A/N: We made it. One thousand reviews on Fanfiction. Holy lord.

I had absolutely no anticipation of ever making it this far with Incident Zero. To be frank, a lot of my work before returning to Fanfiction and joining the My Hero Academia fandom was not stellar, and my most popular stories from before could manage maybe 20 or 30 favourites in their lifetime (if any of you start reading some of my old Pokemon content, you've officially been warned). To see the popularity this story has achieved… it means so damn much to me. Thank you for all of your support, and here's hoping that so many more of you enjoy what is to come as well.

Last chapter was the first meeting of Izuku and the voice inside his head, the vestige of All For One. But something like the attack on USJ… it was the catalyst in canon for so much going downhill. Like Incident Zero in this story, it most affects those at the heart of it, but the ripple effects are huge for so many more, the reactions causing chaos throughout the country. So as Incident Zero was a catalyst for change… so too will be my USJ.

Let's see who has their eye on events at UA, shall we?

(***)

"Makoto Kobayashi here, with the latest update on the breaking news that UA High School has been attacked. One of the global pillars of Hero education and historically a shining jewel in Japan's crown as the Nation of Heroes, has now been the subject of a villain attack which has reportedly injured several students and teachers alike. Not since the days of Incident Zero have we seen such a catastrophe in our nation."

"I believe we can now show you some footage captured by our colleagues over at Shoowaysha News Live this afternoon, which shows the Police escorting a number of villains from the scene of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint-"

Stain's blood boiled as he watched the footage, one bony hand reaching for the remote which Spinner kept on the kitchen table; he had insisted that they kept a television in the kitchen, so that he could watch the news while he ate, and now Stain was able to use it to keep tabs on any developments as he took the phone call. This was beyond anything he had ever expected would happen.

UA High had been on his radar for some time, even before Himiko had applied to attend along with her new friends. It was the alma mater of the Symbol of Peace, after all, so the proof was there that it could play its part in developing true Heroes. And the signs had been encouraging all those years ago, when its principal had made a defiant stand against the corrupt Commission, against Endeavor's moves to change the system. Endeavor wasn't worthy to even stand in All Might's shadow, and yet he was part of the new order… in the face of this, Stain had been willing to give UA a chance, and let Himiko attend.

Their unwillingness to accept the new status quo had to mean something. He hoped for nothing more than to receive proof that UA was doing things the right way, that there was hope for the world after All Might. That would mean there was a chance that his crusade might lead to a brighter future, that the pale imitations of Heroes he culled would not be succeeded by even more (and even worse) fakes. UA stood, he hoped, as a bastion of Heroics, the last hope for a just society after all.

The news that a villain had attacked UA had been unsurprising, in a sense; if it truly was seen by others as the new hope for building back after All Might, there would be those who saw that as a negative, those who would seek to crush it and ensure their continued domination. Stain knew he would need to deal with those in the future, too. But the news that it was the first-year class who had been the target felt like ice in his veins. That meant that his charge was in the firing line, and could have been hurt…

There would be hell to pay when he tracked down some of those who had been involved.

"Disgusting…" Stain muted the television, and focused his full attention on the phone call once again, somehow keeping his voice level. "The fact that so many of these scum were able to come together and participate in an attack this large is telling. It shows how far this world has fallen that something like this is even possible."

"They hurt a lot of people in our class." Himiko was the most cheerful and optimistic of their group by far, but her voice had lost all of its usual pep. After the events that had unfolded, Stain was not surprised that she was so drained. "Most of the regular goons went after the rest of the class. They got targeted based on their Quirks, and put into zones where they were outta their depth."

"Such a level of planning…" Stain glared at the sight of a young man in a strange uniform being loaded into the back of a van; someone so young being involved was a damning indictment on this society. "And you're saying that the person behind this… was a doctor?"
"Yeah… he called himself Kyudai Garaki."

Stain frowned. "He named himself? In front of everyone?"

"See, that's the thing… a lot of people in the class recognised him. He's… a Quirk doctor." Himiko's words were a complete surprise to him. "A lot of the people here recognised him, but they recognised him under different names. I can't remember all of them, but… that was the name he used for himself."

Stain made a mental note of the name, and clenched the fist not holding the phone. "And you say that he brought associates with him?"

"Two of them. Well, three. That kid calling himself Mustard kinda got left to do his own thing. But yeah, there was one calling himself Kurogiri- he was the one who teleported them all in. Then there was… Nomu. The one that hurt me-"

Stain breathed out as she mentioned that, hesitant. "I'm sorry. I will make sure that we redouble your training, so that this does not happen again."

"You should see the other guy."

"Himiko, don't. I-"

"Hey, it's… don't blame yourself for this." Himiko sounded tired as she argued back. "I'm… yeah, it hurts, but that Nomu was a freak. It's… he said that he made it? Gave it multiple Quirks? I don't know how much I could have done against something like that, considering the doctor seemed to think he was as strong as All Might-"

"Even the villains want to emulate him…" Stain shook his head. "However you feel, your safety is of the utmost importance to me. And after a villain like this attacked you, someone who can make a monster to act as their own weapon… I will find him. That I promise you."

"Leave me enough left to cut him myself, and I'll take you up on that."

Stain stifled a brief and curt laugh at Himiko's comment; her Quirk gave her a natural bloodlust which she was normally able to keep in check, but her strength of feeling showed if a comment like that was able to sneak through. "So why did he go after you? He separated you and your group of friends… does he suspect you?"

"It wasn't me he was after…" There was a long pause, as if Himiko was having second thoughts about what she was about to say. "... It was Izuku."

"Your… significant other?" This was the boy that Himiko had so much interest in. And now he was the target… this was unexpected. "Himiko… what does this mean about Izuku?"

"I…" Himilko groaned on the end of the phone, in a way that Stain had never heard before. "I don't like this. I… promise me you won't react? I don't want him hurt because of anything I've said, but… I have to tell you because-"

"Your loyalties are divided." Stain took a deep breath. In a sense he had expected this would happen, because Himiko was becoming very attached to the boy and was very taken with his desires to become a Hero; he had expected at some point along that path that she would be conflicted over a choice between him and this Izuku. But hearing her talk about it like this, so soon after a villain had attacked them… it was alarming timing, to say the least. "The mission is the most important thing. You believe in that still, don't you?"

