I live. I know, long time no see, but I plan to get back on track. Updates might be wonky for a while longer but I will go back to my dear weekly posting asap. Until then, hope you all will stay tuned.

(XX)

Kiruka stared for a long moment at Izuku Midoriya, sitting on a bed in one of the infirmaries, a large, reddish green mass of goo with eyes and sharp teeth 'standing' on his shoulder, then, very slowly, turned toward the doctor. "Explain."

"We ran some tests on it. It's quite fascinating actually, a lifeform unlike any I've ever seen before. I…"

"I meant explain why he has a Symbiote!"

Spider-Man, who she had dragged back from his home universe as soon as a Symbiote had appeared, coughed in his fist. "Well, errr, that might kinda… sorta… be my fault?" Kiruka glared at him, "Wait, listen, we needed a way to add Dekiru's One for All to Izuku's One for All and I figured turning into the Symbiote was a good plan."

Kiruka remembered that, of course, "And why did it stay."

"Technically it didn't." Spider-Man replied, "I think… During the fight, at one point, Izmird bit through the Symbiote suit and into Deku's shoulder. I guess the Symbiote entered his bloodstream and then… well, a piece stayed there."

"Are you saying that's Carnage?!" Kiruka shouted.

"Uh, I like that name." The Symbiote said, making them all stare at it for a long moment.

"I don't think so?" Spider-Man replied, a second before Kiruka just started to strangle him, "Look, Symbiotes are weird, but their personality should be influenced by their hosts. This is a Symbiote born from me, Dekiru, Canary and Deku, I'd guess, so it shouldn't be a very aggressive creature."

"I'm not." The Symbiote said, "Although I am quite hungry right now."

"You eat brains, don't you?" Kiruka asked. The Symbiote nodded, and she slowly turned toward Spider-Man.

"L-Look, we can use the chocolate solution, that shouldn't be too bad!"

"Do you get what's the real problem here?" Kiruka asked, "We can't let someone with a Symbiote just… travel the Multiverse and risk spreading it around. The nanomachines are already risky, but they were given a tentative go. But this… This is much worse."

"What?!" Deku shouted, "Wait, wait, you can't just bar me from travelling the Multiverse! I need to learn how to control Teleport!"

"Not to mention that if what worries you is the fact he will have to fight, he is already here." Spider-Man gestured around, at the Arena, "Do you plan to strongarm the Tournament into letting him leave too? Because that would probably make them angry."

Kiruka bit her lip, "I can't just let him! What if he starts spreading the Symbiote up and down the Multiverse…"

Spider-Man thought a moment, then suddenly blinked, before pointing at Kiruka, "Wait, why don't we just move him to someone else?"

"Isn't that like, a major thing about the Symbiote? That they normally don't like to be separated from whatever partner they have?"

"Well, if he doesn't want to get separated from Izuku, all we have to do is move him to Izuku." Spider-Man pointed out, "We have a lot, I'm sure one would be up for it."

"Are you offering?" The Symbiote asked, perking up.

"No!" He shouted, raising both hands, before noticing the look everyone was giving him and slowly lowering them while chuckling, "No offense, but I feel like putting a Spider-Man and a Symbiote in contact with each other is a recipe for disaster. There's a reason if I stayed far away from Superior when we transformed."

Kiruka looked at him, then at the Symbiote, "I suppose there are some people that could be interested…" She looked at him, then back at Deku, "Do you have any objection to giving him up?"

"Uhm, I don't want to offend him, but…" He looked at Epsi, on his wrist, and the AI nodded.

"I think it would be best if the Symbiote was removed." The AI said, "Mister Izuku's training will require still some time."

"And you?"

"I'd prefer to stay with him." The Symbiote said, and Kiruka expected him to start a tantrum of some kind, but instead the creature just continued, "That said, a different host wouldn't be unacceptable, provided we are as compatible or more compatible. I can tell you that Deku won't be easy to replace, our compatibility is off the charts."

"You are quite cooperative for a Symbiote." Spider-Man said.

