Society's Ghosts

by secretagentman1

In a hero-saturated society...why are there those that are left behind? The ones that cannot be saved, and are thus forgotten by the world and the so-called heroes sworn to protect. And what happens when those of us that have lived...decide to fight back, and show how dirty your heroes, your world, your society really is.

5. Chapter 5

Society's Ghosts

AN: It is time for the formal introduction of the Expanded League of Villains and expect more to join most likely. Writing things like this make me realize how much I enjoy mashing characters together that would not otherwise interact with one another, like Silvers D. Naruto where a lot of the interactions will be between anime and ACU which is interaction between a lot of different cartoons. And now this one, where compared to the other two examples, there is absolutely no reason for them to be put together like this outside of my whim…I hold all the power!

Welp…time to use it.

Chapter 5: Titans Go!

(About a week after the Metropolis Incident)

Currently, the world was still somewhat reeling from the events that had taken place a week ago. Citizens tried to return to normalcy, but they had their doubts that the Justice League was going to be able to handle the threat of the newly named League of Villains since the group had consistently evaded the heroes. The J-League themselves were on red alert as they searched high and low for the two missing villains, Tomura Shigaraki and Enid Mettle before they had the chance to expand their organization and stir up more trouble.

All of Metropolis and Gotham were monitored heavily by the Justice League given the villains had used those places as attack points before, with Batman and Superman throwing themselves into investigating. J'onn continued to keep his eyes on the Earth from the Watchtower, listening to all police communications and sightings of odd individuals that were reported no matter how minuscule they appeared. Everyone else had been making a point to check all the surrounding cities for the League of Villains on off-time to assist, but of course, there was no trace of the highly conspicuous pair.

If only the heroes knew that the two students of All for One were far more intelligent than they gave them credit for…

…and that they were now dealing with more than two anarchists.

(Central City)

Central City, while not as famous as the City of the Future, Metropolis, or infamous as the City of the Night, Gotham, Central City had its own charm to it that matched its amicable and charismatic hero. The people felt safe here when in literal seconds trouble could be swept off the streets before they or the criminals could blink. It was common for a certain red streak to pass along the street faster than the human eye, but everyone would wave all the same in case the Scarlet Speedster saw.

This was Central City, the Home of The Flash.

Villains would be foolish to think about calling this place home.

A young man exited a grocery store, a hoodie up to mask his face with only his half-lidded eyes showing from the opening. Anyone that thought to ask if he was up to no good clammed up once they got a closer look at his eyes…or specifically what was underneath them…then they let him go about his business, giving stares of pity and understanding.

He'd gotten used to them thanks to his appearance, but he truly had no problem showing off what his body looked like at this point. If anything, he preferred to be unhidden, which made people leave him alone when he walked down the street.

Now though, he had a reason to keep hidden for the time being.

Carrying the bag of food out of the store, the man continued to walk through the crowd of people that flooded the sidewalk, paying no mind to all the idle chatter of the masses as they passed him. His destination was far away from the eyes of the common people, and it was perfect that way, the group that resided in this place preferred their privacy.

Checking to make sure that no one had followed him out here, the young man opened the door to an abandoned building and was greeted by the sight of many different people lounging around awaiting his return.

In the far corner, occupying himself, was the rowdiest of the bunch. He was always in a bad mood and looking for a fight and given what he'd told them he did before joining their little group, it made sense. He had a large wooden beam that had been gathered from their decrepit surroundings as a training dummy.

They never lasted long.

With an open palm, the teen gave a right hook and released an explosion from his hand that destroyed the makeshift dummy. Splinters fell from the beam, but he held back so it wouldn't be completely destroyed as he continued to bombard the beam with successive blasts.

Clad in his cage fighting attire, this was Katsuki Bakugo, a teenage cage fighter with the power of explosions at his disposal.

Closer to the entrance of the hideout was two others sitting cross-legged on the floor, one being a child that was currently playing a Game Slave 2 with one hand while using her other to stave off the older-looking individual that was constantly sticking his hand out to take it all with a grin on his face as a vein pulsed on the girl's head.

The girl had purple hair styled in spikes around her head and wore a black dress that had gray sleeves with horizontal stripes lining them, red leggings that had similar stripes, and a necklace in the shape of a skull that hung to the middle of her chest. Her brown eyes were knit into slits, yet she could still see everything that happened around her given she was stopping the man next to her from taking the Game Slave from her possession, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

This girl is Gaz Membrane.

Next to her was a gray-haired man with heterochromia, taking pleasure in bothering the girl that looked younger than him, wiggling his fingers as he reached again toward the device. Other than his differently colored eyes, the other unique feature of this individual were the stitches that went across his face, one going vertically over his right eye and down his cheek and another going horizontally across his face. Various other stitches could be seen as well such as the one that went around his neck and some that went around his arms. He had a calm smile on his face as he bothered Gaz that hid his personality yet somehow still came across as unsettling.

This is Mahito.

At the opposite end of the room, there was probably the most visually intriguing member of the group seeing as she had lime green skin and the largest hair in the room styled like a tetrahedron and colored a pale chartreuse yellow along with the triangular gem embedded in her forehead. Her dark green eyes were focused on the laptop that sat in front of her on a desk, fingers clacking away at the keys of the device feverishly with her pupils scanning over the information just as quickly. Her outfit consisted of a sleeveless V-neck jumpsuit with a yellow diamond over her chest, dark-green outlines around the vest's collar with the rest being colored medium green, below this and reaching her pelvis was a dark green portion of the suit that led into her medium green leggings that had yellow diamonds on the knees and yellow portions on the toes.

This was Peridot: Facet-2F5L Cut-5XG as she had introduced herself, but the group had simply taken to calling her Peridot to save time.

And finally, sitting close by were the two oldest members of this collective.

Enid Mettle, wearing the same attire she was normally in only with a black leather biker jacket that had flames on its sleeves and a skull on the back.

And Tomura Shigaraki, who still wore his same outfit but now had a black hooded jacket over it and the hands that made up his villainous look in position on top of the jacket.

"Well, well, who'd have thought the dread League of Villains would be living like this only a week after becoming the world's most wanted?" the young man's sarcasm alerted the group to his return, "Staying in a rundown building with barely enough money to buy food, speaking of which, we should probably find a way to make some cash soon. We probably won't be buying anything that'll be able to feed all of us when it's time to restock again, Shigaraki."

The newcomer removed the hoodie from his person to reveal what was underneath, and it was once again quite the colorful character.

The young man had heavily lidded eyes that were turquoise and thin with strands of his spiky black hair hanging in front of them. As for clothing, he wore a black jacket with a ripped collar with matching pants that were cut off above his ankles and black dress shoes. Beneath the jacket, he wore a white scoop-neck shirt that exposed some of his chest and a white belt while behind him was a small satchel hanging from it. His colorful feature just so happened to be the patches of burned purple skin he had littering his body attached to him by piercings; a large patch of this skin took up his lower jaw and extended a little past his collarbone creating something of a permanent grin on his face; two more patches extended from the bottom of his eyes also with piercings keeping the patches in place, and judging from what could be seen of his arms with the sleeves of the jacket covering most of them, the skin extended to his wrists with his fingers and palms having his normal pale pigment. On the right side of his nose, he had three piercings along with cartilage piercings on both ears.

While his real name was unknown to the group, he'd called himself Dabi when he introduced himself.

Altogether these individuals now made up the League of Villains, and their current objective was to ready themselves to free All for One from prison.

"That's fine. Money won't be a problem once Peridot has access to the same resources that Master did when he got jobs for us," Tomura waved the burned man's concern away with a grin beneath the hand on his face, relying on their technician.

"You sure about that?" Dabi eyed the small green girl skeptically, "For a so-called 'genius' she's been having trouble with a laptop for a whole week after all," he prodded with a shrug, not seeming to care anyway.

"I am a genius, you clod!" Peridot turned in her seat to wave a tiny fist at Dabi, "It's your primitive Earth technology that's the problem!" she gestured to the laptop, "Gem tech is so far above this planet's. Not to mention the amount of work I have to put into making sure our location isn't being tracked by outside parties as I access your 'Intranet'!"

"Internet," Enid supplied.

"That too! Honestly, you humans connect yourselves to everything yet leave yourselves vulnerable in so many ways, it doesn't make any sense," Peridot returned to her work soon after her rant.

"Just sounds like an excuse to me," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Dammit! Who cares about money!" Bakugo made an explosive entrance into the conversation with his eyebrows knit in anger. "If we need some, we can just steal it! I only joined this club cuz I wanna meet the boss, so we need to hurry up and do that!" he smacked a fist into his palm.

"Sure, hothead, go ahead and do that. I'd love to see you rob a bank and get socked in the face before you know what hit you," Enid propped her head in her hand with her elbow on her knee, smirking at the fuming blond.

"Long as I know he's coming, it doesn't matter!" Bakugo shot back.

"I have to agree with the sarcasm queen here," Dabi jabbed a thumb in Enid's direction, ignoring the irony in his statement as the both of them could be equally chiding and sarcastic in their responses. "I don't exactly feel safe staying in a city where you can get knocked out in an instant."

"Not to worry. Master taught us that the most powerful of heroes are also the ones that have the most blind spots…they're overconfident. Superman, the Flash, with their powers they think they can monitor the whole city at once and that allows villains to slip through the cracks while heroes like Batman rely on patrolling and assisting the police to cover for their humanity, making his grip on Gotham much tighter than Central City or Metropolis," Tomura explained.

"He did essentially find us within hours of another job we had in Gotham before the Metropolis Incident," Enid agreed.

"In addition, Flash may be fast, but he still has to adhere to the law, so he can't enter a building without cause," Tomura pointed out, "So as long as we stay out of sight, and lay low, we'll be fine," that comment was directed at the explosive teen who clicked his teeth but nodded with crossed arms.

"For now, we just need to wait for Peridot to finish her work. When she does, we'll be able to buy the necessities and equipment that she says she can use to make proper protection and augmentation suits for us."

"Exactly, with my superior engineering skills and technical expertise I'll be able to make devices that bring out all latent abilities with proper defenses from damage and covering weaknesses," Peridot always took the chance to brag about her genius.

"Doesn't stop us from being broke now," Dabi said with bluntness.

"If it's all the same to you, you don't have to get a share of food for me," Mahito spoke up from the floor still bothering Gaz, "I'm not human, so eating is something that I don't have to do," he shrugged with a smile.

"Then why have you been eating?" Gaz asked annoyed at the man, growling.

"It's just for the experience of being human, pure curiosity."

"Psht, what's the point of carrying out a function that's unneeded for your operation? Your time would be better served doing something of value," Peridot, as another nonhuman that required none of the biological processes of humans, found it pointless.

"Understanding humans is important to me," Mahito smiled with his eyes closed at his comrades, "That's why I want to give video games a try. I don't understand the interest in them when it doesn't stimulate a human's brain outside of instant gratification and hand-eye coordination," he edged toward the Game Slave again.

"Then get your own, creep!" Gaz growled.

"But Gaz, we're friends, so we should share," he laughed jovially. "Say, I have an idea, what if you use a portion of the money for some board games for us all to play together?" Mahito asked.

"Board games? Tch, how old are you?" Dabi asked in a deadpan.

"Oh, I know I appear like I'm an adult but I'm much younger than I look," Mahito said. "Care to guess how old I am?"

"No."

"That's no fun, Dabi-kun," Mahito pouted.

"Leisure items have to wait; we don't have the money for that. We'll just have to scrounge what we have for the time being until Peridot is finished," Tomura rolled his eyes and ignored Mahito asking him to guess as well.

"We won't be lasting long then," Dabi reminded.

"Eureka!" Peridot shouted in joy as the laptop shone in front of her, gaining the attention of her comrades. "Funny you should mention that as, after countless nights of programming and using any backdoor I could find, I have finally gained protected access into your worldwide network!" Peridot smirked at all the information available to her now all without the constraints of the common citizen.

"Really?" Enid was next to her leaning on her chair as well as Shigaraki.

"Must you ask?" Peridot smiled.

"So, what can you find for us?" Tomura asked the alien.

"What do you want to know?" Peridot turned back to the screen and her fingers danced across the keyboard as she found herself entering a very unscrupulous site on the dark web that villains, criminals, or anyone with money that needed illegal activities done would post requesting assistance in their endeavors.

"Everything is at our fingertips now. I've already seen a few that would most likely fulfill our basic needs, but if you want to add any filters, I can begin sifting through them all."

"Great work," Tomura smiled at this fantastic development.

"…W-well of course, did you expect any less of the brilliant Peridot? This is nothing for me," Peridot blushed a tad at being praised, it was a foreign feeling…normally this was something that was expected of her.

"Careful. Pat yourself on the back anymore, and you're going to break your arm," Dabi quickly brought the haughty gem back down to Earth with his usual blunt sarcasm.

"That's impossible. My body is a construct made of light, I don't have anything to break since I lack the bones, ligaments, cartilage, a nervous system…"

"Each time I talk to you, I find it easier to believe you're an alien," Dabi scoffed at the overly literal alien.

"Now that you finally got this hunk of junk working, what's our next step?"

"Peridot, I want you to find something reasonable for us to take, and make sure that it's far from Central City. It will be harder to track us if we have to go out of our way," Tomura watched her go through all the listings at a blistering pace.

"Reasonable choices with proper stipulations, something that I had thought of as well…and the one that stuck out to me with those in mind waaas…this one," Peridot pulled up information on the job, including who was hiring, the amount that would be paid, and its location.

"Whoa, that's a pretty great setup. I think this will solve our money problems for a while and then some, Shigaraki," Enid whistled at the job listed, leaving most of the newcomers in the dark. "I'm raring to go!"

Tomura took a second, not sharing in the exuberance of his partner as he thought.

"Hold on…"

His raised hand halted the girl's celebration and drew the attention of the others.

"I think that this would be a perfect job for our new members to take care of," Tomura smirked as he turned to regard everyone.

"This is a big one," Enid crossed her arms, "You sure that we shouldn't just take care of it ourselves?"

"It'll be fine…I have faith that they can take care of something so easy. They're all chomping at the bit to get out to help, so this is their chance to prove themselves…think of it as a little initiation test," he grinned, "That is if you all feel like you're up for it."

"Sure, if it means I'm not cooped up in here for a bit, I'm game," Dabi shrugged uncaringly but smirked.

"I could use the exercise, I was getting bored," Gaz pocketed her Game Slave, finally taking interest in what was going on around her.

"You've been playing that thing since we met, and you're talking about being bored?" Dabi raised a brow.

"Doesn't mean I can't get bored of playing…I mostly do it so you all won't bother me," Gaz looked to the side with her arms crossed.

"Some action!" Bakugo smashed his fists together.

"Hmm, say, Peridot, where's this job taking place anyway?" Mahito said with a curious look on his face.

"Hmm…Jump City. A bit out of the way for us, but it fits the criteria. With this, we'll have funding so I can begin constructing proper attire that will cater to individual needs."

"Jump City?" Dabi looked upward, trying to recollect something, "Isn't that where those wannabe heroes have set up shop? They live in that T-tower or whatever," Dabi asked.

"The Teen Titans, correct? Yes, the listing seems to guarantee that confrontation with them will be unavoidable," Peridot read from the laptop.

"Oooh! The Teen Titans?! Don't they have an alien on their team?" Mahito grew excited.

"Yes, a Tamaranean if I'm not mistaken…a simple, primitive race driven by emotion…nothing special," Peridot rolled her eyes, thinking of the race.

"Now you've got me interested…this might be a fun game after all," Mahito's friendly smile turned into a malicious grin as his eyes turned upward, rubbing his chin in interest.

"I've never heard of these guys. They're heroes?" Gaz asked.

"More like sidekicks playing at heroes…think that they can be the next Justice League given time on their own," Dabi answered her.

"Alright, a mission and we get to kick the snot out of some heroes! There's no way this won't be fun!" Bakugo chortled at the idea of fighting the Titans.

