Death

by tmb1112

Death is a Quirk that can only kill. A perfect Quirk for a villain, but what if the boy who manifested that power just wanted to be a hero? Enrolling in U.A. might not be enough when all your Quirk can do is kill people. Follow Zach Sazaki from his first day in Class A on a story that spans years, as he learns to be a hero, finds out more about his Quirk, and too much to summarize!

120. Chapter 120

Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia

Chapter 120:

Austria

Rmmmmm "Ma'am," La Brava looked up towards the driver of the long truck she was sitting near the front of. "You said to let you know when we were an hour out." La Brava put her laptop down on the seat next to her and nodded a thanks at the driver who let her know that. The low rumbling of the engine was quiet, the man who spoke to her kept his voice soft too, and La Brava glanced behind her towards the back of the truck after nodding at the man driving their vehicle.

La Brava got off her seat and started back through the truck. She stared towards the figure in an all black costume who lay on his back with his hands behind his head. He was on the left side of the vehicle laying back on the row of seats there, and La Brava stared at his face for a few seconds before lifting her lips into a small smile. His face was steady, his lips flat, and his eyes weren't shaking at all. His hands were flat at his sides, and he looked relaxed to her. An hour? That's still a lot, and he was up for a long time before it. "Death," she whispered, keeping her voice soft so that she could turn and walk back to her seat. Well, I tried- the boy she whispered at opened his eyes and sat up. La Brava sweatdropped as the boy turned towards her as if responding to her whispering his name. "We're, getting close," La Brava continued. "An hour away."

Zach nodded in response and he put his feet down on the floor next to his seat. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, then he reached down and grabbed his tablet off his waist that he opened up and started looking at carefully for the news over the past four hours or so. "You can sleep for a little longer," La Brava started, and Zach glanced next to him at the short woman who had yet to go back to her seat at the front of the truck where the other two soldiers with them were.

"I'm awake now," Zach replied. He lowered his tablet though and gave La Brava a questioning look at the expression he saw on her face.

La Brava sighed at that look he gave her. Then she lifted her head at him, and she said, "You used to always have nightmares." Zach stared at the woman who frowned at his lack of reaction, then she added, "You don't seem to have them anymore." La Brava thought about the months she had traveled with Zach back when there were not so many of them, and even after they had gained a lot of comrades she still remembered how he stirred in his sleep every night. The way she just saw him sleeping had made her smile, but she felt weird about it too. Mentioning it sounded a bit like a question to Zach, and La Brava looked at him as if waiting for a response too.

"I, don't dream anymore," Zach admitted to the short woman in front of him. He looked down at his hands he had put on his knees. "I looked into it, usually you have to be sleeping deeply to dream, and I've become a light sleeper knowing we could be attacked at any time." La Brava's eyes widened a bit, then she stepped forward and sat on his right side while looking next to her at the boy whose eyes widened too at how close she sat to him. Zach stared into her pink eyes, then he added quieter, "At first I was glad the nightmares were over, but not dreaming at all is straining my mind." He turned straight forward and his eyes were dark as he stared across the back of the truck. "I go to bed," he muttered. "And then I open my eyes and start the next day. Without dreams, it's just constant Army of Death…"

La Brava looked straight ahead too as she listened to him speak quietly to her. She stared at the opposite wall, and then the woman five years older than the boy at her side let out a long, deep breath. "I dream sometimes," she told the boy next to her.

Zach nodded and showed he was listening while leaning back in his seat. "What about?" He asked. There's stuff to do right now. I should study up on French, and on the villains' Quirks-

La Brava turned and looked him in the eyes, and she asked, "You want to know?" Zach hesitated, then the boy nodded at the short woman instead of continuing his thoughts on serious things. He nodded at her, and he just listened as she nodded back and then looked back forward to tell him. "It's a recurring dream," she began. As she looked across the truck, she smiled. The smile formed on her face as in her head appeared what she remembered from that dream she had so very often. "In it, Gentle and I are in a house together, looking out over a nice view of a forest from our porch."

The picture she was painting made a smile form over Zach's face too. He tried to imagine it, and then his eyes widened and he looked to the right again as the girl there said, "Sometimes you're there too." His surprised eyes stared at the side of La Brava's face, looking closely at it as he wondered why she was saying that. He could see her mouth though, and her lips were still in a smile. She lowered the corner of that lip a bit and rolled her eyes, but she continued while glancing out the left corners of her eyes at Zach, "Darling shows up too." She let out a sigh while saying it, then her smile steadied and she continued, "And Mark sometimes… and Cee," she whispered that quieter. Then she kept whispering names, and Zach pulled his head back and pursed his lips as he listened to all of them, dead or alive.

"Flare, Kyto, Raylei… everyone," La Brava finally whispered after a pause. Zach heard in that last word more emotion than he could remember ever hearing La Brava speak with, and he thought, Why is she telling me this now? Well, when was the last time we talked like this? It's so busy… every day. And we could die at any time. And… and I wish we had more time to talk.

Zach stared into La Brava's eyes as the girl turned back to face him from his side in that truck. She looked him in the eyes softly, and her lips pursed before she managed to say to him, "I- never had people like this." She pursed her lips again, and she lowered her gaze for a second before lifting it back into Zach's eyes. "I never had a family like… and no goal, except helping Gentle. But the more I get all those things," she paused, referring to all those names she mentioned being in that dream with her and Gentle, a dream that used to only have her and Gentle in it. "The harder it becomes, since I have so much more to lose."

Zach grit his teeth behind his lips. He related to what she was saying so much, as he could not count the number of times he had had those thoughts himself too. La Brava saw that pained look on his face, but after a few seconds she saw it steady and harden once again. You gave me my goal. My purpose, other than helping Gentle. La Brava stared at the boy at her side and she ground her own teeth before finishing a bit louder, "Just, don't forget to live." Zach looked back at her and into the woman's eyes, and La Brava reached out a hand and put it on the boy's shoulder for a second. "Really live, not just survive." With that, La Brava pushed off the seat and started back towards the front of the truck.

He watched her go for a few seconds, then he lowered his head and took in another long, deep breath as he stared at his lap. Live. That's what Ms. Calico shouted at Cee too. That's what I'm sure, all my friends back home would want me to do. That's what the others in the Army of Death, are all striving towards. Lives to live. What I want everyone in this world to have. What I want all the innocent people who deserve it to be able to… It's too early for this. Focus on the first mission for now, and then the next one, and the one after that. I can live, once I know everyone else can too. There's no time for it now. But thanks… La Brava.

---

Nepal

"Push up to the mountains! Assist your Commander!" Exodus yelled back at the five men behind him trudging through the snow as fast as they could. There were a couple of crashed helicopters up ahead of them on the slope, and their snowmobiles were left behind without power in the snow. All the turrets sticking out of the mountain around them were cut off though, and Exodus had a woman on his back who he kept carrying up the mountain after calling that down to the others. "Stay awake Whiteout. This is no time to fall."

The woman with short white hair on Exodus's back nodded once into the side of his head where her head was resting on his right shoulder. "Just give me, a few seconds, more…"

"Mark!" Gentle shouted from near the summit of a mountain to the north of the one Exodus and his squad were climbing. Mark looked to Gentle and then over the ledge and towards the mountain they saw that bright white flash on a minute ago. "Clear them a path up the mountain! Exodus needs to reinforce Death!" Because that kid won't stop rushing ahead. Gentle spun and he sprinted forward at a man who bounced away from him on a wall the villain had not seen. The man was still stumbling back when Gentle's leg that he rose high above his head slammed down and smashed the man into the mountaintop. The villain who hit the ground just grinned sharp teeth up at the dark man in a helmet though, and his chest opened up where Gentle's leg had slammed down. His chest opened with rows of teeth on either side and Gentle's foot with a lot of pressure still down on it pushed into the man's body.

"I need someone to-" Mark's eyes opened huge and he waved a hand up. Gentle was trying to yank his leg back, but the teeth cutting in at his leg never had the chance to cut through. The villain's head popped and Gentle stumbled back after yanking his leg out of there. Gentle turned to Mark who was still staring at the headless corpse that he just created in the panic of what he thought was coming. He gulped though and shook his head of the sight of that blood spurting out, and he spun back to Gentle. "I'm taking Iblis." Mark rose a hand to his helmet and started ordering one of the others on the mountains to him. He needed Iblis to go melt the path ahead of their comrades lower down the slopes, so that he could control all the water as he couldn't the snow.

Iblis started flying across the mountains from one she had dropped down over with Angelix, La Brava, and Darling a few minutes ago. She curved her body and swung around an overhang sticking out of one mountain with a cave above it, a cave similar to many they had seen all over these mountains. Several of the caves were traps, though many had villains in them waiting and ready for the army that had arrived in full force in their territory. Iblis flew down towards the slope just above Exodus, and she made her wings larger before slamming them down into the snow and rising up a path right in front of Exodus. The snow that melted fast below her looked like it was about to rush down and flood the soldiers below, but it all just stopped lowering and instead washed about to the sides. Mark waved the water around and made the wave larger, and larger, and he rushed that wave up the mountain in front of the group who picked up their paces as they were able to run unabated.

Then Iblis stopped flying up the mountain and pulled back hard. She pulled away from it and crossed her flaming wings in front of her, though the flames still got pulled off of her body by the force of the wind that just shot above her. A plane had flown out from a hole that just opened up in one of the mountains, and it moved fast away from it before turning to its side and curving away from the mountain ahead of the opening in the one it came out of. Blue lights flared under the plane as it turned, speeding it up and making the jet dodge masterfully around the mountain at its side. Another plane flew out of the hole, and then two more, and they all shot straight out more before curving to dodge the mountain that Gentle and Mark were on with their heads lifted up in shock at how fast those planes were moving right after lifting off.

"Super TK-812's," Mark said as he caught a glimpse of the design of one turning to the side above to dodge the very top of their summit's peak. Mark continued while speaking into his helmet as well to let everyone else know, "Better than even those ADTF jets Endeavor had on him. If we could get our hands on those-"

It had been a few seconds, but another jet shot out of the other mountain and flew out towards the one Gentle and Mark were on. "I'm going after them!" A voice yelled in their helmets. "Cyclone is escaping-"

Gentle was staring towards the incoming jet, and he pulled his body down at how close the jet shooting out of the other mountain was coming to theirs. The jet pulled up at the last second though and started doing three-sixties up in the air straight up vertically. Then the jet leveled out and shot huge jets out behind it, flying after the others farther into the mountain range. Gentle shot back up and he shouted while spinning after them, "Death! Tell me you're not-"

"WHOA!" The jet flying off did a barrel-roll in the air to the right to dodge something, even though the path in front of him was clear. Zach looked over his shoulder and then yelled towards his comrades back on the mountain behind him, "Look out for that dragon!"

