"You're sure this will work?" After many months working with the League of Villains, of becoming quite close to Shigaraki, leader of the League of Villains, Twice had learned not to treat certain instincts. Like the ones that told him the wrong answer to a question asked with that raspy, tense tone would lead to Twice's imminent disintegration at his hands. They were in the current secret base of the villain group, just Shigaraki and Twice. He had been given the task of setting up this 'meeting', and even if this didn't work (but it would), Twice knew Shigaraki wouldn't kill him. Probably. The man was holding a flash drive, but only with two fingers.

Nodding fervently, Twice explained things once again. "I'm not sure," he started, in a high voice, before adding in a lower pitch, "Yes, I'm confident it will!" Waving his hands as he talked, Twice told him, "I know a guy who knows a guy who..." Shigaraki made a disgruntled noise, so Twice skipped ahead. "...works for the Legion of Doom! It took some time, but I was handed this and told it would set up a meeting with him! I had the Doc check it out first, he said it was legit!"

Apparently that was enough for Shigaraki. "Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" he muttered, before turning to the laptop in the room, getting it turned on and set up, then plugging in the USB device. Immediately, windows started popping up, code running across what looked like command lines, until suddenly the entire screen was taken up by some kind of video relay program. On the other end of the call, there was a bald man, one so famous that Twice knew immediately this was the right guy. He was looking into the camera, fingers steepled in front of him, waiting for the other party to make the first move. "Hello, Mr. Luthor," Shigaraki started. "As you're no doubt aware, I am Tomura Shigaraki of the League of Villains. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me."

The man on the other end of the world made a sound of interest. "So, you've learned some manners. From everyone else's descriptions, I expected to have to babysit a manchild through this call." The supervillain's voice came out in a rich baritone, one that belied that danger Twice knew the man speaking was capable of. Twice was scared that Shigaraki would be provoked by the taunt, but aside from some tension in his hands, he could see any sign of anger in his leader. "Now, why did you want to arrange this meeting?"

So, he wanted to get right to business. Twice supposed that made sense. Before becoming one of the most famous Villains on the planet, Lex Luthor was a corporate juggernaut, one of the richest men in human history. He probably still thought of things using the old adage 'Time is money.' Shigaraki was ready with his proposal, however. "Alright then," he began in his usual, raspy voice. "The Legion of Doom has never been able to make a strong foothold in Japan. In less than a year, the League of Villains has stepped up as the new power here. I propose an alliance. If you lend us some of the resources we need, we can help you with anything you need in this country."

This was exactly the kind of thing Twice had expected from this meeting. The League was doing well, but they'd never gotten what they needed from the Shie Hassaikai. Despite the fact they were being funded by whatever was left from the personal coffers of the guy who used to run Japan, All for One, they'd been running on fumes for quite a while now. They needed more people, and they needed money. Both of which were things the Legion of Doom, with membership in the tens of thousands, had in abundance. It looked like Luthor was considering the offer, before he finally gave a rebuttal. "I found it interesting to hear that you'd contacted me, boy.

"Your mentor and I had history together, did you know that?" Looking more tense now, Shigaraki nodded. Luthor let out something like a chuckle. "Oh, he told you about the 'Quirkless freak' he envied so much, then. For a long time, All for One was the most powerful Villain in the world. It wasn't long until he began being tarnished with the same brush that he had to downgrade to merely being the strongest villain in Japan." Any joy or mirth disappeared in an instant. Luthor's face appeared passively neutral now, but the even line of his mouth appeared as sharp as a razor's edge. "I offered numerous alliances to him, over the years, but he turned down every one. He didn't want to work with someone without a Quirk, you see."

For the first time, Twice was actually worried. Shigaraki had gotten a lot better about his temper, and being more diplomatic in general. But his love for his master was absolute, and Twice wasn't sure the man could speak a single bad word about All for One. Finally, after a bit of a pause, Shigaraki said, "My master is a man of another time. I understand why he sees things the way he does, but I am more than willing to work with a man of your talents." That definitely surprised Twice. He didn't necessarily say anything bad about the Bigger Bad, but he'd still chosen the alliance.

Luthor looked impressed as well. He was actually smiling. The expression was still nothing anyone would call 'warm' or 'human', but it was something. "I was going to refuse the offer outright, but you've changed my mind. Shigaraki, I have a counteroffer for you: the Legion of Doom would be willing to take the risk and absorb your organization into ours." Twice froze. A hostile takeover. "You would take a place of respect in the Legion, as a regional supervisor for Japan, and you'd have all the resources of the Legion at your fingertips, just as we would get all you have." Twice knew what he meant: the Nomus and the bullets.

This wasn't what they wanted. More than anything, Twice knew that the League didn't want to just be taken over by another group. They needed to be the ones on top. It was part of who they were. For a moment, he was scared that Shigaraki would take the offer. Instead, all he told Luthor was, "I refuse," before he reached out and touched the laptop with all five fingers, and it disintegrated into dust, without Lex Luthor being able to say another word. Shigaraki turned to look at Twice, and he was scared that his leader would punish him for the failure. But instead, he just mumbled, "It was worth a try," and left the room. Twice let out the breath he'd been holding, happy at the very least this hadn't gone nearly as bad as last time.