." The visitor said in a friendly manner. "The crew says your chopper is fueled and ready to go."

Nodding in understanding, the green-haired man pulled a cigarette out of his pocket. "Captain Willis, why are you the one telling me? Don't you have a ship to run?"

The brown-haired caucasian man named Willis grinned. "I needed to stretch my legs. As fun as it is watching the new guy bust his ass the whole day, I need to give him a break every once in a while."

Lighting his cigarette with a small lighter, the young lieutenant took a long drag before responding. "How kind of you." He said dryly. "Now tell me the real reason why you are here."

Captain Willis' grin turned into a slight frown. "Always straight to the point." There was a moment of silence before the middle-aged man spoke again. "Look lieutenant, I like killing quirkbags as much as the next guy, but command wants solid intel from this op. I was just told to remind you that quirkbags with bullets in their heads don't talk that well."

With the lit cigarette hanging from his lips, the lieutenant gave Captain Willis a blank look. "Noted, however I am not going to sacrifice the lives of my team just to talk to some fucking psychopaths. I will do my best to complete the objective, but there are limits."

Captain Willis nodded. "Trust me, I feel the same way. Just try your best." A grin then formed on the captain's face. "But I guess that's why they call you the Demon. You don't get called something like that without a reason."

The green-haired man shrugged, then silently went back to staring at the ocean.

Walking away, Willis suddenly turned around to look back at the lone figure.

"Hey Izuku."

Turning around, the quirkless man named Izuku Midoriya looked back at the captain with emotionless eyes.

"If you see that guy I told you about." Captain Willis said seriously. "Bring me his fucking head. I will make sure to pay you back with interest."

The corners of Izuku's mouth formed the ghost of a grin.

"It would be my pleasure."


It had been one day since team 1-A had accepted the government mission, and now the group of pro-heroes found themselves sitting in a generic office waiting room. It was early evening, and a beautiful sunset cast orange rays of light across the sky.

While people with powerful quirks might be strong individually, it was the state that held the power to change the world. Each government around the world was strict in their ruling and laws, some might even call them borderline authoritarian. However, after the Second Dark Age a strong government was considered necessary to maintain law and order in the age of quirks. Overall, the majority of citizens did not mind how much control their government had. As long as they were safe, happy, and prosperous, citizens around the world were all too happy to let the government maintain the status quo.

So now team 1-A sat waiting in one of the many government offices in the heart of the city. It was a bland building with no personality whatsoever, an almost perfect representation of its purpose. The building was made with one goal in mind, and that was to provide a place for government employees to work. There was no aesthetically pleasing architecture, or pleasant paintings inside. Just bland beige walls filled with cubicles, meeting rooms, offices, and other rooms designed around bureaucracy.

As office workers in cheap suits shuffled around in the hallway outside, team 1-A waited in silence for whoever was going to brief them on the mission. Right as it looked like Kaminari was going to explode from boredom, a nearby door opened to reveal a bald, pale man in a black suit and tie.

"Team 1-A." The older man said in a monotone voice. "Please come inside and sit down."

With their bright and colorful hero outfits contrasting greatly against the bland surroundings, the group of friends followed the pale man into the room. Inside was a generic meeting room you would see in any office building. It had a long table that could seat up to twenty people, a projector and screen at one end, no windows, and a single small coffee machine sitting in the corner.

When all the pro-heroes had taken their seats at the table, the man in the suit closed the door to the room and walked over to stand next to the projector.

"Welcome." The bald man said flatly. "I am case officer Sano, and I am the one in charge of this briefing. Since this is your first government mission let me remind you of several things. Firstly, this mission is classified until my office says so. This means that you will not share any plans or details of this mission with anyone who does not have the proper authorization. This also means that even after the mission is over, you cannot tell anyone what you did or where you were until given permission. Some government missions do not need this level of secrecy, but because this mission concerns national security it will remain classified until further notice. Understood?"

The pro-heroes nodded, making the case officer turn on the projector with a small remote.

"Good, then I will start with the briefing." Sano said as he clicked the remote, causing a topographical map to appear on the screen. "This mission is to assist the Pacific Nation Coalition with the capture of a group of criminals that has been causing problems in the Philippines. This network of criminals has grown to the point where the PNC has mobilized a large amount of their pro-heroes to deal with the problem in one fell swoop. Since Japan is on good terms with the PNC, we have been asked to assist in the operation. You will be one of the many teams taking part in this operation, but since the criminal network is so extensive you will be effectively operating on your own. Your area of operation is the province of Bohol, specifically an area of wilderness where the criminals have established a hideout."