"I do. But I won't let you hurt my Izuku! You've gotta promise-"

"I can't make promises. You know that. But I trust your judgment with this boy, so… I will allow you the benefit of the doubt, whatever you have to say next."

"... Fine. It's… eurgh. The doctor wanted Izuku. He wanted to recruit him… because of his Quirk."

"His Quirk?" That didn't make sense. "I thought you said his Quirk was creating blasts of air pressure? That's a powerful tool for a Hero to use, but it's not the most unique Quirk."

"I thought so too… but that's just one Quirk he can use. Izuku... he told me about what his Quirk really is." Himiko sighed as she said it, clearly still reluctant to talk to Stain, but the weight of what she had just said wasn't lost on him. "Izuku, he… the doctor wanted him because his Quirk isn't something he was born with. He was given it… by a villain."

The television continued playing, but Stain was completely oblivious to what was happening on screen after hearing that. Even despite her loyalty to him, this was something serious. "... Continue."

"They gave it a name… Izuku didn't even know, but the doctor gave it a name. He got his Quirk from the villain who fought All Might a-at Incident Zero." Stain had never heard Himiko stutter once in the time he had been raising her, not until that moment. "His Quirk… they called it All For One."

"... All For One." Stain let loose a breath he hadn't realised he was holding in. "That's a name I haven't heard in a long, long time."

"What do you mean, you've heard of him?!"

"When I heard about All Might, well… he was the only worthy Hero around. I did what I could to find out who took him from us, but all I heard was a name." Stain stared at the television again, as the news reporters appeared to be debating over who could be responsible for the attack. "There were rumours, though. Rumours of a supervillain, of somebody who could make anyone powerless with a thought. That was him… he was given a Quirk by this man?"

"He was given his Quirk. As in, the one that lets him take and give Quirks! Izuku can use Quirks that this villain took before- Air Force is just one of them."

"Your boyfriend has the power… to take Quirks." Stain bit his tongue as he said that, pausing in thought. "What a truly terrifying power for a child to wield."

"I didn't see it coming either, but… this is Izu. If anyone can use it to do good, then he can-"

"Is that so? Because from what I'm seeing, Izuku has the potential to be the most dangerous thief Japan has ever seen. He has the potential to be an even greater villain than the original, now that no true Hero like All Might is around to stop him." Stain moved over to the other side of the kitchen, to where a scabbard was hung from the side of a cupboard, containing one of his blades. "And you'd still vouch for him? Even knowing this? Knowing that Izuku was not honest with you about his true power-"

"Without question." The line crackled slightly as Himiko replied emphatically, and Stain had to hold the phone away from his ear for a second. She hadn't wavered for a second. "I don't know what I would do if I had that power, but Izuku didn't hold back because he wants to use it, because he doesn't want anyone getting in the way. He held back because he wants to do things his own way, to save people, and let people judge him because of that. I… I kinda feel that too, y'know? I can't be mad at him when I kinda did the same."

"I suppose… to an extent, that's true about you and your Quirk as well." There was logic to what she was saying, that much Stain couldn't deny. "So the doctor was interested in him because of his Quirk. That would indicate that the doctor is aware of All For One at least, if not… his ally."

"Definitely his ally. He made some grand speech to Izuku, offered to give him everything he had. He talked about Izuku's Quirk like it was some form of legacy…" Himiko broke off, sounding confused for a second. "He offered to train Izuku."

"To become a villain?" Stain's question was rhetorical, because the answer was clear. This Doctor Garaki… he was trouble. An old associate of a villain capable of defeating All Might, wanting to pick up where Incident Zero left off? He would need to be dealt with, in due course. "What was Izuku's response?"

That was the true test, after all, in Stain's eyes. That would be the making or breaking of the boy, the deciding factor that would show whether his heart was true. The little noise Himiko made on the other end was all he needed. "If you're worrying, don't. I wouldn't be telling you if he had accepted."

"He rejected the villain. He chose his own destiny-"

"Of course he did! That's my Izuku." Even as drained as she sounded, some of her usual perkiness crept back in when she spoke; it was clear how proud she was of him. "Society's a complete mess and yet he still wants to do good things. His Quirk could make him untouchable and yet he still wants to do them the right way. He looks up to All Might, just like you do, and won't hesitate to do whatever to make someone happy or keep them safe. He refused to follow the Doc, even when they tried to tell him he was the only one who could fix some injustice, because-"

"Because he wants to do things the right way." Stain nodded, pulling the sword from its scabbard. "The Heroic way."

"He's a true Hero, Mister Stain… I just know it. He could be what you were waiting all those years for." Himiko sounded faint, as Stain stared at the blade in his hand. Such a thing… it sounded too good to be true, and yet he couldn't help how much he hoped that it was. "So… please don't go hurting him, okay?"

"Himiko… I trust your judgment." The last thing he wanted was to scare his protege, and make her fear him. "From everything you say… I am interested in Izuku and his potential. He is not a target of my wrath, some flawed failure who needs culling, but a subject of my interest. A Quirk like that, and he chooses not to impose himself upon the world… how intriguing."

"Thank you-"

"He will still need to be tested, however." Stain lifted the sword, turning it and watching how it caught the light in the kitchen, how it bounced off the faint nick a quarter of the way down the blade. "If he is truly worthy… then I will need to meet him. No matter how much I trust you to give a faithful account of his true status, I must see it with my own eyes."

"... I do." Himiko sounded distant for a second. "He's… badly hurt. That Nomu the Doc brought… it went after Izuku and Tenko, that other guy we're friends with. Nobody knows what happened, but… before they beat it, it hurt them both bad. So it might not be a while 'til you meet him-"

"I understand. If you need to be with him, then go. It may be best to be seen with others anyway, to avoid drawing attention to yourself as others investigate. Play the part of a concerned classmate, and keep an eye on your young man." Stain heard a faint knock at the kitchen door, and turned to face it. Spinner was waiting, it seemed. "I have… other matters to take care of today. I will update you if they are worth our time."

"Other matters?" Himiko snorted, sounding a little sarcastic. "You're not going out hunting Yakuza without me, are ya? I might not forgive you-"

"I'm not. We'll deal with those filth another day, together. Now go. I'll see you soon." Stain waited until she hung up the phone, noting that she didn't try an awkward goodbye message like she usually did; she liked to try to embarrass him at every opportunity, so the fact that she didn't this time spoke volumes. "Enter."

