The villainous Albino was worrying away at one of the numerous scabs on his body as he looked at the screen in front of him, currently showing the fall out of that damnable Ben Tennyson's fight with Endeavor. The number 2 Hero, ex Hero now, was soundly defeated by a teenager. No, not just defeated, he was absolutely obliterated in the fight.
He bit down hard on his bottom lip, hard enough to make it bleed, as he thought back to the USJ massacre. That boy single handedly ruined a perfect plan to kill All Might. Using his own quirk no less!
There was something that was not right about that boy. He was far too skilled, far too experienced, and far too mature to be some hero in training. The way he didn't hesitate in almost killing him during the USJ massacre immediately tipped him off.
If he were placed in the same situation with any of the other heroes in training, hell even some Pro-Heroes, they would hesitate to go that far or even attempt it in the first place. Ben Tennyson heard him state that he would never stop and he wasn't afraid of getting killed on his quest and that was all he needed.
The scratching of his scabs didn't falter as he continued to analyze the screen in front of him and his mind continued to swirl multiple different thoughts before landing on just one.
Who the hell is this kid?
He looked to the ever present Kurogiri as the thought solidified into a need to find out.
"Hey, remember that stupidly OP NPC we fought in USJ? What do you make of him? He doesn't make any sense to me. It's like he's on a New Game ."
At the mention of the hero in question the smoke around Kurogiri rippled in agitation.
"Yes… Ben Tennyson is quite the mystery. He seemingly has an endless amount of Quirks, and that energy he can manipulate is somehow able to stop my Quirk dead in its tracks. Like the energy doesn't just exist here and now, but past the physical space it occupies."
Shigaraki nodded at this as he looked back at the screen. It just didn't make any sense whatsoever. If someone this powerful was active, then 'he' definitely would've known about him and even if he didn't, someone would have. There was no mention or record of him that they could find that was similar to Tennyson. It's just like he randomly appeared one day and started being a hero.
The confusion wasn't the only thing that bothered the villain. The amount of power that he held was infuriating. The way he easily defeated people or outthought them in battle made it seem as if this was no challenge provided to him. Not by a hero, not by a villain, there was nothing that could seem to stop him and that made him seethe.
Shigaraki couldn't stop himself from shuddering once at the horror he felt at losing control of not only his body but Quirk before it was used to disintegrate the Nomu. The sensations were there but he had no control.
"He's definitely cheating somehow, I just know it! His records we found made no mention of his OP powers let alone his skills. They're just…. Clean. Like he was body snatched or something."
It just didn't make any sense. There was definitely something strange going on with that boy and his abilities. His abilities added on top with his skill and maturity, placed him well above all the super powered individuals in the world!
The villainous Albino wasn't sure how he was doing it but he would. He would find it out and then take that power for himself. A child cannot, will not, and should not be the biggest threat to his plans. Ben Tennyson was not going to ruin them, no matter how OP he is.
"There is another odd thing actually, besides his power and skill. I've tried repeatedly to attack his home via portals, but it seems he's found a way to wrap his energy around it and several blocks past it too. In fact, it's been increasing in radius. Soon enough it'll even reach the bounds of UA itself."
That made his seething hatred leap enough to where he accidentally activated his quirk as he slammed his fists on the table in front of him, turning it into so much ash.
"He's being proactive?! You're our most mobile asset! If you're neutralized how're we going to function! We need to kill him fast, there's no way to know just how far he can stretch whatever OP energy he has! For all we know he can stretch it around the globe!"
Kurogiri was taken aback for a moment as the table was turned to dust and ash just like that. The shadowy villain regained his composure as he gave that some thought. If Ben Tennyson were to stretch this defense around the globe, his ability would be rendered practically useless. What the hell is this kid?
"If we were to go about it, how would we? He clearly seems to know what he's doing and people with defenses like this aren't just leaving themselves open to attack."
Shigaraki bit back a scream as his gaming system crashed to the floor and the screen cracked, much like his patience and inhibition.
"Isn't it obvious? Since we've faced the final boss so early and we can see his weak little friends … well. If we can't take care of the boss right now we can kill his minions. He's surrounded by noobs after all and they camp away in a stronghold 5 days a week. If we kill enough there we'd hit him where he'd never be able to recover. It's not like he's OP enough to save people from death after all."
