David blinked at the teen they approached, a boy with a black and green mop of hair wearing a black duster and boots, an almost insectoid geist with sixteen arms on an elongated torso sat perched on the top of the bench like a monkey, twisting its head to a sickening extent and letting out a series of clicking noises. Rebecca threw herself onto the bench around the circular table, and David slid in next to her, the Bloated Woman and Clockwork Giant stopping next to them.

"I feel like I should know this piece of meat," the Giant growled in the sound of grinding gears, "and I don't know why."

It was… still weird, being able to understand what was, by all accounts, just a bunch of gears mashing against each other as the Giant's jaw opened and closed, exposing a mouth full of grinding gears, ready to crush anything that got too close to pieces in a shower of Plasm. Like that cat.

David didn't shudder. He absolutely did not at the memories of the barghest he had watched the Giant eat whole and "alive".

"So, nice to meet you," the other teen said, sipping from his drink as a server with a heavy skidmark for half her face came over and handed them a pair of menus. He flicked open a pack of cigarettes and offered it to David.

"I, uh, I don't do smokes," the teen said.

"Good, we can put those aside," the boy put the cigarettes back in a small cubby in the wall, not even bothering to offer Rebecca one. They took a moment to order, a beer for David and a gin and tonic for Rebecca, before he continued, "How's your brother?"

"Pft," if Rebecca had been drinking, David was pretty sure she would have done a spit take, laughing out loud, "Still coping, he doesn't like being stuck inside during the day."

"Play stupid games, win stupid prizes, I guess?" the guy said, sounding like he was trying his best to be sympathetic but couldn't quite work it up, "like, don't get me wrong, it sucks, but he really shouldn't have been harassing his Sire for being homeless."

"C'mon, how was the gonk supposed to know that he was harassing a Nosferatu?"

"Shouldn't harass a homeless person to begin with, if you ask me," he said, rubbing his jaw as he looked over at David, "They already got so little to begin with, you gonna take what they do have too? Sorry, I just realized that we completely skipped introductions, that was rude of me, I'm Izuku Midoriya, and this is Yo."

"David Martinez," David said, holding out his hand, only for Rebecca's hand to lash out and pin it to the table like a snake while Izuku lunged back from it like it was one too.

"Word of advice, friend," Izuku said, suddenly looking wary as he stared at the hand, Yo flaring up behind him like an irate cat, all spine, and making dozens of irate clicking noises in a row, fists clenching as it- he- whatever, loomed over his Sin Eater, "You don't shake anything in the Dead Man's Hand if you don't have to. It's considered a serious faux pas to even try."

"Oh," David retracted the hand the second Rebecca let it go, "Sorry, this is my first time here."

"Yeah, I could tell," Izuku said without any heat or sarcasm, "You got lucky, kid. Most people only find out the danger of shaking hands after they've sold something away they'd much rather have."

— X Izuku X—

Izuku let go of the grip of the sawed off mts255 as he stared at David with sharp eyes. Pushing his bond with Yo, he soothed the irate geist looming over him, knowing the spine shrank back into something resembling a facsimile of a human frame without looking. Adrenaline and Plasm settled in his veins, ready for the call and making his heartbeat sluggish.

Instead, Izuku picked up his strawberry lemonade and took a sip from it, choosing to cut the tension in the air.

"Uh, kid? We're probably the same age," David said.

"Sorry, instinct. You're new here, I'm… not," Izuku said with a shrug, "I'm an old hat."

"That's depressing," David said.

"Reaper doesn't care about age when he comes knocking, choom," Rebecca said, surprisingly sagely, "'s why we live life with no regrets, we already lost it, and just because we got it back doesn't mean we can't lose it again."

"Hmm," Izuku hummed noncommittally and, hopefully, nonjudgmentally, "Anyways, sorry if I'm a bit rude David, but why'd you bring a new guy? I was expecting Maine and you."

"Maine's… dealing with some shit," Rebecca uncharacteristically hedged.

"He's Flatlining, isn't he?" Izuku said with resignation.

"Close to it," Rebecca said with a shrug.

"Flatlining?" David asked.

"His Geist and him are having relationship problems," Rebecca shrugged again.

"I've never seen someone Flatline and fix it as often as Maine," Izuku said, "sooner or later D's just gonna take control of his body."

"That's possible?" David said, eyes trailing towards the Clockwork Giant, which gave a nasty grin.

"Yeah, that's possible," Izuku said.

— X Rebecca X—

Rebecca seriously considered trying to shoot the grin off the Giant's face, before deciding being banned from Afterlife wasn't worth it and focused back on Izuku while David gave a gulp.