Sano then used the remote as a laser pointer to highlight a specific area of the map. "You will be inserted roughly five kilometers from the hideout." Sano then moved the red dot of the laser point up the map. "You will then travel north by foot until you reach the area of the hideout. Find the building, then arrest everyone inside. There should not be any civilians inside, so the method you use to arrest the criminals is up to you. Once the area is clear, you can call for extraction. You will be picked up by helicopter, then transported to the nearest airport where you will take a charter jet back to Japan."

Clicking to the next slide, Sano highlighted an organizational tree of the criminal network. "The hideout you will be targeting is suspected to be occupied by ten mid-level enforcers. The specific quirks of the enforcers is unknown. The information given to us by the PNC indicates that these enforcers are mostly used to extort money from the local rural villages and farms. Overall, it is predicted that the enforcers mostly use their quirks for intimidation against helpless civilians. To put it simply, the enforcers are not combat experts and should not pose much of a threat if handled correctly. However, these enforcers have the home field advantage. This means that if you are discovered they will either use their knowledge of the local terrain against you, or vanish into the forest and disappear before you can catch them. As such, I recommend you ambush them so as to take them all out in one fell swoop before they can organize themselves."

Leaving the projector on, Sano put down the remote and turned to face the assembled heroes directly. "You will be provided with communication equipment as well as some basic supplies. The time limit for the mission is six hours, which should be more than enough time for you to reach the hideout and arrest the criminals after you have been inserted into the area. Any questions?"

The young heroes spent the next fifteen minutes asking Sano various questions and taking notes. After answering all the questions to the best of his abilities, case officer Sano turned off the projector and walked over towards the door.

"Alright, please follow me." The pale man sighed. "Our transportation is waiting for us outside."

"Excuse me." Yaoyorozu said politely. "Many of us live nearby. You do not need to trouble yourself with driving us all home."

For the first time, Sano's face was broken from its usual blank mask, twisting into a face of confusion. "I am afraid you might have misunderstood. I am taking you to the preparation facility. Your mission begins at nightfall."

Now it was Yaoyorozu's turn to look confused. "But a flight to the Philippines from here takes almost five hours. Even if we left in the next hour it would be well into the night by the time we arrived at our destination."

Surprisingly, Sano let a quiet chuckle escape his lips. "Do not worry, we have our ways to make sure you arrive on time."


Uraraka held back a nauseous burp as she leaned against a nearby tree. The light of the day had been replaced by the darkness of the night, and a crescent moon hung in the sky as stars glittered like diamonds in the dark sky. All around her, Uraraka's teammates took a minute to collect themselves and get their bearings.

They had gotten to their destination on time like Mister Sano had promised, just not in any way they had expected. Shortly after getting their equipment and supplies, team 1-A had been taken to a government facility and shown just exactly how they were going to get to the insertion point.

Teleportation.

Apparently someone in Japan had been born with a teleportation quirk, and had quickly been put on retainer by the government to help transport material and personnel. Of course, the young man with the teleportation quirk had been given specific equipment and technology to boost his power, but there were still limits. Each use of his teleportation power drained the young man. Depending on the distance and amount of matter being teleported, the young man needed to take adequate amounts of time to recuperate between uses. There was also the fact that the teleportation itself was a one-way trip. Meaning that the only way to go back was by conventional transportation methods. There had been mentions of nausea and dizziness after being teleported, but everyone on team 1-A had written it off as standard safety warnings.

In the short time Uraraka had talked to the "transportation specialist", it appeared that the young man thoroughly enjoyed his work. He regularly worked with pro-heroes of all ranks, and had even transported famous celebrities and politicians. Uraraka had asked the specialist what his record was for teleportation distance, and the young man had informed her that his record was 11000 kilometers. Of course he then mentioned that he had spent nearly two months in the hospital in a coma, and as such was limited to no more than 4000 kilometers.

The teleportation experience itself was not that amazing. Just a flash of light, a feeling of weightlessness, and then you were at your destination. However, the feeling of nausea quickly overtook Uraraka upon arrival, and it took all her self-control not to empty her stomach behind the nearest bush. Out of everyone in the group, Bakugo and Todoroki appeared to be the least affected. But if Uraraka looked closely, Todoroki seemed a little unsteady while Bakugo's face looked a shade greener than it normally was.

