She'd since lost track of how many days she'd been shackled to a wall for. The black iron chain fastened to her wrist was merely another added weight that she'd grown uncomfortably accustomed to. Her previous cell at least had a window that allowed for some semblance of light to pass through– fresh air— not to mention a cot to lie down on. For as stiff as it had been, she found herself missing it.

Like, a lot.

Ochaco Uraraka hated her new cell. There was no window and there was no cot! Nothing semi-comfortable to lay on top of! Not even a pillow! These guys are such jerks!

When she wasn't standing alone or milling about her confined space mindlessly, she was huddled in the corner, shivering due to the underlying cold. The conditions she was being forced to exist in were beginning to drive her mad.

To better cope with her situation, she developed imaginary scenarios where All Might burst through the brick wall of the villain's hideout. She was pretty sure the symbol of peace was invincible, so small fry like Shiggy, Dabi, Toga, Shirai and Dr. Ujiko would all be toast in a matter of seconds as they posed no threat to him. The only villain she was unsure of was the one that everyone either referred to as Sensei or Master. He was also responsible for her being quirkless.

And so obviously, if they wanted her dead, they would've killed her already. There wasn't any point in dragging anything out here by starving her, but what could they possibly hope to gain by torturing a helpless teenager? Well…

Because Toga.

The deranged blonde had stolen so much of her blood she was surprised that she hadn't turned anemic. Toga's transformation quirk allowed her to take on the appearance of anyone whose blood she's consumed. Which in turn meant that Uraraka was used to witnessing an identical twin version of herself strutting around– pretending to be her– quite often. She couldn't decide what was more horrifying about her current crisis– the fact that no one knew she was missing– or that nobody at UA knew who she was before she applied there! Even if Toga slips up, WHO in their right, SANE mind, is going to notice that something isn't right about her!? They ALL believe that imposter is actually her! Toga even had her own parents fooled!

Her family– Ma and Pa— the two people she openly cherished more than anyone else– she had watched, fully gagged, tears spilling sideways across her sickly rose cheeks– as Toga spoke to them casually over a facetime call, telling them all about her first day at UA. The camera cut off just shy of her violently kicking and screaming frame. Mere pixels separated her from discovery and safety.

Despite her developing an immense hatred for the masquerading psycho, Uraraka had to admit that the other teen had copied her own mannerisms to an astonishing degree. The instinctual pinky lift? Her enthusiastic demeanor? Making herself float whenever she got really flustered? Toga had nearly every defining trait figured out while she had no other option other than to wallow in self pity.

This was an attempt to break her will, no doubt.

It nearly proved successful, as the survivor instinct embedded somewhere inside of her declared not even that was enough. So she got a little physical. Which is what culminated in her suddenly throwing hands with Dabi. The only reason she hadn't been converted into a smoking shish kabob was because of the excessive amount of wood surrounding them. The scarred drunkard either wasn't stupid enough or intoxicated enough to make that decision on everyone else's behalf.

So he held back.

Though not before giving her a black eye, spitting on her, then proceeding to call her a whole slew of awful slurs. Throw in a few dozen kicks into her ribs– both sides and sprinkle in a couple stomps to the head and a brief, and by brief she means– Dr. Ujiko looked at her once– checkup informed her that she was slightly concussed and had a few broken ribs. Nothing that time won't heal.

She'd never prayed for a stray lightning bolt to smite someone down before until then, but that seemed like as good a time as any.

Prior to her breaking Dabi's nose (Which is the reason she was demoted here in the first place), she would receive three perfectly portioned meals a day.

Now?

One portion.

When they felt like it.

"Oh, Ocha~chan!"

'Please! Someone, make it stop!' Uraraka thought despairingly, trembling upon seeing the source of the voice emerge and swing around the corner.

"Hey-hey! Guess what I'm gonna say!" The blonde yipped, sticking her face in between the matte coated bars.

Uraraka shivered in response.

"I have a date today!" She giggled hysterically, grinning ear from ear.

She certainly wasn't expecting that.

'A date? Does that mean…?' Her suspicions were confirmed as she heard the familiar sound of wet clay slapping the ground.

She hated it whenever Toga did this– forcing her to look at this- this false animation of her.