The kitchen door creaked as it was pushed open, Spinner bowing his head slightly as he came through. Stain had told him he could stop a long time ago, considering how he had effectively become an adopted father figure to the boy, but he kept at it. "She's safe, then?"

"She is." Stain huffed briefly, amused at the look on Spinner's face as he shut the door behind himself. "If you're concerned about your little sister's wellbeing, then don't be. She took a hit from the strongest of the villains, but she's on her feet and talkative."

"I knew she'd be fine." Spinner's flippant reply didn't convince Stain one bit. "You're going a little soft on her, aren't you? If half of what she says is true about her man, well…"

He couldn't be irritated at Spinner for listening at doors, since they had other things to do today, but Stain couldn't help but crack a little smirk at what he said. Of course Spinner, devoted as he was, would question that. "Himiko hasn't lost her way. She still understands the mission, and what is most important to us. The simple fact is that her discovery about this Izuku Midoriya… may be good for us, after all."

"A Quirk like that… I didn't think it was possible." Spinner shook his head. "That's the stuff of the children's stories, someone coming and taking your Quirk."

"Nor did I, and yet, here we are. The boy wields that power… and refuses to use it for his own gain. That is certainly worth paying attention to." Stain placed the phone down on the side, and turned to Spinner. "Who knows… someone like him may be someone who we've been needing for a long, long time. He might just be worthy enough to follow after All Might."

"Hope so. God knows we've been waiting for someone worthy for long enough." Spinner jerked his head towards the door. "The kid's here, and waiting in the lounge. Can I just say… I'm surprised."

"Hmm?"

"You never normally meet with any of the crackpots who ask to get an audience with you." Spinner moved briefly over to the kitchen drawers and opened one, pulling out a large knife. It certainly wasn't for carving, or for food, and it was enough of a sign to Stain that Spinner felt on edge. He already had his own sword on his back, dressed as if going into battle; clearly his charge didn't like this. "But this one you invited into our base. Why?"

"You're right. Not many of the supposed acolytes are worth my attention. Most of them are murderers and degenerates, seeking only their own thrill or the spilling of blood not related to the cause. Then again…" Stain paused, looking Spinner in the eyes. "Giran vouched for this one."

"I trust Giran about as far as I can throw him. So do you." Stain couldn't deny that Spinner made a good point. "Why does that make any difference here?"

"Because as slippery as the broker is, he has never once told me that I need to meet someone. He has told me that several people want to meet me, but the idea that there is a necessity to speaking to someone… that is new. And besides…" Stain flashed a quick look to the closed door, behind which their guest sat. "According to Giran, this one isn't a villain. He's a defector. Whatever that means."

"A defector?" Spinner's face twisted into a frown. "Someone who gave up on heroics? You sure about that?"

Stain paused. "What makes you ask that?"

"It's just…" Spinner paused. "He looks a little young. Almost the same age as Himiko, if I had to guess."

"Hmm… that is strange." Stain shook his head. "I don't know. But Giran knows my view on those who aren't willing to stay the course. Despite that, he is still willing to advocate for our guest, to the extent that he believes it is absolutely vital that I talk with him. Whatever message he carries must be worth it."

"I get that… but in our base? Our home?"

"If the defector is something other than he says he is, a public meeting would do us no good. We could be walking into any kind of trap. Here, the terrain is entirely under our control. Which means…" Stain hefted the sword, adjusting his grip on the hilt as he met Spinner's gaze. "If he isn't worth listening to, then he won't be walking out the door."

"You got it." The corners of Spinner's mouth turned upwards in a smirk, as he stepped to the side and held his knife down at his sides. "After you, boss."

"Thank you." Stain strode forwards, pulling the door towards him and stepping out of the kitchen towards their lounge where their guest had been set up and waiting. He had trusted Spinner to remove any of their usual stash from the lounge, in case their guest decided to arm himself at any point, and he had been assured that the guest would be thoroughly searched. This wouldn't be an ambush; this would be a meeting on their own terms.

As he walked through the open door into the room, the sight before him was not what he had been expecting at all. For starters, Spinner's guess about age was pretty much spot-on; the skinny boy in front of them couldn't have been older than fifteen or sixteen, leaning against Himiko's tattered sofa and wearing a black hoodie with grey cloth sweatpants. If he was a defector from something… Stain's mind began to race, even as he opened his mouth to speak. "Forgive the lateness. After the events at UA, we have had a few urgent matters to deal with. So you're…"

"Hitoshi Shinso." The now-named Shinso ran a hand through his messy indigo hair, a hand which lingered on the back of his neck for just a second longer than it needed to; he clearly was masking some nerves, judging from the gesture and the fact that he had not taken a seat while waiting. "And you're the Hero Killer, Stain. Is there another name I'm supposed to call you by, or did your parents just have strange taste in naming their child?"

"There were other names, once." Stain had seen several throughout the years use sarcasm as a coping mechanism in more testing times, and Shinso appeared to be no different. "Now, Stain is all I need. You're younger than I thought, Shinso."

"And you're more well-armed than you need to be. Your accomplice searched me before you got here. Spinner, wasn't it?" Shinso turned both his palms up in his lap, as if showing he was carrying nothing. "Ever heard of not shooting the messenger?"

"Giran might have vouched for you, but we're just being cautious." The knife in Spinner's hand made a strange noise as he flicked it up, doing a full rotation in the air before he caught it again. "You're a stranger, after all."

"Sure. But on that…" Shinso flicked his head, a slight gesture to the sword, and fiddled with a strange metal device which appeared to sit around his neck. "You're still using blades in this day and age? Most people use their Quirks, you know. Or a gun-"

"The blade is my way. The old way. It's simple, personal, effective and deadly." Stain stepped forward and slid into his armchair, his eyes not leaving Shinso for a second as he did so. The boy jumped a little at the metallic sound of the sword scraping on the floor as Stain leaned it against the chair; he had nearly done a good job at masking it. "You… you intrigue me. You're scared."

"Can you blame me? I'm sitting across the room from the Hero Killer and his teammate." Shinso looked around, as if inspecting the furniture. "Nice place you've got here. I was expecting some sort of underground cave, or abandoned Hero agency."