"So, whatcha want us for, Izu?" Rebecca said, focusing back on her friend.

"Nothing big or impressive," Izuku admitted, "I'm going to spook a serial killer tonight and wanted some backup if things go sideways."

"Think he might be a Slasher?" Rebecca asked.

"Probably," Izuku nodded, "too many ghosts. I'll show you at the apartment. But yeah, doing this subtly, I'm gonna Shroud my way in, try scaring the crap out of him, but…"

"You think things could go loud."

"Always better to be prepared if you have to," Izuku said.

"What's the pay look like? We scaving?"

"If things go south, feel free, but if it doesn't," Izuku gestured to another server, this one a man with a pronounced cleft lip and slit throat, as he placed Rebecca and David's drinks on the table, "can you get the package in cubby 3-C for me? I need it for a deal."

"Of course," the man said, turning and walking towards the vault. Opening it with a key, he grabbed a package wrapped in brown paper dripping with ectoplasmic gore and carried it into the table. A hush fell over the nightclub despite the beating of the music, every eye drawn to it instinctively.

Izuku opened the package, exposing the battered, clawed gauntlet to the world. Rebecca licked her lips, staring at it, but didn't move her hand to touch it until Izuku quietly waved a hand over it, then she snatched it up like a hawk.

It was heavy, though not so much that she couldn't hold it one handed, and ended in sharp claws stained with Plasm, dripping from the tips like a small fountain. Rebecca caught a drop, feeling the icy cold of it, and brought it to her lips for a taste, a macabre lipstick.

"Which Key?" She asked, staring at the Memento in her hand. It had the same not-real realness Sin Eaters had in the Underworld, part of the Twilight and the Living at the same time. Among the Bound it was already a valuable treasure, and when Izuku Midoriya was involved, it was practically valueless.

"Don't know, I never used it," Izuku said, voice almost clinical, "Haven't touched it since I got it really, but probably Blood or Cold Wind. It belonged to a Ghost Eater I took out last year, leader of a death cult, would slit the throat with the blades then eat the ghost. It's got a single shot 12 gauge on the back, blew off most of my head with that one."

"Oh, Izu," Rebecca cooed, slipping on the gauntlet and feeling the foam inside immediately start to constrict until it was comfortable around her arm, "You get me the best presents."

"I was actually gonna give it to Maine, but if you want it-"

"I do."

"Then that's my payment," Izuku said, "Now, let's lay out what Haunts we have, because I don't know if you picked up any more since I last saw you and I have no idea what David has. I'll go first, shall I?"

— X David X—

"Uh," David swallowed, watching Rebecca play with the gauntlet and distinctly aware he had been kinda screwed out of any payment for this job. Not that he thought it was deliberate, just… felt different from how Maine ran things. Everyone got a fair cut there, "Anything for me?"

"I don't have any more Mementos I'm willing to part with at the moment," Izuku said, "How's five thousand sound? Paid upfront, if you want."

David's eyes bugged out. That was a lot of scratch for a job that might just be seat warming, "You, uh, you sure?"

"I have a tidy collection from jobs I've run with Maine at home," Izuku said with a shrug, "it'd be suspicious if a Japanese national suddenly showed up with a collection of American money after every job, so most of it stays unconverted so I can convert what I need at random times. It's a bit of a pain."

"You never told us about that," Rebecca said, drinking from her gin and tonic.

"Never needed to," Izuku said, "never did the jobs for the money. Anyways, onto the Haunts. I have access to the Caul, the Memoria, the Tomb, the Shroud and the Void. You know what each of those do?"

"All but the last one," David said, "The Void? Never heard of that one before."

The Caul was using Plasm to merge with your Geist and bring it into the real world. Looked like a Transformation type Quirk, he had seen Maine use it, and it was… something, to watch a (admittedly tall) two hundred pound man turn into a half ton giant capable of throwing cars around.

The Memoria, that was one Rebecca had, and was strange. Sometimes, she would touch a ghost's Anchor and seem to go into a vision, tattooed eyes staring into infinity until she suddenly snapped out of it… other times, more often the room around them would shift and change like Kiwi was using her magic, and they would collectively watch a memory play out. Gang executions, back alley stabbings, pater familicides never anything happy, but always something they could learn from on their job.

He didn't know anyone who used the Tomb before now. He thought it was a Haunt mostly used by the Abiding, was that what Izuku was? Someone who had come back to leave a legacy on the world? But the way Maine had described it when he talked about the Haunts, if the Memoria recreated memories and events, the Tomb recreated objects. The bloodstained knife, the smoking gun, ect.

