While 1-A faced a Hell on Earth, 1-B was facing a normal day. And one of them tapped a pencil on his notebook.

"Brando... Diego Brando. He couldn't be... and yet I've got a gut feeling he is."

XXXXXXXXX

Gyro had seen many things from his time wandering the hospitals his father had worked in. Burns, hacked off limbs, botched surgeries. All of that, and yet the sight before him made his stomach knot up. Nomu, squatting above Aizawa, grabbed the Erasure Hero's scalp, and forced his face into the ground, making a small crater form. It reminded him of when his young brothers would crush bugs. He shuddered as he, Midoriya, Asui, and Mineta watched helplessly from the water. His compatriots were no better of than he was. All of them looked terrified beyond belief and Mineta looked like he was about to be sick.

This is bad, the Italian silently admitted as he glanced over to the unconscious Hierophant Green. Very, very bad.

As their homeroom teacher continued to receive extensive bodily damage, the air behind the leader of the Villains began to blacken.

A familiar, echoey voice emitted from the airborne darkness. "Shigaraki Tomura."

The one he was addressing did not bother looking back. "Kurogiri. If you are here, Thirteen is dead, right?"

The darkness expanded and formed into the man that had sent the foursome into the drink. "Only incapacitated. The juveniles I was unable to scatter impeded me, and one managed to escape."

All of them made no sound. Nomu kept Aizawa pinned to the ground as Shigaraki seemed to process what he had been told. The hand covering his face made it impossible to tell what his reaction was. After a strangely prolonged moment, he began to scratch his neck. The flesh steadily became red and raw.

"You're the warp gate," Shigaraki groaned. "You're supposed to get and keep everyone where they're supposed to be." He stopped his scratching. "If all those Pros get here, we're gonna lose for sure. It's game over... for now."

Gyro leaned over to his temporary teammates. "Guess that means they're leaving?"

Mineta burst into tears once more, although unlike every other time, it was due to an overwhelming joy. "We're saved!" He moved to embrace Asui, only to put his hand on her chest.

"This is weird, Midoriya," she said, keeping Mineta's head under the water.

Gyro nodded. But something was gnawing at him mentally. "They came, they broke a few things, and now they're leaving?"

Izuku's mind began to race. They said they were going to kill All Might, and they're just going to run? All they've done is alert UA to their actions!

Shigaraki came to a decision. "Before we leave, we should take this opportunity... and bring down the Symbol of Peace's pride a bit!" With that proclamation, he moved. His speed was something to be respected. One instant he was standing next to his minions. The next, he directly in front of the four Heroes in training, reaching towards Gyro. Midoriya's mind rewound to how those very hands disintegrated Aizawa's elbow. And now they were going right for Gyro's face!

Shigaraki's momentum kept up as his fingers pressed into the Spin User's face... and nothing happened.

It did not take long for for Shigaraki to figure out why. "Eraser. You really are a cool guy."

Behind him, 1-A homeroom teacher had indeed managed to lift his face off the concrete and looked at the Villainous leader... until Nomu slammed it back down. The sound alone was enough to make the four youths sick.

"Ehi, Handjob," Gyro spoke up with a grin, hoping to get Shigaraki focused on him, specifically his face. "You're very soft. What sort of moisturizer do you use?" Before his potential murderer could process the question, Gyro shoved his spinning Steel Ball into Shigaraki's elbow. The affect was instantaneous. His fingers curled into a tight fist and his arm jolted back, making him slug his own chin. The impact made him wobble, but failed to knock him back.

Damn it! Gyro grimaced as his Steel Ball returned to his palm. I should have stalled more! Put more Spin in the Ball!

Shigaraki was, to say the least, unamused. His red eyes seemed to glow from between the fingers of the hand covering his face. "You little-"

Know full well what was about to happen, Izuku leapt forward, teeth gritted and eyes focused. "Get away!" He felt One For All course though him like gasoline as he reared his arm back. Shigaraki remained as he was, as if he were watching an ant make its way across a slab of sidewalk. Izuku forced his arm forward. "SMASH!"