He grins as he stomps on his now useless machine, it's guts spilling all over the floor as he imagined the look of horror on Ben's face as his classmates die in front of him.
Kurogiri looked at the Albino villain and went into thought for a moment. While that could be the case for an average hero or hero in training, something told him that Ben would not be quite the same.
Considering how powerful the child was and how quick he was to use such power to protect others, he felt even the attempt of such a thing would be the end of them all. But, he supposed that could also be the case for every other hero they've faced. A sigh was released from him before he spoke.
"That is the most logical as even together, we wouldn't face a chance against the boy as much as I hate to admit it."
The albino nods.
"Of course if we're to do this we'll need to make sure to kill as many Pro Heroes as possible since they'd swarm like maggots after the initial attack. We can still make use of your Quirk to bomb as many places as possible before going after UA proper."
Kurogiri nodded at what was just said as the idea continued to grow and swirl around in his head. It would definitely make things a bit easier for them. One overpowered superhero taken out due to trauma and several pro heroes and heroes in training taken out permanently for extra measure. Not to mention, it would definitely send a better message to the world than what happened with their last attempt.
Unbeknownst to them they were being watched by a bug created by Ben earlier. Aizawa sighed in irritation as he put more eye drops in his eyes before looking at Nezu.
"I know we should wait until they mobilize but it really rubs me wrong that they're talking about killing my students. Thankfully All Might wasn't here to see this otherwise their base would have been a crater before white haired and murderous finished talking."
The white furred principal nodded in agreement as he continued to ponder on what was just said. Truthfully, this group was getting far too ambitious for anyone's liking, especially his. Aizawa was right and these individuals were quite lucky that All Might wasn't listening to this.
"It would make more sense to wait for them to mobilize but to take care of them now would not be a horrible option either. We would have to go over an actual plan of doing so with Mr. Tennyson and All Might as well. You know, after calming him down from the news of what they're planning. They are a constant and it's quite clear they are not going to stop until they win. Normally, I would hold doubt for a student having a way to potentially take away someone's quirk permanently but Mr. Tennyson continues to shatter my doubt with every move he makes. Not to mention, after our unfortunate incident with the former second hero in the world, taking down this 'League of Villains' would be a good place to regain some trust from the general public."
Aizawa nods.
"Still given the level of technology Ben's original reality has, as we've both seen examples of multiple times like that barrier he placed around the Sports Festival in case of attack, it wouldn't surprise me if he already had some idea on how to do it. Though if he ever actually makes it we'd definitely need to keep it under lock and key, there's no telling what the public would do if they find out we can take away Quirks."
Nezu nodded as he interlocked his fingers.
"Considering the knack he has for planning ahead, I wouldn't doubt it. The last thing we need is a panic regarding the abilities of a majority of the population."
Aizawa nods before pausing halfway and pinching the bridge of his nose as he sighs.
"Fuck. I think he has this place bugged too."
The screen they were watching the feed from whited out before a hologram of Ben showed up.
"Not quite. Ben doesn't actually view these himself. I'm… well I guess you could call me a digital clone of him he made when he first turned 18 to help deal with things that were piling up at the time. It really helped when he blacked out for a week after turning into a new alien form and being overwhelmed from it's cosmic empathy going haywire. Thankfully he's asleep right now, finally anyway. I keep telling him to not pull all nighters but…"
The hologram sighs as he looks behind him at what appeared to be an enclosed shell with a Mana barrier in place.
"It's to stop him from escaping in his night terrors. As you can imagine, having him transform during one of those wouldn't be good."
They listened intently at what the digital clone had to say and nodded with understanding. Granted, they did have concerns and empathy for what Ben had to deal with. No one at his age should have to deal with such responsibility and trauma but they did suppose that it was inevitable with his line of work.
"Would Ben be interested in having appointments with a therapist? We're sure that he has one in his own universe but he's currently not there."
Aizawa asked, concerned for the boy's wellbeing especially with what the clone had described to them.
The clone snorted in laughter as he cleared away a digital tear.
"Ben and therapy? You'd have to freeze time for him to even consider that and even then he wouldn't be able to focus on it. His heroic drive is literally the best and worst thing about him. Everyone who's known him and sees his struggle has wanted him to do it or something like it but he's refused."
The clone grimaces as he looks at the shell.