"Well? Am I cute? I don't want to look bad for my crush!" She made a show by putting on an array of poses, displaying how Uraraka would've looked had she been attending the hero academy; A gray dress jacket over a white dress shirt, a red tie, and a dark teal skirt. Her outfit was completed using black tights and personally bought brown slip-on shoes.

"I'll take it, you're too stunned to speak!" Toga hummed cheerily when she said nothing.

"Don't ya wanna know who it is?" She whispered mysteriously, leaning in.

"Screw you." Uraraka rasped painfully.

"Izuku Midoriya– you remember him, right!? I know you do, you told me all about him! About how he saved you!"

'He was the first responder.' Uraraka thought dismally. 'Iida was the one who actually lifted and carried me to safety. Even then, I didn't know who Midoriya was until I saw the news about him on TV. He's going on a date with me- no— with Toga?' She choked back a sob.

Now it seemed that her own mind was beginning to play tricks on her.

'How dare she live a life that's not hers!?' She shrieked mentally.

Embarrassment, shame– humiliation– a swathe of other emotions she hoped wouldn't be awakened while she was imprisoned here, soon rose from their slumber. Instinctively, she curled in on herself, cradling her throbbing skull in her arms. Smaller breaths meant that the pain from her ribs would be kept to a minimum. She ignored how empty her stomach felt as it growled in protest.

"You're not so fun when you don't want to talk back." Toga pouted.

"Make sure you listen to me when I need details. No matter how precise they might be, if I say I need them, then I NEED Them." She emphasized her seriousness by tightly clutching the metal bars of her cell.

Uraraka didn't vocalize a response, instead shifting deeper inside her corner of security. Toga couldn't place it, as she felt an odd pang of… well, something– she didn't harbor the vernacular to properly describe it. Ever since Sensei gifted her Ochaco's zero gravity quirk to make her disguise more convincing, she'd been having exponentially more of these random impulses.

Intrusive thoughts. Or maybe they were extrusive. That's what Shirai told her, when she offered him her list of symptoms. He insisted that he had no clue how Sensei's powers worked but then mentioned that it was 'theoretically' possible that her quirk (Her original DNA) was clashing with Ochaco's.

Given that information, Toga was inclined to believe she was becoming more like Ochaco than she ever could've hoped for. Down to the neurotic level. Only now she wasn't sure if this is truly what she always wanted. If this continues at the rate that it is, she might have to beg Sensei to get rid of zero gravity quirk outright. Maybe Ochaco would go back to normal if she got her quirk back?

Because for Toga, normally, seeing someone get the snot kicked out of them brought her a great deal of pleasure. As of late, she seemed to prefer avoiding these unnecessary acts of violence, serving to perplex a perpetually hungover Dabi. Yesterday, she could barely stomach stabbing her own ankle to grab Izuku's attention. She found her resolve being tested in ways that had never stumped her preceding this.

"You can tune me out– just know that if you refuse to give me the necessary amount of blood and personal info that I request from you, then Shiggy said that the creepy mad scientist dude was going to turn you into another one of his pets!"

Ochaco glanced up hesitantly– fearfully.

"W-w-what do you mean b-by… pet?"

"I'm talking about the Nomu, silly!"

"The Nomu?" The brunette whispered to herself, though recognition was evident in her vacant gaze.

"So you've seen em' stalkin around here, haven't ya?" She applied Ochaco's accent, blushing.

"Those Nomu, they're made from real people, aren't they?" Ochaco inquired, tone disbelieving.

Toga nodded to confirm her suspicions.

"Sensei says that they're like zombies. Apparently, the human body can only handle taking in so many quirks at a time. The conversion process pretty much turns them brain dead unless they had a quirk beforehand that gave them higher functioning abilities to compensate." Toga– visibly Ochaco– appeared genuinely concerned.

Which is the dilemma she now found herself in.

"Shiggy's leading an attack against UA on Friday… Don't try anything risky until things simmer down around here. OK?"

That sent a variety of different messages to the despondent teen, causing her to withdraw again.

"Guess I'll see ya?" Toga mumbled, taking the hint that her 'best friend' wasn't in a talking mood.

Ochaco's glare wasn't lost on her, but she didn't have time to console her any further, she had to get to school on time.

