A dark figure moved quietly in the inky blackness. He watched from behind a tree line, peering up at the guard towers that sat on each corner of the long, tall chain length fences. The razor wire curled menacingly at the top of the double rows of fencing, threatening disembowelment for anyone bold enough to attempt escape. People typically weren't trying to get in, but he wasn't a typical individual. He also wasn't concerned about having to go over the fencing. The plan was always to go through.

The guard turned around in his post, looking this way and that, before seeming to settle into a seat. The figure watched and waited for several minutes until he saw the man's head tilt forward. He seemed to jerk back awake but was soon still and fast asleep.

The young man took a tentative step out from the trees, his dark hoodie pulled up over his head, allowing him to blend seamlessly into the night. He walked to the corner of the fencing, below the guard tower, close to a tall, long cinderblock wall. The outer wall of the prison. He stretched his hand out, grasping at the linking of the fence, letting all his fingers connect with the metal. The cool, hard steel began to flake away, becoming a handful of ash. He watched the disintegration spread until it was just large enough for him to step through. He took several steps and came to the next row of fencing. He completed the same routine, watching the metal turn to dust and spread down the length of the fence. He wasn't a very large young man. A small opening was enough for his thin frame to shimmy through. However, the person he would be leaving with would need a larger exit.

He was now in what would have been the courtyard for outdoor time for the prisoners. He cracked a smile as he surveyed the wall of the prison, a display of teeth that would make anyone uncomfortable. It was too easy. The windows were slightly higher than his head. He would have to peer inside to find his intended target. He walked away from the wall enough to get a running start and kicked off the side of the wall enough to propel himself up. He grabbed the bars over the window and pulled himself up to look inside.

He couldn't see a damn thing. Irritated, he let go and dropped back down to the ground. He scratched at his neck, thinking hard about what to do next. He stopped scratching abruptly.

Fuck it, he thought, before reaching out and feeling the cool stone under his fingers. He ran from one window to the next, and looked back at his handiwork, seeing the wall turning to dust before his eyes. He walked back down the wall, looking into the new openings of each cell. Most of the prisoners were still sleeping, barely disturbed by the silent crumbling of the wall. One of the prisoners popped his head out from the opening, looking around as if he were unsure if it was some sort of a trap.

"You're free to go if you think you can make it past the guards," the dark figure called out to him. "But if you're feeling like a pussy, I'd just stay where I was." He continued to go from cell to cell, checking them, looking for someone in particular.

"Here you are," he said as he stepped over the threshold into one of the rooms. The captive inside swung his legs over the side of the bed, a crude shank in his hand. The large man was up and had his hand around the young man's throat in a flash, the shank held up, ready to descend. The young man's hands flew up, signaling they were empty of weapons.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you not to come into another man's space?"

"I thought you would have been a little happier to see your savior."

"My savior? Huh, could've fooled me. Just looks like some kid."

"I was actually sent here because you are owed a due. Does the name All for One mean anything to you?"

The man stilled as the moonlight began to stream in through the opening in the wall and he saw the disembodied hand covering the young man's face. The eyes peering through the fingers were wide and maniacal.

"You can consider this your repayment. If you come with me, I have an escape waiting. If you want to kill me, I'm sure you will quickly be caught."

His grip loosened. An alarm began to sound somewhere in the building. They both knew the guards would be there soon to contain the breakout.

He let go of the young man and lowered his hand, depositing the shank into the waistband of his pants.

"Lead the way, kid."

The pitter patter of footsteps running through the alleyways cut through the night sky, the splashes on the wet ground doing nothing to dampen the sound. The cloaked figure turned down another narrow passage, the back streets of the city becoming a labyrinth perfect for disappearance and escape. He'd been running for several minutes straight – a full on sprint – and endurance was not his game. He looked over his shoulder before slowing and leaning back against a brick wall. Surely they had lost him in the maze of buildings. He did his best to calm his breath, to quieten the inhalations and exhalations. The faster he could control his air, the faster he could continue on his journey in the calmest way possible. He stared straight ahead at the brick wall in front of him. He reached down into his pocket, making sure he hadn't dropped anything. His hands touched the cool plastic bag and he relaxed. He stood from the wall and began to walk, sure that his pursuers had given up.