"People didn't ask many questions about who was buying places after Incident Zero happened. It's near to the city centre, close enough that we can keep an eye on the Agencies and the Yakuza, and not too far from UA." Spinner jerked a thumb to himself, proudly. "Not my worst idea."

"You're the one they call Spinner, right?" Shinso shot the briefest look at Spinner, a small and guarded smirk crossing his face. "You're trying so hard to look exactly like him. I'd call it hero worship but, well. That's not what either of you are about, is it?"

"Seems like you know us pretty well." Spinner took a seat on the other end of the sofa, in between Shinso and the door, and bit back with a little snark of his own. Stain opened his mouth to reprimand his lieutenant, but Spinner pressed on. "And yet we don't know much about you."

"You're a defector." Both Shinso and Spinner turned to Stain as he said this, and Stain leaned forward in the chair. "Giran wasn't clear about the circumstances, but he was adamant I met with you and heard you out because your story was important. Even so, I find myself looking at a child, wondering what possible experience of the fakes you could have that is so important for me to know. It must be something I don't already know, and yet… I don't know what."

"You must hate defectors, since you said it with just as much hatred as you said the word 'fake'". Stain blinked, not expecting such insight from the youth opposite him. "I get that. It's part of your crusade to make the world a better place, right? Those who abandon heroics rather than make a good change must have a special place in your hell."

"Self-aware, bordering on self-destructive." Spinner snorted. "You're not selling yourself, here."

"No, I'm just making a point. I've heard enough about you from the way the news reports about the Hero Killer to make that guess. So I'm hoping it says something that I still came, knowing that I'd be putting myself in danger just from a first impression."
"You want your presence to speak of your conviction? It's not enough." Stain's hand played slightly with the hilt of the sword as he spoke, thinking. "Young, with a degree of arrogance, and experience of Heroes, and Giran described you as a defector. You think you know the world, and know what to expect of others. You're… hm. A trainee? A defecting Hero Apprentice? A student from one of the schools?"

"Not UA." Spinner looked Shinso up and down as he said this. "He doesn't look old enough to be more than first-year. Second-year, at a push, maybe. But they're all in lockdown after the USJ attack."

"It's not UA you need to worry about." Shinso spoke up, looking Stain in the eyes; to the young man's credit, he didn't falter one bit even as Stain focused his full attention on him. Numerous Heroes and Villains before him had needed to look away, trembling, but Shinso did not. "It's the Commission."

"Tell us something we don't know," Spinner retorted, running the flat of his knife across his scales. " They're a joke, prioritising vigilantes instead of actually doing good-"

"They're no joke. That's why I came to you. So you knew what they were doing." Shinso leaned forward, and it struck Stain how blunt and urgent he was when he interrupted. "That's why I left them."

"Oh shit." Spinner's response to the bombshell was to jump upwards from his chair, glaring at the boy. "You're a Commission brat? And we let him into our base?"

"Calm, Spinner." Stain spoke up, keeping his voice neutral to prevent anything from happening. Even so, he subconsciously weighed the sword in his hand as he kept both eyes trained on Shinso. "Giran called him a defector, remember? They wouldn't set a child on us to finish the job-"

"Oh, there's a lot they'd do." Shinso shook his head. "Sorry, but you don't know them like I do. I wouldn't rule that option out, if I were you."

Stain skewered him with a look. "You're not helping yourself here."

"Come on, I didn't come here to start a fight." Shinso glared at Spinner. "If I had, I could have beaten you at any point before I told you who I'm running from. You wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Tough talk for a trainee!" Spinner pointed the knife at him properly now. "What gives you the idea that you could take us?"

"What, do you think you have the advantage here?"

"Is that even a que-"

"Stop." The next word out of Shinso's mouth sounded ever so slightly different to Stain, the air seeming a little thick between them, and he was alarmed to see his apprentice freeze completely on the spot, as if petrified, mouth hanging open and useless. His eyes… they had gone completely milky white, as if Spinner wasn't really there. "Stab your knife into the wall behind you."

"What… what is this?" Stain snarled as he stood up, wielding the sword now as he watched Spinner turn with absolutely no resistance and plunge his blade into the plaster of the wall behind him. This young man… was this Shinso's Quirk? "What treachery is this-"

"Turn around and pose like the All Might statue." As Spinner planted both hands on his hips and jutted his chin out, appearing to answer to Shinso's commands, Shinso shook his head and appeared to bite his tongue, sounding slightly sickened. "Eurgh. I didn't want to do that."

"Wh-what…" Spinner appeared to come to hazily, shaking his head, before letting out an 'eep' of embarrassment. Whether or not that was because of the pose he found himself in, or finding himself disarmed, was anyone's guess. "What just happened? Boss?"

"That was my Quirk… Brainwashing." The disdain with which Shinso said the name of his Quirk intrigued Stain, but the interest in why he felt that way was outweighed by the confusion and fury at watching him turn it on Spinner. "If I can get someone to respond to something I say, then I can control them. I can choose whenever I want to activate it in a conversation, but I can't transmit it over electronics, and I can't really do much with more than one person under control."

"..." Stain looked over to Spinner, who appeared to be shaking his head as if in a fug. The alarm bells were ringing. Mind control Quirks were as rare as they come, and to see one used by a former Commission trainee... "Clever Quirk. Easy to get caught out."

"I don't like it." Spinner looked angry, now that he had come to his senses. "Being brainwashed… I don't like that. I don't know if we can trust this brat-"

"Oh, come on. You're seriously not talking to me because you're afraid I'm going to use it again? Do I have to spell it out to you that I was proving a point?" Stain had not been expecting the outburst from the youth, and he was surprised to see Shinso stand up and glare at them both. "Get a grip! Giran vouched for me and got me this chance to speak to you, and I knew it was a bad idea the second I got the address. I walked into your base, with nobody to look out for me and no plan if things went wrong, because I had to trust that you would be willing to listen-"

"And yet you used your Quirk on me-"

"To prove that I don't have bad intentions! The whole time we were talking before you went to collect your master? I could have used it at any point then, or at any point when he first came here!" Shinso pointed accusingly at Stain. "You're the only one that could help. The only one who would believe me, and actually do something about it! I had to trust you wouldn't kill me the second I arrived, and now I've told you all about how my Quirk works, when I have no idea about yours or Spinner's, no idea what other weapons you have."