"Wait a moment, Bakugo," Peridot turned to the blond, who looked at her confused. "Since our monetary predicament has been solved, I'd like for you to go on a separate, personal errand for me."

"Personal errand? Why?" he asked her, already not liking the idea of missing out on fighting with the Teen Titans.

"Well, I believe that allocating all of our manpower towards a singular goal is a gross misuse of our resources. Given that Jump City is the priority more should be sent there to accomplish this important mission, and one of us can take care of my errand."

"And what am I gonna be doing?" his face scrunched up.

"There's a piece of technology that I want to get my hands on."

"Wait! So I'm gonna be doing your nerd shopping!?" he shouted indignantly.

"…'Nerd'?" Peridot was unfamiliar with the term that she'd been insulted with.

"If you needed this thing, why the hell didn't you get it this past week!?"

"Because this is a personal mission. Receiving this item will only benefit me in the long run and not the group. I prioritized our long-term goal before focusing on mine…getting this will allow me to operate in the field to a…limited capacity for the time being," the gem explained.

"I don't like it!" he said bluntly. He wanted action, he wanted to fight those heroes! The Titans would be a good warm-up for him!

"Oh, just do it, hothead. Think about it this way, if you go by yourself, you'll be able to take care of everything any way you want without us holding you back. Right, Peridot?" Enid turned to the gem, trying to get her to agree.

"Yes, the opposition at the location is minimal, but it will be present. You can deal with them accordingly…I certainly don't need them, just try to keep the equipment intact…" she agreed with Enid but gave the violent blond a knowing look.

"Ah, so I get my own job and get to do it whatever way I want? Sounds even better than going with Ragdoll and the Extras!" Bakugo smiled.

"You think we wanted you with us anyway?" Dabi jabbed back, making Gaz chuckle and Mahito smile though he didn't care about being called an extra.

"Is this arrangement acceptable?" Peridot asked their de facto leader.

"Sounds good. Everyone has their missions then. Once you all return, we'll move on to our next steps," Tomura nodded his head at everyone.

"Try to stay in contact…you'll have to use local means until I can create communication devices," Peridot was already moving on as she appeared to be drawing schematics of future projects.

"Fine by me, better get a move on," Dabi sighed.

"Hey, wait a sec!" Bakugo interjected with a crucial question.

"Where the hell am I going?!"

"Right…you'll be going quite far but this will be worth my while," she grinned at the idea of getting her hands on the tech he'd be retrieving while pulling up a map…

"You'll be going to…Dakota."

Bakugo had a blank face, blinking as he wracked his brain but ultimately found himself having to ask…

"What the hell is in Dakota!?"

(In Jump City a day later)

Jump City, a coastal city, with a bustling populace that often went about their days with relative ease. Their city was well-known but did not have much in the way of making it special when compared to Metropolis, Gotham, Central City, or even Star City, giving it a quiet quality. Of course, that quiet was a double-edged sword as while this meant it was out of the way for major villains to concern themselves with, minor villains would call this place paradise as they often stole money, jewelry, and committed other low-level criminal acts that wouldn't draw the attention of heroes of the Justice League's caliber.

These criminals did find opposition, though, and that came in the form of the resident heroes of Jump City.

The Teen Titans.

The group of teenage heroes had come together during one of the only truly devastating events that Jump City had. During an alien invasion, the Titans had appeared and fought the threat off before they could destroy the city, and eventually set up their base of operations, Titans Tower, on the small island off the city's coast.

The teens kept a vigilant watch over Jump City and were often found mingling with the citizens when they would go out for nights on the town to unwind. With them here, Jump City felt safe from any threats that decided to disrupt their peaceful lives, knowing the Teen Titans wouldn't be far behind to put an end to whatever trouble popped up.

But that would soon be tested.

Within a large, darkened room tinted orange and casting ominous silhouettes of gears in the background of the space, a lone figure sat on a throne watching three individuals display their skill for him. Distinguishing features could not be seen of this figure, save for one lone eye being narrowed as he observed the candidates for the job he had in mind.

Before him, complete with a spotlight being shone on them were three aspiring criminals from a villain academy of all things that were trying out for a 'final test' of sorts. Should they meet the figure's standards, all they'd need to do is complete the job given, and they would graduate from the prestigious H.I.V.E Academy.

They seemed to be well on their way to proving themselves to the mysterious benefactor as strewn about the floor were the broken remains of robots that had been used as obstacles to test their readiness. Using their unique skills and teamwork, the prospective criminals stood together with an older woman in a black uniform and gray hair presenting them after their display.

"These are the expectant graduates of the H.I.V.E Academy and they are now under your employ as their final test," the woman said.

"Most impressive," the figure spoke in a smooth voice. "But robots will be the least of their worries on this mission."

"Heh, a school for criminals? You'd think they would teach them better than to make choreographed moves and named battle maneuvers," Dabi said as he appeared with Gaz and Mahito, interrupting the demonstration with callous disrespect to the H.I.V.E students.

"I don't know, I think it was pretty impressive," Mahito grinned, "Maybe we should make up some."

"Don't be dense. Having named maneuvers makes it easier for people to come up with counters, it's stupid to have them at all during a fight," Dabi gave the annoyed teen criminals a side glance. "It's better to just fight and act around what everyone else is doing. If you know the skills of who you're fighting with, then it's much easier."

"I think it would be cool," Gaz commented.

"Quiet. You just like to be against me…first thing you say since getting here and it's just to get under my skin…" Dabi grumbled annoyed that the young girl always tried to have the last word at his expense.

The banter between them was cut off by the indignant shout of one of the students.

"Who the heck are these crud-munchers!?" a small teen shouted, throwing a tantrum at the sudden appearance of these…'crud-munchers'.

He wore a green onesie that had the shoes built-in and a mechanical harness on his back that resembled a backpack that had a wire leading to the front that was attached to a video game controller. He's completely bald despite being young and had his eyes closed to slits much like Gaz often did with green goggles around his forehead.

"'Crud-munchers'? I could come up with better than that," Gaz scoffed without paying attention to the fuming teen that was only just taller than her.

"I wonder if he's even older than me spouting insults like that," Mahito chuckled.

"Seems like a toddler," Dabi added.

"Rassin', Frassin', Frack…" the red-faced diminutive teen grumbled nonsense.

"Everyone be calm," the figure stood from his throne and walked down the set of steps in front of it only enough to show his torso while his face was still shrouded in shadow. "These are the others that answered my summons. I wasn't sure who would answer the call when I began preparing for this operation, so I decided to cast a wide net, so to speak. And I just so happened to be answered by not only the H.I.V.E but the prestigious League of Villains of all things. I was quite…surprised seeing that name pop up," the lone eye of the man didn't change but his mirth could be slightly heard in his voice.

"The League of Villains?" the female of the trio of students gulped at the name, looking at the newcomers in nervousness.

Her attire consisted of a black dress with long sleeves that had a jagged bottom that stopped at her thighs with a purple collar that draped over her shoulders with its own jagged trim and black leggings with violet horizontal stripes with platform shoes. Her skin was a pale grey color with a splash of color found in the pink blush on her cheeks and her pink eyes with slit pupils.

Her teammates shared the sentiment, staring at the group with trepidation now.

Of course, they'd heard of the League, at this point you couldn't call yourself a criminal or villain without talking about the ragtag group that had outright challenged the Justice League with their leader becoming something of a legend already. The man that had a life before it had all come crashing down and dedicated himself to vengeance against the heroes and everything they upheld.

"Though I must say, I was expecting Tomura Shigaraki and Enid Mettle. I've never seen you three before…you aren't imposters, are you?" the figure's eye narrowed in suspicion.

"We're new," Dabi answered without hesitation, looking the man directly in his eye. "The leader gave us this mission as a little test and to secure funds."

"Hold it, you skud-sniffers!" the tiny teen shouted with sharp teeth, "We got here first, this is our job!"

"Got here first? Who cares?" Dabi turned to the three, his uninterested eye unnerving them.

"You should stay out of the way if you're concerned with turns. All you are is a bunch of kids playing at the big leagues. What are you even planning to do? Steal money? Clothes? A bunch of other useless things? You're just criminals," Dabi smirked while he insulted them.

The final of the trio, the largest, stalked forward and stood above the scarred young man, snorting through his large nostrils to intimidate. He had ragged red hair that went over his broad shoulders, a matching goatee, and two teeth sticking out from his bottom lip. He wore a black sleeveless unitard with gold decorations that had studs going across them.

"Giz said this is our job! I don't care who you're with!" the large teen clenched his fist.

"Oh, I think you hurt their feelings, Dabi-kun," Mahito seemed unconcerned with the danger his teammate was in which seemed more like he was giddy at the conflict.

"Only because I'm right," Dabi looked back at the stitched creature.

"You're no different from us! You're here for the money," the girl frowned.

"It's a means to an end. Unlike you, we aren't content getting by stealing things just because we can. We're after something bigger than your tiny brains can comprehend, it's just that money is a necessity you can't avoid in our line of work," Dabi looked at the large teen, "You want to steal just because you can, and you do it because you're little would-be anarchists, but that's as far as you're willing to go. Tell me…what would you do if the Justice League came after you rather than these sidekicks that play around this city?" Dabi asked.

The teens were silent.

"And just what are you willing to do about those teen heroes? They're just going to keep getting in your way the entire time you do this…" Dabi left the idea hanging for them.

"So, will you stop them permanently?" Dabi's smile grew more, stretching the piercings on his face the slightest bit as he saw them tremble at the idea.

"That's what makes you criminals…and us villains," Dabi raised his hand, ashes somehow coming from it, "If you really want this job…how about we decide the old-fashioned way."

The teen sweat but stood his ground against the smaller man, his teammates equally eager to prove the villain wrong.

"Need a hand?" Mahito asked with a wave.

"Not with these three."

Gaz didn't look up from her game but was listening in case she had to do anything.

"Now, now, there's no need for any disagreements," the figure halted the altercation before it could begin. "I happen to have two missions that need doing currently, so both your groups have the chance to accomplish your goals."

"Tch, two jobs, huh? How generous," Dabi backed down first, not finding any more reason to fight the teenagers.

"Mr. Slade, this is highly irregular," the older woman that was affiliated with the H.I.V.E students gave the name of their current employer.

"It's fine, the both of them have different goals and the missions won't conflict with one another. Your students only want to graduate, if they accomplish their assigned task that will be a guarantee; defeat the Teen Titans and take control of their tower for a full day and your graduation will be set…and don't forget to deliver my message," the now-named Slade told the H.I.V.E.

"And you three," he turned to the villains, "You're after the money that I promised, and you'll get it upon completion of your mission."

"Heh, sounds good," Mahito answered for the group, noticing Dabi's eye roll.

"Unfortunately, I believe in fairness, and the H.I.V.E did arrive first," Slade told them.

"Huh, fair? This is wasting our time," Dabi frowned, looking at the smug students.

"Fair is fair, Dabi, just let them take their turn. Games have rules for a reason," Mahito patted his 'friend's' shoulder.

"Tch, the longer we're here, the more we're holding everyone up," Dabi reminded.

"Just let them take their turn…it isn't like we lose anything. Whether they win or lose," Gaz gave her opinion.

"You think we're going to lose to those snot rockets!?" the small teen growled.

"I didn't say that out loud," Gaz shot back.

"Fine, whatever, long as the money's good. We'll wait," Dabi relented.

"Do your best out there. I'd hate to see you fail criminal 101…" Dabi waved back as he and the others left.

"So…what's our next move?" Mahito asked.

"Since you two had to be such advocates for those kids to take their turn, all we can do is wait," Dabi looked off to the side as they left the hideout. "We'll need to contact the others and let them know we'll be here longer than expected," he sighed.

"That's lame," Gaz sighed too.

"Then you shouldn't have let them go first," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"We'll just take the time to rest and prepare ourselves. The game won't be fun if it's over too quickly, right?" Mahito looked on the bright side.

"Whatever…just stay ready, when those kids fail…" Dabi opened the door out to the rest of the city the sun shining on them.

"…it'll be our turn."

(Two days later)

Well, the H.I.V.E failed.

They had come close, having defeated the Titans after attacking the unawares, and took advantage of individual weaknesses of their team, resulting in Robin's short-lived disappearance. The group took over Titans Tower for all of a day before the Teen Titans had made their reappearance, ready and willing to take the trio of would-be criminals down.

And they did.

No graduation and some jail time for their failure before the headmistress decided to bail them out with some remedial lessons in their future.

Meanwhile, Dabi and the others had kept an eye on the proceedings as best they could to get an idea of what they'd be up against. Dabi took joy in the kids failing after all the smugness they'd showed and was ready to take their chance against the would-be heroes. Mahito seemed giddy, keeping a keen eye on Starfire in particular, for what reason, his comrades didn't know but didn't bother to ask either. Gaz took no interest, of course, playing her Game Slave the whole time, fully confident that she'd be able to handle herself when the time came.

And now they found themselves in Slade's hideout once again, coming to receive their mission so they could return to the rest of the League of Villains with cash in hand.

"Well, isn't that a shame? The best and brightest of a renowned villain academy got taken out, guess you should have let us go first after all," Dabi taunted Slade as he and the others stood before Slade.

"Oh no, they performed quite well, actually," Slade did not seem perturbed.

"Um, they failed, didn't they?" Mahito scratched his head confused.

"The overarching plan may have fallen through thanks to the students' hubris…but the true goal I wanted to be accomplished has been. My name is now within the Titans' minds, and it will rest there, nagging like an itch you can't be rid of," Slade chuckled lowly.

"So, all that and it was just to get those sidekicks to know that you're around? Can't say I get what your whole plan is…it'd be better if they didn't know," Dabi shrugged uncaringly.

"Games can only be played when there is more than one player."

"All right, one-eye, that's enough wasting our time. Let's just cut to the chase," Dabi rolled his eyes.

A growl came from behind Slade as a hulking mass of rock came from the shadow, angry at the insult to its master.

"A man of business…I can respect that. Calm yourself, Cinderblock, they are only impatient," Slade halted the being with a simple hand motion.

"Now, what are we doing?"

"Your mission is much simpler than the H.I.V.E's was. You see, Cinderblock is going to…acquire a piece of technology for me that is crucial for my plans going forward, but he is alone. While he is powerful, fighting all the Titans at once may prove a bit much for him," Slade paused and looked down at the three League of Villains members, "That is where you three come in. I want you to cause a distraction within Jump City and draw the attention toward yourselves while Cinderblock retrieves what I need. Upon his completion of the mission, I shall contact you and let you know to return for payment."

"Basically, you're throwing bacon at the dogs, so they don't notice that you're eating a steak," Dabi summed up the plan.

"Yes…is there a problem?"

"Nah, like I said before, as long as the money's good, we're game for anything."

"Then if there are no further questions, I'll wait for your movement before ordering Cinderblock-"

"There is one thing, though."

Dabi stopped the man before he could leave.

"What if we kill them before you call us back?"

Slade continued to listen, an unspoken question that begged for the burned villain's reasoning.

"We aren't like these kids that play around. We take things seriously, if the opportunity presents itself, I don't see why I shouldn't take the chance."

"By all means, don't hold back. If they died from something like this, then I have been wasting my time with them," Slade answered evenly, "But, if you haven't killed them by the time I've called you back, then they remain alive."

"That's a relief, my abilities can't really be used without killing someone," Mahito wiped imaginary sweat from his brow with a fake sigh, his face turning murderous, "And I've been wanting to try them out on one of them," Mahito licked his lips.

"Yeah, I'm the same…it's hard for me to not kill people when I go all out," Dabi grinned, looking forward to the action.

Gaz only opened a lone eye at the approval of lethal force, but inwardly was relieved that she didn't have to attempt to dial herself back.

"Now that that all is settled, let's begin," Slade told them, and they took their leave.

(A few hours later)

The three villains were casually making their way to one of the easiest marks for people in their profession.

A mall.