This operation could potentially lead to the collapse of hero society entirely– as long as the League continued to play their cards right. Setbacks were discouraged, but if they managed to cover up their tracks before the heroes inevitably came snooping by, then their job was still in effect. There was going to be a lot of fighting and a lot of death in the middle of all this– though she would gladly be the one to draw first blood if it meant this was the only way to make a real change. That's how Toga rationalized her actions. Besides, zero gravity dagger throwing was insanely badass.

Located on the opposite end of the villain's Kamino hideout, the evil All For One was going for a peaceful stroll amongst his rows of incubation tanks stowed away in his underground lab. Each vessel contained a promising Nomu. Accompanying him was the nefarious Dr. Ujiko.

"How is progress, doctor?" The titan All For One rumbled from behind his mask, reaching out to stroke the illuminated glass of a tank, studying the embryonic structure it held.

Rather than responding verbally, the doctor hastily led him towards a backroom.

"Hmm?" The criminal kingpin's thug-like stride soon ground to a halt as he was slowly introduced to the sight of nearly fifty Nomu organized in five separate rows– all resembling one of Midoriya's transformations.

"As you can tell by their appearances, the majority I composed using 'Shadeshifter' as the genetic base. In fact, you can thank Shadeshifter's unique biology, because without it, I wouldn't have been able to synthesize and replicate the quirk factor from those dead samples. As for the concerns we had on account of their body heat, I have counteracted that vulnerability to thermal vision by infusing them with a cold-blooded quirk!"

"A most excellent job, doctor. An undetectable, invisible army…" He smirked wickedly into his respirator, imagining the chaos he could sow with such power at his disposal.

Dr. Ujiko paused to proudly reorient his gear-shaped goggles.

"Last week, I unveiled the High End intended to kill your arch nemesis. Today, I present to you the successfully replicated Slipstream Nomu!" The medical practitioner gestured to a scraggly Nomu that was already padding over towards them.

Circling around it to obtain a better viewing, All For One thoroughly examined Dr. Ujiko's creation in all its glory. This Nomu was over two and a half meters tall, and would've been taller had it not been for its slightly hunched back. Its features were consistent with that of the original Slipstream, only this version appeared more gnarled– more savage. In place of sky blue fur was a sunburnt orange. Behind the iconic eye tufts, glistening a pale violet, was the trademark exposed brain matter. Another feature they displayed was having a severe underbite, a commonality with these special batches of Nomu.

The doctor spoke up anxiously while his masters back was turned to him:

"They're not perfect, mind you— I still have adjustments and errors to iron out– but it is capable of matching the same speeds as demonstrated by Midoriya. Following the Goldman Tower Incident, the Seeker Edition Nomu you had me deploy secured three separate DNA samples! Those of which belong to Midoriya's transformations; Iron Jaw, Terraquake and Atlantean."

"Hmm. We still lack control over the skies." All For One acknowledged the weakness, stressing the doctor even further.

"I've had less time to work with the genetic information for those three, which is why there is only one of each. I will be able to make more in the future– and at greater efficiency." His panicked attempt at reassurance was met by hoarse sounding laughter.

"This is why you're my right hand." The dark industrial mask crackled.

"Y-yes! I- I'm honored to serve you, my master." He bowed humbly.

"I will reward you soon." He patted the shorter man's bald head.

When he pulled back, the doctor tentatively asked:

"What of the girl? The one that Himiko Toga is impersonating?"

"Ochaco Uraraka is to remain alive and relatively unharmed. If the worst comes to worst, we can use her as decoy. Or I can give her to you."

"The Nomufication, I can do. Though, a diversion tactic? Would the heroes fall for that?"

All For One respected the mad scientist's brilliance so vastly that he refrained from throwing a cliché villainous temper tantrum at his subordinate for challenging his strategy.

"The heroes will perceive rescuing Uraraka as a victory. But that's not the reality of the situation… Now is it, Doctor?"

Dr. Ujiko considered his master's words, discerning the ambiguity within them.

"…If we take laboratory expansion into consideration, coupled with advancements in procedure and production, I can envision— given another couple months— we'll be three hundred strong. Minimum."

"You emphasize my point exactly. For the first time throughout my reign, I possess the numbers advantage— not those pests in capes and spandex." He splayed his arms out as if he were puppeteering his battalion of mutated corpses.