Stain could sense the desperation in Shinso's voice. "... You're genuine. You wouldn't be arguing like this with me if you weren't-"

"Exactly! I've not done any of this because I want to fight you. I just want you to trust me, and hear me out, because I'm prepared to trust you! Please…" Shinso sagged slightly, as if the energy from his outburst had worn off. "Help me, Stain. You're the only hope."

"... Huh." Stain fixed Shinso with a long look, searching in his purple eyes for any hint that the boy might not be telling the truth and finding nothing. After a long pause, punctuated only by the ticking of the clock on the wall, Stain allowed himself to relax, lowering the sword and lowering himself into the armchair once more. "I'll hear you out. But no more using your Quirk. Are we clear?"

"... Crystal." Shinso slumped backwards onto the sofa, although Spinner remained standing, wary of their new guest. "So, yeah. I used to be a Commission trainee. Not that I ever wanted to be-"

"You didn't want to become a Hero?"

Stain sighed, and if he had had a nose, he would have pinched it in frustration. "I don't think that's what he meant, Spinner. It's not that he doesn't want to be a Hero or he would have said that, it's that he didn't want to join the Commission to do it. Correct?"

"Right." Shinso nodded, grateful for the intervention. "If I could have gone to UA, I would have done."

"A good choice. The school that counts All Might as one of its former students…" Spinner shook his head. "The Commission doesn't really compare, does it?"

"They have corrupted the core idea of Heroism ever since Incident Zero." Stain stared at one of the shelves in the room, at the one ornament which he had chosen; Himiko had gone wild with some of her other choices, but the small gold statuette of All Might remained pride of place. "More energy is wasted targeting those who would try to do good, just because the Commission had not approved them doing it, while real villains are allowed to fester in their place and multiply. They are a failed organisation… and this world has been broken beyond recognition by their hands."

"Why do you think I wanted to go to UA, rather than become one of theirs?" Shinso laughed, hollowly. "Not that I had a choice."

"You didn't have a choice? Why?" Stain leaned forward, propping his fingers under his chin. "That would suggest that the Commission sought you out. Because of your Quirk? Or is it something else… something closer to home?"

"Yeah, that." Shinso scratched the back of his neck again. "Kinda hard to say 'no' and get out of it when you have family in the Commission making space for you."

Family. That was what made it click for Stain. A mind control Quirk in the hands of a Commission trainee… so the rumours he had heard were true, after all. "There were rumours, back before I took this name, back before Incident Zero, about the Underground Heroes the Commission used. Rumours that one of them had a Quirk that could control minds. Is that… true?"

"My mother." Shinso's answer was blunt, and packed so many emotions into two words that Stain struggled to unpack them. "She calls herself Sway as her Hero name. Her Quirk works a little differently to mine- mine is instant and short control, whereas hers is more subliminal influence, working over time. But she had a spot marked out for me, and saying no wasn't really a choice."

"The Hero Commission has access to a serving Underground Hero who can brainwash people." The statement dripped from Stain's mouth with no attempt to disguise the hatred imbued into it. "And she brought you, her son with similar powers, into the fold."

"If that isn't a possible abuse of powers by the authorities, I don't know what is." Spinner had retrieved the knife which had been stabbed into the wall, and was polishing it with a cloth he had pulled from somewhere. "They've been corrupt for a while, but imagine if they deployed her."

"... I'm starting to think that they have." The gravity of his suggestion was not lost on him as he made it. It was awful to think of, but it was the most logical suggestion to make as he stared back at Shinso. "You said it, just then. You would have gone to UA if you could… because you recognise just how poisonous for Hero society the Commission has become. And you bide your time all the way throughout because you don't have a choice, because you can bear it if it gets you to qualify so you can start making a real difference. Only something had to have changed, because now you've run away from it all. Despite everything they're doing, something tipped you over the edge to want to find me… something truly terrible."

"You're… not wrong." Shinso's face seemed to change, as if a weight was being lifted from his shoulders because it had been confirmed. "Sway, she… she convinced them to let her use her Quirk more."

"Controlling more people…" Spinner shook his head. "Talk about authoritarian government. Depriving people of their free will to try to stop crime… turning on villains like that is-"

"She's not using it on villains." Shinso's interruption stunned them both. "She's using it… on Hawks. The Number Two Hero… she's done something to him. Changed him."

"... Hawks." To Stain, it was like the whole room around him faded to black and white, the only important thing right now being the boy opposite him. What Shinso was saying made his heart began to pound faster, feeling his blood begin to boil as the anger rolled over him in waves. The Hero Commission… this was crossing lines he thought would never have been crossed in a thousand years. "You're… you're sure of this. Absolutely sure?"

"I saw it. She demonstrated it to the President and all the committee, and wanted me there to see her big day." The bitterness in Shinso's voice as he said it was enough confirmation for Stain that he was telling the truth. Only if it were true could it give the young man such a depth of feeling as Stain was seeing, and that made his blood boil. "Her Quirk builds over time, works based on triggers and conditioning. So she's used that on Hawks, trying to make him some kind of specialist who will do whatever she orders, to take on whoever the Commission want her to target. Making a Hero without hesitation… that's what she called it."

"Eroding all sense of morality." The pounding of his heart was ringing in Stain's head as he snarled, gripping the hilt of the sword he had brought with him. This was… corruption. The pinnacle of fake Heroism. This was tipping so far over the edge that this was… villainy. "Destroying basic freedoms to impose control… this is villainy. This is beyond fake-"

"She wants to use it to come after people like you." Stain's arteries felt like they were on fire when he heard Shinso say that. "She… told him to kill a villain as a demonstration, and he just acted without any resistance. Hawks is… nice. He was a good guy, who always tried to swing by and see the cadets to give us a laugh after hard training. And I watched her use her Quirk on him to just execute someone, like that was the only justice he deserved…"

"Sheesh…" Spinner's hand was down by his side, presumably to hide the fact it was trembling from Shinso. He hadn't hidden it from Stain, though. "They did that… right in front of you?"

"And I don't know what was worse, that they did that… or that the President clapped it." Shinso's voice was as dark as the bags under his eyes, staring over at Stain. "They're going after opposition. I don't know, because I left the same day as that demonstration, but… I think they've already used him. I think Sway turned him on a civilian. That guy who got murdered, Denki Kaminari-"

"You think that was her?! And Hawks?!" Spinner's screech was full of righteous fury, something Stain shared. "The news blamed that on us!"