"We symbiote have a personality influenced by those we are bound with, and those our parents were bound with. Given where I came from and who I'm bonded with, I don't see how I could be anything but cooperative, so long as it doesn't go against my survival." The Symbiote replied.

"I will look into candidates for the transfer." Kiruka said, "Spider-Man…"

"I will help. Take me to the Headquarters and we can at least halve the burden." Spider-Man replied.

"Good. As for you two." She pointed to Deku and the Symbiote, "Hopefully this is easy, but if for some reason you find yourself forced to fight while still bound…"

"I will make sure I don't cause more Symbiotes to spread." The Symbiote replied, "I don't care for reproduction, and frankly my creation was a freak accident by itself, let alone the creation of further Symbiotes."

"Frankly, given the track record of Izukus all over the Multiverse, I wouldn't count out the possibility you will manage to find a way." Kiruka replied, and Deku and Spider-Man both laughed sheepishly as she glared at them. She huffed, waved to Deku, grabbed Spider-Man, and as soon as they stepped in the corner she activated her Quirk, landing in the Headquarters of the League, in a corridor on the third floor. With the HQ mostly empty, it was a decent landing spot.

Spider-Man made to talk but she put a finger in front of him, "Try to say 'Oh at least we didn't sing Zombie by the Cranberries or Thriller by Michael Jackson' and I will murder you."

Spider-Man coughed in his fist, "Well it could have gone worse. Symbiotes are… iffy, but they aren't necessarily dangerous."

Kiruka grimaced, "I know, but it's just another risk for the Multiverse at large. You do realize that we don't know how well that Symbiote lines up with the one we know from the comics, right?"

"I was thinking that too. Canary says that 'Living Melody' depends on the image he has of the song, and that should apply even when we used it as the Singing Spider. So the obvious question becomes what we pictured as the Symbiote. Did we just picture Venom? And if we did, did we give him all the abilities of Venom? Or maybe, if we pictured Venom, does that actually make him Carnage, as in a Symbiote tied to its host's blood? If there is a Multiverse with mad Spider-Men and Izukus, it goes by logic there might be a sane Carnage too."

"Shouldn't you know? You were there, after all."

Spider-Man shook his head, passing a hand through his hair, "You never fused with Dekiru." He replied, "It's not that the Fusion is the three people inside it. The Fusion is a new person. We are in there, but the Fusion, what it imagines… It's not something we can know."

"I thought there was some memory sharing involved."

"Dekiru is working hard to keep that blocked, so he doesn't let the existence of One for All slip in his home world every time he fuses. I think he has trained enough he is doing it in a subconscious way. I have some stuff, and he got some in return, but it's not like I remember step by step everything we thought." He slammed a fist on the wall, "This is my fault."

"It is." Kiruka replied. Call her heartless, but she knew this was someone's fault, and the League member that went and created a Symbiote despite knowing what they can do seemed a pretty convincing culprit. Still… "But you did it because you had to. It was a life-or-death situation. Even Superior gave you the go ahead. It has to mean something."

"That Doc Oc isn't as smart as he thinks he is?"

"Don't let Superior hear that…" She sighed, "Come on, help me to the servers, there has to be at least a Midoriya that wants great power and great responsibilities."

"Oh, ah-ah."

-x-

Itsumi blinked. She had just come down from the floor above, and she didn't expect to run in that kind of conversation. She had reflexively moved back a few steps, listening, and what she had heard…

"Listening to something?" A voice asked from behind her. She managed to not shout, and she turned around to notice Itsuka Quanteng – the Vampire one. The woman smiled, her pale skin contrasting in a beautiful way with the tone of color of her eyes and hair. Her Victorian dress, black and red today, was something Itsumi also found really beautiful. While she preferred male clothing for ease of movement, she couldn't deny she found those clothes fantastic.

She forced her eyes back toward the Vampire's face. "I just… It was an accident…"

"Of course it was." The Vampire chuckled mirthfully, "But it seems to me it's something you are quite interested in."