No sooner had he turned a corner did he feel the earth start to quake. He looked down between his legs and saw a fissure race ahead of him. A tall wall of earth began to sprout out of the ground, as if the cement and the earth beneath had become liquid and was flowing upward. He turned to run back, but saw a figure standing in the alley that he'd just come down.

"Get on the ground!" a woman's voice yelled out. "But keep your hands where I can see them!"

The man smirked, and bent a knee, his hands going into the air. He began to move closer to the ground, preparing to lay belly down.

One of his hands shot out toward the woman, morphing into a long, whip like tentacle. He wrapped his arm around the woman's waist, pinning her arms to her sides. She was lifted off the ground by the tentacle and slammed into the brick wall of the alley.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of movement, a second too late. A large, man sized fist grew out of the ground, colliding into the side of him and sending him flying. The tentacle released the woman as the man crashed into a pile of garbage cans. The giant ground fist reared back, preparing for another hit, and the man saw the woman was pulling her own fist back in similar fashion. He reached into his pocket and produced a strange looking weapon, a gun of some kind, but it seemed to have a syringe attached to the top. He pointed the gun at the woman and pulled the trigger, sending an object jettisoning for her.

She dodged to the side and felt the air move just to the right of her head. She heard the object tink against the brick behind her before dropping to the ground.

A second set of footsteps landed behind him and he looked in time to see a rope descending around him, lassoing him in place.

"Synergis!" the second woman called. "Are you alright?"

"I think so," the first woman said as she worked her jaw and rubbed the side of her face. She felt something wet over her eyebrow and her fingers came away red. "Just a few scratches, nothing that won't heal."

The woman with the lasso quickly tightened the rope and kicked the villain onto his side with a threat of worse that would happen if he moved.

Synergis turned behind her and searched the ground before finding a small glass syringe-type object. A light blue liquid shone from inside the glass. "What's this?"

The other woman began going through the man's pockets, pulling out the gun and a small plastic bag of more glass vials. "I'm not sure, but it looks like he has a lot of them."

"Let's get him to the police and drop these vials off. It could be some new designer drug circling around."

The woman – Lady Lasso, or Natsuko, as she was known informally – pulled the villain to his feet and gripped the rope tightly. "Walk," she said and pushed him forward. Synergis walked on the other side of the man, following closely behind. They made their way back out of the maze of alleys and to the main road, turning and walking down the main sidewalk.

"This is embarrassing," the man groaned. "It's like the walk of shame."

"Maybe try not committing crimes next time," Lady Lasso said.

"Or get better at escaping," Synergis said with a shrug. Lady Lasso gave her a look and she shrugged again. She'd been a pro hero for around six years and she was still surprised at the poor quality of villains. They weren't even a challenge anymore. All petty thieves and idiotic, clumsy fools. They all outted themselves eventually. And when they did, they were easy prey for a predator such as herself. She'd graduated top of her class, after all, excelling in academics and physical combat. Her quirk was becoming too powerful almost, overpowering even some of the more difficult villains. It was almost too easy… dare she say, boring?

They turned and entered the police station to turn in the villain and the syringes. The process was so frequent now, they were in and out in 10 minutes. They stood outside the building.

"It's been a while since we've had something to eat, should we go grab a bite?" Synergis said as she looked up into the night sky. It was nearing 5 am.

"Actually it looks like we might have another case to go look at first. Something happened at the local prison. Let's hop on the subway and check it out."

"Then, it's time to eat again."

Synergis and Lasso Lady stood outside in the prison courtyard, walking down the outside wall, surveying the odd pattern of disintegration.

"Well, it wasn't an explosion," one of the guards said. "We didn't hear a thing. Saito was supposed to be on guard duty."

Another younger guard looked sheepish. "It was completely dark and there were no sounds. The alarm only went off because the wall was breached. Then the guards on ground duty the fences too."

They walked over to the inner fence and surveyed where the fences must have been before. Instead, there were two rows of piles of dust running parallel to each other.

"I would assume that whoever did it hid in the woods, watching for the right moment, then came out, did the deed, and ran back through the same way and escaped through the woods," Synergis said as she crouched down and gently touched a pile of ash. "Where does this lead to? And is there security footage?"

"On the other side of this wooded area is a field of solar panels, and yes, we can go in and review some security footage. On first glance, there wasn't much to see."

They walked back to the fencing, and Synergis examined the area more closely. "There's nothing on the ground to suggest it was acid. There is some dusting that I assume may be particles from the fence." They walked through the dust and back through the courtyard. "Only one prisoner is missing?"