"Ugh, that sucked!" Kaminari groaned as he knelt on the ground. "It feels like my stomach is turning inside out."

"Quit bitching Denki." Bakugo growled. "We are on a mission, get your shit together."

Ashido quickly slapped a mosquito off her arm with an annoyed grunt. "Crap! I know the guy said we would be in the wilderness, but still you would think the mosquitos would be asleep by now!"

Quickly creating a can of bug repellant, Yaoyorozu covered herself in the odorless spray then began spraying her teammates. "We are in the tropics in the middle of the summer. The mosquitoes here are constant."

Adjusting the straps of the military-style backpack on his shoulders, Kirishima spoke loudly enough for everyone to hear. "I got water and some protein bars in the pack. Remember to stay hydrated and stuff guys."

"Let's do a quick check of our gear before starting." Todoroki said. "Everyone make sure your earpieces are working."

Each member of team 1-A had been given a small communication earpiece to use for short-range communication, and they all quickly checked to make sure their radios were tuned to the right frequency. Once that had been done, Todoroki turned to look at Jiro who had a high-powered communication device the size of a car battery strapped to her back.

"Alright Jiro, let our handler know we are starting the mission."

Nodding, Jiro activated the device with the press of a button. "This is Earjack to handler, do you read?"

There was a short pause before a female voice responded through the earpieces. "I read you loud and clear Earjack."

"Team 1-A is beginning the mission." Jiro stated.

"Understood." The handler replied. "Update me with any important information along the way. Good luck."

With a short hiss of static, the communication ended.

"Alright, let's get this show on the road." Bakugo said gruffly as he pulled out a small laminated map from his pocket. "We will head north as planned then find the hideout. Follow me."

Naturally assuming the role of the leader, Bakugo marched off into the dense forest with his team close behind.

Uraraka could not help but look around curiously as the group walked. She had never been outside of Japan before, and while the surrounding forest was not that different, it was still fun to know she was in a different country. Glancing at her teammates, Uraraka smiled slightly at their colorful hero outfits clashing with the wilderness around them. They all walked together like they were going for a hike and chatted idly while Bakugo led the group in his usual silence. Besides the constant buzz of mosquitos and gnats, overall it was a fun excursion.

After roughly twenty minutes of walking, Bakugo looked back at his friends. "Guys shut up and focus, we are on a mission not a fucking field trip. Keep your eyes open. Jiro, I want you to be our lookout. Keep an ear out and let us know if you hear anything weird. The deeper we go into the forest the harder it will be to see. Kirishima, hand out the flashlights we were given."

Uraraka nodded in understanding along with everyone else. While Bakugo may not be the most sociable or friendly person, he did have a point. They were on a mission and should be focused on doing the job right instead of sightseeing. As Jiro knelt down to listen to their surroundings, Kirishima opened up his backpack and handed out the flashlights they had been given. Turning her flashlight on, Uraraka was surprised to see that it had a red lens.

Turning on his flashlight, Iida inspected the red beam of light curiously. "Why are the flashlights red?"

"Human eyes adjust faster to red light than white." Todoroki explained. "Red flashlights help preserve our night vision and decrease the chances of us being spotted."

"Cool!" Ashido said with a grin.

"Yeah yeah whatever." Bakugo grunted. "Let's keep moving."

Continuing their trek, the group of young heroes was mostly silent except for the occasional quiet conversation. After almost an hour of walking, Uraraka was sweating heavily due to the humidity. Grimacing as she wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve, Uraraka nearly walked into Bakugo's back as he came to a sudden stop.

Holding a finger up to his lips, Bakugo talked in a whisper just loud enough for everyone to hear. "We should be in the area of the hideout. Stay quiet." He then turned to Jiro. "Let the handler know we are here."

Nodding, Jiro activated her comm equipment. "Earjack to handler, we have reached the area of the hideout. Beginning our search, over."

The only response Jiro got was the hiss of static.

Frowning, Jiro took the device off her back and began fiddling with the controls. "Handler this is Earjack, do you copy?"

Again, the only noise that could be heard was the hiss of static.

"Shit." Bakugo whispered. "What about our radios?"

Yaoyorozu immediately activated her earpiece and grimaced. "Just static as well."

Todoroki looked around as he spoke. "My guess is we are being jammed. One of the criminals probably has some sort of jamming quirk. It makes sense if they are enforcers. It keeps the farmers from calling for help."