"There is no- Did you fight Sunshine?!"

"… I did, but his Trip wore off-"

"No it didn't!" Gentle yelled after the boy whose jet he watched get close to a mountain and then yank away at the last second to keep chasing after those other ones. "Stop following them and just land! We'll go after with-"

"They're too fast! I have to get them NOW!" Zach pulled his sticks to the right, then left, then his targeting system locked on inside his jet's glass cockpit. He grinned and pulled the red triggers on the sticks he was holding, and he fired beams bursts out of the cannons under the wings of his jet. "Haha! Got 'em!" Zach sped by a jet that was smoking and spiraling out of the air, then he pushed the sticks forward harder as another jet up ahead of him stopped and turned itself around. The jet's engines reversed and it hovered backwards with its cannons aimed straight at the boy flying towards it. "Whoa- whoa whoa WHOA!" Zach yanked the sticks to the side at the last second as he saw the cannons glowing while aimed at him.

The jet he was flying spun to the side so the wings were perpendicular to the ground. One blast flew so close above Zach's cockpit that the glass cracked over his head, while the other shot went just behind the bottom of it. The pilot of the jet in front of Zach's opened his eyes huge, and then he tried pulling back as the other jet was moving way faster than his. "How about I clip your wings?!" Zach yelled, and he turned his sticks more to pull his jet just a bit from the center of the other one, and his wings cut straight through the right side of the enemy jet. Zach ripped one of the wings off the jet, and the flaming vehicle started dropping out of the sky fast, though the cockpit opened up and a chair shot out with a parachute launching from the top of it.

Zach grinned while leveling out his ship, because he glanced over his shoulder and saw that soldier falling from the orange sky. His eyes narrowed a bit at the sky, then he remembered what Gentle just told him as he swore he saw a dragon peeking its head out behind a summit back there. "Hey Gentle, is the sky orange-"

"No! It's blue you fucking-"

"What?! It could be sunset-"

"It's not- LOOK OUT!" The jet spun away from the mountain it had been dipping down towards, but Zach grinned anyway as the other two jets had lowered down into the mountain range so that they could escape in a more cramped setting that it would be harder to chase them through.

More turrets started popping out of mountains in the path they were flying too, and Zach's smirk rose up high in his helmet as he yelled, "Bring it on!"

"Flight Squad!" Gentle yelled. "Go get Death out of that ship!"

Almost a dozen flying figures shot off of the mountains and started chasing the green dot in their visors that had a bright green light coming down from the sky over it so they could see where it was over the mountains. Gentle started bouncing himself off that way too, but Death yelled, "I can do this! Stay back!" Gentle wanted to shout back at him, then the man in a purple cloak dropped his jaw as the jet he was chasing started to surround in darkness. The entire ship became coated in black, a dark aura making the jet look menacing with the dark flames pulling off its wings as it shot away.

"I'll get him!" Valkyrie shouted, and the woman in thicker black armor around her than most dropped her sword to swing both arms in front of her instead. She punched her fists forward and a shockwave exploded around her before she exponentially increased her speed. "I won't let him die!" Like he wouldn't let me!

Zach was gaining on the two jets, but he was flying recklessly and the edge of his right wing scraped against the mountain he had flown close to in order to take the inside path and get closer to his enemies. His eyes darted to his smoking wing but he did not slow down so he just refaced out the front of his jet. He had almost a lock on another one, and he grinned as he saw the mountain behind that jet where the front one was about to go past too. He fired, and the target was not locked fully which was necessary in such a precise battle, so the shots flew past his enemy's ship. The blasts missed the front one too, but they exploded onto the side of a mountain covered in snow and ice that blasted upwards from the collision. All that snow flew into the air with the explosion right in front of the first jet, and that jet tried to just fly straight through it only for a chunk of ice to smash the cockpit it slammed into too fast. Glass came down everywhere and the pilot had to let go of the sticks for a second which at that speed meant he was spinning out by the time he grabbed back on. Cyclone grabbed onto the sticks, but he was upside-down when he started to steady, and he had been in such a rush to get out of his mountain lair that he never put his seatbelt on.

Cyclone fell out of his ship and his fingers slipped off of the sticks when he realized what was happening and thought about grabbing his chair instead. The ship behind him pulled up instead of flying through the explosion of debris even if it was thinner now than when his leader went through. Sunshine rose up high and he was sweating buckets in his ship as he glanced behind him to see that scary dark ship chasing right on his tail. How?! I know he was Tripping! It shouldn't have worn off that fast!

"Oh my God," Zach whispered while chasing the ship flying straight up above him. Looking up like that made him focus more on the orange sky above for the first time. "It's not sunset at all," he gasped out, as he saw that orange sky move a bit. In the very corners of his vision he could see golden light coming down from around the sides of the orange sky. It's not that the sky is orange… it's that whatever's blocking the sky is- A huge eyelid opened up and the eyeball behind it focused straight on him. The head of the beast above started to turn, and Zach could see the lips curling back to reveal all the bloody sharp teeth with a glowing red light coming from behind them. "It's huge-"

"Death!" Valkyrie ripped the cockpit off of the jet that started spinning out and getting close to a mountain that her leader was not even paying attention to. The ship he had been chasing had changed its direction and started flying off but he did not seem to care. He just started flailing as Valkyrie grabbed him by the armpits and yanked him out of the ship, a second before it crashed and exploded in a fireball that slammed the two of them backwards.

Zach hit down on a snowy slope and started rolling through it. He bounced as he hit a harder lump in the mountain, and the dark form rolling down the mountain rose up going too fast to land back down before the steep cliff he had been rolling towards. Zach flew off the ledge in mid-spin, and he tried to focus on where he was despite not knowing what the hell was going on anymore. I'm falling! His red eyes focused down on the ground at the base of the ice wall behind him, and he tried forming wings to flap above him and slow himself down. Too fast! Zach swung his arms back behind him instead of trying to make wings with them, and he dug black Death Claws into the wall and dragged them down through it.

He was still falling fast when he hit the base of the slope, but he bent his knees on landing and slammed a fist down below him to make the ground break apart and not be as hard. The snow was thick, and the ground below it broke when his punch smashed through. Zach took in a deep breath as he started rising up, then he rose his head and leaned back in shock at the sight of the swirling white funnels flying towards him. A third tunnel rose up between the two large ones, and a man at the top of the cyclone yelled down, "DEATH! You ruined everything! NOW, DIE!"

"YOU CAN'T KILL DEATH!" Zach roared up, tilting his head back and grinning madly as the corners of his vision became flooded by darkness. At his shout, the entire landscape around him looked darker and black instead of covered in white snow. He stomped his right foot forward, and he rose his hands at his sides with huge flaming bonfires of darkness rising on them. Dark flames shot out of his back and pushed out all around him as Zach pushed his Quirk to the limit. "HAHAHA! Cyclone! I-" Zach ducked, then he spun his head to the right and Cyclone stopped backing away from him at the top of his swirling mass of snow.

Zach turned back forward. He opened his mouth to continue what he was saying, but he glanced to the right again and then back at Cyclone. "So, did you see that? Or am I really-"

"You're going to die now," Cyclone's two snow funnels on either side of him curved at the tops. The wind started spinning in circles faster as they arced down towards the boy looking up at them. Snow picked up from all over around them, and the ice wall at Zach's back started breaking apart after already being cracked when his claws dragged down it. The ice cracked and broke into the funnel, making sharp shards fly around with the snow and two hundred mile per hour winds.

Controlling them with his Quirk. He has full control, which means. Zach tossed his right hand up towards one of the cyclones, throwing Death into it and watching as the darkness started swirling around in the funnel and getting ripped apart by the fast winds.

"NO CHance…" Cyclone started falling off of his center funnel, his eyes rolling back into his head. "Wha-"

I feel like the villains should know by now what my Quirk does. Stupid fucks. I guess I don't let many escape when I fight them- "Sunshine!" Zach snapped his head up and looked around, but that last jet he was chasing was nowhere in sight. "Did anyone see where that last jet went?"

"I've got a drone tracking it from above, but it's too fast," Rebel replied. "Death, you've gotta chill dude." Rebel separated the comms link so it was a private one between him and the leader of the AoD. "You're tripping balls man."

"No, I actually came down this time," Zach replied. He looked up and stared at the blue sky above, and he started taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down. That lasted longer than I thought it would… or maybe, I was just too high to think straight. I'm thinking straight though now, right? I don't feel all that different. "Ugh," Zach grabbed at his stomach, and he turned off Nightmare form while stumbling back in the snow. He fell onto his butt and felt himself feeling pretty drained. I used a lot of Death flying around, and right there just showing off for no reason…

"Death! Spiral's down!"

"Damn it! I told that bastard he was- get his body out of there!"

"Death!"

"Death come back, where are you?"

Zach rose a hand to his helmet while using the other to push off the floor next to him. "I'm on my way…" No time to be tired. "Valkyrie," Zach called out. I can't waste Death on flying back if I need to revive, or if the fights are still going on- "Valkyrie!" Zach exclaimed in surprise, and he ran up to the woman who dropped down to the ground in front of him in her ripped black costume. He grabbed her, and he looked over her wound for a second before putting his arms more around her. The woman about to respond to him froze with her mouth open to tell him she was alright, and her eyes opened wide in her helmet as he whispered only for her to hear, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" Zach could partially recall her yanking him out of his plane a second before it exploded, and he pulled back from that hug before spreading his dark wings out behind him. "Grab on," he told the woman with blood all over her right arm, burn marks on her body and on her neck below her helmet.

"I can fly-"

"That's an order," Zach said. "Please, let me help you."

"Death! We have Spiral's body at the top of J-3!"

"Yeah," Zach said, crouching a bit and hunching over as Valkyrie grabbed onto his back. He leaned back up and his black wings flapped down at his sides, and he said in a low scratchy voice, "I'm heading there now."

---

Siberia

In a snowy forest in the middle of a frozen expanse of wilderness, two figures in heavy white costumes crawled through the snow in far below freezing temperatures. They had black masks on their faces under their thick white hoods that had fur linings on the outsides. They had goggles over the masks with anti-freeze glass that melted the snow and ice that tried sticking to them. Over their mouths were protruding cylinders with holes at the ends of them, and out of those holes of the mask came thick breaths of steam each time one of the seventeen year olds breathed out.

Zach and Darling crawled together towards a tree at the edge of a small cliff. If they had gone to either side a bit back, they could have crawled around the cliff that just lifted up a few meters higher than the regular ground on the other side of it. Most of the landscape was flat, but that little slope gave them a high ground to be able to look around in every direction while also blocking them from sight in the direction they were trying to do reconnaissance in.