"Our strength… it will be overwhelming… unstoppable." Dr. Ujiko breathed, finally grasping the scope of the project he assisted kicking into motion.

"We must not grow complacent while we are ahead. Patience is vital, and if Tomura's mission proves to be a success, then All Might ceases to be a part of that equation."

"Without him blocking your path, there won't be anyone left to challenge you. You'll be in a league all of your own. While we're on the subject– Izuku Midoriya– what do you intend to do with him?"

"Toga is squeezing the finer details from him as we speak."

"My, she's good, isn't she?"

"Indeed she is, Doctor. Indeed she is."

Staring into the red flames of the fireplace from his private suite in Hosu, he wondered how he fell so far from grace. Shirai used to be an honorable man. He was certain of that. But the fire– its harsh glow– it constantly taunted him. It yammered on and on about how they never got to finish their job by killing him. Nightmares prevented him from escaping the burning sensation of the heroes hell flame, irreversibly branding his flesh. His purpose was to exact vengeance on the system that had not only failed him, but numerous others as well.

The same system he had fought for and risked his life to protect and preserve.

"Does anyone here know what kind of fruit this is?" Kaminari said with a full mouth, before displaying a pruned berry in his hand to the other denizens of the lunch table.

"It is extremely rude to speak while you're still chewing your food, Kaminari. Did your parents never teach you any manners?" Iida promptly chastised the electric quirk user.

"Yeah, they did. I just don't care." He shrugged, swallowing.

"But seriously, what is it? My mom bought some at the store the other day and I forgot what they were called. They're pretty good, actually. Hey, you want some, Iida?"

"I am fine. Thank you." The bespectacled boy sighed defeatedly.

"As for your inquiries surrounding that fruit you've been consuming— they're called dates."

"Eh? Dates? That's a confusing name. Why couldn't they have just given it an original name?"

"Bro, there is literally a fruit called an orange." Kirishima chuckled good-naturedly.

"They're called dates because they are harvested from the date palm tree." Iida supplied, eyes narrowing.

"Ohhh I get it now…"

Jiro's eyes flitted over to Green, who was clearly deep in thought as he'd been muttering 'date' repeatedly under his breath for the past thirty seconds. She detected his heart rate heightening in pace.

"A date!?" He slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide like he just made some otherworldly revelation.

"What's his problem?" Mineta's comment was differed to background noise of the bustling school cafeteria.

"He's got enthusiasm! Maybe you could learn a thing or two from Midoriya." Kaminari said in a snobbish manner as he tossed a berry at said teen– who wasn't paying attention.

The fruit bounced from his shoulder and rolled onto the floor.

"Oops! Sorry, I thought you'd catch that. Here—" He proceeded to volley another date in Green's direction.

He didn't even flinch. He hadn't reacted to anything going on around him at the table. With no warning whatsoever, he slid away from the table while in his chair. The group of students watched in amazement as a berry ricocheted off of Green's unsuspecting dome. The altered trajectory caused it to make a surprise crash landing into Iida's dish. Kaminari's shoulders were level with his ears, lips forming an O.

He guiltily turned to Iida. "Listen, if it means anything to you, I will never throw food, including dates, in the school cafeteria, ever again." The blonde placed his hand over his heart, then perhaps thinking he looked improper, switched arms.

"I solemnly swear."

Iida's intense glower had the electric quirk user sweating up a storm.

"I hope you intend to honor that." He suspensefully snatched the fruit in his chopsticks.

"You are also quite lucky that I happen to like dates." He inserted the berry into his mouth.

"Haha, yeah…" Kaminari mumbled, slowly deflating.

"So– " Ashido started, leaning on the table, biting her lip at Kevin flirtatiously. " –you single and ready to mingle?"

"Got a girlfriend already. Sorry."

The bubblegum teen wasn't dismayed, however. Crossing her arms dramatically.

"Let me guess, she goes to another school?"

The Osmosian halfling put down his half-eaten burger.

"Try another universe."

Her devastated pout and puppy dog eyes almost made him choke on his soda.

"At least your faithful." She gave up, puffing her cheeks out animatedly.

Kevin was full on laughing now. Sero shook his head in amused exasperation at the entire exchange.

"Green?" Jiro caught him as he was trying to depart from the group unseen.