"So what now?" Kaminari asked.

"We keep going." Bakugo growled. "No sense in running away just because our radios don't work. We find these assholes and arrest them like planned. Once we slap the null-cuffs on the guy his jamming quirk will go away and we can call the handler for our pickup."

Kirishima grinned and smacked his knuckles together. "I agree. It would not be manly at all to run away at the slightest inconvenience."

Seeing the confidence of her teammates, Uraraka felt her own determination rise.

"Alright then." Bakugo said with an excited grin. "Instead of splitting up as we planned, let's just all stick together as we search since our radios don't work."

With their fighting spirits revived, the members of team 1-A set out in search of the hideout.

All was going well at first. The team had found what looked like a recently made footpath, and were slowly sneaking along with Bakugo in the lead. Jiro was constantly listening for activity, but since she could not hear anything unusual it was assumed the hideout was still far away.

Then the mission fell apart.

With a metal clang, a rusty bear trap that had been hidden under a thin layer of dirt snapped shut around Todoroki's ankle. Taken by surprise, Todoroki let out a pained yell as he fell over in agony.

Immediately rushing over to his injured friend. Kirishima grunted in exertion as he pried the jagged jaws of the bear trap apart. "Hold on Todoroki! I got you buddy!"

Laying on the ground, Todoroki bit his knuckles to suppress the screams of agony trying to escape his mouth.

"Fucking shit!" Bakugo growled as he looked around warily. "How bad is it?!"

Kneeling next to Todoroki, Yaoyorozu carefully inspected his ankle with her flashlight.

"It's bad." The black-haired woman said shakily. "Deep lacerations and it looks like his ankle is shattered."

Before anyone could try to formulate a plan, a sinister laugh echoed from the nearby darkness. "Looks like some little piggies got themselves caught!"

Uraraka felt her blood run cold as she watched Yaoyorozu frantically grab at her bare skin where she usually created items with her quirk.

"My quirk isn't working." Yaoyorozu said in disbelief.

Looking around her, Uraraka felt like she was going to throw up. All of her teammates were trying to activate their quirks, only to realize nothing was happening. Not even Iida's quirk was working, which was terrifying considering mutation-type quirks like his are normally unaffected. Confirming her fears, Uraraka touched a nearby rock and begged for it to float, only for nothing to happen.

"What the fuck!?" Bakugo yelled in disbelief. "How?!"

"Guys we need to get out of here!" Kaminari said in panic. "This is absolutely fucked! Nobody said anything about these guys being able to nullify quirks!"

A crazed cackle heralded the arrival of five men dressed in black clothes covered in strange symbols. The symbols themselves were painted haphazardly with white paint, and the men all had bald heads like evil monks.

Standing out of reach, one of the men stretched his arms to the heavens in obvious prayer. "Once again the blessings of our lord have brought the unbelievers to their knees! Praise be to him and his glorious vision!" The man then sneered at the shocked heroes in front of him. "I do not recognize any of you. Where are you from? Clearly you are not heroes of this country."

Standing protectively in front of his friends, Kirishima raised his fists in a classic fighting stance. "It doesn't matter! If we can't use our quirks, it means you can't use yours either! So come at me! I can take you all down even without my quirk."

The cultist smiled wide enough to reveal blackened teeth. "That is where you are wrong."

Raising a hand, the lead cultist shot forth a spike of black material that speared the stunned Kirishima through the shoulder.

"EIJIRO!" Ashido screamed in terror as Kirishima fell to the ground with blood leaking out from the wound in his shoulder.

Bakugo rushed forward with a furious howl, only to be sent flying backwards by an enhanced punch from another cultist.

The cultists laughed mockingly, the sound of their crazed amusement echoing through the dark forest.

"You have two choices before you." The lead cultist smugly announced. "Surrender and be our captives, or resist and die where you stand. We are not savages though. If you surrender you will be our prisoners, but we will treat your wounds and not harm you further."

Picking himself up, Bakugo wiped the trickle of blood coming out of his nose. "Then what? How do we know you aren't just going to kill us after we surrender?"

The cultist smiled condescendingly. "Our cause does not benefit from mindless bloodshed. Why kill possible new recruits? Even if you do not join us, you are still useful bargaining chips."

There was a tense silence. Uraraka looked around at her teammates and hated the fact that they were so powerless. It was clear that they were defeated, and fighting quirkless was a guaranteed death sentence.