Zach crawled a bit faster than Darling was moving. His eyes turned red as he poked his head up and looked towards the round white dome sticking out of a clearing in the forest ahead. He brought his head back down fast and thought about everything he examined in that moment. He lay flat for a moment but his face scrunched up at what he thought he just saw out there. "What'd you see?" Darling asked, crawling right up next to him on his right side.

He turned his right to look at her and she looked left, and they both stared at each other in these heavy outfits with scary masks over their faces for a second. Their steam hovered in front of their faces, and Zach could not help but smile for a moment at the girl who was next to him after so much. "Looks like two guards, bear Quirks." He scooted forward a bit more to the edge of the small snowy cliff they were on, and he looked past the tree near the top of it while Darling did the same.

"Bears, huh?" Darling asked softly. The forest was nearly silent around them. There was the sound of some snow falling off tree branches where it had packed on too thick, and the wind blowing around that made it colder also made some noise too. They looked closer at the domed building, and then Zach reached back and pulled a white sniper rifle off of his back that he rested on the ground in front of him. He looked through the scope on top, and Darling did the same with the one she pulled out at him doing it.

Outside of the white dome they were looking towards, there were two men standing there covered in white fur. They were heavyset, and they had thick arms that ended in claws too. They stood on their thick hind legs though and they were wearing body armor, and Zach and Darling both had strange feelings swirling in their guts as they looked at those creatures. "They really do, look like bears, don't they?" Darling asked. Zach nodded with her, and he frowned deeper while staring at the door of the dome behind the guards.

The door opened up and another bear-man stepped out of the research facility they had heard about. They looked towards this larger bear, covered in thick black body armor over its torso but leaving its arms and legs exposed just like the others so that their joints would have free range of movements. This one's fur looked brownish too, though it was still very white around it. It was bigger by over a head from the other men standing on both hind legs, and its face also looked just like a bear's. Instead of a polar bear kind of face though, this one's face was a big thicker and had a rounded jawline. "Kodiak, polar, grizzly? Polar kodiak hybrid?" Darling wondered, zooming in more towards those bear-men and especially the big one that turned to the others and started talking.

Something's weird here, Zach thought. So many with bear Quirks, could they have figured out a way to designate what kind of Quirks people get here… or, could those actually be? Like, Principal Nezu… Zach's eyes started to grow wide, his heart rate speeding up as he stared at the large creatures standing on two legs and speaking to each other. Then he heard Darling start in a slow voice on his side, "Hey Zach, what was it Michael said, about how far bears can smell? Because, I'm pretty sure they're distracting us."

Zach's eyes opened huge, his heart rate sped up, and all three of the bears snapped their heads towards him and Darling. Oh shit!

---

Endargo

In a small city in the South American country of Endargo, a senator sitting at his desk had sweat covering his face while faced with the dark figure before him. The figure was known throughout the world. The hilts sticking out over his shoulders, the katana across his back, his whole appearance was one that Senator Jiminez found himself cowering at the sight of. In a deep Spanish voice, Death continued to the old man at his desk, "I have the proof. I want to know why, Senator. Explain it to me."

"I, cannot say a thing-"

"You will tell me all of your contacts," Zach growled at the corrupt politician. "The businesses who paid you for preferential treatment. The corporations who paid you off, to move funds from the budget meant for managing waste treatment. Funds that would have paid the inspectors who without getting their paychecks from the government, were easy for those factories to bribe." Zach stepped closer to the desk and dragged a knife along the edge of the front of it, glaring through his dark visor at the terrified man sitting there with his hands down on his lap shaking in fear.

"The villains," Death continued. "Who paid you to look the other way. Who paid you, to get the zoning commission to hand out those licenses without doing proper checks. Who you have been helping for years-"

Zach reached his arm over the table and grabbed the barrel of the shotgun the senator just snapped up from where it was taped under his desk. BANG "Mother fucker," Zach ripped the gun that he had pointed towards the ceiling out of the man's hands and then smashed the butt of it into the guy's face. He tossed it to the side and then marched back towards the man's double doors of his office, picking up a chair as he walked and then shoving it under the handles and barring the door. Zach grabbed a cabinet on the side of the doors, and he flicked a knife behind him at the same time, making it whiz past the shocked senator's face as the man was about to get up and try to run for his discarded shotgun. "Stay in that fucking chair," Zach grumbled, and he smashed the cabinet down behind the chair to further bar the doors before turning and marching back towards the desk.

He heard slamming on the doors behind him, and Zach reached back behind him and pulled out a folder from a black pouch on his waist. He tossed the file onto the desk, "I have copies. This is very simple," Zach said, he walked around the desk and he grabbed the senator around the throat as the man pulled back farther into his chair. His desk chair fell backwards behind him, and Zach lifted the man by the neck and held him up in front of him. Zach clenched his hand so the older and feeble man started choking, and Zach growled, "It all stops right now. You no longer take any money-"

"I had no choice," the man started gasping through his clenched teeth.

"That's what I thought, but you still accepted their money," Zach loosened his grip a bit, thinking about the information he knew about this blackmail before he had shown up. Stupid politicians don't hear enough about me. They're not really in the underworld, so this guy actually thought that might work-

"Mr. Senator! What was that gunshot?!"

"Senator Jiminez!"

"Who's in there?!"

Zach pulled the man's face close to his own helmet. "I won't out you," Zach began in a low voice. "Faith in democracy is too low with all the corruption I've been revealing lately. People are losing faith that any politicians can be trusted. So what you'll do, is report to the number in that file any information you have. You won't do anything illegal again, or I will release all the copies of that information that I have." The senator's eyes shifted to the file on his desk that he stared at in a lot of fear, especially as he heard another slam into his doors and the crack between them get a bit wider. "And in the upcoming elections, you're going to pull out of the race. You won't run again for reelection, ever. You'll step down and allow new candidates who are clean and have yet to make your mistakes, to make this country better than you."

"I- I don't think I can-"

"We'll protect your family, and I've destroyed all the villains who I know you've worked with already. Anything-"

Smash! "Freeze!"

Zach tossed the senator towards the men who just ran into the room. He turned the other way and jumped at the window behind the senator's desk, crossing his arms in front of him as he smashed straight through it. He dropped from the third story of the building and he flipped on his way down before landing hard with his legs bent. Zach snapped out of that crouched position and he started sprinting down the sidewalk right away. He threw back on his black jacket, covering up his weapons with it, then he rounded a corner and ran right up to a dark motorcycle waiting there. Some people looked over at the dark figure in a helmet for a moment, but seeing a motorcyclist in a helmet was not the strangest thing in the world.

VrrroooOOMM Zach sped off the curb and shot down the street fast. He sped around cars and turned onto another road, and he started racing away with his face straight and his expression dark. I wanted more time to talk to him. I should have guessed a man with that many dark secrets might have a gun hidden under his desk. I should have told him to keep his hands where I could see them, but I didn't want him thinking I was afraid of anything he could do. Stupid. Well, Jiminez will do what I said when he sees what's in those files. If he tries running for reelection, I'll hand those files over to the news around here. Not handing him over feels weird, after how dirty he was for all this time. The villains he was working with were monsters though. They would have killed him if he didn't agree, but he was still a coward. Work with the heroes. And if you're that afraid, don't get into a job where you control so many people's lives in the first place…

Zach pulled his motorcycle onto another road, and he slowed down a bit as he heard sirens behind him. Hopefully none of his security detail open that folder. If they do, maybe they'll have known about it anyway. He'll probably hide it quickly though… Amaterasu. I wanted to ask him about that name, but I doubt he would have known a thing. Zach let out a long low breath and he stifled a yawn as he stared towards the darkening sky in the opposite direction as the current sunset. The corrupters we've been finding recently have only mentioned him on occasion, but it's always the higher-ups who know the name. The ones getting Jiminez to help them only knew the names of the crew above them who mentioned Amaterasu. Higher up in the line… yet those top crews seem just as unknowledgeable. The fact that the Grinders thought Amaterasu was a rival of the League of Shadows, there's no way.

Zach lifted a hand to the side of his helmet and tapped a button on it, changing the display on his helmet visor. He started setting up a call as he was on his own right now, and he needed to get in contact with Alpha Squad who were not too far so he would be able to regroup with them on his motorcycle. I doubt he was ever a rival. Probably just rose fast once LoS was gone, and he told lower groups who never knew about either that he was the top. I never heard of the League having rivals. Unless he is just that much of a shadow force, even more than the Shadow Bosses? How deep do villain organizations get? No, no he's probably just using misinformation to convince the lower groups that he's the baddest bad there is. But that is another name I have to cross off now… Soon. The information we've got on his methods will work with an operation- but think about that later! Bolivar's in Brazil. We're getting close. The Pueblo jefes were looser lipped than anyone guessed. Zach sped down an opening route in front of him as some cars pulled away off the highway he was getting on, right as his helmet connected him to Alpha Squad. "Alpha meet me on E-45 East. It's time to take down Bolivar once and for all."

"Tracking your position," Grabble responded.

"Calling in The Cloak on our intended location," Fillian added.

A robotic voice spoke up, "How many men do you think a Shadow Boss will have with him?" Bullsnake's voice-box made his voice sound clear, if robotic, despite his lack of a tongue.

"Enough that we need everyone here for this," Grabble replied back to his comrade in the backseat of the truck they were driving onto the highway.

"Want to try using Blackjack? See if he can get us an in?" Tama asked from the passenger seat next to Grabble.

Zach hummed but shook his head on the motorcycle he was riding. He saw a flash of green in his visor and glanced towards an exit where a truck was rolling down slowly and then started speeding up as Grabble saw him approaching. Zach pulled his motorcycle right up next to his comrades who had been just outside of the city waiting for him, and he responded to the woman in the passenger seat who looked out past Grabble towards him. "It could become too hectic in there to reveal that hand. If anyone escapes Bolivar's jungle mansion, I don't want Blackjack's reputation getting ruined just to possibly give us more of an idea on their defenses. And if he's already been compromised, it could fuck us."

The rest of Alpha nodded in agreement in the truck next to him. Then Fillian spoke up, "Death, I'm patching us in to a line with command and The Cloak."

"Alright," Zach replied. He heard a click in his ear and then started right away, "Listen up everyone…"

---

Kazakhstan

"Stay frosty." Zach warned his comrades while sitting on his seat in The Cloak's cockpit. He was on the front row of seats just off of the aisle on the left side of the ship, the seat he used most often and that his deck crew always kept open for him. He had a headset over the top of his head with soft ear cushions over his ears blocking out the other sounds around him. La Brava had a similar headset on across the aisle from him, and a few others in the cockpit were listening in as well to their squad of three out in the field.

