Rule #23: Never mess with a Hero's sidekick…if you want to live

Feverish panting and coughing fell from Toru's lips as she spilled out of the darkness and onto the dusty ground someplace away from the bar. Gazing around through blurry vision, she noticed that there were no heroes in sight, only the League of Villains, Bakugou, herself and a well-dressed masked man that Shigaraki referred to as 'Master'—most likely the same one that he communed with through the television earlier that day.

Evening had fallen by now, casting the rubble-filled location in an eerie glow and the newly masked villain was the only thing illuminated by the light of the full moon amongst the lazily drifting dust clouds. Toru tensed as she propped herself upright, teeth clenched tight as she hissed out her pain. Whoever this 'Master' was, she had no intentions of finding out what he could do, however with her body the way it was, she may not have the choice.

Golden eyes followed Master's calm gait towards the crouched villain to her right. "So, you failed once more, Tomura?" His tone was almost scolding, like a parent to a child. "But you must not be discouraged, you'll try again, that's why I brought your associates back with you. Even if they were children of the Deity of Death—" Toru received a pet on her crown as the villain passed, making her turn her tearful gaze towards him as he came to a stop in front of Shigaraki with hand held out. "—And All Might; because you judged them to be important pieces on your game board. Start over as many times as it takes, I am here to provide you with help. All of this is for you"

A beat of silence rang through the dusty clearing before the villain turned from Shigaraki, his hand lowering as he did so. Casually turning to face the moon and bask in its light, he sighed as if he had just discovered his missing keys. "Ah, there you are"

"I'LL HAVE YOU RETURN MY STUDENTS, ALL FOR ONE!" All Might decreed as he suddenly reentered the picture in a blaze of glorified fury. Both of the punches he had fired were easily caught by the newly dubbed All for One.

"Have you come to kill me a second time, All Might?" All for One taunted, the shockwaves of All Might's entrance still radiating outwards from the two and whipping the area around them into chaos.

"ACK!" Toru cried as she was suddenly flung backwards alongside the others, the power of the aftershock ripping through the area like one of Bakugou's explosions. Her breath was knocked out of her when her back met the outcropping edge of some rubble, leaving her already breathless body to gasp in lungfuls of air. Across the battlefield, All for One's voice carried.

"It took you long enough to find us" All for One taunted as the smoke cleared to reveal him shaking out his fists and All Might who knelt a pace or two away. "It's only five kilometres from the bar to here, and yet it was at least thirty seconds after I sent the Nomu that you arrived. You've gotten weaker, All Might"

"You're one to talk!" All Might fired back as he rose to his feet, "Kind of difficult to ignore that fancy life support mask you've got on. Aren't you over exerting yourself?" Winds whipped in circles around the two opponents and buildings leant precariously to either side in the wake of that one destructive hit. "I won't repeat the mistake I made five years ago, you hear me?! I will take my students back! And I will make certain you're locked up for the rest of your sad life! RIGHT ALONGSIDE YOUR DESPICABLE LEAGUE OF VILLAINS!"

"Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you, this will be hard for us both!" All for One replied as he reengaged All Might, this time using a torrent of compressed air that sent the Symbol of Peace sailing through the air and straight through the rows of buildings behind him. "Hm! Air cannon plus spring-like limbs" All for One mused, rolling his wrists "Kinetic booster times four, strength enhancer times three. What a delightful combination! Maybe a few more enhancers next time…"

Once again, Toru found herself cowering away from the onslaught of the shockwaves produced by the two overpowered Quirk users in front of her. What little breath she had regained was soon used to hack up the dust reentering her lungs. Nearby, Bakugou had pushed himself to his knees in a crouch, where the blonde then stared wide-eyed after his longtime idol as he sailed away. "All Might!" Bakugou cried in disbelief, only able to see the wake of destruction trailing in his wake.

"Don't you worry" All for One turned to Bakugou who unsteadily rose to his feet, "It'll take more than that to kill him" Almost instinctively, Toru's eyes flashed wickedly at the word 'kill' almost as if it had triggered her 'assassin-mode'. Shoving her mind-numbing pain down as far as it could go, she hauled herself to her feet, only just managing to prop herself up into an awkward crouch with the help of the piece of rubble behind her. It wasn't much, but it was enough.