Shockingly, Bakugo stepped forward. "I want a guarantee that my friends will not be hurt." He said with steely resolve. "Do whatever you want to me, but in exchange they will be unharmed."

"Bakugo what are you doing?!" Iida shouted in confusion.

"Shut up Iida." Bakugo said sternly. "I will be damned if I let my team get hurt because of me."

The lead cultist nodded in agreement. "It is rare to see such a fine example of leadership these days. Especially in one as young as you. Fine, I accept your deal."

The cultists quickly confiscated all the equipment the pro-heroes had with them. After making sure they had collected everything, the cultists zip-tied the hands of the young heroes and began marching them further down the path. Todoroki leaned against Yaoyorozu and hobbled along slowly while Iida and Ashido supported the wounded Kirishima. Terrified of what was in store for them, Uraraka meekly followed the cultists deeper into the darkness.

After a short trek, they arrived at the hideout. It was a series of simple shacks hidden under a thick canopy of trees. The hideout consisted of two small shacks filled with sleeping bags and cots, a medium sized storage shed, and a multi-room shack that appeared to be the main hub. There was a single generator that provided electricity for the camp, and two rusty jeeps were parked near the storage shed.

Uraraka was shoved into one of the side rooms in the main building along with the rest of her friends. Illuminated by a few bare lightbulbs hanging from the ceiling, the windowless room had a rough wooden floor along with two metal folding chairs.

True to their word, the cultists had provided basic medical supplies to the injured heroes. Todoroki had his ankle wrapped and splinted, while Kirishima had the spike removed from his shoulder and the wound sloppily wrapped with gauze. Since Todoroki and Kirishima were sitting in the chairs, the rest of team 1-A stood around them anxiously.

The pro-heroes did not have to wait long for something to happen. Less than ten minutes after their arrival, the door to the room opened to reveal the leader of the enforcers. He was flanked by two other cultists, one of them being the lead cultist from the forest, and the other a muscular man with a large scar on his neck.

The leader was dressed in the same type of clothing as the other cultists. However, it was the man's face that set him apart. The leader's skin was gray like a corpse, and black ooze constantly streamed from the corners of his eyes like he was constantly crying.

As the man slowly walked closer, Uraraka felt her skin crawl. It was clear that this man was the source of the quirk-nullifying field. Just being near the man made Uraraka feel queasy, and she could not help but avoid meeting the man's eyes.

"Welcome to my humble camp." The cultist said calmly. "I am brother Hephen, and I do hope my acolytes were not too rough with you."

Bakugo glared at brother Hephen venomously. "You can stick the high and mighty act up your ass. My friends are hurt because of you."

Brother Hephen shrugged. "Considering you lot are the ones intruding on my territory, you got off lucky. My men were simply defending themselves."

"Shut the fuck up you bastard." Bakugo hissed. "If you are here just to gloat you can fuck off."

Brother Hephen chuckled. "Ah, to be young and full of vigor is such a thing to see." Steepling his hands in front of him, the leader examined the captive pro-heroes. "Then let me ask a few simple questions. What are your names?"

"My name is Dynamight." Bakugo said resolutely.

Hephen rolled his eyes. "I meant your real names. Not your childish hero names."

Bakugo simply stayed silent, causing Hephen to shrug.

"Fine, let's skip the formalities and get to the real questions." Hephen said. "What do you fight for?"

Uraraka watched as Bakugo frowned in obvious confusion.

"To fight bad guys." Bakugo answered slowly.

"Is that it?" Hephen said condescendingly. "I should have expected an answer like that from a simpleton like you." Hephen then turned to look straight at Uraraka.

"What do you fight for, young lady?" Hephen asked.

Uraraka felt like her mouth was full of sand as she tried to figure out what to do.

"Hey don't talk to her!" Bakugo said angrily. "If you want to-"

"Silence!" Hephen said sternly. "Watch your tongue." He said as he glared at Bakugo with crazed eyes. "If you continue to antagonize me I will become much less hospitable to your injured friends."

Turning back to face Uraraka, Hephen smiled. "As I was saying. What do you fight for?"

Uraraka took a shaky breath before responding. "I…I fight to protect the people I care about. I fight to protect those who cant protect themselves."

Hephen smirked. "Such creativity." He said condescendingly. "That answer could have come from a children's book. Tell me, why did you become a pro-hero?"