Mark suppressed a grin at the sound of that phrase. Much better use of it here. Still feel bad about telling him it was okay ever since Hatto. He's made it work though. We've played the media well around that single phrase, makes him seem more American. Like the English 'Death' on his back. Still, no way he could have come here. Too high a bounty on Zach Sazaki's head. Mark had his face exposed, his brown hair wavy over his head, and his lips were curled down in a deep frown as he walked down a dirt street.

On Mark's side a few feet to his right, Seraphim walked with her hair straight down her back instead of in a ponytail. The slender woman wore a tight blue costume and had a dark red cape down her back, while Mark was wearing mostly black but with thick protrusions around his neck, wrists, and shoulders. He had some guns down on his waistband, while Seraphim had a saber strapped on her back. The man in front and in between them had short blond hair, he was wearing a long sleeve on his left arm but had no sleeve over his right. On his upper right arm, there was a black snake coiling around his bicep and tricep all the way up to his shoulder where the snake's tongue was sticking out.

Blackjack did not respond to Death. None of the three did, even though they heard him in the micro-earpieces they had in as they walked down the road without any armor on. Mark and Seraphim followed their "boss" down a dirt path between wooden buildings in a wide city around them. They were in a deep valley, mountains to their sides and in the distance around them. Each of the buildings on their sides were only two stories tall, a bar on the left with push-in doors that swung open as two men came out, and a weapons' shop on the right that a woman called out to them from behind the counter of. Blackjack just kept walking forward without looking around, so the two behind him did their parts by acting well and just following him looking ready to fight at any moment.

"This is what Wampajawa is like," Blackjack said, looking over his shoulder partially at his subordinates behind him. "Now when we get to the black market, just let me do all the talking. I'll haggle our way to whatever we're looking for." He smirked and then turned back forward, and he kept going with a confident and proud look on his face. Blackjack had a single pistol down on his waistband, and he had a cigarette in his mouth he was smoking casually as he headed down the street.

Crash! "Hey! Get out-" Bang!

Seraphim and Mark looked to the right, feeling like it was okay to do so as Blackjack looked over with a grin and in interest at what was going on. The second floor window of a different bar smashed open, and a man came flying out with a bullet hole in his head. He slammed down into the road outside, and a couple of men on the first floor opened the door and looked out to see who it was. Their eyes opened huge, and they dropped their bottles, and the two of them roared before spinning back into the bar yelling about their comrade who had been upstairs in the "whore house."

Smash! Doof! CRASH! A man came flying through the wall, and then more gunshots went off inside at the same time as laughter rang out. Some people rushed out of the building, others came to the windows or doors and tossed out different characters making a ruckus inside. A few men came running into the bar from buildings around it, and Blackjack said while glancing back at Mark and Seraphim, "Some of the business owners around here make pacts with each other. Some disgruntled customers show up, or people get too rowdy, they stick together and…" The three men who had gone outside to see their dead comrade got dragged out of the bar and were getting beaten senseless by others around them.

Blackjack smirked and motioned his head down the road. "Let's go," he said, losing interest while those men in the same gang were still getting beaten to death out there in the street.

"Is this whole City of Villains like this?" Seraphim asked, glancing back over her shoulder for a second as she heard a loud pleading for mercy followed by a deafening crack. "I thought this place was more organized."

"This entire section, which is the majority of the city by the way, is pretty much lawless. Act out too much and you might wind up like those guys back there though. The rules are unspoken, but they're enforced harshly. Only a few rules people've got to follow are set by the Capos." Blackjack pointed to an intersection up ahead, "We'll go right up there. The black market's down that road. Try to keep yourselves from looking too sickened by it. Might tip the sellers off, though there are some villains who I'm sure they see who give them dark looks too. I used to… Anyway, we're looking for something specific. Don't get distracted."

"We won't be," Seraphim replied.

"I can handle anything I see over there," Mark added. He glared around as he said it, wondering if anyone was watching who he would have to keep being careful about what he said around. I've been undercover for enough times to handle myself here. And Seraphim has proven herself great at tasks like these. The twenty-five year old man cracked a grin while looking to his right and over the tops of the buildings on his side. "This city though," he started, and he let out a whistle of amazement while looking towards the dark towers in the north. "I never thought I'd see something like it. It's, something else."

Zach glared at the computer screen in front of him. He stared through Seraphim's contact lenses, and he clenched his fists hard at his sides at what he was seeing her look around at. We finally find the City of Villains. The exact location, and we've got a way in. The city has been getting bigger. They want to protect from us, or from heroes maybe… but probably us. A place like that. It's huge. All the villains meeting there. All the plans and deals that go down in that place. It's the best source of information gathering we could get… for now.

"…Bars and taverns are set up all around this main section," Blackjack continued to the two behind him whose prepared story had it that this was their first time in the city. "The city's technically called Killmanjaro, but Wampajawa's the more popular name. No one knows who coined that shit, but it sounds pretty good to me." Blackjack glanced to his right at a four-story tall bar bigger than most other buildings around this side of the city. "The bars set up all over the place are more just places for deals to take place. Each bar is usually run by different gangs that set them up. Those black towers on the north side are run by the big shots, not as big as League of Shadows big. Didn't even know about those guys myself, but they're probably direct subordinates of them who reestablished quickly when the League of Shadows got crushed."

Blackjack looked towards those dark towers in the distance again. "Don't know much about most of them. Most are private kinds of people. There are weapons' systems on those towers, and high-tech turret systems on the roofs of all the buildings around the city even over here." Mark and Seraphim glanced at the buildings on their sides, and Blackjack continued, "One of the few things that is regulated around here. All the buildings brought up in this section are established and run executively by Wampajawa's Capos, and not by the individual businesses that set up inside them. It's like, any of those gangs could get wiped out some day by… Death, but even if a different gang comes in and takes up shop there, they still need to keep those turrets ready on the roofs."

"Why?" Seraphim asked.

"Death's got his own private army," Blackjack replied with a shrug. "The Capos are careful people. They don't want nothing happening in their city."

Blackjack turned onto a road and stopped as he looked down it over all the shops and windows lined up. Seraphim and Mark stepped out behind him, and the two of them struggled to keep those villainous expressions on their faces.

I can't-

FUCK!

Keep it cool you two. Blackjack glanced back at them, then he looked forward down the black market. "We're not here for any labor resources. We're looking for a specific weapon. Try to keep your eyes on the prize, you guys." And I'm sorry, but please do not start something right here. As much as this has to hurt.

Zach balled his fists so much harder at his sides in The Cloak. We need this. We need this. He stared at the images being shown to him through Seraphim's contacts, and he felt his heart pounding so hard it was starting to hurt. We can overhear deals through the city. We can, find out more about all these villains through surveillance and undercover work. I can, I need to take this slowly and use everything. Think constantly! THINK CONSTANTLY! Seraphim looked to her right at a shop that had some of its wares out on display in front of the building. Zach saw what she looked at and his eyes trembled in rage, I AM GOING TO DESTROY THIS CITY!

---

USA

"Death, sir," Zach looked over his shoulder and to Raylei who had a hand over her right ear and one of the headphones there. She made a big hand motion at him before pointing at the screen in front of him, and Zach turned back to see the notification she sent him across The Cloak's cockpit.

Zach looked at the message from Rebel and he nodded his head once. He picked up a headset in front of him with a mic sticking off the bottom of it and got that in front of his mouth. Then he took in a deep breath and started sending Rebel back a message. A minute later Zach heard a ringing in his ear and saw the Unknown Number indicator on his screen. He answered it, "How'd it go?"

"You won't be hearing from them again," Lavamander replied. The gruff voice on the other side of the line sounded annoyed but Zach was glad to hear it.

"What did it turn out to be?"

"I took down the Neo Syndicate's operation in the Florida Keys. Got some information I gave Rebel. He's sending it to you in an encrypted message."

"Thanks. By the way, I heard something interesting yesterday." Zach paused for a second but did not hear Lavamander hanging up the line yet. "There's an oil-drilling spot in Texas a villain mentioned to us. Since you're already closeby… well, the land bought for the drilling is much larger than it should be, considering satellite images only show a single drill that's not actually pumping. There's been a lot of strange activity there too, and villain activity in the southwest U.S. has gone up a lot since the land was bought a couple months back. As well as in northern Mexico."

"Sounds like it's worth looking into," Lavamander responded. There was a brief hesitation and then he finished, "Have Rebel send me the location. I'll report in what I find." The line cut off, and Zach let out a deep breath before taking off the headset.

Why won't he just join us? Zach thought, leaning back in his seat and frowning at the question. I want to make sure he's acting like, well, I guess I want to have oversight over him. That's not how he ever did things though. Cee said he would come around… but I doubt it. Once he's been getting our information for a while though, I think I could make him not be as brutal, by threatening to take away the information network he's back into. Then again, I think he already knows I might be thinking that, since his recent fights haven't been anywhere near as deadly as that Kazania one.

"Commander, the last of them has arrived." Zach stood up from his seat and he turned to the doors of the cockpit. He lifted up his helmet as he headed out into the hall, and he put it on his head just like Mark had his on next to him. Mark continued once Zach was walking at his side, "You get in touch with Lavamander yet?"

"Just did," Zach replied. "He's going to the southwest for us. Now we can head straight to Cuba without distraction."

"Soon as we get this done," Mark agreed, and Zach nodded as there was just one thing left for them until they could lift off again.

They walked down the port side of the ship. A couple of new soldiers walking around looked at them and then started reaching for their helmets, but Zach lifted a hand for them and shook it signaling it was fine for them not to have them on. Mark and Zach walked down towards the hangar, and Mark glanced in at the boy who was getting closer to his height so they were only an inch or so away. Mark imagined the face of the sixteen year old who recruited him what felt so long ago now. "Do you, want to come with me?" Mark pushed that thought from his head and focused on the task at hand. "These are the narrowed-down applicants already. Rebel got in touch with them anonymously and tested the waters, figured out if they were serious about what they discussed together… I'm just saying, there's no need to vet them too hard here. We could use the extra forces."

"Yeah, I know," Zach said, nodding in agreement with Mark as he said it. "I'm still going to check every member though. No one joins-"

"Unless you give the 'okay,' yeah," Mark repeated, something that usually made him sigh as it took away from Death's other activities which were already spread-out enough as it was. "Could always just leave it to me or Gentle you know?" Zach turned in at the older man who continued, "We're pretty good judges of character too. In case you didn't know."