The punch made a small storm of dust and debris fly up. As he stood their, arm still outstretched, Midoriya noticed something. My arm... it isn't broken?! Have I done it?! Can I finally control One For All?!

His glee vanished with the visual obstruction. The dust settled, revealing that he had not punched Shigaraki, but rather Nomu. And the crime against nature looked no worse for wear. Deku was dumbstruck. Just how fast was this thing?

Behind the avian, Shigaraki murmured, "nice. Real nice. You called it a 'smash,' right? You a follower of All Might?" He shrugged nonchalantly. "Not that it matters."

Nomu grabbed Deku's arm. Shigaraki moved towards Gyro, Mineta, and Asui. Before either of them could make a fatal move, the main entrance's door flew off the hinges. While this was a normal sight in the world of Heroes, there was a certain air to this. A screen of smoke had formed from the impact, and out of it walked the Pillar of Justice. And he looked very angry.

XXXXXXXXX

DIO continued watching with a sliver of interest. "Just what is going on..." He willed the violet ropes to tighten around the monitor, bringing the spectacle into focus. It showed him the perpetrator in question. The blue hair was new. The hands, however, were not. "Is that..." A smile formed on his lips. "Tomura. It has been far too long."

All Might spoke a sort of declaration that DIO was not interested with in the least before moving quicker than even the blood-sucker could keep track of, getting some green-haired girl DIO had never seen before, Diego's future lackey, a short, purple-haired boy he vaguely recalled Diego insulting, and who could only be the Zeppeli boy away from Tomura.

"You're fast, All Might. Though not as fast as you were in your heyday." DIO brought his free hand to his neck scar and rubbed it. "I'll have to use The World if, or when, our paths cross."

With the juveniles and their teacher out of danger, DIO focused on Tomura, whose face-concealing hand had been knocked off in the rush. The Vampire knew this would surely irritate his old friend's ward.

"I'm sorry, Father!" The Decayer's voice was full of dread and anger. He leaned forward and grabbed the hand off the ground. "He must have knocked you loose when saving them. He's fast. I couldn't follow him. But he's not as fast as I expected..."

DIO smirked. "Good boy, Tomura." His grandson's future servant whined about being outnumbered, but DIO paid it no mind as he remained focused on Tomura. The irrepressible All Might, still on the screen, merely gave an even wider smile and said quick words of reassurance. The trio of students carried that bloodied and beaten homeroom teacher away. All Might made sure they were a safe distance away before charging once more with his arms crossed in front of him. The sight made DIO think of that mildly annoying Hamon Master from centuries ago. "What was his name again?"

"Carolina..." All Might was prepping up for a massive attack.

Shigaraki was, as far as DIO could tell, unconcerned. He simply said, "Nomu," and stood his ground.

The Symbol of Peace zeroed in on them, and forced his crossed limbs to separate. "SMASH!"

Whatever the attack had been meant to do, it failed. Shigaraki's monstrous companion had taken the brunt, and seemed unfazed.

"Dire!" DIO finally remembered. He smiled with nostalgia, reminiscing about shattering the man to nothing but a head. His memories were snapped away from him via shouting. He blinked at the screen and found Nomu and All Might exchanging blows.

Tomura was still standing on the sidelines, the white hand keeping his face and reactions mostly hidden. "I guess the secret is out, Symbol of Peace. Nomu here has shock absorption. He can take anything." He seemed calm in such an intense moment. Truly, DIO had been away for some time. "I suggest scooping out his organs to actually do damage. Though he might not let you."