"Yes, and it was a prisoner that you two captured a few years ago."

"Who was it?"

"Akanari Gima. We was taken in for human trafficking. He'd been kidnapping individuals with strong quirks and-"

"Somehow when they turned back up their quirks were gone," Synergis finished his sentence. "They had no recollection of what happened to their quirks, or why they were missing."

"He never told us where they went or what they were used for. He was serving a life sentence."

They continued to walk back toward the walls.

"Any idea who may have been coming for him?" Lasso Lady asked.

"Definitely not a blast," Synergis said aloud as she looked at the pattern. "It almost looks like it's decayed…" She froze, her hand on the stone where it looked like it had simply turned to ash and floated away in the breeze. She'd seen this pattern before, but it had been so long…

"Are you OK, Synergis?" Lasso Lady asked.

"Yea, yea," she said. "I'm fine. Did you say you had security footage?"

The brown-haired girl sat on the ledge right inside her front door, trying her best to tie her oxford shoes. Her little white socks were pulled up tight right below her knees, her navy skirt swishing against her legs. It was the first day of kindergarten, and she wanted to tie her own shoes.

"Yuri," her mother said, looking down at her warmly. "Do you need help?"

"No," she said. "I'm almost done." And she was. It wasn't the best bow, but it was tied tight. So tight, they may have to use scissors to get them undone later. But at least they wouldn't come undone at school.

"Here's your bag. Come on, it's time to go." Her mother helped her put on her backpack and handed her a bento box. They opened the door and walked out of the apartment into the sunny morning. They stopped at the corner. "Let's wait here, Shimura and Tenko wanted to walk with us."

She looked down at her shoes, at the knots she'd tied. The last time she'd seen Tenko, she'd pushed him down in the sandbox and told him she didn't want to be his friend anymore. At the time she didn't understand the complex emotions, but she knew she was not happy that he'd given a flower to another girl. His face had crumbled as he'd looked up at her from where he sat in the sand. He'd picked himself up and ran home crying after that. She wasn't proud, and she didn't like that he was crying, especially not since it was her fault. She heard footsteps approaching but didn't look up.

"Good morning, Yuri!" Tenko's mother said warmly. "Are you ready for your first day?"

She nodded but didn't look up.

"Well, let's get going you two lazy bones," her own mother said, and turned her before giving her a little push. She chanced a look under her eyelashes at Tenko. His mouth was a straight line. Though, he looked very cute in his little navy pants and navy sports jacket over a white button up. His shaggy blue hair looked messy, as always. They began walking in silence, side by side, their mothers following behind and chatting happily, oblivious to the moods of their five-year olds.

"Are you still mad at me?" Tenko asked quietly.

"No," she said. "Are you still mad at me?"

"No." They walked quietly again. "Why were you mad at me again?"

Yuri walked quietly, ashamed and unsure of how to say what she meant.

"I didn't like that you gave Otome a flower. I felt like you were ignoring me."

"Yuri," he said and reached out to grab her hand. "I like you the most. You're the best girl. You're my favorite."

She felt her cheeks burn and had the sudden urge to push him down again.

"Will you still be my friend?" he asked her.

She took his hand that he was offering. "Let's run to the next stop!"

She brushed her hair, combing the thick, brown tresses into a ponytail at the top of her head. She pulled the white tank top over her head and pulled her khaki shorts up. Her socks had little puppies on the toes and she wiggled them, smiling at the little faces. They were the only non-utilitarian part of her hero costume. They would be covered up by her thigh high boots. She pulled on her brown duster, looking at herself in the mirror one last time. She swiped on a little mascara, a tinge of mousse blush, and a dab of pink lip balm. She pulled the hood up and gave a spin. She loved the way the duster moved around her. She slid her cell phone into her back pocket before walking to her entry way and stepping into her boots, sliding the zipper up to her thigh.

It had been a few days since the prison break, and she'd gotten some intel – meaning, she'd resorted to snooping around herself and had found some suspicious individuals and followed them back to an equally suspicious building. This evening, she was planning to infiltrate. Really, more like just going to open the door and let herself in.

She closed the door behind her and began walking. The security footage wasn't too telling. It just showed a darkened, hooded figure making its way through the courtyard. But she could see the technique – the figure simply grabbed the fence and it began to disintegrate. Same with the wall. And the way they moved – it was certainly reminiscent of someone she once knew from many years ago.