"As much as I hate it, it's pretty much true that Ben will only rest once he's dead. He's only here because I got into contact with Paradox through Gwen after seeing the shit show he had to deal with after transforming back from his week long black out. He was famous before, but going on a week-long 24/7 crusade across the cosmos dealing with suffering and ending several shades of criminal rings would boost anyone's popularity. It certainly didn't help that his cosmic empathy made his night terrors worse."
Silence fell upon the room as the clone explained the likelihood of Ben ever going to therapy and the true extent of what the boy was going through. Even then, they felt like that was only just scratching the surface. If there was one good thing that could be made out of all that it was Ben really was a true hero for better and for worse.
The clone turns back to the teachers and shrugs.
"As awful as this might sound, this whole thing was supposed to be a vacation for him. Something to distract him from his fame and the crushing weight of expectations back home. It definitely has a lot less crime. But... well as you can probably tell Ben has a hard time staying out of the spotlight. I've done what I can to stem his popularity without out right denying freedom of the press and general information sharing but I'm sure you've seen him pop up on the news and discussion online. Thankfully no one has really caught on to his vigilantism otherwise it'd be impossible to stop the media from hounding him like backhoms, and if that happens too soon it might trigger his PTSD."
The group of heroes thought on the clone's words for a while. Ben's situation was definitely becoming more and more unfortunate, the more information was being given to them. On general assumption, this wouldn't be something that Ben's current friends would be able to talk to him about. The people who cared about him in his own reality surely have tried and failed already.
The hologram sighs as he shakes his head.
"His mental state aside he'd definitely want to mobilize once he gets caught up with what the League of Villains is planning. Have either of you had a chance to use his teleportation tech yet? He'd definitely want to use it to surround their stronghold once they've gathered all in one place. Once they have a Mana barrier it would be more than enough to make sure it'll be like shooting fish in a barrel."
Aizawa then spoke up about this.
"We haven't had the chance to test this technology out just yet, but if Ben is confident that it will be more than enough for the League Of Villains, then we will definitely get onto it."
The rest of the Pro Heroes nodded at this in agreement. Ben Tennyson was certainly something. He seemed to be on top of everything and will go to every length to make sure evil is taken care of. Perhaps they had something to learn from this.
"In any case, the League Of Villains' leader is nothing to write home about. His specific personality and level of maturity definitely isn't doing him any favors."
The hologram shrugs as it sends over a nanoforge set to make teleportation devices.
"Shigaraki was never the person to worry about. All For One was always the mastermind behind everything. Once he's dead and we deal with the power vacuum left behind this world should have a long era of peace. I'd suggest testing out the teleportation since most people get dizzy the first few times. Just pass your hand over the forge and it'll make one keyed to your biosignature and that fits just right."
Nezu nodded at what the clone had said to the two of them. The clone's plan made sense and it would definitely be for the best of everyone. He was always more of a logical thinker and getting rid of All For One would be the start to fixing a lot of the issues they were currently dealing with.
Even if killing was still an iffy issue for the white rodent, he couldn't deny that it was for the best.
The hologram nods before flinching slightly as the cocoon shakes and starts to unfurl as Ben wakes up. The last thing either of the adults see is Ben's bare chest as he rubs his eyes. The brunette sighed as he shook his head. It had been a more peaceful night of sleep compared to others he's had. So he wasn't so much in the mood for complaining.
He wasn't sure what his clone had been doing in his sleep but he had no doubt that it was something helpful. After all, it was in basic terms, him.
"I see you had a good night's sleep, without Pesky Dust's help this time. I'm glad and you'll be even more so now that we know what the League is planning."
The hologram plays the clip from the League and holds up a hand to stall Ben's anger.
"It's fine. UA is already taking the necessary steps to get ready and make sure All Might doesn't act on his own. All we need to do is find and kill All For One."
"That's easy enough. I can just use my Lenopan form to find him. Once I have it'd be easy to teleport him into their base and kill them all."
The clone nodded at Ben's words as it would be that easy in order to locate them. It would definitely be a sight to see the look on their faces once Ben shows up. Ben was also glad to hear that UA was making sure All Might didn't act on his own. He understood the anger but it just wasn't the right choice nor call.
Ben gets up and stretches as his clothes dissolve so he can take a relaxing hot bath for the stress ahead.
"Just make sure none of the students in 1 A get involved. If they do, they could get hurt or worse."