The Jump City Mall, like all malls, was constantly bustling with activity as the common civilian went about their mundane lives. Buying and consuming without worry with smiles as they spent time for themselves or with family and friends. They were certain that after such a trouncing of the H.I.V.E recently that villains would take time to gather themselves and wait for the Titans to become less vigilant.

"A mall? This is where we're going?" Gaz asked with a frown still playing her Game Slave.

"Malls are easy targets. They already have a bunch of idiots milling about, so it's easy to cause a commotion," Dabi explained.

"Ah, so this is a mall. It's much bigger than I imagined, and it really does have a bunch of different stores for humans!" Mahito said excitedly, scanning the new surroundings with childish glee and hand over his brows, his exuberance unnerving the passerby along with Dabi's appearance.

"Mmm, and how are we going to start this?" Gaz asked.

"Please, starting is the easy part," Dabi answered making his way toward a pair of security guards, hands in his pockets.

The two unaware men, perked up when they saw the burned man approaching them, putting them on their guard. Dabi stopped in front of the two, a calm look in his eyes and a straight face as he raised a hand to point at the nearest guard standing in front of him.

"Hey, you," he said lazily and looking disinterested as he spoke to the man, "Call the cops."

His words confused the poor men, looking at each other in bewilderment because this random man had out of the blue given such a request. Staying on guard, knowing nothing of this suspicious-looking young man, the guards asked an important question before acting on his words or their suspicions.

"The cops? Why?" the one Dabi had talked to asked carefully.

"Why? Why bother asking?" Dabi sighed at their lack of cooperation, "For all you know, something horrible could be happening while you're questioning me. Wasting time, rather than just calling the authorities to solve the problem and asking for the specifics later. Isn't that better safe than sorry?" Dabi shrugged with a small smile.

"Something horrible, huh?" the guard scowled, looking at the people going about their business with nothing amiss being visible, he started to think this was some kind of prank. "Kid, I don't see anything wrong here, so whatever prank you have up your sleeve, go do it somewhere else before we escort you out!"

"*sigh* You need to see trouble before you call them…" Dabi rolled his eyes.

"Fine."

Dabi then raised his hand toward the guard and instantly a brilliant swath of blue flames fired from his appendage, engulfing the guard before he knew what hit him. All he managed was a short scream of intense pain from the heat of the fire that went silent within seconds, leaving nothing but a charred corpse behind. The commotion caught the attention of everyone present and soon after a scream of fear sounded from within the crowd, throwing everyone into a panic.

"There's your trouble. Now then," Dabi lowered his hand, unfazed that he'd just killed, his hand still alight with the wisps of fire, "You…" he turned to the shocked and afraid remaining guard, "…call the cops, unless you want to end up like your friend…and I'd rather not kill you…then I'd have to rely on one of these screaming idiots to call them eventually," he thumbed to the panicking people that were trying to rush to the exits.

The scared guard obliged, fearing for his life, and calling the police in a frenzied voice. The authorities on the other end, were just as panicked as the guard, only getting the gist of the danger and the location from the man before his phone was taken by the villain and destroyed.

He ran away after that with Dabi returning to his comrades.

"There, that'll get their attention," Dabi put his hands back into his pockets.

"Nice work, Dabi-kun. Spectacularly planned," Mahito winked.

"That was your big idea? This place is a mess now," Gaz watched everyone giving them a wide berth as they made their escape from the mall.

"One-eye never said whether it had to be a big distraction or small. He just said we needed to get their attention, and a mall full of people being held hostage will do that."

The three of them walked back to the entrance, ignoring the panic around them with Dabi staying ahead.

"Then what will our next move be?" Mahito asked curiously, watching the scared human, and frightening them with his smile.

"That's the problem. Much as I hate to say it, having that explosive nut with us would have been nice," Dabi looked over his shoulder, stopping at the door that led out of the mall.

"Hm? You mean because we're outnumbered?" Mahito deduced.

"Yeah, he would have at least tipped the scales a bit. Their five to our three isn't really inspiring. Compared to us, they have a better grasp of how to operate as a team and cover for the other's weaknesses, while we haven't even been in a fight together yet," Dabi lighted his hands again, approaching the doors.

Taking a few steps outside, he unleashed his flames a second time and created a wall of fire that blocked the remaining civilians from escaping. It also had the added benefit of keeping the arriving police from entering the mall ahead of the Teen Titans.

"That should keep the police out for the time being. No one but the heroes should be able to get past my flames," he walked back inside and scratched the back of his head.

"I'm thinking the best idea is splitting them up into easier to manage groups for each of us. You two should go to different floors and cause some trouble, I'll lead a few of them to you and you can split them from there. If it all goes well, then at most all we'll have to deal with is two at a time, and one of us will get lucky and get one," Dabi pointed up at the upper floors of the mall while explaining his plan.

"Oh, can I get Starfire?!" Mahito raised his hand, determined.

"You get who you get. I don't control how they're going to break up," Dabi scoffed.

"Then can you make sure that Starfire at least comes my way?"

"Did you listen?"

"If we're splitting up, then I'm taking the Video Game Floor," Gaz told them, getting their attention.

"We're on a mission. Keep focused," Dabi looked down at her.

"Hmph, after this, people are going to know that we're a part of the League. That means we aren't going to be able to go out and get things we want anymore. And if that's the case, I want to take the opportunity to grab some stuff I want."

She gave no room for argument before she suddenly disappeared with a spark.

"Oh, that's a great idea!" Mahito dashed off, running with his knees high and his hands flat, and a smile on his face. "I'll go to the Toy Section and grab us some board games!"

Dabi watched with a frown, being left alone on the bottom floor.

"*Sigh* Why did I have to end up with them?" he questioned, then looked up in thought, thinking about the other members of their group, and rolled his eyes.

"On second thought, it wouldn't have mattered who I was with. They'd still be a pain."

A whimper behind him caught his attention and made him remember that he had boxed in a bunch of people thanks to his flame wall, and they were far too scared to move.

"Oh, yeah, you're here," he walked toward the people, completely calm. Giving them a once over, Dabi stepped away and sat on one of the displays that were close by.

"Keep still and quiet and I won't have to kill you…you're just insurance."

To keep them in line he held his left hand out toward them, showing that if he thought they were up to anything or annoyed him, he would not hesitate to burn them all to a crisp.

"Now we wait."

(With Gaz)

The small girl, after leaving her teammates behind, made her way to her chosen floor for the plan. It seemed the panic downstairs had fallen on deaf ears up here; people were still milling about examining different games and systems that they wanted to purchase.

Passing by the people and looking at the different display cases, Gaz eventually came to the counter in the middle of the section. Her small stature made it difficult for the man at the counter to see her, but her hand coming up and tapping on the counter got his attention.

"How can I help you?" he asked, looking over the counter at the purple-haired girl.

"Do you guys have the new Vampire Piggy Hunter for the GS2?" Gaz asked the clerk, not looking up at him.

"Uh, yes we do, but that's rated M. I'm going to need your parent permission first," the clerk wondered how the little girl knew about such a violent game.

Gaz's teeth ground against each other in annoyance, "Just tell me where it is…" she kept composed.

"Um, over there…I'll get the key for you," he pointed at a display case and began fiddling with the keys.

"I don't need a key."

She walked over to the cased, looked up and saw the object of her desire, and placed her hand against the window. Her narrowed eyes, turned inward slightly as she exerted her power on the glass.

A powerful current of electricity ran through the glass in an instant and shattered it, blowing the shards around her, and catching the attention of everyone else.

"There we go," she smiled. Having a brand-new game in her hands, was a feeling that she hadn't experienced for a while, she'd be enjoying herself with this one for a while if the ads were to be trusted.

"H-hey! You have to put that back!" the clerk stupidly tried to stop her, thinking her age gave him an advantage.

"Did you see what I just did?" she sneered, placing the stolen game into her Game Slave and booting it up, "Just stay out of this."

"You can't steal!" he reached out to her shoulder.

It was a mistake.

"I wouldn't do that."

As soon as he made contact, he burst with electricity. The current went through his body, making him flash from the sheer amount that coursed through him. He screamed in pain all the while until, inevitably, he stopped and fell to the floor.

"I told you," Gaz rolled her eyes and frowned when the shock of the situation had finally reached the rest of the people, and they panicked just like the people downstairs had.

She couldn't play with this much noise.

(With Mahito)

Mahito ran around the Toy Section with wonder shining in his eyes as he saw all the interesting, colorful contraptions that had been created for children's enjoyment. His overexuberance in such a place and given his…appearance unnerved many of the parents that were there. They watched him skeptically and pulled their children away from the strange man as he explored.

"This is amazing! So many toys!" Mahito laughed, suddenly stopping as he passed a certain aisle, "Ah, the board games!" he cried excitedly and dove into the section in happiness, crouching low to the floor to see all the boxes.

"What would everyone like?" he scanned over all the choices.

"Candyland! Father said that it was a classic," he put a hand to his chin and thought quickly, "But maybe too childish for everyone," he threw it over his shoulder.

"Maybe…Connect Four or Battleship!" he held the two games in his hands, "Simple on the surface, but it uses that simplicity to perfection. Building strategy, and improving critical thinking housed within the easy goals…" he thought again, "But maybe it would be too simple?"

"Can't go wrong with Chess, or maybe Stratego…those are more intense…Oh, it's so hard to choose!" Mahito scratched his head, not knowing what to pick.

He looked over and saw a little girl in a frilly white dress next to him that was looking at him in confusion, seeing a grown man act like this was strange.

"What do you think I should get?!" he asked excitedly, leaning forward to look her in the eye.

The small girl, before she could answer him, was pulled away by her mother who looked at Mahito with a frown and judgment, confusing him as he looked at her.

"What are you doing here?" the mother asked evenly.

"Hm? Oh, I'm just picking up some board games for me and my friends to play, but I'm having a hard time picking one. This is my first time," he answered his grin never leaving and his eyes becoming upside-down 'u's as he scratched his head embarrassed.

"You don't belong here," she scowled at the man.

Mahito blinked at that, his mismatched eyes looking to her and then her child, watching her clutch her daughter a tad when she saw his gaze go to her.

"Oh! I understand, I know that I don't look it but I'm quite young…probably even younger than her," he pointed at the little girl with a laugh.

The woman put her daughter behind her at this point, smacking his finger away with a scathing look directed at the man.

"I know what you are…and if you don't leave…I'll call the police!" she threatened Mahito, the other parents in the aisle stood with the woman blocking the ends of the aisle in case this man tried to escape.

Mahito wasn't smiling anymore.

"I don't see an age restriction on this section…I'm allowed to be here."

"Not you…never you…"

"*sigh* Typical humans," Mahito sighed and placed his hands on his knees to assist in standing up, his words turned deadly, "Judging without knowing the first thing about one another based on appearance," his grin came back but it was sinister, walking forward with purposeful steps made to frighten.

"But that's ok, it isn't like I need your permission to be here, anyway."

Mahito's smile stretched to the point that all his teeth were showing, and his eyes became upturned, showing the barest hints of his pupils. He raised his hands in front of him, palms facing toward the people.

"How about this? I have a game that we can play, I made it myself," an almost imperceptible purple glow surrounded his hands, "And there are no restrictions, everyone, no matter how young or old, can join…we'll have a lot of fun," Mahito licked his lips and disappeared.

His palm touched one of the distraught bystanders.

"Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration)…"

(30 minutes later)

Within half an hour, the Teen Titans arrived on the scene. Walking up to the mall and witnessing the wall of flame that stopped the police's entrance into the building. Firefighters had come to try and stop the blaze, but they were unable to make any headway thanks to its intensity, leaving the authorities dead in the water while waiting to see if the perpetrators of the attack made any demands or the hero team appeared. Landing on the ground behind the wall of police cars, the five superhero teens made their way to the officer in charge.

Robin, the Boy Wonder, led his team, walking ahead of them with a hard look that would have made his mentor proud. He looked over to the wall of flame seriously and wondered to himself if this was another plan by this Slade the H.I.V.E had mentioned.

"What's the situation here?" Robin asked the officer, who looked appreciatively at the heroes.

"Titans, glad you're here…and I wish I could tell you, but we've got next to nothing," he frowned, watching the firefighters try for the umpteenth time to put out the blaze only to fail again.

"How did this start?"

"Eyewitnesses that managed to get out before the fire said that some guy with a stitched-up face started everything. He killed one of the security guards inside the mall before trapping everyone else inside with this wall," the officer explained.

"Killed?" Robin scowled at the word and the rest of the Titans all felt a different air about this situation than they were accustomed to.

"Yeah, no hesitation…and no lead up either…from what we know he just did it…the guy sounds like scum. From there…we haven't had any word from within the mall…we have no clue what he's after and have no idea what his plan with the hostages is."

"Any demands?" Robin rose his brow.

"Not even close. He's just holed himself in there this entire time while keeping us out. We also have unconfirmed reports from the witnesses that he may not be alone, but we aren't sure."

"Don't worry. We'll take care of this," Robin walked forward with his team, "Cyborg, what are we dealing with?"

The African-American mechanical teen used his red eye to scan the blaze and whistled, "I can see why everyone's been having trouble with this. If it wasn't obvious, we aren't dealing with ordinary fire," Cyborg pointed out.

"Uh, yeah, dude, it's blue," Beast Boy pointed out the obvious.

"Blue fire doesn't just occur, you dunce…at least not for this long," Raven rolled her eyes.

"Hey!"

"Raven's right, BB. This fire's burning hotter than it should be for blue fire…close to 3,600 degrees Fahrenheit," Cyborg revealed, getting the Titans to widen their eyes.

"Whoa…is that bad?" Beast Boy looked confused.

"That's hotter than lava," Robin scowled.

"What?!"

"Yeah, touch that, and third-degree burns would be gettin' off lucky. I'm talking instant cremation for anyone in there for more than a few seconds," Cyborg said seriously.

"Can you do something about it?" Robin asked his friend.

"My Sonic Cannon should be able to blast through it easy," Cy said to his leader, morphing his arm into the weapon to get ready.

"Everyone outta the way! The Titans are takin' care of this!" the lead officer ushered the onlookers, the firefighters, and his fellow officers back as the heroes took center stage.

"Alright, Titans," Robin stood at the ready with his friends, Cyborg began charging the Sonic Cannon as his leader spoke, "We're going in hard and fast. Rescue the hostages. And take down whoever is behind this!"

"Understood!" Starfire nodded with her arms drawn in and her hands in fists next to her cheeks.

"Got it, dude!" Beast Boy got ready to run in at a moment's notice.

Raven simply pulled her hood up, staring intently at the building.

'I have a bad feeling…' Raven kept her thoughts to herself…but something within the mall sent a chill down her spine.

"Here we go!"

With Cy's declaration, a powerful blue beam fired from his arm and blasted a swath through the blue flames, creating a path for the heroes to enter the mall. The laser continued past the wall of death and into the doors of the building with the hero team following its path of destruction.

Within the mall's lobby, the Sonic Cannon blast had reached the assortment of people that were waiting there. Dabi raised his head at the loud noise the blast had made, the beam traveled across the space and barreled past him and the group of hostages. After a loud boom, from the blast hitting a wall behind him, Dabi saw through the kicked-up dust that a group of five was making their way into the mall.

Standing from his sitting position, the League of Villains hopeful grinned.

"Well, well, the Teen Titans finally showed up," he tilted his head with a taunting smile as the teen emerged from the dust, getting a good look at him and vice versa, "It's about time you all got here…what was it, like half an hour? You're lucky I'm not the impatient type."

He saw the heroes seemingly taking in his appearance and looking to his side for whatever reason.

"Now let me see…who've got here again? Starfire…Raven…Cyborg…Beast Boy…and the Boy Wonder himself," he lazily pointed to each member of the team, "Shouldn't you have burns…least that's what I heard…or maybe that rumor of there being multiple Robins is true?" Dabi rose his brow, seeing that his words seemed to strike a nerve with the teen.

"Dude! Get a load of this guy! Been playing with matches?" Beast Boy cut through with a comment.

"Least I'm not green, kid," Dabi didn't rise at the insult, shrugging at the childish attempt to get under his mostly burnt skin.