"I…"

"Indeed, I can tell you are seeking power. Frankly, since the moment I met you, I have felt that ambition."

"Vampires can sense ambition?"

"Oh dear, no. I can guess, because I'm intelligent. I'm not even the only one that noticed. Amazon has mentioned she notices the hard work you are putting in."

"How? I've been back for a day."

"And didn't you just train with Mariah, the same day you came back? That is ambition, young lady." The Vampire sighed, "Ah, to be young and brave…"

Itsumi looked at her, trying to figure out what she might want, but she found herself at a loss. She didn't know much about her, beyond the fact that she was a freaking Vampire, and a powerful one if Mariah was to be believed. Some people would have kept the doubt for themselves, but she was Itsumi Midoriya. "Why are you doing this?"

"Mh?"

"You are goading me into finding out what's going on with Deku."

"I am." She admitted.

"Why?"

"Because, dear, I don't like to lose." The Vampire replied, her eyes blinking and turning bright red as they looked in Itsumi's own, "I have gone through a lot. The Hunting Wars, the Decade of Blood, the Red Harvest… I have seen Vampires older than me, smarter than me, braver than me. I've also seen them die, often. Do you know why I'm here instead?"

Itsumi felt like she was repeating herself, but all she could say as those red eyes bore into her, was… "Why?"

"Because I never underestimate the enemy or overestimate my allies. I use my thralls to find out what the enemy can do. I use my own powers to make sure me and my allies are up to the task. And if there is anything, anything that gives me an edge, I take it."

"And this is it?"

"I can't know. But everything I've seen of this True League for All, everything I have reported, tells me they are dangerous. It tells me they are a force that requires… more." She smiled, the perfect white teeth shining as Itsumi's eyes, for the first time in a bit, were drawn away from the eyes and onto the fangs. They looked sharp as a dagger, and Itsumi found herself wondering what it was like to be bitten. Painful, for sure. She would rather not find out. "With all that said, dear, do you think I missed the mention of power?"

"It was a coincidence?"

"I've been supremely bored, locked within a place that offers none of the interests I developed over the years. No theater, no opera, no fine dining or beautiful paintings to see. To stifle it a bit, I travel through the shadows of this building, and while I'm courteous enough to not enter the lower floors or private rooms, as a sign of respect to those that are affording me guest right, I am everywhere in those corridors. Hearing the discussion was child's play, just like it was noticing you listening." The Vampire smiled, "But enough about me. You seek power, do you not? Then take it. I'll help you find someone to take such useful tool."

"But why me?"

"Who else, dear? Shall I go and claim the prize for myself? I am afraid I'm not a Midoriya." She chuckled, "In fact, I believe the Midoriya family would be quite appalled at the notion. But still, my point is that you seem the best candidate, right now."

"You just want me to use it against the True League for All."

"And you wouldn't, if you had your own free choice? We are allies with the same goal. Allow me to help you."

'What do you think?' Itsumi asked in her head.

"I think she is a dangerous woman that has her own goals and doesn't really care about your ambitions… But I think she is also genuine in the fact she wants to boost her chances of survival by making her allies strong." The Vestige dwelling inside her One for All piece replied.

'And about the Symbiote?'

"If it's like in those old Scarlet Spider comics, it's dangerous. Maybe you can deal with it, though. I'm afraid I can't offer much thought on it. I knew other vestiges more familiar with the comics, but…"

She nodded. The truth was, even before running into the Vampire, Itsumi had considered finding out what was going on and…

Well she wanted power. She wanted a way to fight her enemies, to be able to actually help her world. She had a chance to do it.

She just had to say the word.

-x-

"… And this is the lab." The AI, Zuzu-9-Delta, said as it introduced Superior and Horizon. After a day resting, Zuzu-9-Beta had offered to show them the headquarters that would be their home for the time being. Superior looked around. The laboratory was amazing, bigger than even UA's impressive support office. Having Doc in his mind had definitely reinforced Superior's interest in the development of combat gear, and seeing a place like that was quite appealing.