All Might threw a few more useless punches at the avian freak before him, buying himself enough of an opening to maneuver behind Nomu. "If that's all it takes, then it'll be no problem!" He locked his arms around his foe's midsection, and leaned back, taking Nomu with him. Not an instant later, DIO saw the sort of power All Might still possessed. It was like a bomb going off. Debris soared hundreds of feet into the air, obscuring DIO's view. He waited for it to clear, briefly wondering just how many of Tomura's other lackeys Diego had slaughtered. The dust settled, albeit gradually. After several moments, DIO could once again see the goings on presented to him, and what he saw made his eyes widen. Nomu's torso, still held by All Might, was on the ground, making it so his captor was mostly parallel to the ground, his and Nomu's feet still planted. What made it such an eccentric spectacle was that Nomu's chest, arms, and head were beneath All Might's back, digging his claws into the Hero's sides. Had All Might broken him clean in half, forcing the abomination to make a last ditch attempt at killing him?

A second glance proved that assumption to be wrong. DIO found two gaseous black pools on the ground below Nomu's midsection and misplaced top third, and behind the two muscular specimens was another familiar face.

"Kurogiri." The Vampire chuckled.

"It was Nomu's job to keep you occupied," the Warper hissed as his compatriot drew more blood. "His duty. But seeing as you're a little stuck, I'll take that upon myself."

DIO could not help but smirk. "Cut down too soon, All Might." Then, out of the corner of the screen, he saw something. A speck of green. And it steadily got bigger. "Well then, Diego certainly has chosen a stubborn subordinate." Midoriya ran as fast as his legs would carry him, making a beeline for Kurogiri. "What fun! Perhaps I'll finally see your power, boy."

But it was not meant to be.

"Outta my fucking way, Deku!" A blast filled the screen once more. When the whiteness subsided, DIO was met with the sight of Kurogiri's metal collar pinned down by an animalistic young man. "You so much as move and I'll fill you with holes!"

DIO knew who this newcomer was thanks to his grandson's stories of class. "I'm surprised my boy hasn't yet sabotaged or poisoned you." A sort of crinkling filled his ears, reminding of whenever Telence would help himself to chips when his hands needed a break from the controller. For the shortest of instants, he thought one of his underlings had wandered in... but it wasn't coming from behind him, but from the screen.

He noticed that Nomu was turning white. He leaned ever so slightly closer, and saw that the crime against nature was steadily getting coated in ice. It took him no time at all to spot a trail leading away from the still unmoving legs. With a thought and slight adjustment of the wrist, his view shifted, as if the camera feeding him the footage was moving to his desired spot. And he beheld a boy half covered in ice. "Ah. It would seem Pet Shop has some competition."

A few more of the students gathered, facing down Tomura. With Kurogiri and Nomu incapacitated, the odds were not exactly in the young Villain's favor.

DIO pondered. Should he call Enrico and put a stop to this?

No. Tomura could not end up in prison. He was too important to DIO's oldest friend.

His thoughts turned. Too important... He adjusted his hand once more and willed his secondary Stand to show him something new. And that something was his grandson staring at another one of his classmates smilingly like a moron and giving two thumbs up.

Diego blinked at him, not saying a thing. He had spent three years amongst stranger things back in England. He seemed to be in fine condition. No blood. No limbs in slings. Both eyes remained where they belonged. The only damage that could he found was a chip off his headgear. The others all around, however, were in a much worse state. All were strewn about on the ground, unconscious.

The Vampire felt a slight sense of relief. "I've spent too much time on you. It would be a waste for you to part so soon."

It was as if his words had traveled all the miles to reach his boy's ears. Diego stiffened and looked every which way.

"Something wrong, Brando?" A young woman with purple hair dressed all in black stepped into DIO's view.

"I got this... strange feeling." Diego continued checking their surroundings. "Like I'm being... watched."

Satisfied with the conduction of his grandson, DIO willed his view to return to Tomura... and saw that Nomu was nowhere to be found. Smoke was billowing out of... something. "It seems I have missed something important."

"You used cheats..." Tomura began to scratch his neck. Old habits truly die hard. "You're supposed to be weaker... but you cheated! All this planning and for what?!" He hunched over, continuing to dig his nails over the now raw flesh.