"That's not… that's only part of it," Zach said. He did not want Mark thinking that he didn't think that was true, and so he added, "But, I want to know everyone too. Give myself that extra motivation from the start, to never let any of them die." Zach looked straight back forward as they walked into the hangar together, and he continued softer, "I don't want the people following me to just be names in my mind. Names and Quirks. I want to know them, and I want them to know who they're following too."

Mark kept looking ahead as Zach was talking, then he nodded in understanding a few seconds after the boy stopped. "Yeah," Mark admitted after that moment. "You know, that makes sense. And that's… well that's why we follow you." Zach turned back to his side and his eyes widened a bit, but Mark just kept walking forward and Zach turned straight ahead to do the same.

Zach kept walking forward through his hangar bay, but in his head he heard the voice of the man next to him back around eight months ago. "…but, if I do… I won't kill anyone. And, if I ever feel like you're turning into a villain, I will try and stop you." Mark, I do trust your judgement. And I'm glad you trust mine… and that you're following me now. Not just coming with me, like I thought, like I asked for. You follow my orders and, and you believe in me. When did that dynamic change? At what point, did I start changing the way everyone here sees me? Well, there's no point in thinking about such a thing, is there? Zach's eyes focused ahead of him through his dark visor, towards the large metal doors of the hangar that started opening up for them.

The long steel ramp started lowering down, and Zach stared out through the opening and into the world outside with a narrowed gaze that flashed red as he shot his heart-rate up. Can't make the inside of the ship invisible, so once that thing opens we've got thirty seconds of visibility just floating here. And we're way too close to the ground. All the lights in the hangar cut off before the ramp started lowering, and others in the ship's main hangar headed off to other rooms on the sides or for the front of the ship. There were some gathered near the back ready for action, though they stayed still and did not move to follow the two who stepped down the ramp to the edge of The Cloak.

"Bring us down," Zach said to his comrade on his right side.

A dark tub on Mark's back opened up. The muscular man whose back was wide after he had trained it stronger to be able to carry more of his ammo had a four-gallon tank on his back that popped open and poured water up into the air above them. The water split off into four rectangular boxes, while a small split-off squirt grabbed the cap of the tub and pulled it back closed over the rest of his ammo. "Liquid Condense: Elevator." Mark used his Liquid Control to push the liquid he controlled so close together that it nearly solidified. The molecules in the liquid that popped out of his tub, not solely water as those bonds were hard to compress, crushed into small steps that did not look to contain the same amount of liquid as what had just come out of his storage tank.

Zach and Mark both stepped off the back of the ramp, and two of the water boxes went down and below their right feet. Then they stepped off with their lefts, and those feet got water prisms below them too. Mark held those prisms up for a moment as they held their balance, and then he dropped them and themselves down through the air. The two looked up as they fell, and they were unable to see their ship very well in the air above them. They did not have night vision on which would have given them a clearer look, though they were able to tell when the ramp started going back up as it was accompanied with a bit of a mechanical noise too. As Zach looked back down at the warehouse they were lowering towards, he reminded himself of why he was falling like this as he made sure to keep his balance on the liquid prisms his feet felt like they were about to slip right through. No Death. Not for simple tasks. I've been going too much- no, I've been going out so much, that Death doesn't have time to recharge. And the amount of time I give myself for rest isn't enough to bring it back up to full either. Using Trigger makes the recharge time much slower too, so I really can't use that anymore. Or at least, not as quickly as I had been. No more days of everyone sitting around because I won't let anyone fight unless I'm there. As productive as I make those days too, we need to fight every day. There are too many villains to take a day off. Even tonight is going too slowly. Get through this fast and then bring the new crop to Cuba and see what they can really do.

Zach and Mark landed down on the roof of the warehouse below the hovering Cloak. Mark's water pulled back up into the tub that another water-hand just popped open, and then it all pulled inside before closing back up the cork of the black tank. Zach started over to a ladder on the side of the roof, and he grabbed the sides of it before putting his feet on those sides too and just sliding down the ladder like that. He slid down fast, as he did not want to just drop off nor did he want to waste time climbing.

Zach walked around the back of the building and he said in a low voice while reaching up to modulate it with his helmet, "Coming in." He grabbed a doorknob and opened the door, and he stepped into the abandoned building with Mark at his back. Jughead looked in at the two of them as they headed in, then he closed the door behind Mark and followed after them into the more illuminated part of the room. Above them on catwalks that covered the building since there was no solid second floor and only those walkways up there were a squad of Army of Death soldiers sitting on railings or looking out windows. There were twelve of them in total in the room, along with seven others who were not in the black costumes of the Army of Death.

Several of the group of seven had brought their own black uniforms with them. They were trying to join the Army of Death after all, so they dressed the part. A couple had dark helmets too that they had had to take off though. One woman just had a white apron on over baggy clothes, another man had on black but also had a red cape on over his back with a collar popped up around his neck. Zach's eyes focused on one of the figures ahead of him who looked even younger than him, and he frowned deeper at the sight of that boy in his mid-teens who kept a serious look on his face and a look in his eyes that made Zach hesitate from dismissing him right away.

"Death," a woman in a tight black costume began. She had long black hair tied in over a dozen braids, and she started to kneel in front of the dark figure who stayed quiet as she did. The fact that Death was not saying anything about it made a couple of the guys to the left of that woman feel like maybe it was the right thing to do, and they started to bent their legs.

"It's fine," Zach said, telling them they did not have to with that. "And stand," he added for the woman already bent to a knee. If Exodus was here… Focus, Death. Zach looked at the woman who stood back up, on the far end of the line to his left. "Tell me your names," he started, and he nodded at the woman to motion for her to go first.

"Arachna," he said.

A bead of sweat formed on the right side of Zach's face and started rolling down it. He turned to the next in line though, ignoring that unnerving feeling that just formed in his gut. He nodded at the man in the popped red collar, and the guy with pale skin but a dark look on his face replied slowly, "Dracard, The Deadly."

"What kind of names are those?" The man on Dracard's other side as Arachna asked, his voice fast and a big smirk crossing over his face as he heard that second name. Dracard turned his head and looked down at the shorter man, but his dark look did nothing to sway the short guy who just pulled back with a laugh and went, "Ooh spooky! I'm Tress Wexler. You can call me Hyper. My Quirk is Adrenaline and-"

"Did Death ask for your Quirk's name?" Mark asked, and Hyper froze with his mouth wide open. He closed it and then opened again to respond to Mark, but Death turned from him to the next man down which did make Hyper lose his smile this time.

I don't want to dismiss him as just being immature. It sounds like that might be a side-effect of his Quirk. I don't know if I can deal with someone like that right now though. Zach wanted to rub his forehead as he could see Hyper trying to hold back from calling out what he wanted to say at that moment. "Heavy," the largest guy in the line ahead of Zach responded. He was bulky, muscular, his body even looked round though Zach attributed that in part due to the heavy gear he was carrying all over his body. He had big guns on his back, ammo strapped all over his dark costume, boxes and supplies on his waist and lower back and strapped to his thighs. He had thick steel boots on, big metal gloves with spikes on the knuckles, and at the top of his chest there was a pouch with the top opened up showing a line of cigars with two half-smoked ones on the end closest to his neck. Zach figured the man had put them out when he heard that Death was coming, as he could smell a faint waft of cigar smoke in the warehouse despite the cracks in the windows that made it chilly in there.

"My real name's Jorge Michaels though," Heavy added. He wondered if he needed to add it since the first two didn't, but the man after him had not spoken yet so he added that extra piece of info that Hyper had too.

"Zombieman," the man next to Heavy said. His voice sounded young, like the teenager he appeared to be. He had messy black hair, and fair skin that was blemish free. He had on a tight black costume, though he also had a jacket on over his tight shirt. There were a pair of goggles resting around his neck since the tight part had been pulled down from his head, and he stood five and a half feet tall which made him just a little taller than the woman on his left side who continued right after him.

"Wicked," she said. She had messy green hair that she reached a hand up to again and tried to straighten behind her while staring at Death.

"Barkeep," the next woman down said, and Zach stared at the tallest and burliest of the three women on the line. She had on a white apron over her baggy work clothes, and in the pouch on the front of her apron she had some bottles of booze sticking out. She had a faint red shade to her cheeks too, and Zach glanced to his side at Mark who looked right back at him in that skeptical way that only they could tell they were giving each other behind their visors.

In a low voice that only went through their earpieces, Mark asked, "Is that woman drunk?"

"She was drinking right before you two landed on the roof, then she fumbled to put away a flask under her shirt."

"Maybe it has to do with her Quirk?"

Zach decided to find out. "What's your Quirk?" Zach asked, while still facing the woman who said her name last.

Barkeep turned her head and looked down the line, expecting the shorter woman at the other end to answer. Then she turned back forward in confusion and then opened her eyes wide as she was the one being asked. "Oh! Sorry, my Quirk's called Alcohol Converter," she stood up straighter while responding with that, though she regained her gruff expression and slouched a bit as standing like that was bothersome. "I change booze into strength!" She rose up her right arm and flexed, pushing her bicep into the baggy clothes and making it appear there for a second before she loosened up and dropped her arm back to her side.

"When you do that," Mark began. "Do you still get drunk?" He asked, though he expected he already knew the answer.

"Well, yeah," Barkeep replied. She cracked a grin after looking hesitant there for a moment. "Drunker equals stronger," she explained in layman's terms.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about this."

"Don't really want a drunkard watching my back."

"Death, I do not think, that this is a good idea." All the voices in Zach's helmet seemed to be in agreement over that.

"How can we trust you in a fight if you're drunk through it?" Zach asked, frowning at the woman ahead of him and then glancing hesitantly down the line hoping they were not all like that.

Barkeep's eyes narrowed at the dark figure in front of her though. "You telling me after all this you're going to make me leave? That's bull-"

"This isn't orientation," Mark said in a low voice, his modulated just like Death's. "Not yet. It's the final screening." Though I don't know how you even got this far.

"You're careful about who you let in. Good," Dracard (The Deadly) said in a low, somehow ominous voice despite him just saying something not very ominous at all. He smiled like he was glad to hear that, but that showed off his fangs and made a few of the soldiers looking down at him closely from up on the catwalk turn to each other and start whispering.

"Pay up."

"I told you he was gonna have fangs."

"I don't know why I didn't think so…"

"Can you fight?" Zach repeated. "Can you hold your own, and watch others' backs even while you're drunk?" I've glanced at all the recruits' files Rebel sent me a while back. I should have looked closer, but I remember her. I was hoping she wouldn't be drunk with that Alcohol Converter Quirk, but… Zach thought about the other information Rebel had given him on this woman. Her family background, the reasons she wanted to join that she had told Rebel over their chats.