There were also a lot of people working in it, besides the robots. A Bakugo slammed a fist on a metal table, shouting for the robots to hurry with his pieces. Next to him, a guy that Superior realized after a moment was a Mineta dressed in medieval blacksmith garments, a purple, bushy beard extending down from his chin. He was still short, but looked more muscular, far older and a bit stockier than the Mineta he knew. Not far off, a girl with pink hair – Mei, Izuku realized – was working at something else, some form of gun judging from the shape of the pieces. Looking more around, he counted at least thirty people working in the lab.

"Power Suit suggested we call in every single person we could find with skills at either developing gear or developing magic." Delta explained, "We have twenty-seven people that graciously agreed to work with us on this floor, and in the magic lab below there are twelve more. Most of them won't be helping in direct combat, but any magic sword, plasma gun, hard-light shield and so on, if put in the right hands, can be just as useful."

"Indeed, having resources, even if they are never used, is better than not having them." Superior nodded at Doc's comment as they moved through the lab, before noticing a large portal in the right end of the place. It seemed to be halfway through construction.

"What's that?" He asked.

"An attempt at a multiversal portal. We seem to lack some of the necessary technology, though, and since its development would take resources away, we had to put it on hold." She shook her head, "Mister Power Suit and Miss Hatsume were a bit sad, but it's not like they can work on it when there are so many things that we need to do."

Superior nodded. It made sense, he supposed, but… 'Are you thinking what I'm thinking?'

"Midoriya…"

'Because I was thinking, it would prove pretty useful for them, if they could get it to work properly. They could use it to send people back home, and in this war with the True League that means potentially finding allies too. Right?'

"I know that." The Doctor replied, before going silent, "You don't know anything on the subject."

'I don't.' Izuku admitted, before grinning, 'I know someone that does, though.'

"Even if I gave you instructions, do you really think you can follow them alone? I doubt they will be able to spare someone, given all the work there is to do." Superior's eyes moved to the side, looking at someone, and he could feel Doc Oc's annoyance, "You are joking."

'Never been more serious.'

Before Doc could reply, Horizon looked back at Superior. "Something wrong?"

"Nope." Superior replied, "In fact, I think we can help both each other and the League." Horizon looked at him curiously, and the Spider-Man chuckled, "Say, do you think you can follow instructions to build something?"

"Is it magical?"

"No."

"Then yes, but what's in it for me?"

"A way to pay back the League." Superior said. Horizon gave him an unimpressed look, "And a way to get home."

That did catch Horizon's attention. "I get to use it first once it works." He finally said.

"Doable." Superior replied, before turning his attention back inward, 'Can you give me an estimate, Doc?'

For a long moment, he thought Otto would refuse, then he felt him sigh, "I'd have to look at the portal's current state. If it's half-decent, I can replicate Sinister's tech, rectify a few things and get it working in the span of a week or so. If it's something we have to rework from scratch it will take a bit longer."

'A whole week?'

"If you want a portal that will just dump you in a random place in the universe, I can do it in a day. With the help I will get, a week is already going to be a lot of work."

'… Point taken.' Superior passed a hand through his hair, 'The Web Watch isn't an option, right?'

"I doubt they have the resources to build enough, and the coordinates can be a problem. The old Web Watches used the Web of Life and Destiny to travel, and many of the worlds of this Multiverse seem disconnected from it. The portal is a better choice, since it's already half done."

'I guess you are the better judge here.' Superior replied, before turning to Delta. "Say, Delta. Can I ask you something?"

-x-

"So you got a Symbiote?" Revenant asked. Their lunch table was, frankly, something almost hard to look at. Barring Usagi, Huanli and Fuyumi, everyone else at the table was an Izuku. Piper, Kitsune, Revenant, Argali, Captain Kamino, Deku, Izumi… Deku ha wondered how often so many Izuku found themselves just spending time together.

'The Multiverse really brings up the weirdest questions.' He thought, before answering. "Yes."

"Which one?" Argali asked.

"We don't know yet."