The Shroud was one he could use himself. It was the opposite of the Caul, basically. Instead of merging with your Geist and bringing it into the real world, you let it bring you into the Twilight. David didn't like it, letting the thin barrier between himself and the Clockwork Giant down, but it was helpful for sneaking, especially when combined with Sandevistan.

"That's because only gonks use it," Rebecca said, eyes narrowing as she stared at Izuku, "I told you not to."

"I'll be fine," Izuku said.

"You'll keep saying that right up until it eats you alive."

"It's a trump card, I'm not using it as a crutch, Becca-"

"Don't Becca me, now," Rebecca said, jabbing Izuku in the side repeatedly, causing him to squirm, "it's a gonk move! Messing around with the Void is asking for a short life."

"Half as long, twice as bright, if you ask me."

"And you're a dumbass for that," Rebecca growled, throwing herself back into her seat, "You know me. Shroud, Caul, Memoria, Curse, Rage. David's got Curse, Oracle, Shroud. We're using masks?"

"Probably should, don't want our faces plastered all over the media if this goes loud."

— X izuku X—

Izuku crouched on the roof of the building in front of their target, an All Might bandana covering his face and a balaclava covering his hair. Rebecca whistled through her Mox gas mask, staring down a scope before handing it over to David, "You sure this is a Slasher? Looks like it might be organized crime."

"First time scoping out the place," Izuku said, "If it's organized crime, I hate to see the turn over rate, with the amount of people Chisaki has killed."

"Might be enemies he's zeroing," Rebecca said, spinning her baseball cap on her finger.

"Doubt it," the Fury said to the Necropolitan, "They wouldn't be that angry if they were enemies."

"Yeah, probably," Rebecca said, "So, how are we doing this, Izu?"

"Normally I'd send for Kiwi, wait for her to get here and then kidnap a member to raid for info," Izuku said, "But I promised Mom this would be the last night I stay out… so we're doing this a bit less subtle, Becca."

"Going in loud?"

"Not yet, not unless we have to," Izuku said, "I'm gonna Shroud, go in there and scrounge around for info. I'll keep you in the loop, let you know if we're going loud."

"Got it, don't get yourself killed," Rebecca said, and Izuku cracked a small smile at her as he breathed out. Plasm welled up, leaking out of his pores and suffusing his clothes, turning him monochromatic as he stood up and walked to the edge of the building, plummeting off the roof and into the Twilight. He strode through the wall of the compound and into the building without slowing. Eyes scanning through it, he noticed the pair of men standing in front of a potted plant.

Yeah, like that wasn't suspicious.

Phasing his head through the floor, he stared at the cement staircase before phasing the rest of the way through and continuing his way into the labyrinth below. Stopping at the first door, Izuku passed through it and stopped, frowning at the contents.

What was a man hooked up to high tech medical gear doing here, instead of a hospital? Glancing around, Izuku slid into the only corner unwatched by a camera before sliding out of Twilight for a second.

There's an old man here, Becca he typed into a battered phone, hitting the send button. After a second, Rebecca responded.

Chi-whatever?

Don't think so. Looks comatose.

Izuku took a picture, making sure the flash was off, and sent it to Rebecca.

Weird, why not send him to the hospital?

Dunno, Izuku sent, before plunging back into the Twilight and exiting the room to continue looking for Chiseki.

Most of the rooms were filled with beds, couches and TVs, but finally, Izuku came across a guarded room that sent his gut rolling.

It was a medical room, the table in the middle stained with blood, death and small belts. Too small. Too small.

Izuku dropped the Shroud and used the Memoria, drawing on the ambient death to watch a man with a beak mask walk around the table with a scalpel and needles. On the table was a girl with white hair and a horn, who couldn't be older than four or five.

Izuku brought the phone up to his ear with one hand, drawing the mts255 with the other and growling the second Rebecca picked up, "We're going loud. Don't let anyone escape alive if you can help it."

"Izuku?"

"They're not just organized Crime," Izuku said as he fought to keep Yo from lashing out around him. He grabbed the door, throwing it open and grabbing the guard by the shoulder, whipping him around and shoving the sawed off under his chin, "They're part of the Web of Pain."

A loud bang roared through the labyrinth, rupturing Izuku's eardrums, only for Plasm to immediately heal the injuries and he dropped the headless body as bone, blood and brain matter splattered him. Plasm leaked from his body again, shifting his frame, forming extra arms and vertebrates until Izuku was forced to go on all eighteen limbs.

— X AN X–

Oh, yeah, shit goes down in the next chapter. Thoughts, questions or opinions? Good? Bad? Meh?