"I'm– " He fake coughed, appearing unsure of what to say next.

His viridian irises realigned with her achromatic ones.

"I have a meeting with principal Nezu." His explanation was rushed.

The punk girl blinked at him owlishly. Did he just lie? To her face? Like, directly? He knew her quirk had the ability to detect lies, her jacks were sensitive enough to pick apart the irregular changes in a person's heart rate. Green himself was not immune to this effect. Before she could call him out on it, he was already gone. No parting words– only dust left in his wake.

"What was that about?"

She peered accusingly at the extended cafeteria. When she sensed that everything was as it should be, she covertly made to follow Green and see what he was up to. The last time she left him alone while at school, he and Bakugou encountered a villain in the locker rooms. Thankfully, they escaped unharmed– and this was UA– so the chances of a villain attack occurring on campus had to be extremely low. Jiro had a nagging feeling that Green's absent-mindedness during classes today is related to whatever this supposedly was.

Using her jacks, she was able to track him via the vibrations generated by his foot falls. She entered the vibrant gardens situated next to the school library. She took advantage of an unruly shrub that was tightly wedged beside a thick pine tree, crouching to hide herself from plain sight. The flesh cords extended from her ears, snaking and curling around the branches and leaves of the bush. She intended to aim them in a cone shaped area to best capture the oncoming sound waves.

Briefly, she considered that what she was doing was, by definition, eavesdropping. Though she swiftly rejected those implications. She was 'spying,' on Green to make sure he was safe. If what she heard indicated foul play, then she'd leap in, guns blazing. If not, then she'd pretend like nothing happened and return to the cafeteria.

Simple.

She peeked around the foliage, spotting him resting with his legs crossed on a plaid picnic blanket. Across from him, sat a brunette chick with blushing cheeks and umber eyes. In between them… was a- was that a bento box? Wait...

'Is he– are they– !?' Jiro had to do a doubletake to confirm that she wasn't witnessing an illusion of some kind.

She remembered what he'd said in the cafeteria less than ten minutes ago, when Kaminari's dumbass brought up that stupid fruit.

'A date!?' Green had squawked.

OK. So, not simple, actually. Feeling as if she'd been flattened by a steamroller, Jiro retreated to her original hiding place. Wetness tugged at her eyelids. Wiping a stray tear from her cheek, she awkwardly yelped when her foot kicked something out from underneath the bush. Upon reaffirming that she hadn't blown her cover, she reached to grasp it by the hilt. It had rusty splotches running along its serrated blade, reinforcing Jiro's belief that it was dried blood.

'What's a bloody knife doing in the UA gardens?'

Izuku had been extremely anxious for this supposed 'lunch date,' with Uraraka– and as a result he barely slept the previous night. He nearly had a mini panic attack when she texted him to meet her alone in the gardens– the same place they met. The text itself, while nothing scandalous, ended with multiple X's and O's. The implication of the message attributed to his ears catching on fire.

"Is your ankle feeling better? I know Recovery Girl's quirk can be exhausting."

"I've never felt better! Thanks to my hero!"

"Guh– !" Was his intellectually gathered response.

"Y-you're making such an ugly face!" She giggled in fits.

"Sorry, I can't really help it sometimes."

"Its fine. Hey, so I gotta know– whose your favorite hero?" Uraraka asked innocently enough, popping a bread roll into her mouth.

"All Might. Wait no–" He cut himself off. " –No. No, he used to be my favorite." Admitting that out loud– in front of Uraraka– it felt like ripping off an old band aid.

"Really? Who took his place?"

"You wouldn't know him. Probably." He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, shyly averting his gaze from hers.

"Try me!"

He laughed as he had to concede that it was–

" –Gran Torino."

"Gran Torino? You're right, I've never heard of that guy!"

He nodded.

"The reason he's my favorite now is because, when I was at my lowest– I mean, rock bottom... after everything that happened with Eon and losing my mom, I… I was going to give this up. Trying to be a hero…" He revealed, his attention growing hazy.

Uraraka regarded him with revitalized interest.