A few more turns, and she was lost in her thoughts. The walk seemed much shorter than when she was following someone, trying to blend into the shadows.

She stood in front of the door, contemplating how to go about things. The outside looked like a typical bar, nothing conspicuous about it. The windows were blacked out, making it impossible to look inside. Apart from wondering if this was even the right address, would he even be there? And surely it wasn't as easy as knocking to get someone to open the door. Even if she got inside, there was no guarantee she would even live long enough to see him. Tomura Shigaraki. How had he come upon that name?

Before she could overthink anything else, she simply tried turning the doorknob. Unsurprisingly, it didn't turn. It would have been too easy to walk in that way, she gathered. She knocked three times and waited patiently. After about 30 seconds she sighed, her shoulders drooping. She reached into her ponytail and pulled out a hairpin. She looked up and down the sidewalk before dropping to her knees and inserting the pin into the key hole. A quarter turn to the right, and she pulled out another bobby pin, straightening it. She inserted the second pin into the keyhole and began to wiggle.

Suddenly, the door opened and a tall man appeared. The man's skin was a patchwork of darkened and pale areas. His dark hair sat spikey on the top of his head. He did not look amused.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

Yuri stood up from her place on the ground. "Yes, actually, I'm here to see someone." Here it comes. The big gamble. "Do you know a Tomura Shigaraki?"

The man scoffed. "Tomura Shigaraki? Isn't that the leader of the League of Villains?" The man seemed to be studying her face closely now, though she hoped not too closely. "What would you want with him?"

"Well, I guess you can say he's an old friend. I'm just coming by for a visit."

"Why would you think he was here?"

She shrugged awkwardly.

"Who's at the door?" Yuri heard a voice from behind the man. Footsteps approached and a young girl appeared behind him. "Oh, wow," the girl said, her hands going to her chin. "Who is this pretty lady? Dabi, have you invited her in? I would like to get to know her." The girl twirled a lock of her blonde hair and her golden eyes turned to stars. Yuri could see her sharp incisors when she smiled.

"She's looking for someone."

"Maybe we can help her find them." The girl reached out and grabbed Yuri's wrist, pulling her inside and slamming the door behind them. She was pulled into a dimly lit room with a bar. The girl finally let her wrist go and she danced behind the bar. "Would you like a drink?" Before Yuri could answer, the girl began mixing a concoction of some sort. A dash of this, some of that, and a pour from several unlabeled bottles. A few drops on the top caused a cloud to drift from the top of the glass. "I'm an expert mixologist. Give this a try." The girl slid the drink across the bar to Yuri before resting her chin on her elbows on the bar.

"Himiko," the man said as he reached out and grabbed the glass, putting his hand over the top. "We can't just invite people into a place of business when it's not even business hours yet."

"She's not a customer, Dabi! She's my new friend. I want to visit with her! I want to know her more."

"Do I know you from somewhere? You seem familiar." He was watching her face carefully, as if trying to place her from somewhere. She tried her best to meet his gaze, trying to focus on his icy blue eyes, and ignoring the crude sutures that seemed to be holding his skin together.

"I guess I just have a familiar face. I can't say I recall you from anywhere," Yuri hoped they hadn't studied the hero registry too closely.

The man seemed to shrug, as if giving up trying to place her. "I know what you want, Toga. Let's go ahead and get this over with. I'll let you have your fun." Yuri watched as the girl produced a large needle from behind the bar.

"Right away! I want to be pretty like you!" She lunged across the bar, knocking several glasses and bottles over in the process. Yuri jumped back from her, but the girl had quickly scaled the bar and was readying herself to jump onto Yuri. She wasn't sure exactly what the girl was planning with that needle, but Yuri was hoping she wouldn't find out.

The girl swung the needle and Yuri ducked, rolling behind the bar. She grabbed a wine bottle and broke it, holding the neck to use as a weapon.

"We were saving that for a special occasion," the man said from across the room. He seemed bored from his tone of voice, as if this were an everyday occurrence.

"How about a funeral?" Yuri asked.

"She's funny, too! I can't wait for us to be best friends!" The girl lunged across the bar again, clearly not afraid of Yuri's makeshift weapon.