"I can hold my own. I've never fought in a team before," she continued, still frowning but losing her attitude a bit as she replied to the man who sounded willing to hear her out. "But I'm a urp- quick…" she froze and grimaced. "I'm a quick study," she said rapidly, making sure not to let out a burp this time in the middle of her statement.

"Death, we're not that desperate for-" Mark started.

"Then you'll learn fast," Zach replied. Mark frowned more in his helmet, but he decided to save his qualms about this to discuss with Death later and not over the comms with all the others in the building with them. A few others around the room wondered what Death was thinking too, including some of the people on the line with Barkeep who looked down it at the woman with surprised looks that matched hers.

"You're serious?" She asked, as she had been convinced from his first question about trusting her that they were going to make her leave.

"I know why you're fighting," Zach replied. At the same time as he answered her question, he was defending it to the others who did not know what he was talking about that there was more he was basing this off of.

"What about you, Wicked?" Zach asked, shifting his gaze to the next woman down the line.

The five foot five woman with bright green hair nodded at him and then started, "My Quirk's Hallucinogen. I can secrete an invisible gas that makes people hallucinate… though, I can't dictate or even see what they're seeing or how effective it is." She decided to come straight out with her weaknesses too instead of trying to hide them, as she suspected there might be a way they already knew everything about her anyway and this was just to see if she was trustworthy. "It's all in their heads."

"Sounds great," Death replied, and Wicked's eyes widened a bit at how casual that was. Death turned right to the next guy down the line though, wanting to get through this faster. He paused though and reminded himself to take it slow as he focused on the young man standing there who he did not know much about other than his name and how serious he was about joining. "And you, Zombieman?"

"My Quirk is Zombie," Zombieman replied.

"And that means…" Zach started.

Zombieman frowned and he looked back and forth at the others on the line with him. They had been looking at him with a bit of skepticism, and he could see the people in black uniforms and even Death were doing the same. "It means, I'm immortal. Probably," he hesitated and looked closer at Death, "though maybe you could."

"You can't die?" Mark asked in surprise. "What kind of injuries have you sustained?" He questioned. If I ripped him apart with blood-bending, and he doesn't die from it… then I'll have the person I need to practice on to make it more precise. If I can blood-bend without killing, I could stop every fight… he's wearing a jacket. Indicating he still feels cold, and likely pain. Shit. Even if it's true-

"Pretty much everything. I had a point in my sixties when I just wanted to die, so I tried a lot," Zombieman replied. Everyone staring at the teen with a adolescent voice found themselves sweating as he just mentioned trying to kill himself in a lot of different ways back in his "sixties." Zombieman continued as he could feel all those looks aimed at him, "I've looked the same age since I turned fifteen, eighty years ago."

I swear to God, Rebel, Zach thought while trying hard not to let himself get too surprised. If you knew about this and just wanted to mess with me… he's eighty- no! Ninety-five? He's so old! "Well, um," Death started, and he frowned as he started that way in front of new recruits. "Alright then, I'm glad you're here, honorable elder." Zach cracked a smile in his helmet while Zombieman dropped his jaw, and then laughter broke out on the catwalks above and behind Zach from Jughead.

Hyper spun his head around looking at all the dark figures around him with his eyes huge, and then he smiled wide too and started laughing. Everyone stopped laughing at the same time, and Hyper kept going for a second before freezing with his mouth open as he realized he was the only one laughing in the room. Zach grimaced and tried to avoid making that any more awkward as he just turned from Zombieman to the huge man next to him. "Heavy?"

"I don't have a Quirk," Heavy replied. Everyone on the line and around the room looked down at the huge man covered in supplies and weapons and ammo. "But I'm strong. And faster than I look. A good shot too."

"Great," Zach said. He turned to Hyper who was still looking at Heavy with bug eyes at the big man's response. "What about you? What is Adrenaline?"

"Adrenaline is, well it's complicated but the main point of it is that there's adrenaline running through my bloodstream. Constantly. Like, it pumps through my heart all day every day. I actually only sleep one hour a night but my body can handle that kind of thing because it works well with Adrenaline. Plus! My blood can work as like, an adrenaline shot for someone else. I gave blood once in tenth grade and I remember they wanted to see if it would happen before using it in hospitals or anything and they told me they couldn't use it so I'm pretty sure it must've-"

Zach wanted to rub his temples hard but his helmet was blocking them. "And can you fight?' Zach asked. "Does that Quirk help you fight at all?"

"I fought the bastards who came for my blood. Beat the shit out of all of them and then I found out who was coming for it too. And I'm good at asking people questions and making them answer. The guys I was asking were freaking out when I was shouting at them like OOGABOOGABOOGA! Hahaha and I'm really fast, definitely faster than fatty- I mean Heavy right here, whoop! See," he said, while jumping backwards and dodging Heavy's arm that reached out fast to try and shut him up while also proving he was faster.

Heavy grit his teeth and started turning his head, but he heard in front of him, "Enough. Both of you," Zach added, as he looked past Heavy and saw Hyper had reached down for the back of his waist while still smirking in a crazy way. Is he insane? That Quirk, seems like one that has been messing with him his whole life. I'm sure a lot of people have started hating him, and he probably doesn't have a lot of friends. They went after his blood though? I'd expect that from Zombieman… I'll have to ask him if he's ever been captured and researched. There might be other research labs to hunt down. And what about the ones who went after Hyper? He said he found them. Guess he was a vigilante. Rebel said most of them were already doing shit outside of the law on their own. Damn, he's really annoying though. But, I should give him a chance. Try to help him. There's no way he could be a hero. I doubt he can even sit still in a classroom. It'll be dangerous giving a guy like this responsibility though… won't it? I haven't seen him in action. I wish there were better ways to vet them, but there's no time. I want more soldiers. This is how we do it while on the go. I don't have time to set up practice missions and have the new recruits go on them to make sure they're ready. They'll learn in the field. They'll train with the others on The Cloak. And if they die… that's on me for bringing them in unprepared. But they're all here ready for this! They want to join, and I want more help so we can take on more and more. King isn't going down without a fight. He's got Eziano and even Fergus helping… Move on.

"I'll be watching you closely, Hyper," Zach warned. "You've got to calm down a bit. I'm sure you've heard that a lot, but, seriously," Zach said it in a darker voice and he glared through his visor at the man who was about to enthusiastically respond to him. "I won't have you put the others' lives in danger. If I feel like you're not taking it seriously, I'm going to drop you like that."

"Drop me?" What does that even mean? I always take everything seriously! "I- I al- Yes." Hyper pursed his lips after getting out that response, trying as hard as he could to limit it to a short answer and not act like his usual self which had apparently started to get on Death's nerves already. He says I can come though! I'm on a team! No one ever lets me on their team!

"Dracard The Deadly?" Zach asked, looking to the next guy down and saying his full name as the man had given it to him.

"Drac, is fine," the man started to the dark figure who asked.

A bead of sweat rolled down Zach's face. I really don't want to call him that. "Okay, Drac," Zach continued. "What's your Quirk?"

"Imagine, Dracula," Drac answered. Hyper glanced back at the man on his right and felt a lot more off about how he had treated that guy a minute ago.

Zombieman looked down the line too towards Dracard and said, "How long's it been, Drac?"

"You two know each other?" Heavy asked the shorter guy on his left.

Drac frowned as Zombieman asked him, and Zach frowned more as he saw that look. Was he trying to hide it? "How old are you?" Zach asked the spooky man in a red cape.

"It is impolite to ask one's age, is it not?" Dracard questioned back.

"Is there a reason you didn't give me the name of your Quirk?" Zach asked.

Dracard The Deadly frowned more at Death, while everyone else in the room except for Zombieman got a strange feeling at the revelations they were having. Zach immediately followed that question with a new one, "What do you know about Eziano Mozcaccio?"

Dracard's frown lost some of the annoyance in it, raising up a bit until his lips were flat. He leaned his head back and hummed, then he replied, "More than most, though it seems likely you know what I do as well. So in that case, less than you hope." Zach frowned at the response, holding back a tsk as he was hoping for more there. How old is this guy then? I should have realized it sooner. How long ago did he meet Zombieman? It's so weird to think he's even older. Though, Eziano claimed to be alive for at least three hundred years. I kind of knew it was something like that long before too, when Midoriya said that All Might's teacher and her teacher all knew about him. I wonder though, if people could live that long… what if those aren't even the oldest? I want to ask Drac how old he really is. I don't want to force it though. Would probably separate him more from everyone else if they knew he was like a thousand or some ridiculous age like that. It's definitely long though, if they weren't even naming Quirks back when he got his. Back in times when having powers would have made people freak out, think you were some sort of monster, make up stories about you… oh shit. Fuck fuck fuck. Don't think about that.

Zach turned from Dracard and to the final person in the line of seven recruits in front of him. He tried distracting himself from Dracard by looking to her, and it worked way too well as he remembered the name she gave him. He nodded at the woman with long black braids and said, "And, your Quirk?"

"Giant Huntswoman Spider," Arachna said.

Nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope nope. "So, what can it do?" Why? You stupid fucking- AH! Zach asked her and immediately regretted it. He watched as fuzzy fangs stuck out below her chin while her jaw started transforming. More eyes appeared on her face, and six legs pulled out of her back through pre-made holes in her black costume. The legs pulled to the sides and extended longer and longer, and Hyper let out a shout of panic a second before he slammed his back into the wall on the opposite side of the room as Arachna.

"Alright, that's good," Zach said, speaking a bit too quickly though he wanted her to go back to normal as quick as possible. "That will be good, for intimidation and getting villains to talk without having to actually hurt them. It'll be really good for that," he added.

"What's that? You afraid of spiders, Death?" Spiral called down from up on one of the catwalks.

Arachna turned her head and looked up at the man who called that out, while she still had eight glowing red eyes on a furry face that made Spiral pull back fast at the look. Arachna turned back forward and grinned at Death after doing that, and Zach's nerves washed away at the friendly look even as her face was still half-spider. That was pretty funny, Zach thought, and he heard some of the others laughing at Spiral up above too.

"Alright everyone," Zach called out. He reached up and grabbed his helmet, and he popped it off before smiling at the group of seven in front of him again. Everyone else in the building had started moving when Zach called to them, and they rushed down to the floor and then to the doors to get out of there. "Let's get up to The Cloak and head out. It's five hours to Cuba, so get some rest if you've been up since yesterday."

"We're going to Cuba?" Hyper asked, jumping back off the wall and getting over that scary transformation quickly, though he did stay on the other end of the line as Arachna closer to Barkeep now.