Uraraka felt like she was going to be sick, the strange aura emanating from the man made it hard to think straight and her knees felt weak from the fear.

"I…I um…" Uraraka floundered. "My…my parents…"

Uraraka could feel the anxious stares of her friends around her, but the fear and panic drowned out any sense of reason she had.

"I…I wanted to make more money for my parents…" Uraraka admitted quietly.

Hephen grinned victoriously. "Now that is an honest answer."

Stepping back, Hephen spread his arms wide like a preacher before a congregation. "This world is riddled with false idols and ideals. I was once ignorant like you all. Until I found my purpose in my lord! The God-King! The bringer of truth and equality! A being so far beyond the rest of us undeserving mortals that he alone has the power to bring divine purpose to this world of tainted masses! Humanity has lost its way! Quirks should only be given to the worthy! To those who are dedicated enough to give more than they take! People who call themselves pro-heroes are nothing more than false shepherds!"

Uraraka could not help but watch in morbid fascination as the cultist leader continued to rant and rave. She had never seen a true zealot before. Sure there were people online and on TV who preached with vigorous enthusiasm, but never before had Uraraka seen someone so devoted to spreading the word of their belief. It was all in the eyes. When Uraraka looked into the eyes of brother Hephen, all she saw was fanatical dedication that bordered on insanity.

Lowering his arms, Hephen smiled at the captive heroes in front of him. "Now is the time to make a very important choice. Join me. Join my brothers and sisters who are going to change this world for the better! Even the weakest of true believers can attain incredible power like I have! We will cleanse this world of the unworthy, and when we are done an eternity of bliss and divinity awaits!"

There was a second of shocked silence.

"Fuck off." Bakugo spat. "None of us want to join your shitty cult."

Steeling herself, Uraraka nodded in agreement along with the rest of her friends.

Brother Hephen sighed in disappointment. "I see. It is a shame I could not convince you. Then I guess we will simply-"

The cultist leader stopped as the lights suddenly shut off.

The large cultist with the scar grumbled in annoyance. "Probably the generator again. I will go fix it."

As the bodyguard lumbered out of the room, the other guard turned on a flashlight.

Seemingly unbothered, brother Hephen continued. "Like I was saying. Since you have chosen to remain ignorant I will not bother trying to convince you further. You will remain our prisoners until further notice. We will use you to-"

Everyone froze when there was a loud thump from outside the room.

Turning around, the other bodyguard warily opened the door and poked his head out to see what was going on with his flashlight at the ready.

A second later, his head exploded as a burst of bullets pierced his skull. At the same time a metal cylinder rolled into the room and detonated with a deafening bang and a blinding flash.

Blinded and deafened, Uraraka fell to the ground as she tried to pull her hands out from the zip-ties around her wrists. Frantically calling out to her friends, Uraraka could only hear a loud ringing as she tried to get back to her feet.

Uraraka felt gloved hands roughly shove back down to the ground, and in a panic she flailed and kicked blindly as she tried to figure out what was going on. As her vision started to come back, Uraraka felt something metal smash against the side of head. Dazed and confused, Uraraka looked up to see three heavily armed figures in military clothing standing over her. In the darkness Uraraka could not see the unknown attackers faces, just that they had night vision goggles on, and deadly-looking rifles in their hands. As the ringing noise faded, Uraraka could make out a muffled conversation between the three figures as they looked down at the stunned pro-heroes.

Suddenly, a fourth person walked into the room. Dressed and armed the same as the other three, Uraraka watched as the newcomer said something to the first three soldiers and pointed at the pro-heroes. Fear coursing through her veins, Uraraka struggled to stand up, but was once again pushed back down. This time however, she felt the business end of a rifle pressed against her skull. Uraraka did not need her hearing to understand what it meant.

Stay down or get put down.

Glancing over at her friends, Uraraka could barely see that the rest of her team was in the same situation. All of them were face down on the ground with boots or guns against their heads.

Suddenly the lights in the room came back on.

The lifeless body of the flashlight-wielding cultist lay in the doorway, a pool of blood steadily forming around it. The cultist leader was nowhere to be seen, and Uraraka was not sure if the man had escaped or not.

Her hearing finally returning to normal, Uraraka listened as the soldiers talked to each other in English.

"VIP captured." A deep male voice said. "What the fuck do we do with the rest of them? Intel didn't say anything about pro-heroes being on site."