"Shigaraki Tomura. Please calm yourself." Kurogiri kept his corporeal head on straight. "Look closely. The damage Nomu inflicted on All Might is evident. And the children are backing away."

DIO followed that piece of advice and glanced at the Symbol of Peace. He looked as if a war had raged on him in the past half minute. More and more steam was rolling in as well.

Kurogiri continued. "If we combine our efforts and talents, we might still slay All Might."

His words hit their mark. Tomura ceased his scratching. "Yeah... we can still beat the final boss!"

The two Villains charged. DIO watched with no perceptible reaction. This, he thought, could only go two ways. The two succeeded and annihilated the Symbol of Peace. Or the Number One Hero fought back with a second wind.

Much to the unaging one's shock, neither transpired.

"Stay away from All Might!" shouted a familiar voice. The greenette who tended to harm himself leapt through the air, flying towards Shigaraki and Kurogiri with his arm drawn back and legs flopping about like wet noodles.

"You are full of surprises, boy," DIO admitted. He watched as Midoriya flew towards the black mass that was Shigaraki's sapient mode of transportation. As his fist closed in on the metallic collar, another hand emerged from the unnatural dark. Shigaraki said nothing as his fingers readied to grab onto Diego's subordinate.

BANG!

Tomura's hand twisted away, as if an invisible man had shoved his arm. A hole had formed between his thumb and index finger. Blood squirted out of it.

"Well then," DIO said with mild concern. "What now?" Those who had gathered to face down Tomura were now looking back towards what the Vampire could only surmise was the entrance. Each of them had awe etched into their faces. Without warning, more and more projectiles entered and exited Tomura, sending him writhing to the ground in a pool of blood. The cavalry had arrived. "Bad luck, boy." DIO was about to disconnect and return to his book, but as Tomura growled, he noticed something. Kurogiri made their escape, but DIO's eyes remained. Through the smoke and dust, he saw All Might. Or at least, he thought it was. The man looked like he was in the midst of deflating. He and Midoriya locked eyes. DIO recognized the look. It was the type he had given his adoptive brother so long ago in that castle. "Just what are you up to, All Might?"

XXXXXXXXX

In what could pass as a bar sat two men. One sat completely silent as he nursed a glass of water. He looked ordinary for the most part, dressed in blue with messy brown hair. The two things about him that stood out were the large, gold colored, rectangular hair clip on the left side of his head, and the bronze gauntlet on his left arm which had a series of switches on it.

His companion was an entirely different story. He was as pale as a freshly cleaned sheet and donned a burgundy hat, vest, and skirt. He was covered into tattoos of varying designs. Occupying his chest were vines and clocks. And over his entire face was a net pattern. Whether the latter was permanent or not, nobody knew. His black hair was styled in thin tendrils and struck out every which way.

He took a long drag off a cigarette. "Still not much of a conversationalist, are you, Disco?" The man called Disco just looked at him before sipping his drink. Before his companion could banter more, a dark mist appeared near the floor. "Ah. They're back."

Out of the darkness crawled a bleeding Shigaraki. "Owww... they shot me!"

The pale one exhaled his nicotine. "Typical day of failure, Tomura?" His boss was in trouble, that much was obvious.

Tomura, writhing on the floor, glared at his foriegn companion. "Shut up, shut up, shut up, Oyecomova!"

The blackness behind him expanded, and out of it came two additional men.

Disco kept quite, as was his character trait, but his mind wandered. Of course Kurogiri would fetch those two.

The dark-skinned one felt the floor, his hands moving any which way along the rough surface. "Where am I? Where's my cane?"

A deep voice came from the mist. "You're safe, N'Doul. And it's to your left."

The blind man took the latter words in quickly and moved his arm. His fingers came upon the assistance device and wrapped tightly around it.

"Well, that went horribly," said N'Doul's companion. "I didn't even get to introduce myself properly to any of those pretty young things."