"He's definitely behind the flames," Raven narrowed her eyes, examining Dabi carefully and taking in his skin…also deducing that he was not the source of her uneasy feeling.

"Alright, pal, release the hostages and surrender!" Cyborg held his cannon hand at the villain.

Dabi raised his eyebrow and scratched the back of his head, "Hostages? What are you…?" bringing his hand to the back of his neck he followed their line of sight to the cowering people that were still beside him.

"Oh, forgot they were even here," he turned to the people and took a few steps forward, looking down at them, and making the Titans tense. "Get out of here. It's about to get intense and I don't care if you get caught up in it."

Dabi directed them out with a thumb to the entrance which the scared people took and ran for their lives. Passing the Teen Titans on their way out with tears of gratitude in their eyes, thinking the villain had given up.

"Uh…what just happened?" Beast Boy was confused just like his teammates.

"Bad idea, you got no bargaining chips now!" Cyborg kept his sights trained on the villain.

"Bargaining chips? I didn't need them in the first place. They were just insurance so the cops wouldn't be trying anything brave to bust in before you all got here, same with my fire," Dabi just smirked, "They were so quiet and out-of-the-way that I managed to forget about them, but I guess I gave them decent motivation to stay quiet after all," Dabi explained.

"Fear of death will make people do almost anything. Not that I cared whether they lived or died…lucky they listened."

"But that didn't stop you from killing someone!" Robin shouted at him.

"Geez, you guys just keep talking about stuff that I have no idea about," Dabi rolled his eyes uncaringly.

"You killed a security guard!"

"Huh? Security guard…who?" Dabi never lost his smirk.

"Don't play dumb!" Robin growled.

"Trust me, I'm not, I don't remember any security…oh hang on a sec," he perked up, remembering kicking off the attack. He looked behind himself and saw the charred remains of…well it was probably the guy they were talking about.

"You mean that?" he stepped out of the way to show the burned body, hearing a concerned gasp from Starfire, "Now I remember, it was a real shame," Dabi said insincerely, "All I wanted was for him to call the cops here, but instead of cooperating, he started asking questions. He wanted to know what was going on to warrant calling them…acting like a hero when they already exist is pretty stupid, isn't it? But he wanted to see trouble before he'd call them…so I gave him trouble," Dabi's hair shaded his eyes as he remorselessly talked of the murder he'd committed.

The Teen Titans, sans Robin, gulped at this different breed of villain they were facing. This guy didn't fit into their regular type of foe, he wasn't just a thief…this was a cold-blooded killer.

"Kinda sad, huh? With the body like this, it's gonna be difficult for anyone to identify him…probably melted his identification in his wallet. It's gonna take extensive investigation just to find out who this guy even was," Dabi rubbed salt on the wound.

"He could have had family…how do you think they'll feel about this!" Beast Boy bared his fangs at the uncaring villain.

"I know…it's gonna be real sad seeing him like this…almost enough to bring a tear to my eye. Not that I can cry anyway, tear ducts are burned," Dabi smiled and wiped a bit of blood that dripped from one of the patches of skin beneath his eyes.

"You did all this…just to bring us here?! What are you after!?" Robin, along with his friends, were at their limit.

"No big reason, really. It's just a job," Dabi started to raise his hands, "All this was just to get your attention!"

With that declaration, Dabi brought his hands down and unleashed a wave of blue fire at the Titans. His vision was obscured by the blue flame, but he wanted the overwhelming force of his flame to get them to separate and give him an opening to fry them.

"Titans, Go!" Robin shouted and the team scattered.

"Heh, the battle cry is real…kind of childish, don't you think?!" Dabi shouted in joy with his grin stretching.

The clopping of hooves was caught by his ears. Turning, Dabi saw a green ram was charging its way toward him intent on pushing him back with its horns.

"Hate to break this to you, but it doesn't matter what animal you turn into," he turned his palm to Beast Boy, "They still burn!" he fired at the creature.

Keeping its stride, the ram morphed into an armadillo and slid beneath flames fired at it. Dabi frowned at the maneuver, seeing the green hero roll between his leg and get behind him. Turning to keep the teen within his sights, Dabi raised his left hand to shoot another stream of flame only for a birdarang to ring through the air and strike his wrist.

"Tch," he winced and cradled his wrist for a second and saw the Boy Wonder charging at him with a Bo staff in hand. Keeping his eye on Beast Boy, Dabi stayed aware of Robin's position and made to blast the two heroes with fire from both his hands.

"Hah!" a green orb of energy came flying at the villain from the wall of flame he'd created at the start of the fight, forcing him to jump back to avoid being blasted.

Starfire came barreling out of the fire, unfazed by the intense heat as she continued to shoot her star bolts at the burned man. Dabi moved from side to side as he dodged the energy being shot at him, offering a counter with a few fireballs of his own that collided with the star bolts to explode in midair.

"Tch, aliens…" he muttered under his breath and hit her with a stream of fire, but it did not deter her as she continued her assault. Dabi decided to switch gears with his attack, thinking of a workaround to her high resistance.

The heroine raised a fist to attack the man, but he brought a hand up to her face and released a short but powerful burst of fire at point-blank range in her face. While she was mostly unscathed from the flame, the force of the released burst made her fly backward.

"Ya might have high endurance, but not to the concussive force. Besides, skin is still skin, no matter how tough it is…" he brought his hands back to press his attack, "I'm sure if I pour it on, you'll start to burn," he smirked.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" a strange set of words sounded in the mall with an assortment of different objects flying toward Dabi with black energy with a white outline covering them.

Disengaging from Starfire, Dabi unleashed a ring of fire at the surrounding objects burning them away before they could come close to him, and forcing the offender, Raven, to erect a black shield of magical energy to protect herself from the attack.

"Whatever you throw at me isn't going make it," Dabi taunted the sorceress, "Stick to pulling rabbits out of a hat!" a whizzing sound reach his ears, and without hesitation, he destroyed another birdarang that was aimed at him.

A heavy stomp then alerted him of Cyborg's approach and a fist met his face. The impact got him to leave the ground for a second, which the mechanical teen took advantage of by gripping the villain's throat and slamming him to the ground.

"Ow," Dabi groaned in his usual uncaring drawl.

"Booyah! You're done!" Cyborg held him in place, keeping his hands in place with his feet.

"Heh, you think so, tin man," Dabi grinned sadistically. "You know, I think we can relate…we're just walking patches of skin. So, you think you'd want to keep what little you have," Dabi suddenly, and unexpectedly, unleashed flames from the side of his face, burning away at the skin that Cy still had and getting him to let go.

"That's what you get for assuming that I need my hands. It just makes it easier to aim when I use them. I'm a walking matchbox," Dabi grinned with the flame still coming from his body, "How about I even the rest of you out so you'll be a full-fledged freak rather than half of one…we can match!"

Dabi was then batted away by a gorilla of all things, keeping him from making good on his threat. He clicked his teeth at being interrupted again, burned away another magically manipulated object, and was forced back some more by Starfire pushing him backward until he'd hit a wall.

The Titans all stood next to each other at this time, ready to attack all at once.

'Well, looks like I was right. Splitting them up is the way to go. I can't get an attack in edgewise without one of these brats swooping in to cover for them,' Dabi watched the teens carefully, 'Looks like those two are going to be pulling their weight after all,' Dabi sighed.

Having thoroughly tested the waters, he was ready to sic these sidekicks on his comrades to take the edge off him. From what he could tell from this quick skirmish, these kids were only going to be a nuisance because of their numbers and the ones to look out for were Raven and Starfire since they had versatile abilities compared to the rest.

"Hang on," Dabi raised his hand, managing to halt the Titans, "As much as I'd like to continue our five-on-one…don't you think that it's a little unfair that I've got you all to myself. Maybe you should be dealing with my teammates, they've been free this entire time," Dabi looked up thoughtfully as if he just remembered them.

"Teammates?" Robin scowled.

"Aw, come on, don't tell me the cops didn't mention them. You think I could have taken control of this place all by myself? Nah, there's two more here, kinda surprised that you don't know, pretty sloppy," Dabi didn't hesitate to continue prodding them.

"Where are they!?"

"Calm down, you'll pop a blood vessel…one of them should be hanging around the video game level, she's a gamer, and the other is hanging around in the toy section…he's a weird one. And let me tell you, if you're having trouble with me…then you're really not gonna like them. Out of the three of us, I'm the nice one," Dabi chuckled, "I let my hostages go, but those two, they probably got rid of them because they'd be in the way. One of them's a kid and you know how cruel they can be, and the other guy…let's just say you'd be hard-pressed to have him not kill someone."

"You could be bluffing, since we're creaming you, dude," Beast Boy didn't believe him.

"Are you willing to take that chance? You could stay here and fight me, I'm still up for it, but while you waste time with me there's no telling what'll be happening to those citizens you're supposed to be protecting," Dabi told them bluntly.

"So, what's it gonna be, beat me and see whether or not I told the truth and deal with the consequences, or deal with the others and do your jobs as heroes, saving people you're sworn to protect."

Robin looked intently into Dabi's laid-back stare and as much as he didn't want to admit it…the villain was right. Even if the man was lying, he couldn't take the chance that people were in danger while all of them dealt with just one of the villains.

He was taught better.

"Raven, Starfire, Beast Boy," Robin spoke to his team, "Go to the other floors, take care of the others, and get the civilians to safety," he gave the order.

"But friend Robin…what of you and friend Cyborg?" Starfire asked nervously.

"We can't fly, we'd slow you down taking the stairs or the elevator. We'll finish up here."

"You sure, dude? This guy's no joke," Beast Boy asked.

"We got him on the ropes, BB. Me and Rob can take care of him," Cy affirmed with a smirk.

'One thing's for sure,' Raven thought staring at Dabi's nonchalant face with his lazy, yet knowing, grin.

'He isn't the source of that presence I feel,' Raven kept straight-faced as she thought this.

"Seems like you guys've got a plan of action. But…" Dabi's hands lit up with his signature flames, "…just because I told you where they are, doesn't mean I'm just gonna let you leave!" he thrust one of his hands forward, unleashing a funnel of fire toward the teens.

"If I can take some you out to lighten the load, I'll go for it…hmm?" Dabi's brow rose when he heard the Sonic Cannon fire, making its way through his flames. He decided to add his other hand into the mix which overpowered the beam.

"Huh, got away then? That's fine…predictable heroes…" Dabi clapped his hands sarcastically, noticing the hole in the ceiling that the flying members escaped through. "Always protecting the weak, even if it means you'll pay for it in the long run," Dabi put his hands in his pockets with his smirk still present.

"Can't say I get it."

"We're putting a stop to this!"

"Are you, can't say you were doing too well when your full team was here, and now you're split up and fighting a bunch of unknowns. You've been dancing to our tune pretty much from the start…and your friends are in deeper trouble than the two of you. You're dealing with a threat much more serious than those beehive kids a few days ago," Dabi teased.

"The H.I.V.E? You know about them?" Robin's eyes narrowed.

"Wasn't exactly a secret, kid."

"Who are you!?" Robin had lost his patience with the villain's mind games. "You did all this just to get our attention?! Hurt people, killed someone! You said this was a job…are you working for Slade?" Robin growled.

"Wow, you figured it out," Dabi remained in control never changing his attitude, "Guess the Bat didn't waste his time, he must be proud of those detective skills. Yeah, for the moment I'm working for one-eye, else we wouldn't be wasting our time with you," Dabi revealed with an uncaring shrug.

"Frankly, this is all just a test for the three of us. Once this mission is done…we'll be full-fledged members!" Dabi blasted at them making the two heroes scatter.

"Members of what?!" Cyborg shouted.

"Name's Dabi…and I'm a prospective member of the League of Villains!" Dabi's smile grew when he saw the look of surprise and fear appear on the teens' faces.

"The League of Villains!?" Robin said in disbelief. This kind of out-of-nowhere, irrational attack made a lot more sense now. He remembered sitting with the team and watching the news story in Metropolis when All for One made his appearance. The entire team was speechless and found it hard to believe that someone in the man's state could stand toe-to-toe with the Earth's strongest heroes half-dead.

And now, they were dealing with those that had been galvanized by him.

"That's right. Don't worry though, soon as this mission's done, we're probably gonna stay out of your hair. You weren't on our radar in the first place," Dabi said to get under their skin. "When Shigaraki found out we'd be heading to Jump and we'd most likely be dealing with you all, he felt we'd be able to handle ourselves easily…you know since you're nobodies."

His arms ignited in flame, and he stalked forward a few steps.

"I have an idea…how about I test you, too. I'll give you a taste of what the Big Leagues are like, and we'll see if you come out of it singed…or charred!"

With that, the battle raged on, while above them separate bouts were taking place.

(Video Game floor-Gaz)

Above Dabi's fight with Cyborg and Robin, Gaz waited for any sign of the other Titans making their way up to her. She sat on top of one of the shelves found on the floor, playing her ill-gotten Vampire Piggy Hunter on her Game Slave while she waited for them to appear. Next to her were a few televisions that displayed different channels as background noise for her gameplay to keep herself occupied, they floated around her as she stared down at the small screen in her hands.

It was then that rubble burst from the floor not too far from her position. Gaz opened one of her eyes upon hearing the noise and decided to switch her focus from her game to the mission, wanting to give the heroes the benefit of the doubt and give them her undivided attention for the time being. Pocketing the Game Slave and removing the televisions from around her Gaz stood up and looked toward the dust.

"They finally made it," she muttered while keeping her senses sharp.

"Friend Raven…is it right to leave friends Robin and Cyborg with the flame-wielding foe?" Starfire asked in worry.

"You heard him…staying down there while others are in danger would only waste time. If there are more we need to deal with, it's better to split up and divide their attention so the bystanders can escape," Raven answered bluntly.

"But…"

"Don't worry, Star. Rob and Cy can take care of that patch-face easy!" Beast Boy said though the words were lost on his two friends due to him being a bird at the time, but the affirmative caw seemed to be understood.

Suddenly a bolt of electricity crackled through the air and struck Beast Boy, blasting him backward and forcing him to change back into his human form. Two more bolts followed but Starfire and Raven easily avoided them compared to the shapeshifter.

"Beast Boy!" Starfire shouted.

"Darn…missed. I was aiming to get all three," Gaz lowered her index finger, which was arcing with electricity, frowning at having missed her follow-up shots. Now her position was known by the two teenagers, and this would become far more annoying.

"Hah!" Starfire tossed some starbolts toward the young girl that had attacked her friend.

"Better avoid them, no idea what they might do to me," Gaz seemed unconcerned with the energy balls rushing toward her.

Just as the attack would have hit her, the purple-haired girl disappeared in a flash of light and what sounded like thunder, reappearing to the side. Her fingers lighted up with energy and retaliated against the still conscious heroes, shooting more electricity at the two.

Raven conjured a shield to block the intense energy from the girl, barely able to stand against the powerful current, she was pushed back from it. Starfire flew around the bolts of lightning, continuing to give counterfire toward Gaz.

The young villainess kept blinking from point to point atop the shelf, not even becoming winded from using her abilities and staying calm all the while. Her powers were potent but one of the main weaknesses was that it had to travel in a straight line, making them very easily avoidable when you knew they were coming which made her initial surprise attack crucial.

Avoiding another starbolt, the shelf beneath Gaz started to rumble beneath her feet. Feeling the odd movement, Gaz watched her foothold become enveloped in familiar black energy.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven used her magic to levitate different objects on the floor intent on hurling them at the girl. The surrounding projectiles were sent toward the electrically powered girl.

Zipping onto the floor, Gaz saw the black-tinted weapons hurtling toward her. Acting quickly, Gaz zapped all the projectiles using her powers and simply stood waiting for them to come toward her.

When they came close to the girl, they simply stopped in midair.

Raven, eyes glowing pure white, grunted and tried to force them to move forward and hit Gaz but no matter how hard she tried it seem like they were being repelled. Gaz held a finger up, her face set in her trademark scowl the whole time.