"I will ID them." Another male voice said coldly. "We can just drop them off at the nearest PNC outpost. Fucking amateurs."

With a gun still against her head, Uraraka heard a pair of booted footsteps walk over and stop next to her. A gloved hand then grabbed her by the neck and pulled her up so the mystery soldier could shine a flashlight in her face. Squinting against the bright light, Uraraka saw that all the soldiers wore black balaclavas with only holes for their eyes. The soldier examining her face had surprisingly beautiful green eyes, but before Uraraka could think anything else she was shoved back down into the ground.

Suddenly Bakugo began shouting. "What the fuck is going on! Let us go! We are pro-heroes on a mission!"

Taking a risk, Uraraka turned to her head to look over at Bakugo. Like the rest of the team, Bakugo was lying face down on the ground. However, the soldier in charge quickly walked over and flipped Bakugo over to see his face.

For some reason, the soldier froze.

Nearly ten seconds passed before the soldier moved again. However, it was to step back and issue orders to his subordinates.

"They're fucking Japanese." The green-eyed soldier said almost angrily. "Bag em and tag em. We will take them with us. I will call for extraction."

"You got it LT." One of the mystery soldiers replied.

As the lead soldier stomped out of the room, Uraraka yelped as her head was covered with a black cloth bag.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Ashido shouted in confusion.

As the rest of team 1-A began to shout and struggle, Uraraka felt a needle pierce her arm. Frantically struggling, Uraraka could only cry out in fear as an unnatural sleepiness overtook her. Less than a minute later, Uraraka closed her eyes and drifted off into a dreamless sleep.


Uraraka groaned as she slowly woke up. Opening her eyes, she was confused to see only darkness. She went to rub her eyes, but then realized she was sitting in a chair with her hands cuffed behind her back. Trying to stand up, Uraraka fell over as she found that her feet were shackled together as well. Laying on the cold metal floor, Uraraka did the only thing she could do and called for help.

"Help!" She screamed loudly. "Bakugo!? Mina?! Anyone?!"

Suddenly there was the sound of movement nearby.

"THE FUCK IS GOING ON!?" Bakugo roared.

"Guys, I think I am blind!" Kaminari cried out.

"You have a bag over your head dumbass!" Jiro yelled in exasperation.

As the sounds of flailing and struggling increased, more voices could be heard.

"Todoroki?!" Yaoyorozu yelled loudly. "Are you alright?!"

"My ankle is still busted." Todoroki said with a pained wheeze.

"Kirishima, are you here?!" Ashido called out worriedly.

"Yeah. I am here." Kirishima answered. "Still have a hole in my shoulder though."

"Well at least we are all together." Iida said with slight relief. "Even though we seem to have exchanged one prison for another."

"Anyone know where we are?" Todoroki asked.

"Fuck no." Bakugo growled.

"I am guessing we are all in the same predicament." Iida said. "I assume everyone else is shackled with a bag over their head?"

"Wait a sec." Jiro said suddenly. "You guys feel that?"

Everyone was silent for a second.

"We are on a boat." Uraraka said as she felt the floor shift slightly under her feet.

"The question is, who's boat are we on?" Yaoyorozu said curiously.

There was the sound of a metal door opening nearby, causing the group of pro-heroes to fall silent. A pair of booted footsteps slowly approached, causing Bakugo to yell angrily.

"Who the fuck are you people?!" Bakugo raged. "We are pro-heroes! Do you understand what you are doing?!"

"I know exactly what I am doing." A male voice replied coldly. "Now shut up before I put a hole in your head."

Team 1-A fell silent as the distinct sound of a gun being cocked came from nearby. There was a jingle of keys, the sound of a heavy metal door opening then closing, then the sound of footsteps slowly got closer.

Uraraka yelped in surprise as strong hands roughly put her back in her seat, then pulled the black cloth bag off her head. In front of her stood a man dressed in casual clothes consisting of work boots, a pair of blue jeans, and an olive-green t-shirt. The man was a little on the taller side, with short green hair, and emerald green eyes. It looked like his body was in peak physical condition, his face also had a jagged scar that started just above his right eye and ended just above his lips. The striking man also wore a military-style pistol holster that kept his handgun just under his armpit.

Looking around, Uraraka saw that her friends were all seated in a line. They all sat in a windowless metal room, the only opening being a set of bars that looked exactly like the kind used in maximum-security prison cells. Besides the metal folding chairs, there were no other furnishings in the room. It was clearly designed for one purpose, and that was to imprison anyone inside.

