It was rare for business to require a completely empty lair. Normally, the supervillain known to many as All for One had at least a few helpers around, the few he trusted completely. But even they could not know what was about to come to pass.

The young Tomura Shigaraki was beginning to truly improve in his leadership of the League of Villains, and soon a task force he put together would be storming a summer school training event for UA.

Not the type of plan All for One would have chosen, but that was part of the point. This era wasn't one for villains hiding in the darkness, controlling everything through proxies of proxies of proxies. He was giving all of his support to a rabble rouser, training him into the type of monster that heroes would fear for generations.

The fact he also happened to be the grandson of All Might's mentor was a bonus, of course.

But the League needed more strength, and while All for One wasn't leading them directly, he still did what he could to support them from backstage. Reaching out to the Legion of Doom would be a fool's errand. They were led by a Quirkless fool, there was no point in aligning with them. The Hellfire Club had banished All for One years ago, and the League of Assassins still had a kill order on his head. All it took was sneaking into a Lazarus Pit, and Ra's hatred knew no bounds.

That left All for One in the position he was in now, still hooked up to his life-supporting equipment, and making a phone call to a number only he and a handful of others in the world had.

It rang nearly ten times before a bombastic voice answered.

"WHO DARES CALL THE PHONE OF DOOM?!"

Putting on his most diplomatic voice, All for One purred into the receiver, "Victor, is that any way to talk to an old friend?"

"..." It was quite the event. Victor von Doom, monarch of Latveria and one of the most famous supervillains in the world, rendered silent. "Shigaraki?! You dare call this number? Doom has no time to waste on relics of the past!"

Unable to help himself, One for All laughed. "Coming from a man clad in metal armor, wielding sorcery in a green hood?" It was safe for him to make such a joke. There was only one person on the planet whose words could truly incense dear Victor. "I did not call to talk about myself, Victor, but about my protege. His League of Villains has had a promising start, as I'm sure you're already aware. I merely wondered if the might of Latveria could be spared to bolster his forces."

It was impressive, the way One for All could hear Victor squinting at him through the phone. "You wish an alliance? After all you have done to Doom? Speak the terms then, and do not forget that Victor von Doom is a man of even temper and open mind!"

"Perhaps ten Doombots. A few million Latverian francs would also help. After all, you can print as many as you want." There were a few people One for All knew who could trade even that currency for Japanese yen.

"A trifle." That was an understatement.

Time to fluff the man's ego. "Victor, there was a time you and I were the most successful supervillains in the world. You ruled Latveria with a genius's intellect, and I controlled Japan from the shadows. You know my pain, the feeling of being scarred by the very thing you made. Surely a man as great as you can extend a hand in times such as this, especially when you know I am the type to pay you back a hundred-fold."

For a second, One for All thought it might have worked.

"Yes, we have both been scarred." A pronoun, from Victor? Could it be a sign of willingness to agree? "But you are a coward, then and now. You hide and sneak and snivel. Losing your face only made you want to hide it more. But I am Doom. Do you think pain, loss, and the ravages of time has made Doom turn craven, old man? Doom stands before the world, the savior of the human race, leader of the greatest nation on the planet. PERHAPS IF YOU HAD BEGGED FOR THE HELP OF DOOM, YOU MAY HAVE RECEIVED IT. BUT THIS CALL WILL LAST NO LONGER. MAY YOUR DEATH AT DOOM'S HANDS BE SWIFT AND PAINLESS."

The line went dead, and All for One sighed. That went about as well as he could have expected.

Though it would have been nice if he'd really known if that had even been Victor on the other end, or if it was another of his damn robots.