"You wouldn't go after some kid who wanted to try to help people, even if he was an idiot about how he did it." The light faded from Shinso's eyes, briefly. "I don't know for certain. But I used to go to school with Denki, before Sway took me away, and… he wasn't perfect. He wasn't the brightest, and he didn't work hard, and he seemed to want to flirt with anyone, but he was a good kid. Always wanted to try to bring a smile to things."

"Sometimes that's the best thing a Hero can do." Spinner said what Stain could not, as he seethed, blood pounding faster and faster.

"Exactly. So no, I don't think it was you. I think that Sway used Hawks for it, which makes sense if he was one of the first Heroes to supposedly find the body." Shinso sighed, and picked at his hand briefly, nervously. "I don't know why. Maybe they want people to be afraid again, so they listen. Maybe they want to turn people against vigilantes like you. Whatever it is… she's using him, and I can't stand it. It's not heroic."

They were all unworthy. All of them were traitors to the Symbol that came before them, that had propped them up. Their inaction was bad enough, leaving him to be the one to fight the battles like the Yakuza, but everywhere he turned they were trying to change the system to suit them and only them. And now this, one broken boy sat in his base, telling him how they would sacrifice anything on a path to tyranny and submission. The fakes… were worse than he thought.

"That's why I came to you." Shinso didn't realise that his words were falling on nearly-deaf ears, so he continued. "Nobody would believe me if I told them about this, but you… you might, because you're the one who acts when nobody else will. I don't agree with everything you say, like hell I do, but I want to be able to use my power for good. What they're using it for-"

"Is an insult to true Heroism." Stain stood rapidly, uncoiling like a spring, and buried the sword he was holding downwards into the arm of the chair, all the way to the hilt. Clearly the killing intent he was letting off was strong, because it completely floored Shinso back into the sofa, and even made Spinner squawk in surprise. This… this needed his attention, and quickly. "The Commission… is broken. I must purge… purge them all. I'll kill every last one of them-"

"No." To his surprise, Shinso was the one who spoke up, and somehow didn't stumble over his words. "No, please. Not all of them."

Stain snarled, fixing his red eyes on the boy even as he kept his grip on the sword, even as the fury that had washed over him died down. "You would plead for your mother. Even after everything you've said-"

"Not her. But Hawks… Hawks I would." Shinso shook his head frantically. "That's the guy who came out to have snowball fights with us in the compound. That's the guy who buys take-out for the Police when they beat a villain. So many of them are broken but… he's a good guy. He could even be Number One, if he was allowed to…"

"Spread his wings?" Stain flashed one look at Spinner after the poor attempt at humour, and his lieutenant's grin snapped shut. "Sorry."

"He's their weapon, boy." Stain turned back to Shinso, and as the red mist cleared, he wanted to ask the important question of the newcomer. "The one they're using to impose their corrupted will. And you would save him?"

"Your sword is your weapon. You wouldn't blame it if someone else picked it up and tried to stab you with it." Shinso didn't flinch once, even with Stain's full attention and with some of his fury still present in his aura. "I've always wanted to be a Hero. Can't help the things your heart longs for, huh? But what good would I be if I didn't try to save the ones who need saving? That's Hawks too, more than anyone right now."

"... Heh." Now that was exactly what Stain wanted to hear. And with total confidence as he said it to. This Shinso… he was rather taking to him, the more he heard the young man speak. "Fine. But if you're coming with us, then you won't stand in my way as I seek my vengeance. Will you?"

"Woah, it's decided? He's coming with us?" Spinner asked, stepping forward. "We're gonna let him in, just like that?"

"Given the stakes… we need him. We need allies." Stain rose, hefting his sword up to rest the blade on his shoulder. "The Commission… their actions will destroy everything sacred about the ideal of a Hero. They have declared war on truth and justice… we must go to war against them. And we cannot do it alone."

"They need to be stopped. So… even if I don't know how I feel about killing people, but I'll come with you." Shinso clenched a fist. "I approached you because I knew you'd do something. Knowing what sort of things you could do. So whatever it takes to stop them… I'm behind you."

"He understands, Spinner. He held out to find us with the hope that we would be willing to listen, and do something." Stain nodded at the boy, hoping that his respect was clear. "It's as he said. He was prepared to trust us. We should be prepared to trust him."

"... Thank you." Shinso looked around, one eyebrow quirked faintly as if amused. "So this is our army. All three of us-"

"... Four." Stain made the call to trust him, and looked over at Spinner, willing him to accept Shinso too. "There's four of us."

"... We're missing Sanguine." Spinner rose to the occasion, putting his own doubts behind him at Stain's urging, and Stain breathed out in relief as his lieutenant shared that secret of his own volition. "She's… well, around your age I guess. But kinda busy at the moment. Certain things going on today, and all-"

"Events today? Like… wait. That attack at UA, at the USJ." Shinso's eyes widened at that revelation, as he looked at Spinner. "You have an agent at UA?"

"My ward. Not my agent. She's… something special." Stain suppressed the urge to smile, keeping his pride towards Himiko in check for the most part. There were more important things right now. "She will need to be briefed when she is able to return here, about the change in our mission. But she won't be enough on her own."

"Reinforcements?" Spinner frowned. "I thought you were set against taking the copycats in, boss? You never wanted a gang or a cult."

"And I still don't. We don't need a bunch of cruel murderers making a mockery of my vision through their own desires. But there's another way." Stain stared down at his weapon, the slight shimmer of the blade as he spoke, and saw the way forward. The Commission needed to be put to the sword, and there was one person who could help them achieve that, the defiant rebel, the skeleton in their closet. "... The enemy of my enemy is my friend, are they not?"

"Boss?" Spinner had pulled the large sword from his back and was holding it in front of him as he knelt, like a knight awaiting orders from his lord. On any other day it would have been a sign of Spinner's classic over-dramatic nature, but today, as they planned to go to war… he was glad to see his charge taking it seriously. "What's the plan?"

"Tell me, Shinso…" Stain flicked his gaze over to their newest team member. "This will be your first mission. How do you feel about a jail-break?"

"... Whatever it takes, right?" Shinso tugged on his hoodie and stood up, too proud and too new to kneel beside Spinner but clearly determined all the same. "I'm in."