"This might sound strange, or maybe even crazy to you, but ever since I got my powers a year ago– my transformations– bad things happen to the people I love when they shouldn't have ever happened in the first place. The train was never meant to happen. Sh-Shirai– his mass suicide mission– that- that wasn't preplanned. That was pure chance. An improbable likelihood that I willed into being by choosing to keep- to keep…" He felt Uraraka's soft hand lie atop his, sparing the pinky.

He discovered that he really liked the physical contact.

"I've never wanted anything else in my life." He abandoned fear, now looking at her.

"You can't really think everything that happened was your fault?" Her brows pressed together concernedly.

He grimaced, unwilling to accept the notion.

"I'm going to be better. I have to be. If I don't, then my mom's death means nothing. So I am going to save everyone. Whatever it takes." He stated with unwavering conviction.

Uraraka's padded digits skimmed his buttoned sleeve.

"If a villain needed your help, would you save them, too?" She asked tentatively, eyes almost pleading.

"When someone asks to be saved, it means they've lost hope that their situation will get better. Only once we've resigned ourselves to that fate, do we cry for some semblance of support. It's human nature. We cope with loss in different ways. If we're being honest here, villains are in need of more saving than anyone else, right? They're people who feel like they're misunderstood by society– that… they are… somehow being forced to take desperate action. That's kind of a generalization, anyway that pretty much sums up my answer to your question. Gran Torino talked me out of giving up. He saved me. That's why he is my new favorite hero." He chuckled at the memory of the 'senile' old man.

"He's retired now though. What about you Ura- Ochaco?"

"Oof, that's a toughie. I'm not fond of many heroes, to be honest with you."

"You aren't?"

'Then, why did you want to become one? That's why you took the practical isn't it?' Izuku thought, confusion apparent on his features.

"...I think there are a lot of fake heroes."

"Fake heroes? Like, pro heroes that were exposed for being corrupt?"

She shook her head.

"Even a phony does their job once in a while. What I'm trying to get at is the big picture."

"Ideology?" He guessed.

"That's part of it." She pursed her lips.

"I want the world be an easy place for people to live in. So that- so that people like me don't have to pretend to be someone we aren't." She spoke like she knew from experience.

' H̶̱̖͍̺̪͗̈́͛́͐̈́̾̊͜͠ǫ̶̫̮̥͙͆w̸͎͈̪̟̩͆̆͋ͅ ̵͔̰̖̤͝i̵̳̭͐͊͋ṛ̴̫̩͗̾͋̈́̎̇͘ó̴̢̧̗̩̳̟̱̋n̶̡̘͙̒͐̈́̄̀i̴̙̗͗͒͋̒̂͂̍̃̚c̷̛̱̠͙̯̠̐̀̐͑.̴̢̘͇̤̳̠̣̳̪̏̓͌̋͛'̵̧̲͕̤̬͕͇̘͓̉̄̉́͝͠

The sensation of ice prickling at his vertebrae.

He wanted to ask her what she meant by all that, only to be interrupted by the bell, indicating the end of their lunch time.

"O-oh, dang. I guess I'll…?" He turned back as she clicked her bento box shut, grinning at him in a devious manner.

"Um, Ochaco?"

His body turned to stone when she pressed a light kiss on his cheek.

"See ya, Izu~ku!"

"SEE YOU!" He waved after her, though he didn't think she heard him.

'Why did she run off like that? Also, she is surprisingly fast.' He scratched his head.

In the midst of his mutterings during his walk through the halls, he collided with a separate lanky body.

"Sorry/Sorry!"

He went to check on them, only to receive a headbutt– as the other person had done the exact same motion.

"Ow! All Might!?"

"Young Midoriya?" The symbol of peace nursed his bruised skull while Izuku mirrored the action.

"Forgive me for that mishap. I should've been paying closer attention to where I was going!" He offered him his herculean hand.

Izuku observed the older man's face, as if trying to discern any hint of deception in his sapphire eyes. He took All Might's hand, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. Now that he was standing beside him, he realized that he was wearing his silver age costume. He even had the cape and everything.

"I, um, don't want to be late to class." Izuku jabbed his thumb over his shoulder, cringing at his lame excuse to get away from the hero.

"Not to fret young Midoriya! You won't be in any trouble for getting caught up with me!"

"Thanks?"

"Now, where is that 1-A again? You're my next class!"

'You have got to be kidding me.'

"I'll show you where it is. Follow me." He inwardly grumbled.