"That's all?" Dracard questioned the boy whose identity he had already guessed and was not very surprised by when the teenager revealed his true face.

"You're, a kid," Heavy said though, his eyes wide in surprise at the teen standing in front of him.

"I'm your Commander," Zach said, and Heavy's head pulled back at that sharp correction. Zach turned left next and at Mark, "Get everyone onboard."

"Understood, Commander," Mark replied. "You seven, with me-"

"Not Drac," Zach said. "Or Zombieman actually," he added, looking over at the youngest-looking of the group. "I need to talk to you some more."

Zombieman nodded his head and started over to Dracard who he would have stood next to in the first place, if Dracard had arrived before him. Dracard had not walked up to him when he came in though so Zombieman had not scooted closer to him, though he was kind of glad there was someone else there who he recognized.

"You five then!" Mark called out at the group who were all looking at Death to see what he was going to talk to those old men about. The five spun to Mark as he called that at them loudly, then he turned and motioned towards the back door the others were all heading out already. "Let's get you fitted for some AoD costumes, you can make your own upgrades as you like."

"AoD?" Barkeep muttered under her breath, feeling like she was missing something since no one else was questioning about it.

"Army of Death," Hyper replied quickly to her. He smiled wide at the woman who glanced at him, then reached into her shirt and pulled out a flask again.

"Drac," Zach started in a low voice, though he had his helmet off now and his inner earpiece turned off as well. "Do you need to drink blood?"

"No," Dracard replied. "And I can go in the sun too."

That's great. "Alright. Could you tell me what you meant by, Dracula's powers though? Which powers, exactly?"

"Um, do I really need to be here for this?" Zombieman asked.

"That's not my only question," Zach replied, making Zombieman close his mouth and nod at the actual teen.

"There are various powers under my control," Dracard The Deadly began to the boy who nodded at him to continue. "Strength, speed, flight, the ability to transform into a tiny vampire bat," his English started to gain an Eastern European accent as he spoke, showing that despite him sounding very American he was just hiding this accent well. "I will be invaluable to your cause. A cause I believe is just, as I have observed from afar." The light-skinned man spoke in such a way that Zach felt like he was facing someone way more impressive than just another recruit to meet in a random warehouse.

"What is it you want?" Zach asked.

Dracard hummed again and then he lifted the right corner of his lips into a small smile. "I like you. And I respect you," he added. Drac kept that smile on his face that decreased the ominous nature of his tone and stature while he continued, "Few men have ever tried to do what you are doing. None have ever succeeded to such a great degree. And I believe that with help, the degree at which you are already succeeding will rise higher. Despite how high your numbers have already grown you are not against accepting those who are below your standards. A willingness to try, and to transform those who were lacking into proper soldiers."

"None have ever succeeded…" How old is he?! I really don't want to ask- "And how old are you, really?" Zach asked. He was too curious to let it go.

Drac did not frown this time. Zombieman looked at him with his eyebrows raised though, and Zach could tell he did not know the answer to this either. "I believe, somewhere around five hundred years. Give or take… a few decades." Drac smiled wider as he glanced next to him at the shocked Zombieman at his side who had more of a reaction than Death did. "Trust me, it will not seem like such a long time in a few hundred years-"

Zombieman grimaced so hard that his face looked like it hurt. Zach looked back at him and got uneasy by the ridiculously dark look that flashed over Zombieman's face. It's only been ninety-five years for him, and he's already tried killing himself several times by the sound of it. He was casual about it too. "You both, take life seriously though, right?" Zach asked. It was the most important reason he pulled the two of them aside. Drac got an interested look on his face at the question, while Zombieman just stared at him for a few seconds with that dark look. "Other people's lives. You care about them? Each person?"

"Other than myself," Zombieman began. "Yes. I want to help them. Or else I'd just ask you to try using Death on me. I kind of suspected it was you, Zach Sazaki. I-"

"I'm not Zach Sazaki," Zach cut him off. "I'm Death," he said.

Zombieman froze and stared at him in confusion for a few seconds wondering if there was some important reason Death had to correct him there. He just nodded though to show he understood before saying, "I care though. Always, have."

"I spent a few hundred years apathetic towards humanity," Drac began himself. "However, a certain man you know changed my opinion not too long ago. Well, not long ago for me, but a few decades back All Might helped me to find my humanity again." Drac smiled nostalgically thinking back on it, and looking at the boy in front of him who he knew All Might had had a great impact on as well made that smile grow some more. All Might. You led me on the path to Alice. I never would have met her, or the people of the village… Alice. How I miss you. "Anyhow," Drac started, shaking his head of thoughts of long ago and then nodding at the teenager in front of him. "Despite my age, I will follow your orders, Death. I myself do have weaknesses, which I would like to keep to myself. However I am not immortal. If I die, would you be so kind as to revive me?"

"Of course," Zach said, shaking his head as it was a question Drac did not need to ask him.

"Could you, let me stay dead?" Zombieman requested. "If I do wind up dying," he added, since he doubted it was going to happen in the first place.

"…Yes," Zach replied. Though, I'll try to make you change your mind about that. You may have lost everyone close to you, but you can always make a new family. Zombieman. Drac. "One more thing before we head up," Zach said, which intrigued the two in front of him as to what he meant by that, especially after they had heard the excited shouts from Hyper outside and the fact that Death and Mark had dropped down on the roof with loud thuds before coming down in through the back door. "I want to know everything you've ever heard," Zach started, looking back and forth at both of the old men before him. "About Eziano Mozcaccio."

---

Norway

"Ah! Yes De- sir!" A man in a white lab coat ran around Zach's side and over towards a motorcycle-looking vehicle that had some attachments on it that made it look different from regular motorcycles. "This is our newest model. We just perfected the design-"

"What're its capabilities, Dr. Olsen?" Death asked the engineer who was taking too long to get to the point.

"Be nice," Zach heard Rebel's voice in his ear. He was wearing full armor in the secret testing facility, as it was his first time actually visiting the place. Zach did not recognize any of the people around him. He didn't know the ones watching from the sides of the room as Dr. Olsen led him around, nor the one he saw watching from up in a window on the second floor of the huge white room full of different vehicles. There was a target station on one side of the room and turrets lined up before it that he had already checked on earlier.

Zach tried to lift his frown a bit and took in a deep breath after cutting off the doctor there. These people don't know me at all. They're probably- definitely nervous. Don't treat them like soldiers when they're not. "Doctor?" Zach repeated, using a nicer voice this time though it was still modulated out of his helmet.

"Oh, yes," Olsen turned to the bike he was showing off. "This is in the new class of personal ground assault vehicles. Meant for a single rider, it has great maneuverability with the wheels able to turn outside of the normal rotations to allow for immediate changes in directions. Also," Olsen pressed a button on the test bike they had out there, and he continued, "the Ecliptor has hover-capabilities." The wheels flipped horizontally and Zach nodded as he saw the wheels stay off the ground with very little bounce as it switched from ground to hover settings. "With the Ecliptor though, its hover-capabilities have reached a point where driving right over the water is possible. Propulsion will automatically increase when there is a lack of solid ground below in order to keep the same elevation and-"

"Mind if I take it for a test drive?" Zach asked.

"Oh! Um, of course. Be my guest. Please uh, do be careful of the equipment around the room," Olsen glanced around hesitantly as he made his warning. He did not want to deny Death, but he looked around cautiously at all the vehicles he had been working on with the rest of the R&D department at Sci-Psi Tech Industries.

Zach nodded in response to the request. Might be difficult to control, or maybe he just doesn't realize I'm good on a motorcycle. This thing is cool. I really want to drive it around. Zach kept his expression steady in his helmet even as he climbed onto the Ecliptor. He could not help but grin as he got on and leaned forward. It even has a cool name, Zach thought. He revved the engines and nodded in satisfaction even though the motor did not make a very loud noise at all. It stayed almost at the same low whirring noise as he sped it up from when it was back in neutral, and Zach appreciated the silence of the bike as he whipped around the side of the room making a gradual turn the first time. It seems like the handling works like he says. Let's test it. Zach drove faster and straight at a wall, then he pulled to the left and back at the same time. The wheels spun sideways below him and yanked him backwards with a strong jolt, then it shot to the left. Didn't hit the wall. Not as smooth as I was hoping, but inertia and physics make certain restraints on machines. Can't just change my momentum entirely without any jolt.

He pressed a button on the side of the handlebars he was grabbing. A pair of cannons stuck out of the front of the bike in between the handlebars and on the curved part in front of Zach's arms. He leaned farther forward on his motorcycle, pressing a different button the next time and popping the tires off the ground into their hover-mode. Smooth, he thought, as he kept going the same speed but could no longer feel the ground below him. "Dr. Olsen," Zach called over to the engineer watching in amazement at the dark figure speeding around his lab. "The cannons…"

"Pulse. They fire charges for disabling other vehicles, non-lethally."

Great. Big problem with using Whiteout all the time. Can't use our own equipment either when she sets off her Quirk. This way we'll keep the strength advantage and the technological advantage. Zach slowed down the motorcycle over near an all-terrain jeep-looking vehicle that had a different kind of unique design he had never seen before. So much cool stuff down here. Really, not enough time to test it all out for long drives. I should have brought a couple others with me, but I didn't expect this to take so long in the first place…

Zach finished up checking out the different vehicles, weapons, and equipment that Dr. Olsen and some of the other researchers at the tech lab showed him. He let them know with his tone as they got farther into it that he was in a rush to get out of there, and then he finished up testing one last weapon before getting up and walking to the side of the room where all the scientists had moved over to while he tested it. Zach held out his right hand and shook the hands of the men and women who shook his gloved hand back. "Great work on everything, really." Zach shook the next person's hand and continued, "And thank you for those costumes we just received for the new recruits. You fit even the hardest body types perfectly."

"Thank you, sir," the man who Zach just shook his hand got a proud smile on his face as that was said to him.

Zach went to one more person to shake their hand, but his eyes shifted inside his helmet behind those scientists to a man in a black suit who he frowned at the sight of. The bald man had a transparent earpiece in his ear and a straight expression with a veteran look in his eyes of a soldier. He was bald and had a lean body type, and Zach's eyes did a once-over on him while he was still talking in a more friendly, though deep and modulated voice, to the engineer at the end of the line. "Well then," Zach lowered his hand and nodded at the men and women in front of him. "I have to head off now. Thank you again, and let your benefactor know-"

"Death," the bald man behind the engineers began. He stepped forward and the people Zach was talking to moved to the sides for him. "Mr. Andersson would like to meet with you."