"Good. Then let's wait to hear from Sanguine, and bring her home. We can discuss the plan properly with her..." Stain felt a flickering of some small fire inside him as he looked at the two boys before him, undaunted by the weight of the task ahead of them. They were outnumbered as they always were, but their mission wasn't just the crooked and the damned anymore. Their enemy was the vast monolith of government, the Hero Commission itself. To emerge victorious against such a collection of fakes would be Stain's hardest fight yet…

And when their blood dripped from the edge of his blade, it would be his greatest triumph.

"We're going to liberate an old friend."

(***)

It was time.

Dabi had watched enough of the news to make his mind up of this, in the last hour. It was everywhere, no matter which channel he flicked to on the small television that he had acquired from somewhere and left in the corner of the room he was temporarily causing home. Every single channel was dominated by the voices of the confused and the whispers of the critics, all focused on one place. On UA High, the subject of the USJ attack.

Everyone was watching, because everyone wanted to know what had happened, what terrible villain had chosen to go after school kids during their normal day. And it was because everyone was watching that he knew.

It really was time.

Striding down the corridor, arms tucked into the pockets of his favourite black coat, he came to the door at the end and kicked it open with one boot. "You're seeing this too?"

"It's on every channel." La Brava had used one of their excursions since their raid on Uraraka Industries to kit herself out with as many stores as a hardware store. Dabi had to admit that her computer skills had come in more than handy sifting through every piece of encrypted data they had been able to gather, and on piecing together their little project. He had to admit, he was glad that Compress had brought her and Gentle along, because it had made everything easier. "Someone really went after UA in broad daylight?"

"Why would someone do this…" Shoto was sitting with her, something which Dabi was unsurprised about. La Brava had taken to his little brother, and she spent a lot of time talking at him while he sat beside her and helped her trawl through the Uraraka documents to find the worst details about Endeavor. His patience when looking to expose the old man translated into patience in her company, apparently. Not that he minded… having someone else to look after the kid was fine by him. "Someone with a grudge?"

"Beats me," Dabi said, raising his voice over the volume of several channels at once. Dabi hadn't seen anything on any of the channels to indicate a motive, and frankly he didn't care. He wasn't interested in why someone had done it, but the opportunities it had created… although one person's absence did make him pause. "Any of you seen Compress? He's not in his room-"

"I'm afraid our dear Sako has parted ways with us." The eloquent voice behind him signalled Gentle's arrival, as Dabi leaned in the doorway between him and the room. "Temporarily, at least. He said that he had some urgent matters to attend to."

"Urgent?" Dabi glowered briefly at the well-dressed thief. "So urgent that he would leave us behind, huh?"

"He said you would understand, really. What was it he said to me before he left…" Gentle trailed off briefly, before looking at Dabi in a strange way. "Ah, yes. He's taking care of the most important thing in the world. To you, and to him."

"The most…" Dabi paused, realisation hitting him. Family… that was his priority. Whether it was taking care of little Shoto, or going after Endeavor, family was what drove him. So Compress… "His daughter. He said he has a daughter at UA, didn't he?"

"He once told me she was in the first year class. And, well…" Gentle gestured with one gloved hand at La Brava's monitor, where the police were loading somebody in the back of a van. "They were the target, I gather. Our dear friend suffered a rather strong rush of blood to the head when he heard."

"... Huh." Dabi could understand that, to an extent. Running off when they were in the middle of things was stupid though. "Does he even know where he's going?"

"The last I heard, he was cursing out the broker we've used every once in a while when La Brava needs some new gear. What was his name?" Gentle paused, before he clicked his fingers in realisation. "Yes, Giran! That was it. Apparently Compress recognised some of the goons involved in the attack-"

"You said Giran?" Dabi knew exactly who Giran was, having crossed paths with him in the past. Now that Gentle mentioned it… the cameras focused very briefly on one of the morons involved in the attack, and Dabi recognised him now. Some two-bit thug with an electrical Quirk, with some generic name… Volta? Tesla? He was someone Dabi had seen hanging around in one of the bars where he had met Giran, someone he had nearly picked a fight with. Figured he'd be involved with an attack like this. "Yeah. Giran might be a safe best if some of them are involved."

"Chums of yours, are they?"

Dabi shot Gentle a little glare. "Not exactly friends of friends. And they're not Compress's friends… not anymore, anyway." Shaking his head, he turned back towards La Brava. "You're seeing all of this, yeah? All those news stations, all live?"

"Yeah, what about…" La Brava trailed off, reading the look on his face. "... Right. You wanna go for it?"

"Yeah… it's time." Dabi nodded towards her, letting out an exhilarated breath at how clear it was now. "Let's do it."

"Do what?" As ever, Shoto was a little slow, only realising what he meant when La Brava's fingers began dancing over the keyboard in front of her. "... Oh. That. Now? Why?"

"H-Hold on…" Gentle caught up in the end. "You want to release it now? Why? This is much sooner than you had planned."

"No shit. But look at it. Look at all of it." Dabi pointed one hand at all of the gathered screens, all reporting on the same thing no matter what had been scheduled. The demand to see what was going on at UA had taken over… and they could take advantage. "All those people watching at home, the eyes of the country on UA… they're a captive audience. We have them right where we want them, to cause the most damage."

"It makes sense. Maximum exposure, right?" La Brava already had the file selected, several programmes opening up in readiness for their plan. "Maximum damage, right?"

"The more people know, the more hated he will be. Our father… Endeavor won't see it coming. And all those people will see him for who he really is." Dabi nodded emphatically, his mind made up since he realised just how much hurt he could cause if he acted now, while everyone's attention was there for the taking. "Let's do it, right Shoto?"

"Just wait a second, will you?" Gentle, annoyingly, wasn't so easily convinced. "Is this wise?"

"Gentle… this was the whole plan." Dabi felt himself snarl just a little, frustrated that someone was threatening to derail their chance to take advantage of the situation. "Unless you forgot that-"

"Absolutely not! But the timing… as much as I appreciate the need for good exposure, think about the situation itself!" Gentle flinched slightly as Dabi glared at him, but carried on. "An attack on UA like this… don't you worry that public sympathy for those students is going to get in the way of your message? You wouldn't be lighting a fire by releasing now, you'd be pouring petrol onto an already-lit bonfire… the impact you could have by waiting-"

"I'm not holding back anymore, Gentle. You wanna treat this like a fire?" Dabi felt his fury bubble in his voice. "I'm not here to light a match, and watch a little fire burn in front of Endeavor. I'm here to torch his reputation. I'm here to set off a bomb, not give him a chance. So there's no better timing than right here, right now."