Oyecomova took another drag off his cigarette. "What a shame." His words held only sarcasm. "You'll get them next time, Geil."

XXXXXXXXX

"Twenty-one. Twenty-two. Twenty-three. And twenty-four." The officer finished his head count of 1-A as his fellow law enforcers gathered Nomu. "That's everybody. No serious injuries, except for that Midoriya kid's legs"

"That does seem to be a hobby of his," Diego knowingly observed with a smirk.

Gyro glared at him, only to grow a smirk of his own. "Maybe you should take it up yourself, Dic."

Diego lost his smile. "What did you just call me?" he demanded.

Before Gyro could make the confrontation any worse, Jiro removed Diego's helmet and showed it to him. He blanched and remembered the water striking him. Evidently, it had taken the right half of the 'O' pinned to his headgear.

XXXXXXXXX

On the other side of the world, in a comfortable cabin, a phone rang.

The owner groaned and blinked a few times to clear his vision before checking his wristwatch. He would normally not wake up for several hours. He yawned and reached for the communication device. He tapped his thumb on the screen and moved it to his ear. "Nezu." His tone was formal and even.

"Hello, Mandom!" The principal of UA sounded just as joyful as usual. "How are you?"

"Sleeping," he deadpanned.

"Ah yes. Timezones. I apologize."

The Stand User sat up and rubbed his temples. "It's fine."

"Oh, good! Anywho, I'm willing to bet you are wondering why I'm calling."

"Slightly, yes."

Nezu's tone took a solemn turn. "Well, there was an incident earlier. Villains made their way past all of UA's security."

"How many died?"

"None. The first years can certainly hold their own. There were at least seventy Villains."

That number caught Mandom's attention. "Outnumbered. Outgunned. And no casualties. Fascinating..."

"Now that I have your interest, I'll cut to the chase. Aizawa and Kakyoin took the brunt of the assault."

"How bad off off are they?"

"Nearly every bone broken in both. And the surgeons told me Aizawa could possibly go blind in an eye. We both know he will insist on getting back on his feet as soon as possible. But the doctors tell me that is most unwise. That brings me to the reason I contacted you."

Mandom easily pieced it together. Guess I can finally put that teaching license to use besides just gathering dust. He exhaled. "When do you want me there?"

"As soon as possible." His inflection became jovial once again. "And I'm sure Nemuri will be ecstatic to see you!"

"That... is also true."

XXXXXXXXX

To go home. That was all Diego wanted. To go back to his gigantic dwelling and forget the hellish day he had suffered through. But alas, he would not have what he desired.

As he walked down the street, the sun setting behind him, a boy roughly his age caught up to and walked in step with him. "Are you Diego Brando?"

Never one to shy away from attention, he smiled. "Why, yes, I am. Are you a fan?"

"Well, I have seen you race, but this isn't about that."

Diego's smile vanished and was replaced by a look of confusion. "Eh?"

"Let me explain. My name is Giorno Giovanna. I also go to UA. Class 1-B. And when I heard about you being there, I had to meet you. Do you know a Dio Brando?"

"Why do you ask?"

Giorno pulled out a wallet and opened it, rifling through the contents. It took Diego but a second to see it was his. "How did you-!"

"Yes... that's him." His hand reached into his own pocket and pulled out a second wallet. He opened it as well and showed both to Diego. The sight was one photo of him and his grandfather standing next to his horse, Silver Bullet. And the second, the one held in Giorno's billfold, was an autographed picture of DIO, facing to the side, allowing a star on the back of his shoulder to be seen.

Diego was dumbstruck. "... Where did you get that?"

"My mother," Giorno answered. "She always said my father was an enigma. I never thought I'd meet him. But then I heard about you. And judging by your reaction, you do indeed know him. Are we... brothers?"

Diego did not respond. He was too busy trying to figure it all out. This isn't possible! It just isn't! But... that's undoubtedly Gramps' handwriting. What's going on here?!