"I magnetized them. We share the same charge so they can't get near me…guess the hero skipped science class. I can make stuff levitate too, and not through some made-up 'magic'," Gaz insulted Raven and then turned the newly magnetized weapons onto their creator and her friend.

"You guys are heroes? This is just sad…" Gaz frowned with her eyes shut like always, playing with the heroines.

Her eye opened when she heard heavy stomping heading her way. Ahead, a green rhinoceros huffed through its nostrils while it charged at the girl in hopes of getting her to avoid it.

Gaz stood her ground and stared down the animal without fear.

"A rhino? That's not going to do anything," Gaz was then hit by the rhino but rather than going flying or being run over her body split apart and began to glitch in a way.

Beast Boy felt a numbing sensation come over his body as he passed through her body, transforming back into his human form. He and his two friends were shocked, figuratively as opposed to literally this time, watching as the villain's body came back together with the characteristic buzz of static.

"That was annoying," Gaz grumbled with half her face still reforming.

"There's no physical body," Raven realized after witnessing Beast Boy's failed attack. "I thought that she was similar to Livewire…she would use up her stored power and need to recharge…but she's made out of electricity…she's pure energy."

For the first time in a while…Gaz felt actual rage for a second. Not irritation like when she had to deal with Mahito's antics, or annoyance when she had to do something she'd rather not. This was anger that was brought on by the sorceress's words.

Her entire arm shone with power, charging a stronger bolt to attack with.

"Don't ever compare me to that glorified insult comic!" Gaz opened both eyes such was her rage and thrust her palm forward to unleash something truly devastating, lighting up the area in a brilliant blue that seemed like it would eradicate everything ahead of her.

A swipe from an elephant trunk disrupted her form and allowed the heroes to be spared from witnessing what would have been unleashed.

"You guys get out of here!" Beast Boy shouted to Raven and Star.

"Friend Beast Boy, we should-" Star started to protest.

"No! You heard Raven, there's still one guy messing with everybody above us! We can't waste time on one of them when the last one could be doing worse!" Beast Boy shouted.

"Shouting out loud about a plan is stupid. What makes you think I'll just let you go?" Gaz charged another blast to hit the flying heroines with only for a shelf to slam onto her position thanks to Raven's magic.

"Friend Raven…" Starfire was concerned.

"She'll be fine. I just disrupted her form…she'll be back. Look," Raven pointed at the floor and watched as different currents of electricity traveled on the floor and began to coalesce to remake Gaz's body.

"You better be careful," Raven told the animal shifter.

"Don't worry, Rae, she's just a kid."

"Let's go, Star!"

"I thought I said that I wouldn't let you," Gaz had finished reforming just as a large shadow appeared behind her. Turning around, she saw the large maw of a Tyrannosaurus coming down on her, "You still aren't getting it."

Beast Boy chomped down on the girl, allowing his friends the necessary time to escape the floor and move on ahead. Just as they'd left, a large discharge of electricity zapped him from within his mouth and forced him to groan in pain. That small opening gave the embodiment of electrical power the chance to escape and land back on the floor.

"They got away. Fine, looks like he'll be getting what he wanted after all," Gaz gazed at the newly made hole in the ceiling, thinking of the smile a certain gray-haired nonhuman would have on his face in a few minutes.

"And Dabi's dealing with the other two," Gaz then turned to regard her opponent, one eye open and power sparking from her hand, "So, that leaves me to take care of you."

"Come on, kid, you don't want to do this," the green-skinned teen tried to reason with her.

"I wouldn't underestimate me just because of my age. I'm much smarter than any kid my age…probably than most adults too…I know what I'm doing," Gaz was resolute.

"Where are the hostages?" Beast Boy became serious.

"Don't have any," Gaz answered plainly and struck out against the hero.

(Toys and games Floor-Mahito)

Arriving on the final floor that would have one of the perpetrators of the current attack…the two remaining members of the Teen Titans froze once their eyes laid on it. Starfire released an audible gasp, bringing her hands to her mouth as she stared wide-eyed at the normally loud, colorful, and cheerful toy floor; Raven, on the other hand, stiffened, feeling a thick oppressive miasma of malefic intent wash over her.

The floor, intended for children and their parents, looked like a scene straight out of a horror movie. Lights were flickering while others remained on, shrouding the space in ominous shadows. Shelves leaned against walls and were toppled over altogether giving the hints of a struggle taking place here…and the most horrifying evidence of that struggle were the bloodstains that littered the floor and walls in various places.

The blood smeared across the walls, saying that the bodies were not only pressed against them but dragged with great force. The stains on the floor were similar, streaks of blood most likely from the victims' fingers created a grisly trail that led off into the back end of the section.

The deathly quiet did not bode well for the civilians that had been trapped on this floor.

'This feeling…' Raven hugged herself, never having felt such concentrated evil…hatred, '…whoever is on this floor, he's the source of my unease. I don't like this.'

"Friend Raven…I do not like this," Starfire was concerned, hugging herself as well not being able to take her eyes off the bloodstains, "Is the mall of shopping not supposed to be fun? Why is this happening…Where is everyone?" Starfire, despite being naïve, was not stupid, but she certainly did not what to think of the obvious possibility before them.

"I don't know…" Raven said unsurely. "Stay close to me…we don't want to get-"

"He..lp…m…e," a meek barely audible voice called from the darkness.

"Someone in danger!" Starfire flew without reservation, leaving the confounded sorceress in her wake to lift a hand in a futile attempt to stop the Tamaranean.

"Starfire, wait!" Raven called but she was already gone. When Raven went to follow behind and assist the girl in case she got into danger-

*Clatter*

Movement stopped her…and the sound of heavy breathing was heard behind her.

Starfire's frantic search for the helpless civilian bore fruit after a few seconds of haphazard flying above the messy floor. She came upon an aisle…that would seem familiar to a certain person, board games being found there. Crouched in the middle of the aisle…with a lone light shining upon her form…was a little girl in a frilly white dress, her back turned to the alien hero.

"H…Hel…p…me…" she drawled almost blankly, never turning toward Starfire.

"Do not worry, little one. I am Starfire of the Teen Titans, I am here to help you," Starfire smiled to assuage her the girl's fears.

"Help…m…e," she repeated.

"Is something the matter?" Starfire reached her hand out to the girl's shoulder, turning her to look Starfire in her green eyes.

What she saw was a terrified face, eyes wide in fear yet staring at nothing at the same time, with blood staining the front of her dress. Even though her shoulder was gripped, the child gave no indication of realizing she'd been touched or even moved.

"Are you alright?" Starfire panicked, getting closer.

In the shadows, mismatched eyes watched.

"H-Hellp…ME!" the girl shook suddenly, uncontrollably convulsing, and caused Starfire's hand to release from her shoulder.

It was then that the girl's dress ripped and tore, her body distorting into a grotesque shape that towered over the Tamaranean. The skin stretched across the body, struggling to contain the new mass that had been added underneath it, teeth bared in a pained scowl, but the monstrosity still moved toward Starfire…repeating the same words.

"Help me!" the poor monster shouted and attacked Starfire.

"Eep!" she avoided the blow, the linoleum floor cracking from the impact. "I am trying to help you," Starfire continued to avoid the creature, it answered her by repeating the only words it seemed to be able to say.

"Please stop…I do not wish to hurt you," Starfire raised an arm to block a swing from the monster's mighty arm.

"hELp mE!" the monster repeated, tears falling from its eyes.

Starfire could not hold back and released a punch in defense that made the pitiable monster fly down to the opposite end of the hall. Her hand was still outstretched; the alien gasped in the realization of her action.

"I am sorry," she moved to help the monster.

"You shouldn't put too much stock in what it's saying," a new voice said and Mahito followed, jumping in front of Starfire with a grin on his face.

Using her surprise from his sudden appearance, Mahito reeled back and punched the beautiful girl in her cheek, the purple glow surrounding his fist as it cracked against her face. A sadistic, gleeful grin on his face as he watched Starfire be blown back from the force of the hit, hitting a shelf.

"Who?" her cheek stung from the hit, surprising her since she was normally tough.

"Hahaha, I have to say, I'm surprised you fell for my trap like that," Mahito laughed and wiped a tear from his eye, "I mean, making this entire floor so atmospheric, and only finding one person calling out for help…with a spotlight of all things. I was sure I'd have to try a little harder to separate you two, but you're much more emotional than even I expected," Mahito chuckled.

Starfire's eyes glowed green at the man, he was clearly the mastermind behind this, and he took a sick pleasure in what he'd done.

"What have you done to her?" Starfire's rage started to boil.

Mahito stopped giggling when she asked her question and looked at the monster behind him that was struggling to get up.

"Her? Was it a woman? Honestly, after I've transfigured them, I stop caring about what they used to be," Mahito shrugged uncaringly.

"Hel…m…" the sad thing flopped to the ground, breathing heavily.

"She's in pain," Starfire frowned seeing the thing try and fail to move and continue attacking.

"Oh, do be quiet, I'm having a conversation," Mahito commanded the creature coldly. "Now then, I believe I told you that you shouldn't be listening to it," he pointed the thing, "It's only repeating the last words it had as a human before I transfigured it. It has no idea what it's saying, and it doesn't feel pain it wouldn't be much use to me if a debilitating hit took it out of commission. In fact…it has been a while since I set my trap," Mahito rubbed his chin in thought.

"I think it might just…"

*Thud*

"Oh, there we go," Mahito perked up when he heard the thing flop to the ground, still.

Starfire was still as well…not wanting to think of what that meant.

"W-what?"

"Come now…isn't it obvious," Mahito had a friendly grin on his face as if he were simply educating the heroine, "It died."

The world fell away for her…someone had died on her watch…and she had done nothing…she could have done something…anything!

"Kind of sad, though…now that I take a look, I might have been a bit too rough on it," Mahito examined the deceased creature from his position. "But why?"

He then noticed the torn dress on the floor of the aisle, jogging his memory.

"Oh! Now I remember, that was that little girl whose mother annoyed me," he smacked his forehead, "Haha, they actually kicked this whole thing off…I made sure to have her transfigured in front of that horrid woman, so she'd die knowing that her daughter was the cause…good times," Mahito recounted.

"I was sure that using a child would mean they'd last longer since they're younger…guess that's because I was a little angry when I transfigured her, what with her mother and all. That's what I get for letting my emotions-!" Mahito could no longer disparage the deceased child since Starfire returned his greeting to her with a heavy punch to his face.

She felt his skin deform beneath her fist, seeing red as she attacked the inhuman monster. The Tamaranean could not think of the last time she had felt such fury toward anyone, not even her sister, but this…thing had to pay for what he'd done.

'Well, she's very easy to rile up,' Mahito thought with a smile, accepting the blow without much discomfort.

He skidded down the aisle before flipping himself over, a scuff mark on his cheek but otherwise uninjured from the powerful strike. He wiped his cheek to remove the mark and licked his lips creepily, all while staring the enraged alien down without fear.

"That stung a bit, but I'm afraid it didn't do anything. Physical attack haves no effect on me," Mahito explained calmly though it seemed she wasn't really paying attention.

"Change her back!" Starfire roared.

Mahito just looked confused, "Um…I know you're naïve, but you aren't serious, are you?" he rubbed his chin when he saw how deadly serious the Tamaranean was, "Oh…you do know what death is, correct? It's irreversible…once something dies, there's no returning. Not that you could consider that thing alive anymore, anyway," Again the villain was socked by the angry woman this time in his stomach, causing his cheeks to bulge from the impact only for it to give way to a toothy smile.

'No concern at all, even though I've given more than enough information for her to figure out that I'm capable of transfiguring a person. I suppose her alien invulnerability would make her believe she is safe, unfortunately, that doesn't mean anything to me,' Mahito took the following blows in stride, 'All that does is make it easier for me.'

Starfire tackled him at that moment, giving the being the perfect opportunity to use his ability on the alien. He became giddy as his hand, coated in his energy, touched the alien girl's chest. Mahito expected her to distort like so many humans had been upon being touched by his hand, but…

'Mui Tenpen (Idle Transfiguration)!' Mahito thought to himself, unleashing his power on the unsuspecting hero.

Then a shock went through his body, and a very…unpleasant sensation wracked his body. Within his mind, Mahito was approaching a floating object that resembled an ingot that was silver and encased in a unique aura. Just as he reached out to touch the strange object, a black bird with a white outline burst from it and forced the heterochromatic nonhuman from the space by attacking him.

In real-time, Mahito had stared blankly into space for a split second and was brought back to reality by another punch to his face. He skids back from the hit, blinking at the odd experience he'd had for the first time…and felt a wetness flow from his nose.

Swiping his thumb at the spot, he frowned when he looked at what had come from him.

'Blood? How?' he thought, looking at the panting heroine, 'Did she strike my soul?'

After that small reprieve, Starfire continued her relentless attack on the man, though he was too deep in thought to care.

'No, she has no aptitude for the mystic arts, or else she'd have used them from the beginning,' a punch slammed into his nose, 'Then what was that…of course, Raven…I completely forgot,' Mahito remembered the bird-like shape attacking him in his mind while being hit in the ribs by Starfire, 'She must have cast a kind of protective charm on Starfire's soul…but none of us have been revealed until today. She couldn't have known someone with my abilities would appear…so she must have cast this in advance then…Perhaps the Titans faced an enemy that had touched their souls before I appeared?' Mahito mused, ignoring the onslaught he was still suffering from.

Mahito frowned in annoyance, 'Well, that's no fun. My entire reason for wanting to go on this mission's been ripped away from me,' he pouted childishly, wanting the chance to transfigure an alien.

He was then sent careening into one of the shelves, bending the metal from his impact. His hair shadowed his eyes and gave the appearance of being defeated to Starfire who was finally calming down from her rage-filled episode.

'Well…if I can't kill her physically by transfiguring her soul…' Mahito removed himself from the shelf completely unaffected from the beating he'd taken from the girl, 'I'll just have to pick up where I've already started and kill her soul.'

He slowly licked his lips at his new plan of action.

"Have you finally calmed down?" Mahito asked mockingly to the panting Tamaranean, his unhurt appearance serving to unnerve her more as he calmly talked to her like they were friends. "I must say, you're certainly unhappy over one human being transfigured by me. It makes me wonder how you'll feel about the others," he rubbed his chin with a fake thoughtful look on his face, imagining it.

His imagination didn't do the face that the heroine made justice as the color seemed to drain out of it. Her eyebrows upturned and sadness could be seen worming its way into her heart at the idea that more innocents had suffered the same fate as that little girl.

"Aw, don't tell me that you thought I had only transfigured one human. Didn't you find it odd that no one else has been around?" Mahito never stopped grinning, watching her soul shatter in front of him was enjoyable, and now he was going to put the nail in the coffin.

"If you want, I can show them to you!"

With that, a horde of grotesque transfigured humans burst from the sides of the aisle. All of them disgusting, differently shaped, monsters that had eyes trained on the sweating, distraught alien woman. Starfire drew her hands up to defend herself and to keep from seeing the appearances of these once humans.

"help ME!"

"It HUrTs!"

"tItANs, hELp!"

"KiLl mE!"

The shouts came from the creatures in broken English, groans of pain and anguish coming spewing from their drooling mouths. Tears began to form in Starfire's eyes as she tried to fend off the unfortunate monsters that were forced to attack her, their pleas driving a stake through her heart each time she heard them.

"Please, stop! I want to save you…I will, but you must not listen to him!" Starfire stopped herself from hitting one of the creatures when she saw it shed a tear. That moment of hesitation allowed the monster to grab her face with its oversized hand and its fellows to dogpile onto her. A frenzy happened as the beasts tore at her skin, trying their hardest to kill the heroine.

"Remember, these things don't have a clue what they're saying. It's just mush that their brains remember from their last moments!" Mahito commanded the transfigured humans away from the compromised girl and drove his fist into her face with the same wide smile he always had, drawing blood from the blow, and watching her fall back.