Zach stared at the man who just said that. He stared at him in silence and watched as a bead of sweat formed on the side of the man's face. He just fucking interrupted me. I get that I was saying I was leaving and it's got to be his job to get me to wait, but still. Ballsy move on that guy's part. "I really do need to be going," Zach said. The others on Zach's side looked in at Death with their eyes wide as he responded like that, and the man in the suit in front of Death looked at him in surprise too before looking confused as he did not know how to respond to that.

"Um, please- wait a moment," he requested this time, speaking less confidently to Death than he did the first time. He put a hand up over his ear and spoke softly while Death stayed standing where he was, and Zach let out a long tired breath behind his visor.

"You could humor them, you know?" Rebel mentioned as Zach sighed and stood there waiting.

"There's a reason, for this," Zach replied in a tired, and semi-annoyed voice though it was not with Rebel that tone was directed at. I just wanted to get some rest, but ohh they really want to meet with the guy they've been helping for so long. I did what you said Rebel. I finally came out here, but I'm not going up for some private meeting with corporation heads or… or whatever. It's just not- It's sketchy. You say you've done good checks on all our donors and supports, but I've never met them. I don't know, if I trust them. Not as much as the Army. Not even close.

A door opened at the bottom of a staircase behind the suited man. Zach turned his head a bit and stared at the bald figure who he had seen watching from through the window on the second floor earlier. He remembered the way the man was looking down at him while he was testing their equipment, and he glared at the man who walked forward with a straight expression yet the corners of his lips shaking the smallest bits like he was trying hard not to let them drop into a frown. "Death, we finally meet," Erik Andersson said, nodding at the dark figure while coming to a stop in front of him.

"Be nice. Please, be nice. These guys are our best benefactors. I wouldn't have told you to go if I knew you'd be-" Rebel cut off as Zach started speaking.

"President Andersson," Zach said, nodding once at the bald man who was a bit older than the security guard who stepped to the side of him. He wore a more expensive-looking suit and had some wrinkles on his face. Zach continued to the company head, "I didn't know if you'd be joining us. But I was just about to tell your impressive scientists here how the vehicles and equipment you've made for the Army of Death are amazing. I wanted them to tell you, but I'm glad I can tell you myself."

Rebel leaned back from his computer and cracked a surprised grin over his face. Nice.

"I am, glad you are pleased with them," Andersson started. "There are certain things I would like to discuss with you, if you have the time-"

"Actually," Zach started, and the company president's eyes opened wide. "I don't. This was a short detour for me, though a valuable one. However I must be going now."

Zach started to turn right after finishing that, and Andersson stepped forward with his wide eyes narrowing down. "Death!" Zach paused. He stopped where he was and turned back to face the man in front of him. Erik Andersson stared at that dark helmet and he ground his teeth for a moment, then he said in a lower voice, "Everyone out. Now."

"Let's go," the guard behind him motioned back with his head. All the researchers and scientists around the room headed back into the main stairwell and the guard stepped back there and closed the doors, though he stayed on the inside of them so he was still there with Death and his boss. Zach could see that man's expression staying mostly steady, but the guy was starting to look a bit jumpy and darting looks at his boss showing he wanted the older man to stop already.

"Do you think this such a waste of your time?" Andersson snapped once the doors had shut. He stomped towards Death and then froze at the look of the figure who had tried walking away from him, then he leaned forward and said, "We have been funding this whole thing from the start. For months we have supported Death, you should be-"

"What?" Zach asked. Andersson froze with his mouth open and he got a nervous look on his face at the tone of that deep 'what.' He glared at Andersson and then started after a second, after hearing Rebel start yelling at him in his helmet, "I am grateful, for everything you have done. That is all." Zach glared at the man before him while Rebel quieted down back at his command post. Zach looked into the president's eyes and said, "If you want to give us these things, I appreciate it, but that is as far as our relationship goes."

"Wh-What do you-" Andersson started.

"Using your technology and equipment, the Army of Death saves lives and stops villains all over the world. The money you donated too, Erik Andersson, has helped us greatly in other aspects." I'm not going to suck up to you. I'm not going to offer you anything in exchange. If doing the right thing isn't good enough for you… That's why I'm doing this. I don't want him to say something stupid, which will make me want to pull out of this altogether. I don't want him asking the stupid fucking question of investigating his competitors who he thinks are bad guys. Rrrggh! Damn it! I knew this was going to happen if I came here today. Zach frowned at the man and he continued in a lower voice, "Your assistance is saving innocent lives. Thank you."

Zach turned away from the man again. It's not the meeting you wanted. I don't know what that meeting is. I'll have Rebel watching you closer now to make sure you don't suddenly betray us for me not acting as respectful as you were hoping for. You want me to tell you how great-

"No. Thank you," Andersson said after Death had started walking away from him. Zach froze where he was, and the older man back behind him added, "Knowing that, is all I wish for. I do hope though, that I can gain your trust in the days to come." Zach glanced over his shoulder towards the old man who even his security guard was staring at in surprise now.

"I told you," Rebel started in Zach's ear. "He's a chill guy. Cut him some slack and show him something cool, kid."

Zach frowned so much deeper as he heard Rebel talking to him in a I-told-you-so tone, but he grimaced as he was judging the man behind him so harshly without giving him as much of a chance. Because I already expected certain things. Shit. I should have expected, someone doing this with no profit to themselves other than having a more free world to trade around in… of course, he's a good guy. A solid guy. Ughhh! I'm so fucking tired. Screw it. I'll get it back when I sleep. Zach nodded once more at Andersson, then he looked back forward and started walking away from the man.

Erik Andersson watched as that figure started leaving. Then his eyes opened up wide, and much wider still as one huge black wing turned into two breaking off of Death's back. "Wow," Andersson whispered, right before Death flew off to the back exit of the secret lab that he had come in from. The old man shook his head in awe, then he looked around the room before spinning and calling out, "Everyone back in here! Get this equipment packed and start on making more! We've got work to do people!"

---

A/N Thanks for reading! Recruitments, R&D, the City of Villains, smart bears in Siberia, Zach Tripping, dreams, corruption, Lavamander, Amaterasu, the Shadow Bosses... Zach's got a lot going on. Originally this chapter was going to contain like 5 more scenes too, but as I just hit around 20,000 words I think this was a great place to end it instead. I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter! Finally got 2 chapters out in 2 days again! Working on the next one as soon as I upload this so maybe another tomorrow... maybe! XD Leave a review telling me what you think of the chapter below, comments, questions, predictions... or if you think I should switch this story to an M rating. (I think I'm about to do that). I dislike how when you click on fanfic categories though it leaves out all the rated M ones, and I never added any explicit sex scenes in this either which were the two main reasons I kept it on T. Anyway, I do get that it can get pretty brutal though and with all the torture, gore, and MC deaths... probably should have done this a while ago. ;P

Minipa chapter 119 . 21h ago

This story was like 600k words a couple months ago O_o
Jesus Christ dude, you are an absolute beast.

Haha thanks! This winter break is going to be the last time I'm able to keep up my speedy update schedule for a while though as I finish up my last year of college. Going to try and keep pounding these out as fast as I can though! Hope you've enjoyed Death so far!

Gamma-X chapter 119 . 19h ago

I need mah daily dose of Death! But chapters like these are great. Blackjack could be very helpful. Just don't turn him crazy for Zach like how Darling (almost forgot her name) did, just because he would care for them and give them a chance when no one ever would. We don't need a... Square? I mean, we already have a triangle with Momo, Zach and Darling.
Also, really Keisei!? If he came back and was captured as Death, I doubt they would just put him in jail. They'd probably execute him. But if it was jail, he'd most likely be imprisoned for life despite what he's been doing was for the good of the world because no one else would do it. But then, we'd get to see heroes, civilians and maybe countries to crazy about his execution or imprisonment and then riot to have them let him go, which would definitely be great. And who tf spread the rumor that Infinity girl (Uraraka) was in a relationship with Zach!? EVERYONE KNOWS IT WAS MOMO DAMN IT!
Will Bullsnake get a tongue replacement? Also, Bullsnake doesn't like a great name... Needs work. Maybe, Bulligator? (Sounds both hilarious and amazing! xD) Maybe even Dragonbull (sounds like Dragonball).
I like this chapter a lot because we get to see the students of U.A. multiple times. So, when will Jirou FINALLY give Momo her damned FLL (Farewell Love Letter)? We need our fluffy porcupine damn it! ;-;
Also, quite a few spelling mistakes in this chapter. Last questions; what argument did Midoriya and Uraraka have over Zach? A lover's quarrel? Did we see this happen? If not, WILL we see this happen?
Overall, this chapter was AMAAAAZIIIINNNNNG~! Hope the next chapter comes out sooner.
- G.X

Glad you enjoyed! Blackjack comes back this chapter leading Seraphim and Mark through Wampajawa, the City of Villains. Surprised you got mad at that lawyer, though lawyers are often hated for these kind of things lol. The reporter was with you there. No comment on the next part though... I think the reporter knew what he was doing there as he called her out on having a relationship with Zach, great way to get her not to just say 'no comment' if he gives her something to deny first. Or maybe people just remember seeing a clip of Zach rolling Uraraka out of the way at the Sports Festival, if that was one of the recorded clips people saw. Bullsnake does get some cool voice box this chapter which we see when Alpha squad was down in South America heading after Bolivar. No more U.A. this chapter. Maybe we'll see about Midoriya and Uraraka again (we didn't see it already, just the thought about it but not an actual scene). If you see a bunch of spelling mistakes then put them in your review if you want, don't just say they're there or I can't go fix them. Next chapter did come out sooner, no break this time! Thanks for the review, and hope you enjoyed the new chapter!

chadcalebt chapter 8 . 16h ago

Finally, a good book, with relatable, and realistic characters. Good job!

Thanks a ton! Glad you're enjoying it, and hope you catch up soon!

lolmyster42 chapter 119 . 15h ago

Who ever said you can't fight the war on drugs with even more drugs?
(Hey, on a serious note, you ever think of changing your story's rating to M? I'm not really a stickler for the rules, I break 'em all the time, but you literally had a man's head be blown away this chapter alone and a couple months ago you had a underground gorefest so bloody it'd make Toga blush. I'm not saying your story will be suddenly deleted one day because of a rating issue- let's face it, the mods here never enforce the rules to the point I'm not even sure they exist- but it's better to be safe than sorry. Just a concerned reader lookin' out for ya)

XD lol-ed at that first part. And I really hadn't thought about it for a while, but you're totally right. That Scotland chapter I thought for a moment, "maybe I should change this to M" then I countered with "I'll just keep it at a PG-13 level" and then I immediately forgot that second part and just wrote it without restraints XD. So yeah, I'm gonna change that to M now actually. Thanks for the review (and advice)!