The mystery man quickly pulled the black bags off of the rest of Uraraka's friends, until only Bakugo was left.

Slowly reaching out towards Bakugo, the green-haired man looked at the rest of team 1-A.

"I want you all to see something. Watch your friend's face."

Not understanding the purpose of the command, Uraraka watched as the soldier ripped the bag off Bakugo's head.

"Long time no see, Kacchan."

For the first time ever, Uraraka saw fear on Bakugo's face.

His face pale, Bakugo looked like he had seen a ghost.

"N-n-no…" Bakugo said in terror. "It c-c-can't be.."

Uraraka watched with dread as a deranged smile split the green-haired man's face.

"Why is that?" The soldier said with deadly calmness.

"You're supposed to be dead!" Bakugo cried out.

Shocked and confused, Uraraka could only watch as the green-haired man stared at Bakugo with frightening intensity.

"I am very much alive, Kacchan." The man said. "No thanks to you."

With no warning, the man lashed out with a vicious punch that snapped Bakugo's head backwards like it had been hit by a baseball bat. The blow nearly knocked Bakugo right out of his chair, but the man grabbed Bakugo by the collar before he could topple over. A millisecond later, the man delivered another powerful punch straight into Bakugo's gut that made the pro-hero double over in pain. As Bakugo retched and spat out a bloody tooth, the soldier sighed contentedly.

"You have no idea how long I have been waiting to do that."

"What the hell are you doing?!" Kirishima yelled in outrage. "He didn't do anything to you!"

The soldier's head twisted to look at Kirishima with newfound fury.

"What did you just say?" The man said disturbingly calmly.

The look on the soldier's face made Kirishima falter.

"I said.." Kirishima said with a pause. "I asked what you were doing."

Walking over to stand in front of Kirishima, the green-haired man stared at him with psychopathic intensity.

"Not that." The man said. "The other part."

Uraraka watched with dread as Kirishima gulped nervously.

"I said that he didn't do anything to you…"

The soldier chuckled. "If only you knew."

Reaching out, the soldier peeled off the bloody bandage on Kirishima's shoulder. Gripping Kirishima's neck with a steel grip, the soldier pushed a finger into the bloody wound and began to tear.

Screaming in pain, Kirishima thrashed wildly against his restraints as the soldier tortured him.

The rest of team 1-A yelled in anger and disbelief as they tried to break out of their restraints, until a single terrified voice rang out.

"STOP IT IZUKU!" Bakugo cried out desperately. "HE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS!"

Immediately pausing his torture session, the man named Izuku pulled his now blood-soaked finger out of Kirishima's shoulder. "Oh really?" He asked curiously. "The way I see it, all of your friends have everything to do with this."

Uraraka flinched as Izuku turned to look directly at her.

"Why don't I go down the line and do to them what you did to me?" Izuku said with burning hatred. "That should clarify the situation."

"No!" Bakugo yelled with true fear in his voice. "I am sorry for what I did to you! I get it! Do whatever you want to me, but leave them out of it!"

Stepping back, Izuku wiped Kirishima's blood off on his pants. "Wow, who knew you would turn into such a fucking pussy. The Kacchan I know would never have done something like that."

Walking over, Izuku grabbed Bakugo's chair and dragged him to the front of the group. Turning the chair around, Izuku made sure Bakugo was facing his friends directly.

"Why don't you tell your friends our story Kacchan." Izuku said with a false smile. "I am sure they would love to hear it."

Uraraka watched in confusion as Bakugo hung his head in shame.

"I…I used to bully Izuku when we were kids." Bakugo admitted with a voice full of regret. "I bullied him a whole lot. Not just me, I got all of my friends to do it as well."

Standing next to Bakugo, Izuku poked his head roughly. "What was that awesome nickname you gave me?"

Bakugo continued to stare at the ground.

"Deku."

Izuku nodded. "And why did you give me that nickname?"

Bakugo sighed sadly. "Because…" The last few words were mumbled so quietly Uraraka could not hear them.

"TELL THEM WHY!" Izuku roared with pure hate as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the defenseless Todoroki. "LOOK THEM IN THE EYE AND TELL THEM OR I FUCKING KILL YOUR FRIEND!"

Raising his head, Bakugo looked at his friends with nothing but shame in his eyes.

"Because you are quirkless."