"They're nothing more than mindless playthings for me, no different from the toys on this floor," he cast his gaze to one of the creatures that was wheezing and got a wonderful idea, "Why don't I demonstrate," Mahito pointed a finger at the miserable monstrosity, "You all, this one is on its last legs…its useless to me…"

He looked into Starfire's eyes and gave a small smile.

"Kill it."

Immediately the creatures turned to attack the dying monster without preamble.

"And you," he turned to the pathetic thing, "Don't defend yourself."

It was a barbaric display, the stunned heroine watched the monsters tear their comrade apart with abandon, no punches pulled as blood and bone flew from the dying monster that only accepted the attacks without so much as a flinch…though its eyes reflected the pain it felt.

And Mahito, all he did was laugh.

"Hahahahaha, it's like a microcosm of human nature!" he cackled gleefully, "It would be so much simpler if they just acted like this," he even kicked the corpse for added insult. "Such a failure, if you truly want to save them, there's one surefire way…put them out of their misery."

"RAAAGH!" Starfire had finally had it, rushing the…she didn't know what to call the villain, but she knew, now she knew, he was not human.

"Hold her!" Mahito had a mad grin on his face, the transfigured humans grabbing her by the arms mere inches from attacking their creator.

She struggled against them, animalistically trying and failing to reach him. To blast him. To beat him. Bite him. Crush him. Something that would make him feel even an ounce of the pain he'd inflicted.

While Mahito approached without concern.

"Now then, your friend may have protected your soul…but I wonder what multiple tries would do. Surely it has to have a limit, and a constant barrage might just weaken that charm," he raised his hand, purple energy surrounding it.

"Hold still now, don't want to make this unpleasant for both of us," Mahito reached toward her face, fully expecting to be blocked but wanted to assault her soul anyway for experimentation's sake. Either he'd continue to be stopped and get closer each time, or it would hold, and he'd feel that odd sensation again.

And to be honest…he wanted to feel that shock again so he could better understand it.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Before he could go through with his attack, those words reached his ears and Mahito felt that familiar sensation comes over his body. The same black aura engulfed his body along with the transfigured humans and pushed them away from Starfire.

Now freed from her captors, the exhausted, both physically and mentally, Starfire looked up to see her fellow Titan and friend Raven had come to her rescue. The sorceress leveled a hard glare at Mahito, knowing that he was behind the creatures that had ambushed her, and her empathetic abilities let her know what they'd used to be.

"Friend Raven," Starfire weakly spoke to her teammate, tired.

"This is why I said to stay close to me…are you ok?" she said sternly, but her concern shone through when she saw the state the Tamaranean was in.

"So many…they…" she couldn't bring herself to say it.

"Don't worry about that now," Raven told her before she could go down that train of thought.

'I don't know what he is, but he is not human. I don't sense anything other than evil,' Raven stared Mahito down.

'This is Raven, huh? No doubt now, she is able to harm my soul,' Mahito felt a slight sting in his chest from being tossed by her magic, 'This must be pain…quite unpleasant, I understand why humans avoid it now. More importantly,' he stared at her, seeing that she didn't seem to be injured, 'I left her with plenty of transfigured humans to deal with to give me time to battle Starfire…freshly made as well, so they shouldn't have died while fighting…does that mean…' he smiled when he thought of the only outcome that could have allowed her to arrive just in time.

"Heh, heh, heh, did you kill them?"

The silence was palpable.

Starfire stared wide-eyed at her friend.

Raven gave nothing away but the words she said were powerful.

"I released them…their existence was nothing but pain. Mercy is putting them out of their misery," Raven was resolute.

"Fr-friend Raven…" Starfire felt weak, she buckled beneath such powerful responsibility wanting to believe she could save the people, while her friend could steel herself.

"Don't be sad…you didn't do this to them."

"It's nice to see that someone is practical on your team. Perhaps you should share that philosophy with your friend there. She could barely bring herself to hit one of them," Mahito taunted.

"What did you do to them?" Raven did not rise.

"Huh? You're seriously asking? I thought you knew already…why don't you tell me what you think I did?" Mahito tilted his head.

"You used magic to transform their bodies," Raven answered though she had a good feeling that she was wrong…but she had no want to humor the truth.

Mahito picked up on that, looking incredulous at her answer, "Come on, you can do better than that…are you just trying to get me to say it because you don't?"

Mahito stuck out his tongue and shrugged.

"Very well then, I'll do it," he raised his hand and had his energy become visible, "You're close, but what I really do is manipulate the soul to contort the body," he finally revealed his ability to the heroes.

"Soul magic is powerful…and forbidden."

"I wouldn't know, you're the first sorcerer I've met," Mahito said nonchalantly, "It's a lot like how a shadow is forced to follow the movements of its owner, the body is similar when the soul is twisted. Once I touch a soul, the body is forced to take on a shape that reflects the soul's new form. And in the end, they become these transfigured humans."

"Then you can return them! Revert them by returning them to their original shape!" Starfire said desperately.

"Hm, I never thought of that," Mahito said genuinely, becoming thoughtful.

"From what I understand of the process, given the screams and cries, it is quite a burden on the human. During my experiments, I've noticed that the transfiguration put heavy pressure on the brain, essentially making them brain-dead. The reason they follow my orders is due to the residuals of my energy residing within them, so they see me as their leader. Theoretically, I suppose I could return the soul to its original shape, but that would just put more strain on their bodies and brains, so…even if I did, they'd likely be vegetables afterward or die from the reversion," Mahito theorized.

He then smiled and lowered his hand to hover over one of the creatures, threatening to test the theory.

"Would you like to find out with me?"

"Don't touch them!" Starfire shouted.

"If you want me to reverse the transfiguration, I have to…of course, there's always the easy way of ending their pain."

He brought his thumb up to his neck and dragged it across to make his point, tongue sticking out.

"Isn't that right, Raven?" he asked his fellow killer in his eyes.

"Rrr…"

"Starfire, wait…" Raven stopped her just as the rage was about to take her friend, thinking of a plan of action.

'Whatever he is, he's young. The way he worded everything, his attitude toward his powers, the fact that he experiments. He hasn't realized the true power of his abilities yet, he's testing himself…this is the best chance to take care of him.' Raven deduced.

'He needs to be destroyed before he can figure out the depths that he can reach with that power.'

"Star, we have to stop him here and now," Raven whispered to her friend.

Of course, I will do what I-"

"Permanently."

Starfire froze.

"He isn't alive. I can tell, he's a mass of raw evil. He can't do anything but bring pain and suffering," she looked at the growling creatures that surrounded Mahito as evidence.

"I don't…" Starfire hugged herself, watching the poor former humans as well.

"I just need your help…you don't have to be the one to finish them. I'll do it," Raven served as the pillar of the two.

"I…will do my best, Friend Raven…thank you," Starfire wiped her eyes and prepared to assist.

'Now I have to deal with the two of them,' while the two girls had talked, Mahito was coming up with his own plan of action, 'Starfire has me beat physically, but she can't harm me; and Raven can attack my soul, but physically I could most likely kill her,' he looked at his remaining creatures and decided, licking his lips.

'Raven is willing to kill the transfigured humans, so I should avoid sending them after her, or else I'll have to deal with the two of them on my own. I'll send them after Starfire to distract her, and before they drop dead…I'll have to kill Raven somehow.'

Crossing his arms in front of himself, Mahito brought them back down to his hips with his hands balled into fists. He entered a battle stance and grinned predatorily, his energy coming in full force around his hands as he prepared to do battle with the heroes.

"I'm so glad I came on this mission!"

(Bottom Floor- Dabi vs. Robin & Cyborg)

The ground floor of the Jump City mall had become a sea of flames over the course of the battle between the League of Villains hopeful and the First and Second in Command of the Teen Titans. Dabi stood unharmed, fire still engulfing his arms, in the middle of the mall's lobby ready for whatever attack the heroes tried against him.

Hearing movement, he launched a stream of fire in the direction of the noise. Robin appeared from behind a kiosk, outrunning the fire on his tail and throwing a birdarang at the villain. The object never came close to its mark as the burned villain incinerated it in midair without a second thought.

"Come on, you guys can do better than this, can't you?" Dabi sighed insincerely, "If all you're going to do is run around, the least you could do is try to fight back," the Sonic Cannon was shot in his direction, but he snuffed it out by shooting flame from both his hands.

"You know, it's just as exhausting shooting fire as it is for you to be hurling these toys at me." Dabi wrung his wrist to work out imaginary kinks. He slid his pupil to the side where he saw the large African American cyborg maneuvering behind him and moved to shoot more fire.

He was halted from his attack when Robin appeared in front of him, using martial arts to keep the villain on the backpedal. The flurry of blows thrown was too much for Dabi to keep up with given his lack of hand-to-hand skill, making him take plenty of hits in those few seconds and avoiding the few he could.

A punch traveled towards his cheek when Dabi decided to burst his body into flame to force the bird-themed former sidekick away from him. Robin flipped backward only for the villain to stay on the offensive about to launch more fire from his arm.

"Can't forget, I'm a human campfire, doesn't matter if you try and stop my arms. But man, you must be feeling pretty desperate if you attacked me head-on," Dabi smiled, "What, run out of toys?"

Cyborg gave Robin cover by shooting his Cannon again, having it suppressed by the blue flame once again.

All according to plan.

"We can bring him down, Cyborg," Robin told his friend a few minutes prior.

"How? He's got us beat in range, and even if we get in close, he just lights up like an over-gassed grill," Cy said back, ducking behind more cover while fighting Dabi.

"You noticed?" Robin asked, throwing a birdarang as a distraction.

"What?"

"He talks a lot."

"Hard not to, everything out of his mouth is an insult," Cyborg had gotten sick f this guy a while ago.

"Exactly, every time he launches an attack, he takes a second to taunt us," Robin explained while fleeing from the roaring fire, "It isn't just to get under our skin…it's to give him recovery time."

"Recovery time…wait…" Cyborg started to understand.

"He isn't immune to his own flames…they burn hotter than a lot of fire users, like Volcana for instance, but that's his weakness too. He wouldn't be covered in burns if they didn't affect him, so there must be a limit to how long he can go before he starts to burn up. He needs to take breaks just to buy himself time to continue fighting," Robin said.

"So having a long-drawn-out fight would be bad for 'im," Cy picked up on where his leader was going.

"As long as we stay on our toes and avoid his flames, then we can outlast him. There's no way he'll sacrifice his body just to beat us, and when he runs out…"

"We take 'im down!" Cy smirked.

It had been a few minutes since they had started their cat-and-mouse game and as far as they could tell, the villain was still going at full throttle. Rob had been running low on gadgets to distract Dabi, and Cy's Sonic Cannon use was becoming few and far between since he had to conserve power.

The guy had to be running on empty soon.

"Need a mechanic, tin man?" Dabi taunted, "I noticed that there's been a growing gap between your use of that annoying laser…ya running on empty?" Dabi grinned and brought his hands down, creating a rolling wave of fire that rushed toward Cyborg. The large wave obscured his vision, but he didn't see how the robot would be able to avoid that.

Too bad for Cy that the villain liked to be thorough.

"They're a lot like roaches…better make sure he went down."

A new projectile made its way toward him, and as he raised his arm to block it, the item exploded on impact and froze Dabi's forearm. The villain didn't look perturbed though, lowering his arm to see that the culprit was, of course, Robin.

"Had that one hidden up your sleeve, didn't you? What? You want to cool me off?" Dabi shot fire from his frozen arm, melting the ice instantly, "Least you could do is make it even…my arms aren't the only thing overheating, ya know!"

Dabi shot both his arms forward to burn Robin to a crisp. The former Boy Wonder acted quickly and raised his cape to block the flame. The special material held up against the intense heat, but he could feel it beginning to heat up…

"I heard about this…Batman has something similar. Your cape is supposed to be flame resistant, right?" Dabi continued to pour on the flame, knowing that he had the kid. "Wonder how much it can take!"

Robin started to sweat beneath his cover, the temperature rose to unbearable levels. He grits his teeth…staying in place, with nowhere to go…this could end up being it for him, and he didn't get the chance to show Bruce what he was made of!

"Hm?" Dabi hummed in confusion when a shadow stood in front of Robin, taking the heat for him.

It was Cyborg, arms outstretched to protect his leader, teeth bared as he took on the brunt of the flames.

"Well, well, looks like the tin man's got a heart after all!" Dabi laughed with a wide smile that strained his piercings, "Bet you think you're protected with all that crap on you, but I wonder what its limit is!" Dabi's flames grew brighter, not letting up on the teen.

Cy screamed in pain, unable to hold in the pain but still holding his position for his leader.

Soon, Dabi stopped the flow of fire, his arms smoking from the extreme output, and looking to see the aftermath of his attack. Still standing on shaky legs, Cyborg let his arms fall, his cybernetics looking melted and sparks coming from them while the blue parts started to gray.

"Cyborg!" Robin yelled to his friend.

"G-get him, R-rob…" Cyborg shut down after that, standing in place.

"Heh, looks like his circuits got fried. That's what you get for buying the obsolete model…but hey you are in a mall," Dabi chuckled, insulting the cybernetic teen, "You could always buy a new one. I don't think this one will be working right after this."

Robin roared at the villain, throwing punches and kicks at the villain, but unlike last time Dabi was able to avoid or block them. Robin was sluggish, panting in exhaustion but unwilling to concede to his foe.

"Whoa, watch it, kid," Dabi taunted leaning to the side to avoid a weak punch, "You aren't as energized as before, something the matter?" Dabi tripped the angry young hero, Robin's sweat falling onto the floor.

"Heat got to you? Or maybe you're just getting sloppy cuz I broke your toy robot?" Dabi prodded.

Robin went to continue attacking but a foot landed on his back, keeping him grounded without the strength to rise back up.

"Bet you thought you could outlast me, huh? Wanted me to burn myself out so you'd have an easy time?" Dabi saw the look of shock on Robin's face and relished in it.

"You think I don't know my own powers? I've been holding myself back since the fighting started. I suspected that I'd be dealing with you for a while, so I held back my flames to keep some energy in the tank to finish you two off."

Robin growled and tried to get up, not liking the fact that he was played for a fool, but the sudden burst of fire that hit his back made him fall back to the floor.

"Calm down. Don't know how many times I have to say it, but I can ignite my whole body…including my feet. And if you haven't noticed, I didn't use my feet at all during that fight, so they can still go for a long time," he ignited it again to show off.

"The two of you would have been better off if you kept the alien or the goth down here to deal with me, they're the most dangerous ones…but I have to say, even in all the scenarios I thought up…I expected more from you," Dabi ground his foot into Robin's back.

Batman's former sidekick glared up at the gloating villain.

"Don't give me that look. You brought this on yourselves because you decided to go around and call yourselves 'heroes'…you wanted to play with the grown-ups, but none of you were ready for what that meant. You made your little team and came to this nowhere city…why? Is it because the well-known ones were taken by the real heroes, so you couldn't spread your wings, bird-boy?" Dabi insulted the young man.

"You're used to dealing with a bunch of nobodies out to make a quick buck or just be a public nuisance. Now that you've faced a real threat, look at you. You've all buckled…this is probably the biggest tragedy that's happened to this town…multiple deaths on your team's watch, hero. There's no way my teammates haven't racked up a body count…and who do you think is going to be sharing the blame with us?"

Robin's eyes were shut tight in anger, wanting so badly to get up and make this villain pay, but another short burst of fire made him cry out and remain in place.

"All these people were content to watch and clap like trained seals when you were successful…how will they feel now? Face it, your little crew is just a ragtag gang of misfits that the world spat up. A green idiot that's dumber than the animals he changes into; A broken robot that wants to change back to a real boy; A goth that acts all dark and moody to avoid dealing with the people around her; Another stranded alien that's struggling to fit into place on Earth…" Dabi counted on his fingers as he insulted each Titan with a lazy smile, then looked into Robin's eyes as he leaned onto his knee for added pressure on the sidekick's back.