"... I see." Gentle gathered himself, and appeared to shake his head slightly. "I can't say that I fully agree… but it's your mission the most. If that's your decision, then… so be it."
"You're damn right it's my decision. If the whole country is watching, well…" Dabi grinned, manically. "It's like Compress would say. Let's give them a show. La Brava?"

"On it." Her fingers whirred over some keys for a second, typing something in code Dabi couldn't possibly understand, before her finger hovered over the mouse and she stared at him. "Got it. Ready when you are, Todoroki."

Dabi twitched at the mention of his surname, before turning to the last person in their little gathering. "Shoto… you ready for this?"

His brother's stare remained impassive, fixed on the screens for a second, before Shoto turned to look at him at last. The look in his eyes was something Dabi couldn't describe, but the overriding feeling in his brother's sullen face was… uncertainty. Like he was wavering. "This is it, then. From here… there's no going back."

"No… no there isn't." Dabi could sense his hesitation, and wasn't prepared to let it win for a second. "We were always gonna get here, little brother. One way or another. It's just a little sooner, that's all."

"Right…" Shoto paused for a second, the point seeming to erode some of his resistance. Dabi knew his brother just needed to be pushed a little further. "He'll come after us. We can't hide anymore… and Dad won't like this."

"I hope not." Dabi snorted, without any humour in it. "But I've got your back, and you've got mine. He can try to come after us… but he's got to survive this, first."

"I… want him to pay. I do-"

"Me too. So let's do it." Dabi stared right into Shoto's deep blue eyes, sensing how close he was to pushing his brother over the line. "Let's make him pay… and burn his legacy to ash."

Something about that last sentence did the trick, enough colour flashing across his brother's face and enough light in his eyes at the thought of that. He had done it… he had convinced Shoto. "... Okay. Let's go."

"You heard him, La Brava." Dabi snapped to her, nodding his head. "Let's do it."

"You got it… let's change the world." La Brava's finger came down, the click of the mouse like the sound of a gunshot in that tense room… "Done."

"Look upon thy works, ye mighty," Gentle breathed, the trepidation clear in his voice. "And despair."

Dabi breathed out. Done… only the screens weren't lighting up. Their message wasn't playing across all networks, and it was still the same pictures of UA. "La Brava… you said this was done. It hasn't changed."

"Jeez, how good do you think the bootleg internet we get here is? It's a big file." La Brava looked nowhere near as bothered as he was about this, leaning back in her chair and fixing her eyes on the ceiling. "Give it a sec. It needs time to get there, when we're breaking into their networks from outside like this."

"... Fine." Dabi folded his arms, staring at the screen as if willing it to change before his eyes, the thunder being taken out of the moment slightly. "How long will it-"

Then it changed. The frantic cries of consternation from several of the news anchors, and the looks of shock on their face, were drowned out by static for a second, before the picture focused. One room was now on screen instead of the whole UA campus, the same white room filling the pictures on all of those channels at once. La Brava had worked a miracle, because whatever people had been watching before, whatever opinion on the USJ attack they had been digesting, everyone's attention across the country was now on the same video…

And the same two boys with their heads bowed, in front of the camera.

Dabi watched, the corner of his eyes stinging where he was unable to cry anymore, as ten different images of himself lifted their head and looked into the camera. "I, Touya Todoroki, was born as the oldest son of Endeavor. The villain called Dabi… is what I became, because of him."

Beside him on the screen, the other figure lifted his head, and all those images of Shoto spoke at once, ten voices pounding out from the speakers. "I, Shoto Todoroki, was born as the youngest son of Endeavor. I ran, and I became the one called Juhyo… because of him."

Both boys stared at the camera, and not even La Brava's triumphant yell as the link to the secure website that she had set up came on screen could distract Dabi from the fruits of their labours, as the images of both Touya and his little brother spoke in unison. "This is our story… and his story. The Number One Hero is a fake. And the past… never forgets."

They had done it. Endeavor… was about to reap what he had sown throughout his whole life. This was his reckoning, their justice. Broadcast live for all the country to see, as it had tuned in hoping for news on UA…. Endeavor's path to hell.

Dabi grinned, as he watched their video unravel the worst parts of their father's existence in front of millions, and mouthed the next line to himself as the video continued. "Let's fall together… Enji Todoroki."

(***)

A/N: Any of you see any of this coming?

This was a return after a little while of focusing on our protagonists to doing what I love most; writing the other perspectives within this story. I had vowed to myself that the aftermath of USJ, and the end of Act 2, would be marked by some brief visitations after so long focused on our Heroes. Effectively there's four groups to an extent in the story; our Heroes (Izuku and co), the Heroes (Endeavor, Bakugo, Burnin and co), the not-quite Heroes (Stain, Dabi and co) and the villains (Re-Destro, Overhaul etc). I wanted to touch on the other groups beyond our Heroes before the arc ends, so… here we are.

Dabi here has a surrogate Skeptic in La Brava, and the opportunism to absolutely want to take advantage of a situation like the USJ gaining widespread media coverage. There's no way in hell that he would hold back from an opportunity to maximise the damage to Endeavor here, not when he has Shoto up his sleeve to hurt him even more. Now all he needs is the chance to ask Endeavor to dance…

And in the meantime, Shinso falls in with a new crowd, and becomes the newest stray adopted by Stain on his quest to take down society and collect orphans (probably. I may have made that up). I have built up to Shinso getting to meet the Hero Killer for some time, and I knew I wanted to make sure that it did justice to both Shinso's divided loyalties and Stain's growing status as the only man willing to take on the fights that need to be fought. There's plenty more to come on their front, soon.

For now, this is the longest chapter yet, but hope y'all enjoyed. As if I'd let you off the hook with a chill end to the arc… If you liked this, please favourite and follow, and please be so kind as to review (as long as it ain't a flame, I'll appreciate it). We're not far from 2,000 followers now… Christ. Oh, and do come join the Ignite to the Call Discord, where Incident Zero has its own channel; joining code is BASMJamR.

Until next time, ya boy, out.