"I kinda like the name Carnage." The Symbiote interjected, stopping munching on the chocolate for a moment. Izuku could see Captain Kamino choke on his drink, cough and slide a bit further from him, and perfectly understood why. Even with his relatively limited knowledge of comic books, he knew most Symbiotes were supposed to be evil, even if usually it was a matter of hosts. He was also fairly sure Carnage was one of the worst, so…

"Can we pick a different name?" Izuku asked.

"I'll think about it." The Symbiote replied, downing another chocolate bar. Thank goodness there was that way out of the 'eat brains' problem.

"And you want to give it away?" Izumi asked, "He should be pretty strong, right?" At that, the Symbiote nodded energetically.

Deku shook his head, "Not much of a choice. Even if I wanted to bring him with me, I'd risk spreading Symbiotes through the Multiverse. We will look for someone without Teleport instead."

Revenant perked up at that, "Say, I'd…"

"I think they mean someone that won't teach him how to kill people, Revenant, no offense." Argali interrupted. He scoffed but didn't insist. Argali turned back to Deku, "I'm not interested, by the way."

"Pity, I'd like to see a sheep with the Symbiote." Fuyumi replied, "And I doubt I'm eligible."

Deku nodded, "They are looking for a Midoriya, I think."

"So I'm eligible?" Usagi asked.

"You travel through dimensions." Deku countered, "I doubt that's much better."

"I still don't get why they don't just kill him, if he is that much of a problem." Huanli said. Everyone stared at her, and she blinked, "What? What did I say?"

"He is a living, sentient being." Izuku pointed out.

"He's also very useful." Revenant said, "The League needs every weapon they can get, right? Having a Symbiote on call is probably a good idea."

"We also can't know his ratio of spread, but we can assume it's not too high." Captain Kamino added, "Izuku has carried him for two days, if it was spreading every time someone comes into contact with his blood, several doctors, and everyone that trained with him on the second day, would have a Symbiote too."

The Symbiote nodded, "I don't care for my spawn, but I can tell when it is released. I did not generate any since latching to Izuku, and I don't believe I will for a while."

"There you have it." Argali said, "Seems keeping him alive won't cause too much damage, and killing him is still killing someone."

Huanli nodded, and Deku sighed. He really hoped this issue got solved by the evening.

-x-

All for One gasped, desperately grasping at the hand that held him by the neck. He tried to activate his Quirks, again and again. Fireball, Crackling Sound, Big Gains, Shift Focus, Sleepwalk, Machine Control… Nothing seemed to faze the machine holding him, and he was tired.

So tired…

His eyes looked around, searching the field up and down. There were more of those humanoid machines, black and grey robots broken to pieces during the fight. Twenty had attacked him, eighteen had been destroyed, but the remaining two, one missing an arm, the other one missing a large chunk from its side, but still moving.

"What… Are… You…"

"ByTwo." The woman interjected. All for One stared at her. She was dressed like a witch, even sitting atop a floating broom, her red hair floating in the wind. But her eyes were what caught his attention, flickering in a cacophony of colors. Red to black to blue to teal to white to red to azure to- he looked away. "They are quite the interesting invention. Capable of fighting against All Might himself, albeit only briefly, and designed by a technomancer called Garaki. The name sounds familiar?" She grinned, "Thank you for this test by the way. It appears that, when it comes to facing the All for One of the Fourth's generation, twenty ByTwo and I are enough."

All for One had no idea of who All Might was. He didn't care, even. All he needed was for his Quirks to work again. Where were they? Why weren't they appearing?

"You should stop it, All for One." Kendo said, "If you give up, we will make it quick."

In response, All for One started to struggle harder. Where were his followers? What were they doing? If even a single one of them could help… 'Where is Machia…'

"I'm here." A voice said. All for One's eyes darted to the source. A man with black hair, wearing a mask with no noticeable feature, marched forward, his blades trickling blood on the floor as he stepped forward through the ruins of what had been All for One's main headquarters before the man had destroyed it in the fight. "Why is he still alive?"