"And then there's you, a little chick that tried so hard to escape daddy bat's shadow only to wind up chasing it even harder. Each of you were just lonely nobodies that didn't have a place to call home and happened to find one another…it made you feel like you belonged, and then you became heroes, not because you wanted to save the people, but because you wanted to make yourselves feel better," Dabi grinned sadistically, "If you could save people from becoming lonely and losing their place in the world when a loved one dies or gets injured, it meant that you were essentially saving yourselves. Your heroics are just your way of covering for your personal problems and validating yourselves, and those idiots eat it up," Dabi rolled his eyes, enjoying the pained look on Robin's face.

His words were like knives.

"Now you have to pay the price for your little game. In the end, you weren't ready, and now you're gonna die."

Robin's eyes widened, fear gripping him upon realizing that the villain had him dead to rights…and despite facing down so many other killers over career…Dabi was different…callous and shrewd.

Joker would love to kill him, but he would play with the idea…torture him first at least, and use him as a game piece against Batman. Clayface would try to kill him outright, not out of anything but annoyance at the Boy Wonder being in his way.

But this villain, he was talking about it as if murdering the teen was just a normal occurrence. Derisive, mocking…he'd played with the Titans from the very beginning…and it made Robin wonder how his teammates were faring with the villain's comrades.

"If it's any consolation for you, I'm not killing you because I want to or because you're a hero and I'm a villain," Dabi showed his teeth, looking down at the soon-to-be-cooked teenager.

"I'm doing it because I want the real heroes to see what inspiring you has caused. Because they're out there making kids think they can grow up and make the world a better place, they end up dead. They'll be devastated finding out," Dabi became thoughtful, slowly heating his foot up.

"I got a question for you. I know that Batman is all serious and stone-faced, but do you think he'll crack when he sees your body? Finding his old partner, maybe even his son, burned to death…even he has to react to that, right?"

Dabi did not receive an answer.

"That's alright, I'm sure I'll find out when I meet him and let him know I'm the one that did it."

The villain prepared to cremate Batman's old sidekick.

*Beep-Beep*

"Huh?" Dabi halted himself and pushed the communicator in his torn collar, "What?" he asked rudely.

"The objective has been acquired…return to the hideout, the mission is done."

Slade's voice said from the device, making Dabi sigh, not so much in annoyance, but more exasperation.

"Oi, you two…" he contacted his fellow League of Villains members, above him, the ceiling began to crack, "Slade just called, we're going back…mission's over."

The ceiling gave way at that moment.

(Minutes prior, Video Game Floor-Gaz vs. Beast Boy)

"Agh!" Beast Boy fell to the ground, singed from the multiple zaps he'd received throughout his fight with the younger girl.

Gaz was completely clean, untouched during the entire battle, and even having taken her Game Slave from her pocket to resume playing. She looked to the struggling hero and shook her head, fingers tapping away at the buttons on her handheld.

"This is just sad…I can't believe I stopped my play session to deal with you," she rolled her eyes.

The green teen growled and transformed into a gorilla. He jumped into the air and went to drive his fist into the girl's stomach. In preparation for the blow, Gaz tossed her Game Slave into the air and gave it a charge to keep it floating out of harm's way. The massive animal's fist, like all the shapeshifter's attacks during this battle, passed through her and gave the teen hero a shock as well.

"How long have we been doing this?" Gaz zipped up to one of the shelves, perching herself on it, catching her Game Slave, and went back to playing her new game. "You can't beat me…if you want, you could call for the alien or the 'magician', they'd have a better chance of hurting me," she offered him a chance, tilting her handheld, and licking her lips in concentration as she fought a boss.

"No! I said I'd take care of you!" Beast Boy protested.

"And how's that going for you?" Gaz looked down at him, "You've been beating yourself this entire time. I haven't had to lift a finger," Gaz scoffed.

"And I'm still going, dude! I'm a hero…I can't give up just because it looks like I'm losing. I have to save everybody!" Beast Boy declared triumphantly even in this dire situation.

"Who are you going to save?" Gaz asked.

"You know…the people you're holding hostage.

"I already told you, I don't have any," Gaz turned back to her game, uninterested with the conversation.

"Don't lie! Where is everyone, then! You have to be hiding them somewhere," Beast Boy called her out.

"I'm not lying… there are no hostages on this floor. As for where everyone is…I moved them, they'd be in the way if I left them around."

"What?" Beast Boy's reply was brilliant.

"I moved them…" she repeated slowly for the simpleton.

"I heard you…where'd you move them…how did you!?"

"You're on the same floor as me, why don't you try and find them. It wouldn't be that hard," his yelling annoyed her, tuning him out as best she could so she could keep playing.

"Just tell me!" he transformed into a Kangaroo and hopped after the lightning girl.

Gaz sighed, and flashed across the different shelves, avoiding the hero's attempts at attacking her not that they'd do anything to her she just didn't want him breaking her Game Slave. After the short chase, Gaz flashed out of sight of the green shapeshifter.

When Beast Boy managed to reach her last location, his eyes widened in surprise at the view beyond the shelf. What met the hero's eyes was a pile as tall as one of the shelves that was completely comprised of the charred, lifeless bodies of the people that had populated the floor. Atop the pile was none other than the culprit behind its creation, perched carefully and sitting cross-legged while continuing to play her game.

"There. Happy now?"

"W-what is this?" Beast Boy asked…stunned…his throat becoming unbelievably tight.

"I would think it would be obvious. You were the one looking for them," Gaz answered simply, not bothering to turn his way.

"You killed them!?" Beast Boy bared his fangs in anger at the girl…only for her to scoff at him.

"I didn't do anything…they killed themselves. I didn't even lift a finger," Gaz said, sliding down the pile of people without care.

"They brought it on themselves."

Her words made the angry teen leap at her, transforming into a lion to attack the girl. Gaz avoided him easily, appearing in front of one of the shelves and leaning against it.

"All I wanted from this floor was the new Vampire Piggy Slayer," she said still playing her game, the glow from the screen illuminating her face. "When I took it, the cashier went to stop me, of course. He was just doing his job, but he should have known better after seeing me take it in the first place. I warned him not to touch me, but he went and grabbed my shoulder anyway…he was the first…he's probably at the bottom or something," Gaz eyed the pile and tried to remember where she'd put him.

"After that, everyone started panicking and screaming. I just wanted to play in peace, so I was fine with them running away…I didn't care. But a few brave idiots thought they could take me because I was a kid…you can tell how that turned out…"

*Groar*

Beast Boy lunged at the girl, passing through her like always, and causing the shelf to topple on top of him. He reverted to his human form with his eyes clenched in pain, struggling to remove the shelf. Gaz flashed next to him and sat down on the toppled shelf, looking down at his pained expression.

"They should have used their brains, like the ones that just ran away. They're probably cowards or had someone they needed to take care of so they couldn't risk dying."

"Th-that doesn't matter! You didn't have to do any of it anyway!" Beast Boy growled with an eye still closed.

"You're part animal, aren't you? You think you'd be able to understand Social Darwinism at its finest," she looked at the pile apathetically.

"What?"

"*sigh* Can you say anything else? Social Darwinism, the belief that our society can and does follow the laws of nature put forth by Charles Darwin…Survival of the Fittest…the smarter and stronger species will prevail and the stupid and weak will die…like them," Gaz inclined her head at the unfortunate people.

"We aren't animals!"

"Humans are primates…besides…" she looked down to him, "This is as much your fault as it is theirs," Gaz told him.

"No! This is your fault! I'm a hero…we're heroes! We save people!" Beast Boy denied.

"Please…your presence is what made everyone idiots."

Seeing his disbelief, Gaz sighed. She used her powers to magnetize a television and brought it over to her. Using her finger, she began to flip through channels, while talking to the trapped hero calmly.

"While waiting for you to show up, half an hour by the way is far too long, I had a few TVs tuned to the security cameras of the mall. Here we go," she reached the channel she wanted and had the entrance of the mall shown.

"See them?" she showed the line of police cars that were still posted outside the mall, the officers and firefighters waiting for the Titans to return.

"They're still out there…doing nothing, just like when they first arrived. They just sit there, waiting for you to show up and do everything for them. All they did was try and put out the fire once and when it didn't work, they sat around and waited for the 'heroes' to fix the problem for them," Gaz frowned while watching them.

"They lit up when you all showed up…all the trouble disappearing without having to lift a finger to help. You know, if the police followed you inside, they could have at least given Dabi trouble. He isn't bulletproof, sure some of them could have died or gotten burned, but they didn't offer."

"They don't need to…that's what heroes are for!" Beast Boy rebutted.

"And that's the problem," Gaz leaned back on her hands and kicked her legs while looking at the ceiling.

"Heroes existence is causing the human race to stagnate."

She let her words hang for a moment before continuing.

"They no longer have the drive to improve themselves when they have clear examples of what they consider unreachable perfection. Why should a human strive to become better than they currently are when a hero exists that can do it all for them? Then there's the scientific community…it centers on breakthroughs that attempt to replicate heroes' abilities or even counter them rather than substantially benefitting mankind," Gaz gained a wistful look when she came to the science talk.

"Science is supposed to better people's lives and fix the world's problems, but they've forgotten that because of heroes. And the largest problem that you bring, are the villains your existence creates," Gaz looked to him.

"No! We stop them…villains use their power to hurt people. We don't make them!" the green teen denied.

"You think I'm just saying these things without proof?" Gaz rose a brow.

"How about I use a popular example? The Joker, there was no mention of him in Gotham at all before Batman appeared. Gotham was a cesspool city with ordinary criminals and mafia families, but after Batman debuted, that is when Joker first started getting mentioned. Given his personality and mannerisms, there's a low probability that Joker would have remained hidden for long and if he did exist, he would have been bored, it is highly coincidental that the clown would come out of hiding at the same time Batman would suddenly exist. So, the more likely explanation, is that Joker exists because Batman exists. Or, how about Lex Luthor, sure he was doing regular shady deals using his company as a front to amass wealth, power, and eventual control of the world, but it was on a small scale that didn't truly reach the heights he's gone to now. Superman's arrival threatened him, because it humbled the baldy, it showed him there's more out there out of his control and how small and weak he really is. Now he's constantly trying to best Superman to prove how much better he is, leading to him causing more damage to the world in the process…Do I have to go on?"

Beast Boy couldn't argue.

"Heroes create the problems the world faces both knowingly and unknowingly, and it reverberates outward. Parasite has testified before being imprisoned that the chemicals that mutated him had come from S.T.A.R Labs and was being bought by Lexcorp, wonder what that would have been used for; Metallo was created with Superman's weakness as a power source;…Livewire was just an annoying radio personality before Superman showed up. Funny how the world's greatest hero is responsible for so many of the villains that plague is home."

"What's your point! He's just doing the right thing, he didn't ask for them to use their powers like that, they chose to."

"The point is that they wouldn't be around if he wasn't around. That's what I want…to remove heroes from the world so humans can move forward again, unimpeded by protectors that are content keeping them stagnant," Gaz created a circle with her index finger and thumb, "By getting rid of them, it will set everything back to 0. They'll have to improve and get by without the heroes there to do everything for them. Villains will die out slowly without a challenge for them…some of the scorned villains that were victims of circumstance will give themselves up to find a cure…those that did it to best their heroic foes will become bored and fade into obscurity…and those that remain will be captured in time when the police turn to science for improved capturing methods."

"That's insane! The bad guys will just go crazy without us!"

"At first…that's the trial by fire that the world will have to deal with. The way I see it, I'm removing a rock before it can be thrown into a pond and create ripples that disrupt everything…I couldn't do this on my own even with how powerful I am. It's a good thing I found the others," Gaz thought about her team members, they were an odd assortment, but they shared her goal.

"We have the same goal, even if our reasons for wanting it differ, at the end we'll get what we want."

"You know what I think!?" Beast Boy finally had enough and changed into an elephant.

The shelf shot up, taking Gaz with it only for her to sip back onto the floor and letting it land behind her. Before her, stood Beast Boy, his brows furrowed as he stared the younger girl down, resolute in his stance as a hero.

"I think, no matter how you dress up your reasons…you just like hurting other people. Justifying it is just your way of making yourself feel important."

"I could say the same about you…all you've done is deny what I've said without any evidence. *sigh* I just wasted my breath explaining why you and yours are a problem, your brain is too small to comprehend this," Gaz rubbed her forehead.

"We'll see whose brain is small!" Beast Boy yelled, transforming again, and charging at the girl as a bison.

"Have you learned anything?"

The bison passed through the girl, getting shocked by her body, and landing against the wall behind her as Beast Boy.

"I'm made of electricity…there's nothing you can do to hurt me, peabrain. You're the last one on your team that would stand a chance against me," Gaz created a spark on her finger, ready to use it on the green hero.

"Duh, I know that," Beast Boy got up and leaned against the wall. "I might not be the smartest on the team, but I know one thing," he moved aside to show that he was next to the fire alarm.

The smirk on the green teen's face gave away his plan, thinking that he'd bested the intelligent child at last. Gaz opened both her eyes, though they did not reflect fear, they were narrowed at the hero, daring him to go through with it.

"Looks like you're all wet!" Beast Boy hit the alarm, the siren blared on the floor and the sprinklers popped from the ceiling.

Her narrowed brown eyes looked up toward the devices, watching as the first drops of water began to fall. Gaz raised her hand above her eyes and grit her teeth, knowing what was coming thanks to living with her powers.

"You idiot…you don't know what you did…this wasn't clever at all…" Gaz growled with a sneer.

"Uh, yeah I do, I won!"

"No, you haven't…" those were the last words Gaz said before it started to rain on the two.

Rather than the triumphant victory that Beast Boy expected, he shouted in extreme pain instead. When the water started to land on the electric girl, her power burst from her body unbidden. The electronics on the floor came to life as the power funneled into them and the lights flickered from the sheer output. Gaz shouted in pain herself as her form flickered but she managed to keep herself from dispersing, blue light coming off her from all the electricity.

When the event finished both parties collapsed onto the floor, one exhausted from the ordeal and the other barely conscious and wobbling on his feet. Tiny sparks danced across the wet floor the sound accompanied by the pants of the enemies, gasping for air.

"I-I thought…" Beast Boy was on his knees, eyes white, burns covering his body, and suit torn.

"You thought I was like Livewire…I told you, I'm nothing like her! She's a battery…I'm energy! All you did was discharge my electricity all over through the water…it didn't do anything but sting…" Gaz stood up, frowning, and glaring at the teenager. She took steps toward him, limping with each step making a splash from all the water. A low hum came from her body, her power low but slowly returning to her.

"This is what I mean…an idiot like you…using an idea from a 2nd grade science class to try and beat me…and those idiots out there are supposed to rely on you? Getting rid of you all is the only way for humanity to move forward…you're dumbing our race down!" Gaz zipped at Beast Boy and gripped his head between her hands.

"How about I zap that peabrain of yours before you have another bright idea!?"

Without warning, Gaz mustered her strength and started to run electricity through his head. Heedless of his pained screams, Gaz continued to electrocute the older boy, taking no real pleasure from it or regret.

To her, it was something that had to be done.

Breaking her focus was the tone of the communicator in her ear, Dabi's voice soon coming over it.

"Oi, you two… Slade just called, we're going back…mission's over."

Above her, the ceiling began to crack. Laying a single open eye on the impending hole, Gaz broke off from Beast Boy just as it burst.

And she saw a familiar face coming down on her.

(At the same time, Toy Floor- Mahito vs. Raven & Starfire)

Mahito was punched in the face and flung across the floor. He rolled along the ground from the blow, rolling with it so he could jump back to his feet. Once his feet touched the ground, black energy engulfed his form and threw him further back.

He flew through some of the shelves, the rumbles of their battle rattling the unmoving bodies of the transfigured humans. The poor soldiers had died throughout the battle, reaching their limit, and dying soon after. This left the villain to fend for himself against the female members of the Teen Titans, and he wasn't doing particularly well either.

Flipping back, Mahito avoided the punch of Starfire that rocked the floor, then launched himself at her. Thrusting his hand toward her, his energy visible, Mahito made to try and eat away at the charm that protected the Tamaranean's soul.

