CHAPTER TEN: Seek And Destroy
"We're scanning the scene in the city tonight/We're looking for you to start up a fight"
"You did WHAT?!" Himiko screamed straight into Kurogiri's face. Her eyes were ablaze with anger and the glint of the knife about to be fully sheathed was a portent of violence to come. Few people in the League had seen her pissed: no one for sure had seen her this furious.
Gigantomachia simply shrugged: he wasn't one to question orders to begin with, and her emotional outburst - while relatable - was nothing he should concern himself with. Until Tomura came back, Kurogiri was in command and his orders were to be followed. Getting up from one of the stool, he left the room with one last glance at the two; he never was particularly close to Toga, but he knew her well enough to think she wouldn't do something so foolish as to attack a superior... even if the presence of the new guy had somehow changed her.
Twice thought for a moment to try and calm her down, but after an instant he decided it was wiser not to. He had an inkling that Kuro sent Dave out alone to get captured - or at least to give him the chance to leave out of Himiko's reach. The foreigner was amiable enough but given the recent developments his value as an asset could well be eclipsed by his status as a liability. The other guy, Mark, already targeted the League and given the amount of unknown power both possessed and their leader's absence it wasn't too far out to think he would target them... and most likely wipe them out. He felt sorry for Toga: in her weird way, she was really attached to Dave and in the short time he was there he seemed to be a slightly stabilizing influence on her life... then again, he also expected him to come back having mopped the floor with whatever the Nomu set him up against. Which made all the previous points completely moot.
"I sent him out on recon." Kuro replied absolutely deadpan. "He's a member, isn't he? You yourself wanted him here. And like all members, he has to pull his own weight and fall into the chain of command. We need Tomura back and he's the best equipped to find him and bring him back. What were you expecting, to keep him in your room and bang all day?"
"I should have gone with him!" the girl hissed making half a step forward to get straight in his face. "He...he has no training. What if something happens to him, what if he gets captured or that other one makes him disappear like he did with Dabi?" Her lips were almost bloodless and curled to expose her fangs, her whole body shaking with barely suppressed fury. She herself - a part of her, at least - couldn't even recognize this emotional outburst as something that could belong to her. Her anger was cold, bitter, calculating; right now her heart was jumping in her chest like it wanted to burst out and tear at Kuro's throat by itself. Was this a part of love? This was different from the longing she had in the past. It cut deeper and just by that virtue this made Dave's absence and predicament ten times more dolorous. He wanted to become him, to be one with him... and also wanted him to be by her side, near her, his arms around her and hear his voice say that playful owie that came with each of her bites and pricks.
And Kuro sent him away from her.
"You did it on purpose, didn't you? You had to wait when I was outside to send him out. You knew I wouldn't let you." she growled. "You hate him."
"Nonsense. He's a valuable asset. You're letting your emotions dictate your actions."
"I'm going to go get him." she spat before making an abrupt turn on her heels and running full speed for the door without a further word. Kurogiri stood stil with his arms crossed, his yellow eyes following her dash and then shook his head slowly. "I wish she understood." he murmured as soon as the door slammed with a bang that echoed through all the room.
"Well: one, I'm pretty sure she wishes YOU would understand." Twice replied with more than a hint of sarcasm "Two, the whole thing stinks anyway. Come on, Kuro. You sent the new guy out alone in a moment where the pros are out in force looking for Muscular first and Shigaraki second - and this without mentioning the whole other load of crap brought to our doorstep by his ex friend. Don't go telling me you weren't planning something."
"Well, it's not a secret that I think he's more dangerous than useful. I was expecting to question him and then either eliminate him or send him on his way. He was hellbent on leaving town, at least initially, and that suited me just fine. Except Toga had to tale a shine on him and put all of us in jeopardy. Had he not appeared, Dabi and our leader would still be here."
"Hm." Twice raised an eyebrow. "I think this is something a lot worse than 'a shine'. When was the last time you saw her so upset?"
"I noticed. All the more reason to get him out of the door before Himiko-chan decides her loyalties lie more with her boy than the League. I have the precise responsibility to look after the cohesion of this motley crew, if you haven't forgotten."
"Can't argue with that. Let's hope it doesn't come crashing down on us too hard, then." Twice sighed. Kuro fell silent and slowly walked behind the bar counter, occupying himself with cleaning implements and preparing drinks.
"I'm telling you, something's not right." Prometheus said as Dave peered at the gaping hole that was Club Pearl from the other side of the road, trying to get a vantage point from the midst of the crowd hastily walking around him. He absentmindedly nodded, hands in the pockets of the anonymous blue jacket he was wearing together with a cap to avoid being caught by airborne surveillance. He had supposed that the pro hero society might have caught wind of his more or less voluntary association with the League and thus jumped at the occasion to declare him as a villain; especially since his debut included an unauthorized Quirk use. Kuro sending him out on a whim was clearly beyond a dick move: he was trying to get him out of his britches. Maybe he feared a takeover, though Dave expressed in the clearest of terms he wasn't interested in any crusade, much less in leading one. Or maybe he just saw him as too dangerous to be kept around... peak irony for the second in command of a bunch of assorted maniacs.
"Agreed on that, partner. Let's see if we can find our great leader and haul ass to the villain cave - and hope Himi-chan's not back from her outing already. I shudder at the thought of her finding me gone. She'd fucking freak out, assume I'm being unfaithful and go ultra stabby before I could even explain myself, and then I'd die horribly and I don't want to die horribly."
"You want to die prettily?" Prometheus giggled. "Or maybe... heroically?"
"Oh, shut the fuck up. I tould you a million times I ain't no hero and I ain't no villain."
"Keep repeating that. Maybe one day you'll grow to believe it. I for sure won't."
"Whatever. Let's follow the destruction trail, I'm getting nervous."
"Leaving so soon?" a voice behind his back laughed. In an instant, he realized he was amidst no less than twenty people who literally stopped dead in their tracks and were all staring at him, smiling deviously. "Please. We'd like you to follow us quietly and without question. Our Commander has a proposal for you."
"Shit." Dave snarled. "Req...AGH!" The high voltage from at least five taser shots coursed through his body before he could even react; the nanites kicked in full gear to avoid a heart attack, but his body was completely paralyzed and the crowd literally jumped on him like they were possessed by one mind: salarymen, office ladies, even kids. His mind was trying to free itself from a thick cloud of shock; he could hear Prometheus' voice as a distant echo before another series of jolts wracked his already overloaded nervous system. Panic started to set in.
"...Ph...fter...iot..." the broken voice of his internal companion screamed frantically - but he couldn't think of anything as another, way more powerful electric discharge shut him consciousness completely. His eyes rolled into his skull and he fell limp and unconscious on the sidewalk while the ten year old child raised the cattle prod with a satisfied smile.
Beyond his laptop screen Skeptic broke into an imperceptible smile. "Bring him here." he ordered his puppets. The Commander would be pleased, indeed.