He doesn't stay to hear what his digital clone said as he went into the bathroom for some much needed stress relief. With a thought the water in it acted as if he was in a jacuzzi and he sighed as his body relaxed.
The teen let out a sigh as he enjoyed being in the hot bath. Considering his moral compass and his job as a hero, there weren't many times where he truly got the chance to relax. Hell, it'd be weeks before deciding to take a day off. And even then, it wouldn't be out of the ordinary for him to forget about said day off and go help out anyway.
He figured he'd need it not just to relieve himself of some stress but to take his mind off of the stress that he'd need to deal with soon.
As Ben sat in his bath his eyes glowed green as he searched for All For One. In an instant his mind brushed through thousands of minds before finally finding his target. He briefly thought about killing him then and there by crushing his mind before thinking better of it. It wouldn't be as effective a morale destroyer if they suddenly found him brain dead…. But that didn't mean Ben couldn't put a trigger into him to make him die once he was at the League.
With a moment's hesitation Ben did just that. Once he realizes he's at the League's base his heart will speed up until it bursts inside his chest as he has the world's worst heart attack.
Considering the nature of the individuals that All For One has manipulated and gathered, seeing their wise and cunning master fail to a heart attack would definitely be morale destroying. Especially considering he seems to be the type to have fall back plans for his fall back plans.
Don't get Ben wrong. He believed in second chances, he believed in redemption but what he didn't believe in was the idea that everyone deserved them. At a certain point, your crimes become far too evil and life endangering to warrant the ability to make amends. And All For One was past that point 7 years ago.
Ben sighed as he dived into the minds of every League member All For One knows about, marking them just the same as their leader should they be past redemption. Why stop at one murder when monsters could go free at some point? His time as a cosmic empath has made his views on death dealing far more strict. Some people genuinely didn't deserve a chance to redeem themselves. It's not like this is the first time he's ever killed anyone…. but it does certainly feel different premeditating it instead of it being in the heat of the moment.
Even to the point of manipulation, you lose the chance once it's clear that you're not willing to stop what you're doing. Plus, it's not like it was mind control or their minds were altered like how Kevin was when he absorbed the Ultimatrix. And even then, Ben was planning on it when it was clear Kevin wasn't going to stop.
In the end, all they're doing is reaping what they sowed. This way at least no Pro Heroes will have to deal with causing a death. They can put the blame all on his shoulders. He couldn't be sure that any of them would be able to handle that and he didn't want to put them in a position where they have to.
Ben couldn't help the chuckle that escaped. He could hear Gwen reprimand him now. She'd definitely tell him he's putting too much on his shoulders again but heroics is all about sacrifice for the greater good. He doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things. If he can stop people from feeling unnecessary pain he would.
Ben shakes his head as he closes his eyes to focus. Whenever he gets too into self sacrifice he can hear the cosmic cry of his alien phoenix and the urge to transform into it again. To help ease and stop suffering everywhere.
The hero let out a sigh as his hand rubbed through his hair as he continued to think in the shower. It wasn't like he necessarily felt bad about it per say. Some people just didn't deserve that chance and from what All Might's told him, All For One is one of those people. Not to mention a few in the League Of Villains as well.
With a shake of his head Ben steps out of the bath, having to force himself from the Jacuzzi like water, before phasing the water off him and his clothes forms as he styles his hair.
"Enough stalling Ben. Maybe after you do this you can actually get back to this being a relaxing vacation."
With a green flash he was in the walls of the hideout, intangible as he waited for AFO to arrive to set off the chain reactions. Once he died and the others marked for death do too the heroes will teleport in, keyed to go through the Mana forcefield that's going to be put in place while AFO has his deadly heart attack.
He continued to observe the group of villains in his hiding spot until a figure that caused the others to freeze arrived. Considering Ben's eighteen years of superheroing, it wasn't the worst sight he's ever seen but for anyone else he could definitely see why.
But there was no time for introductions. There was no time for a conversation and there definitely wasn't any time for planning anything. Not for these individuals.
A word wasn't even stated before it began. All For One's large hand came to his chest for a second, symbolizing something was wrong. It didn't take long for the imposing mastermind to let out a dry yelp of pain before he collapsed onto the ground, much to the surprise of his underlings.
Surprise turned to dread and fear as moments after their boss took his last breath several members of the group likewise toppled to the ground with rasps of pain. They went to flee only for various flashes of light to signal forth the teleportation of Pro Heroes. They only hesitated slightly at the clearly dead bodies as Ben encased the group in another Mana barrier so they wouldn't try anything funny as he became tangible again.