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

As had become customary during the bout, Mahito was halted from touching the orange-skinned girl by her partner. The black-colored magic froze the villain in place, hurting him briefly, and ended with him being knocked away by Starfire.

Grunting, the nonhuman skidded backward, keeping his balance, and used his strength to take a shelf into his hands. He then hurled the object at the sorceress while also obscuring her view of him. Just as the thrown item was going to hit Raven, Mahito jumped atop the shelf and leaped at her.

She was forced to block the large shelf and was left open for Mahito who had his fist rushing toward her face. At the last second, he raised his arm to the side and blocked a shoulder tackle from Starfire that made him veer off course. Once he'd regained his footing, he had no time to react as two shelves, manipulated by Raven's magic, were used to sandwich him.

*Crack*

'Well, this is unfortunate…' Mahito thought through the pain, eyes white and mouth agape when the shelves were removed from his person and Starfire's fist smashed into his stomach, embedding him into another shelf.

'They have me beat in range and power; I can't get a chance to injure one of them…imagine fighting all five at once. Dabi was right to have us split up the work,' Mahito thought leaning back on the shelf. 'All my transfigured humans are dead, so I can't even distract them anymore…this pain is very unpleasant…'

Mahito moved to stand up, but as he put pressure on his right arm, he fell forward. Looking at his appendage, he saw his arm hanging by a thread to his bicep, sickening pops and crack coming from his bones. Blinking, Mahito waved his arm around as if to ascertain that it was real.

'Huh. This is new…' Mahito continued to observe the new occurrence for him, his mind taken from the fight he was in which allowed him to be thrown through the shelf and hit the one behind it.

Toy swords falling around his body, obscuring him from the two Titans.

'A broken bone…doesn't it take a human about 6 months to heal from that? I wonder how long it would take for me,' Mahito stared at the ceiling from his position…feeling exhaustion…maybe even…defeat?

'I really have taken damage, haven't I? Such an odd feeling…' he stared at his broken arm, 'What can I do? Their souls are out of my reach…my soldiers have died…and my own soul is so damaged that those punches are beginning to hurt. Where can I turn?' Mahito sighed…then he gained a look of realization.

"My soul…" he whispered.

'Of course, there's still my soul,' Mahito grinned, lifting his arm, and stared at it, 'I forgot the fundamental rule I learned…' Mahito lost his smile.

'Souls aren't special.'

'Humans only put so much worth on them because they cannot be seen, but to me they are common. As if a comet were to pass Earth every day, they would lose all meaning to humanity due to being an everyday occurrence. And that's what souls are to me…nothing special…an item to be used and discarded. To me, seeing a soul is as natural as breathing to a human, so why would I think my soul any different?'

Mahito sat up, feeling reinvigorated, his gaze never leaving his broken arm.

'Is it because I subconsciously thought it something precious? Because it was my soul it was untouchable?' he contemplated.

Closing his eyes, Mahito reached deep and looked at his soul.

'That breaks the rule…no soul is special…not even mine. I have the power to freely manipulate the souls of those I touch…and with a deep understanding of my own soul…' he focused on shaping his soul, forcing the normally untouchable object to return his body to its original shape.

Mahito watched as his arm repaired itself before his eyes. New skin formed at the snap and reattached thread by thread until Mahito's bone snapped back into place. At the end, it looked like his arm had never been broken in the first place.

"Repairing my body should be child's play," Mahito's smile returned a new trick now in his arsenal.

He then gained a thoughtful look.

"Why stop at simply reinforcing my soul's shape…when I can have much more fun," he looked at the toy swords that surrounded him and got an idea.

"Friend Raven…is he?" Starfire was careful, not wanting to rush in against the crafty enemy.

"No…I can sense him, but he is much weaker than before," Raven gave a hard stare in the direction that Mahito had flown off in and wondered why he hadn't returned yet.

'Something has me on edge.'

After her thought, Mahito made his reappearance fully energized even though he had been on the backfoot. He sped toward Raven with a crazed grin on his face, avoiding different levitated objects that came his way. When he came close enough, he jumped to punch Raven, keeping his other arm purposely out of view.

Raven, believing it to be another futile attack prepared to counterattack, which is what Mahito planned for. Maneuvering his body, Mahito brought his right arm down to strike Raven only he had transfigured it into a sword.

Raven's eyes went wide as the blade came down to cleave her skull in two, completely taken by surprise by this new form of attack. The blade would have ended the sorceress then and there if her friend hadn't rescued her in the nick of time, receiving a nick of her own on her cheek for her efforts.

Knocking Mahito away, and ignoring the blood leaking from her cut cheek, Starfire cried in pain when she felt something sharp now digging into her leg. Wrapped around her limb was a spiked whip that led into Mahito's left arm, the villain having transfigured it after her punch.

Flipping over to land on his feet, Mahito pulled hard on his whip-arm and swung the Tamaranean around. Raven called out her magic words and attacked the nonhuman, hitting him at the same time that Starfire had been slammed into her with the whip releasing the alien.

Mahito stood, his right arm a sword and his left a whip, smiling at the heroes as they got up.

The fights rules had changed.

"Before we continue," Mahito tilted his head, smiling, and halting the heroines, "I want to express just how grateful I am to the two of you."

His words made the girls stiffen.

"I legitimately thought that this would be the end…that I would lose here," he transformed his right hand back to stare at his palm, "I believe that this is what you humans would call, 'getting pushed into a corner.' That feeling of hopelessness that people get when they are in an impossible situation, with no way out…but therein lies the power to succeed. The situation causes them to think of solutions that are outside of the box, to look inside themselves and gain the power to persevere through the adversity, and ultimately prevail."

He looked the two girls in their eyes.

"Everything up to now has come so naturally to me…no hurdles, nothing to impede my path. Without those…it is easy for your growth to be stunted because you haven't truly been challenged."

He thought of all the humans he'd killed throughout his life…all of it was easy, even when they tried to defend themselves, they stood no chance. Mahito's experiments with human souls were smooth sailing for as long as he'd done them, and he'd never had to change…until now.

"That's why I have to express my thanks to you," his smile was genuine, truly thankful that these heroes stood in his way and fought for their survival against him. "If not for you, I wouldn't have reached a deeper understanding of myself…and what better way to show my gratitude, than to test my newfound abilities against you."

His piece said, Mahito wasted no time in attacking again, his whip-arm tearing through the floor as it raced toward Raven and Starfire. Separating from one another, the heroines moved to pincer attack Mahito, closing in on his sides while he took the time to retract his whip.

Seeing them coming at him, Mahito flipped back, keeping his eyes trained on the two, and saw them go for the blow. As their attacks were about to strike him, they were surprised when they felt nothing be hit.

In place of the villain, was what looked like a young boy that had the same features as Mahito, holding the same smile.

'He shrank himself?!' the two thought, wide open for attack.

From Mahito's ribcage, sprouted two hooks which he planned to use to slice the girls. Spinning around in midair, the long blades came close to digging into their flesh if not for Raven blocking it for both her and Starfire. Undeterred, Mahito returned to his original size and dashed at Starfire.

He raised his palm at her, making the girl shiver for a second, but resolve to counter, knowing she would have the reach advantage with a starbolt ready to use. However, that plan was dashed when Mahito transfigured his arm to become large enough to grab Starfire, forcing her arms at her sides.

"~Got you~" he sang sadistically and got ready to eat away at the protective charm that Raven had placed on the Tamaranean.

"Mui Tenpen!"

Nothing happened.

"Eh?" he blinked in confusion; a magic-imbued kick made him release Starfire.

'Hm? That should have worked…can I not use Idle Transfiguration when my body is transfigured?' he theorized as he saw that his energy flowed over his hand when he returned it to normal.

"Give and take…very well," it did not daunt the nonhuman.

'He evolved over the course of this fight…he's smarter than I thought…if he gets away, there's no telling how powerful he could get,' Raven grew even more worried.

"As much as I'd like to transfigure the two of you, I'm alright with simply killing you as well!" his eyes caught sight of a 'Koosh Ball' toy bouncing along the ground and gained another idea.

Running forward, Mahito flipped forward and curled himself into a ball. The heroines were then treated to the sight of spikes shooting from out of his body in all directions. The dangerous objects pierced the surroundings as they made their way to the two Titans, the girls using their superior maneuverability to avoid them.

A cluster of the spikes was close to running Starfire through, and with no other option, she raised her fists and punched through them. This action revealed that while strong in piercing power, the spikes themselves were surprisingly brittle. Eventually, the sharp spines stopped shooting outward, reaching their limit, and allowing the heroes to close in on Mahito.

'Mmm, it was a good idea but maybe too haphazard against fliers. And it seems my constructs lose strength the further they get…I'll have to remember that,' Mahito thought, returning to normal to see the heroines about to reach him.

Acting quickly, Mahito jumped straight up and avoided them, transfiguring his arm to be large enough to encompass both of them in his palm, and drove the two through the floor just as he could hear Dabi's voice over the communicator.

"Oi, you two… Slade just called, we're going back…mission's over."

(Video Game Floor)

"What the heck are you doing?!" Gaz yelled at Mahito, zipping to his side to avoid all the debris, and gaining his attention.

"Oh, hi, Gaz…am I interrupting?" he asked nonchalantly as they continued to fall.

(Bottom Floor)

"Huh?" Dabi looked up to see the two he'd just called fall through the ceiling and land behind him.

"Ah, Dabi-kun, you called?" Mahito waved happily, tossing the heroines away from him.

"What the hell are you two doing?" Dabi kicked Robin away to where the girls landed. "A few feet forward and you'd have landed on me."

"Blame him!" Gaz growled and pointed an accusing finger at the sheepish nonhuman. "He's the one that came busting through the ceiling!" she also took the time to rid herself of Beast Boy, his unconscious body skidding to a stop in front of his friends.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't know you were directly below me," Mahito smiled and clapped his hands together in front of his face.

"It's fine, doesn't matter. Everything go well…kill any of them?" Dabi asked.

"I would have, but someone's stunt stopped me," Gaz huffed.

"Sorry, Mahito said again.

His smile made her believe him less and less each time he said.

"Whatever, with as many volts as I ran through his brain, he probably won't be waking up the same anyway…" Gaz rolled her eyes and returned to playing her Game Slave.

"Unh…Friend Beast Boy…" Starfire grunted, holding her arm but grew worried when her eyes laid on his burnt, still, unconscious form.

"What about you?" Dabi asked the weirdo of their group.

"Not even close," he said all too happily, "Raven's magic turns out to be a weakness of mine, which means I should be careful around any magic-user probably. They handled me rather well during the whole ordeal," Mahito shrugged, but then his smile grew wider, eager to share his revelation, "But on the bright side, I have a greater understanding of my abilities!"

He demonstrated by transforming his arm into weapons.

"Look, I can even do you," he then transfigured his hand into a miniature version of the burned villain, making its mouth open and close as well.

"So, you're telling me you've become an even bigger freak?" Dabi said flatly.

"Exactly!"

Dabi could only roll his eyes at the response.

"How'd it go with you?" Gaz asked without looking up.

"I didn't kill either of them. Almost got bird boy, but that's when we got the call…the robot might be dead, depends on if they're able to recharge him or not, I guess," he didn't care either way.

"Cyborg?" Raven looked at the half-mechanical teen, seeing that he was powered down.

"If that's it, it's time to get out of here. We played with them enough," Dabi put his hands in his pockets.

"You're smoking…" Gaz pointed out.

"Yeah, might've overdid it a bit," he waved it off.

"You aren't going anywhere!" Robin struggled to prop himself up with an arm and drag himself in the villains' direction.

"Geez, kid can't take a hint," Dabi turned to see the sight.

"Friend Robin, please, you are injured," Starfire tried to stop him only for him to refuse her help.

"No! we can't let them get away…they're part of the League of Villains!"

"The League of Villains!?" Raven said in shock, this incident taking on a whole new meaning if the trio fled now.

Capturing them meant they could turn them over to the Justice League and get them to give up the rest of their group.

"Hm? You didn't say anything about that to them?" Dabi asked.

"It didn't really come up, I was having too much fun," Mahito shrugged, his hand still the Dabi puppet.

Gaz merely grunted in response.

"Eh, doesn't matter, doubt we'll be seeing them again…but who knows," Dabi smirked.

"You will stop!" Starfire's eyes glowed green.

Raven silently drew on her power ready to fight tooth and nail to capture one if not all of them.

"Ooh, they're still trying to attack us…can we kill them in self-defense?" Mahito asked, picking up some of the fallen board games to take with them.

"Better not. Don't want to give Slade an excuse to not pay us," Dabi walked in front of them.

Both Starfire and Raven attacked with a starbolt and a wave of dark magic respectively.

And both attacks were snuffed out by the wall of fire that Dabi shot at them.

"Thanks for being great hosts during our visit, kids. For your sake, I hope we don't meet again…but if we do, I hope you have something better to offer," Dabi mocked them one final time from behind the flames, knowing that they wouldn't follow and leave their injured friend behind.

This would go down as the largest incident that Jump City had ever seen.

The greatest failure of the Teen Titans.

And another, in a long list, of attacks perpetrated by the League of Villains.

(Slade's hideout)

"The retrieval went successfully…I trust your end went smoothly as well?" Slade said to his soon-to-be former employees.

"Could it have been anything else? You pit us against a bunch of kids that've probably never even seen someone killed in front of them before…they'd be better of quitting after this. No one's going to let them live this down," Dabi answered.

"I hope not, I'd rather see how they will fare," Slade chuckled.

"Then that's your problem, one-eye. You have our money?" Dabi said bluntly, the walking rock next to Slade growling.

"Of course, I am a man of my word," he snapped his fingers, and one of his robots handed over a briefcase to the flame-villain. "It's all there…perhaps we could do business again in the future," Slade offered.

"Depends on what the League wants," he said noncommittally, knowing that money was something they needed but their group was more focused on their long-term goals than odd jobs from criminals.

"I wish you success."

That was the last thing Slade said before the three took their leave.

(Phone Booth)

Hiding in plain sight, the three villains were using a phone to contact their cohorts and let them know that the mission was successful.

"Hello?" Peridot's voice answered.

"The job's over…we have the money," Dabi told her, Gaz playing her game like always, and Mahito too close for comfort.

"Ah, excellent," the gem sounded giddy on the other end of the line, "Hurry back, I want to get to work right away. I have materials to order, blueprints to make, and prototype testing, of course…not to mention…"

The gem rattled off, rambling.

"Dabi…" Shigaraki answered, Peridot still being heard in the background, "You've all done a good job…consider your membership in the League to be fully instated…I'm sure that we can make Master's wish come true together. Get back soon, so we can prepare for our next move," Shigaraki said simply.

"Got it," Dabi hung up after that, zipping a hoodie he 'borrowed' up so his face wouldn't be seen.

"We're getting out of here."

"Oh, Dabi-kun, did they mention if Bakugo has gotten back yet?" Mahito asked.

"Didn't think to ask."

"Let's hurry back, then!"

"Why?" he felt like he wouldn't like the answer.

"I want to beat him there so we can rub in his face that we finished first," Mahito imagined the explosive boy getting red in the face.

"He's just going to yell about how he didn't lose…I'd rather not deal with that," Dabi rolled his eyes.

"You prefer losing and listening to him gloat?" Gaz asked, playing the GS2.

"At least that will be quieter," Dabi sighed.

The trio then took their leave of Jump City to return to their hideout.

…Wonder how Bakugo did on his mission?

AN: WHY!? Why is this so long?

This is one of those chapters that I thought up before I even had this idea fully finalized, so I think that's why it got to be this long. I thought this through so hard that it came out this way…sigh anyway…I'll be tackling Silvers D. Naruto next…you guys have been waiting a long time for that.

I was so mean in this chapter, I'm actually surprised at myself.

Poor Starfire…she had to fight Mahito…and I'm pretty sure I subconsciously pitted them against each other because she is innocent and he's…the total opposite.

So much fun to write villains though, like to an insane degree.