"I took the opportunity to test the ByTwo." The witch replied, "We have been testing them here and there, but a life-or-death match with little support seems a good idea, don't you think."

The man said nothing, instead moving his eyes toward All for One. "Do you mind?" He asked the Witch.

She shrugged. Do what you will." She replied, "The test is done."

The black-haired warrior nodded, walking forward. When he arrived face to face with All for One, he took off his mask.

All for One stared, speechless. It couldn't be. It couldn't be! "You are…"

"Your death." The man replied, driving his sword through All for One's heart. He had Quirks to recover from it, normally. But as he coughed blood even through the ByTwo's constricting grasp, even as color vanished from the world and he gasped for just one more breath of fresh air, the multicolored eyes of the witch never stopped glaring at him.

Cold.

So cold.

So cold…

-x-

The corpse fell to the ground without much resistance. Kendo stopped her magic. Coming up with a magic to mimic Aizawa's Quirk had been an interesting challenge, but it was far from impossible. It had flaws, mostly in the consumption of magical energy and components, but to fight a single enemy, even one strong like All for One, it more than sufficed.

He watched the swordsman put his mask back on, and as he turned around, she winked. "Debt settled, I suppose." She said cheerfully, "No more One for All, no more All for One."

"Shinomori will be happy, wherever he is." The swordsman replied, cleaning his blade, "Even in death, he won. His sacrifice ensured his All for One's demise. Something the League for All would have never given him, but the True League delivered."

Kendo nodded, her eyes darting around for any signs of attackers, but it seemed the man had been thorough in his work. She extended her hand. "Shall we go?" The swordsman shrugged and took her hand, "What did you show him?" She asked suddenly, unable to hold back. She needed to know.

"An enemy of All for One and of Izuku Midoriya." The man replied. She felt his heartbeat through his hand. He was honest, that was undoubtable. "Isn't that enough?"

The Witch of the East studied him for a short moment, before shrugging. It wasn't her duty to screen further those the leader of the True League for All had taken in their midst. With a snap, they vanished, her thoughts lingering on the world without All for One and One for All they left behind. Hikage Shinomori had passed away fighting someone else's war, finished by the person that led him in that direction. She had killed him, because it was clear he was having second thoughts and she didn't want him to spill their secrets.

And now All for One passed away too, the once crime lord killed by robots, a witch and a swordsman. He would never threaten that world again. While they were taking care of him, the other team was killing Garaki and burning his main lab, making sure their legacy was lost forever.

Such was the path of the True League for All. And Kendo couldn't wait for them to achieve.

(XX)

In this chapter:
Pied Piper from Pied Piper by Blackholeca
Kitsune from Quirked by armoryofstars
Superior from Superior Legacy by Saint Danielle
Spider-Man based on Amazing Fantasy by The Infamous Man
Argali from Sheep Go to Heaven by Dramatic_Spoon
Canary from Canary by cloud_nine_and_three_quarters
Usagi from The Green Scar Worldbuilding Thread by Quantum01 and The Green Scar by Pro-man
Revenant from Locked in Digital by Rogue Druid
Horizon from Horizon: Star Driven by Rogue Druid

So, last chapter before the Tournament resumes for real. Symbiote stuff, mostly, plus Superior and Horizon starting their new cooperative science project, the True League for All doing True League for All stuff (figured it was about time I showed them doing their Inheritors-style shenanigans) and some simple talks.

Itsumi has been looking for power for a while, as Vampire Itsuka has noticed. She has been feeling left behind, and while she got a proof of her growth in her recent victory against the Prowler, she still knows the road ahead is difficult. Of course she is more than interested in gaining a certain power booster.

As for Superior, his working on the portal is a no-brainer. Otto Octavius has more than his fair share of experience in Multiversal travel, and there are several reasons for him to be interested in working on it here... as there are for Horizon, who really wants to go home. Just... He isn't a Hero, let him go home. While it won't all be smooth sailing, they should be able to work their way through making a working passage.

And some True League stuff. Say what you will about them, but they can take care of All for One, it's a key point of their operation after all. Scary...