All in all, it was a job well done in the sense that evil was thwarted and no one innocent had to be put in harm's way. After all, these sinister mastermind types usually have fallback plans for their fallback plans. So, if All Might were to have gone after All For One himself, the villain most definitely would've had something to either physically stop All Might or mentally break him.
It was definitely a bit strange to see it happen but it's not like everyone in the group was killed as there were still several that could still see redemption.
"I hope you brought all the Quirk canceling cuffs. Especially for that teleporter. I hope you all don't hold it against me for doing what I did. The people that died here today would never have stopped until they were dead and they'd have used every chance they had to make other's lives worse."
The Pro Heroes did have the Quirk canceling cuffs in question with them. I mean, they did have Ben go through the difficult part of killing All For One and the members that were too far gone, it'd be idiotic of them to not have. Most of the heroes were not ok with killing even if it did come to sinister criminals but they couldn't deny that it was for the greater good.
"We don't kid. You did what was right and that's all that matters."
Was the reply from Aizawa as he looked at what was left of the League Of Villains.
Ben sighs in relief as he nods.
"Thanks. I … don't suppose you could keep my name out of the report? I'd really rather not have the fame such a thing would cause. I already have teaching Endeavour a lesson on live tv. That and I wouldn't be surprised if people start trying to attack my class just to get to me."
Ben frowns in distaste, having had to deal with that once already when news broke about his name on Earth thanks to Jimmy exposing his identity in a bid to be helpful.
Aizawa nodded at the teenager's words before placing a hand on his shoulder.
"We can do that. We don't want any more unnecessary attention on you, if that's what you wish."
Aizawa wasn't a hero that was used to basking in attention nor glory. Given the nature of his quirk he preferred to keep to himself but from what Ben has told him, he's got enough attention on him as is. The least they could do is try to take some of it off his shoulders.
Ben nods in thanks, checking that everything was in order before waving.
"The barrier will drop once one of you exits it. I'll be heading home. If you need anything don't hesitate to call, yeah?"
A flash later had Ben right back where he was before another lands him on Mars so he can think in peace.
Even if his vacation doesn't calm down he can at least rest easy knowing he's dealt with this place's version of Vilgax at least. He sat down on a rock with his hands on his face and continued to think. Not only did he do that but he took any soul crushing responsibility off Izuku's back so he didn't have to take on someone like All For One.
Sure, there were definitely still issues with this world that needed change but as far as things stand right now, it wasn't too bad in comparison to how it could've been. His name will be kept out of the report so he doesn't have to worry about the public hounding him like they did in his universe. So with all that in mind, there was still a chance for this to work out as a vacation just yet.
As Ben spent the day decompressing on Mars the LOV has been dismantled worldwide and all its members jailed, with the living masterminds given personal jails in Tartarus.
Shikgaraki could only claw at his useless hands, now unable to do anything at all. He didn't know how Ben did it but he was sure he caused it. The sight of someone as powerful as AFO dying of a fucking heart attack of all things wasn't as a morale destroyer for him as it was others. No. It made him SEETH with rage.
At this point the albino no longer cared about All Might. No. He just wanted Ben. Dead. In every sense of the word.
Kurogori didn't even know what to feel. Something about their master dead on the ground in seconds of a heart attack was doing something to him that he couldn't even begin to describe. Shikgaraki was muttering and swearing in his own cell while the former teleporter simply just stared forward lost. Why they were spared from that same fate was unknown to him but it did definitely put some things into perspective on what Ben was truly capable of and it was terrifying.
AN: Hey! So it's been awhile since we've posted a new chapter to this story! Just wanted to say hi and that we've finished another chapter for you guys to read! Enjoy!
For reference, this is the phoenix alien that Ben references! https flaming-vulpix tumblr com post 673741850615627776 ditto
Credits to Ditto for drawing the beautiful masterpiece and my writing partner ParadoxicOrder8 and Ditto for creating the powers of this alien! They are both very creative!
But that's enough about that! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Nothing really else to say here but we hope you guys enjoy this! Enjoy! we really enjoyed your guys' requests and comments! Send requests, kudos, comments, love, suggestions, fanart if you're imposed, and keep being awesome! Till next time!