All for One's attention shifted to Shigaraki for a moment as he ordered the bluenette to vacate the area, "Get off the battlefield, Tomura, and take those children with you" He simply raised an ungloved hand in the air as his blackened and veiny fingers shot out towards Kurogiri, impaling themselves in his unconscious form. "Kurogiri, warp them away"

"Be careful!" Magne interjected as he rushed forth, "One of the heroes messed with him and he's unconscious! I'm not sure what's going on, but if you can teleport, you don't you get us outta here?!"

"My warp power is still new, Magne, there is much I need to learn about it. It's distance is limited and while he can teleport to specific co-ordinates, I only transport people to and from my own location. Or—with focus— to or from someone I am very familiar with, that is all. It's easier to have Kurogiri do it—"

"What the—!" Magne jumped back from his comrade as the familiar warp gate sprung to life above him.

"—Forceful Quirk Activation"

"Holy hell!" Toru gasped watching only a sample of the villain's power come to life.

"Leave this place" All for One ordered.

"What about you?" Shigaraki questioned just as All Might's appeared from the rubble he had been tossed into, launching into the sky like a bird.

"You're not thinking, Tomura" All for One scolded as, he too, lifted into the air "There remains much room for you to grow"

"YOU'RE MINE!" Cried All Might sending a hefty blow towards All for One's head. Although this was easily blocked by a raised forearm. The two old acquaintances tousled in the air for a moment, before they became reacquainted with the ground and their fight continued in earnest.

"Master…!" Shigaraki murmured watching his teacher take on the Symbol of Peace without a single thought.

"Let's go, Shigaraki!" Compress said as he used his Quirk to suck his fallen comrades into the marbles in his pockets, "While our masked-leader is keeping All Might entertained. Claim your prize"

Compress' statement was all the warning the young heroes had. Toru had half a mind to slip the USB (still clutched in her hands) into her mouth as she rocked to her feet, gritting her teeth so hard against the pain that she thought they'd break. Stepping out of the large modified hazmat suit, she joined Bakugou by his side, listing only slightly even as she blinked rapidly against her dizzy vision and the numbness tickling at her legs.

"This is gonna be fun!" Bakugou grinned, dropping into a battle stance as he fell into his brashly confident default setting.

"YOUNG BAKUGOU! DON'T—!" All Might pushed himself away from All for One to stop the other fight before it began, but he never made it that far. All for One's tentacle-like fingers shot out and tried to wrap the blonde hero in tight bindings. In turn, both young heroes were set to work in dodging the onslaught on attacks from the rest of the villains. Where Bakugou was dodging Twice, Toga and Compress' attacks, Toru faced off against Spinner (who seemed to have a personal vendetta against once she had admitted to killing Stain) and Magne. Shigaraki remained off to the side just watching the scene play out with tight fists; almost like a child throwing a tantrum.

Toru refused to land a proper attack on the villains, not out of any sense of morality, but because she feared if she hit too hard or with too little control that she'd kill them. She could feel the ultraviolet light just beneath her skin, bursting to explode from her skin and the effort she had to enforce just to keep her bones from crumbling inwards was immense. I…don't know…how much…longer…I can…take this! She panted, sweat making her clothes stick to her skin.

Dancing out of the way of one of Magne's attacks, Toru found herself back-to-back with Bakugou surrounded by a ring of persistent villains. "SHIT! You're burning!" Bakugou exclaimed as his back briefly met hers, only to jump away when the heat of her Quirk made him spark uncontrollably.

"Gee? Really?…I hadn't…noticed!" Toru panted sarcastically around the USB still in her mouth.

"Oi! What is with you?!"

"Well, I can't feel my legs for one, and I'm pretty sure I'm going supernova, for two"

"What the hell is that?!"

"Bad…really…really bad" Toru dodged a kick from Spinner, "DUCK!" Spinning on her heel she launched a UV-powered punch towards Twice who had launched himself from a pile of outcropping rubble off to the side. No sooner had Bakugou ducked, did Twice let out a screech of pain full of agony.

"What the fuck was that?!" Bakugou demanded as he rose to his feet and watched with wide eyes as Twice writhed and thrashed on the ground in agony. Monstrous burn marks and harsh redness covered his skin like a rash.

"Like I…I said…really bad" Toru panted, dropping her hands to her knees as she panted and wheezed harshly. This is nothing…like what happened…after Stain! Why…does it…hurt so…much?

Before Bakugou could fathom a reply, a small wall across the way exploded as an oddly dressed trio of their peers appeared. Toru couldn't help but furrow her brows in puzzlement as she watched Midoriya & Iida hug Kirishima's sides as they entered the scene. A huge glacier of ice shot out from underneath the boys which they used as a runway to shoot themselves across the sky, pulling everyone's attention to them.

"C'ME ON!" Kirishima cried, holding out an arm to the two.

"Wha—AHHHHHH!" Toru screeched when she felt herself get yanked skyward by her wrist. Sparks flew from the contact between the two teens as unstable UV met glycerine sweat, but Bakugou paid it no mind, instead using his free hand to launch them into the air with one of the largest explosions Toru had ever seen him create.

"RAAAAAAAAAAH!" Bakugou roared as the two sailed through the air, using smaller explosions to reach their classmates. "YOU IDIOTS!" He grinned unabashedly as his hand slapped into Kirishima's.

"Bakugou!" Iida called from Kirishima's right, "On my mark, you give us a giant—"

"Don't tell me what to do! Damn you!" Bakugou retorted.

"It's not the time to fight, guys!" Kirishima scolded, "Hagakure, are you okay?" The redhead spared a glance over his shoulder at the feverishly panting invisible girl who he could now see.

"U-ummm…" Toru's eyes had become glazed over by this point as she watched the world unfold around her. Down below, Magne had sent Compress and Spinner racing towards the fleeing heroes-in-training, only to be intercepted by Mount Lady who appeared just in time to block their magnetised attack from reaching the teens.

"E-er…" Rolling her head up towards her classmates, she just barely registered how their eyes bulged at her appearance, how they trailed over her guise like they had never seen her before. "Wait—You can see me?" Toru turned to her oddly-dressed peers, "Like flesh and hair and stuff?"

"Ye~ah…" Kirishima stretched out the word, "Are you all right?"

"Shit!" Toru exclaimed, eyes blown wide. "Lemme go! Lemme go!" Her body burned bright as she struggled in Bakugou's grip, making the blonde cry out in pain and in turn, causing him to drop her.

"HAGAKURE!" She heard Iida call as she free-fell a little ways before getting her feet underneath her.

Once upright, she shot up into the air like a rocket, trailing violet light behind her as she went. At some point during her abrupt flight, she had burnt through her remaining clothing which fluttered to the ground like wayward leaves, leaving her completely bare. She pushed herself as far as she could go—passing by her startled classmates who hung in the air with Bakugou dangling beneath them and wove around Mount Lady as she stumbled & fell to her knees, causing the earth to quake. Toru only got so far however, before her skin began to bubble and burn like a cauldron, the light surrounding her turning blinding as she finally began the last stages of the supernova.

Her body shook vigorously like it was seizing mid-air and her eyes rolled back into her head as her Quirk turned on her. Head pounding like a drum and heart jackhammering in her chest as if it were trying to escape and her skin bubbling like boiling water, she knew nothing but pain. From her flesh, burning spheres of solid ultraviolet burst forth like tiny little planets that sizzled in the air. Varying in number and size, the bunting masses filled the air around her and circled her thrashing form in rings upon rings.

Pain-filled screams ripped from her lungs as she burned and her body seized its rigorous shaking, only to be replaced with the feeling of her body folding inwards, of bones breaking and falling away. Faintly she could hear frantic and pained calls of her name, of someone crying in the distance…or maybe it was her? Was she crying? It wouldn't surprise her if she was. Pain filled her very core; it tore at her very being like she had never known anything else.

And then she imploded. Multicoloured lights burst from her center with an almighty boom, moving out in enormous shockwaves that burnt the tops of the tallest skyscrapers and melted the remaining cranes in her proximity. Though, that's not to say she was left unharmed: rashes of red scoured her arms and legs as they exploded up the limp limbs and crept across her cheeks like monstrous freckles. In some other mind, one might've even considered the dancing lights to be beautiful like the aurora borealis.

Soon enough, her heart began to stutter in her chest as it was no longer able to keep up with her Quirk, the tenacious hold she had on her conscious slipped through her fingers like water through a sieve. She seemed to hang in the air as deathly silence followed, only the fluttering of her heart in her chest could be heard as darkness finally exploded across her vision and her burning bones suddenly turned cold. Pale and limp, her lifeless body fell like a rock back to earth in a tangle of limbs and gasping breaths. True darkness enveloped her before she even hit the ground.