Yuri looked from one villain to the other. She wasn't ready to expose her quirk just yet, hoping to keep the element of surprise on her side. She was also concerned about the amount of damage she would do to the surrounding buildings and any innocent bystanders.

"What is all this noise down here?" A voice called from an opening to Yuri's left. The girl froze. She heard what sounded like footsteps coming down stairs. A man appeared in the shadowed doorway. The figure was tall and lean, shoulders broader than Yuri thought they should be. He stepped out from the shadows and the light caught his blue hair. His arms crossed his black v neck t shirt. Yuri felt the blood leave her face when she saw a disembodied hand over his face. His red eyes peered through the fingers of the hand, taking in the scene. The younger girl didn't even turn around, and was instead staring at Yuri, a smile on her face.

"This woman showed up looking for you," the man – Dabi – said from where he was propped against a wall, looking bored.

"I just wanted to play with her a little bit. She's so pretty! I wanted her to be my friend!"

The man looked directly at her then. She felt surprisingly afraid at being the focus of his attention.

"Yuri," he said, his tone even and devoid of emotion, despite recognition. The girl stopped smiling then.

"So, you do know her?" The patchwork man said.

"Leave us." The burnt man stood from where he'd been leaning against the wall and began to walk out of the doorway the blue haired man was standing in. The girl picked herself up from the bar and followed behind, stopping one last time to smile and wink at Yuri on her way out.

When they were alone, the man reached up to the hand on his face and gingerly removed it, setting it gently on the bar. Yuri could see his whole face then. The tired eyes, the scars, his mouth a thin line. She took a step toward him before she could stop himself.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his eyes studying the hand on the counter, purposefully avoiding her gaze.

"I can ask you the same thing." She straightened her shoulders, holding herself back from trying to rush over to him.

"We haven't seen each other in eight years. I'm sure you didn't go through all the trouble of finding me for a quick catch up. So, why are you here?"

He seemed so different, yet she knew he was one and the same – the same boy she'd known for practically her whole life. The same boy she'd held hands with on the first day of kindergarten. The same boy she'd seen for the last time on their last day of school before she went away to hero academy. What had happened to him?

"I saw what you did at the prison. I figured it was you, with the way the wall was disintegrated."

He shrugged his shoulders at her as if to say, so, what?

"I want to tell you to stop what you're doing."

He cut his eyes at her then, taking in the look of her. She was wearing her hero costume: her hair pulled up into a high ponytail, short, khaki shorts, a white tank top, thigh high brown boots, and a long, brown duster jacket. A bright red bandana was wrapped around her neck. "So, things with the hero agency are going well, I presume, Synergis," he said her hero name like it was a curse. "I didn't realize you were here on business. What am I supposed to do now? I can't let you leave, knowing a hero knows where to find me."

A red heat flew up her neck and chest, coloring her skin. "This isn't just business. I know this isn't you, Tenko. Why don't you just stop before you get any deeper?" She gritted her teeth, trying her best to reel in her emotions. She lowered her voice, attempted to be gentle. "Right now the charges would only be assisting with escape. If you force the criminals back to jail and lay low, maybe it will blow over."

"Now, that doesn't sound like you, Yuri. Lay low and it will blow over? What sort of hero talk is that?" His voice was dripping with acid. "And you're wrong. This is me. The name's Tomura Shigaraki now. I'm not that weak loser from high school anymore. You just don't know me. You never have."

She felt her shoulders slump. Maybe she was wrong to come there. Maybe he wasn't the same person. "I never thought you were a weak loser. I was so hurt when I found out about Hiroto…"

"He deserved it."

"I meant, what he did to you, what they were planning to do. I'm sorry that happened to you. I feel like I was somewhat responsible. But what happened to you afterwards?" She looked at him earnestly.

He just stared at her, his stance suddenly no longer tense and closed off, but more awkward, as if he hadn't expected the turn of the conversation. He shrugged. "You don't have to apologize. I never thought it was your fault." Her questions hung in the air, unanswered.

They stared at each other for several beats, neither of them moving or saying anything.

"Well, I see we are at an impasse. I'll just let myself out. I hope I don't have to see you again. Right now, I don't have any evidence against you." She walked from behind the bar, making her way to the door. There was nothing more she could do for him.

"You're a shit liar. You know it was me."

"Should I consider that a confession?" She turned back toward him.

"Do you think you could take me in yourself?" He challenged her.

She studied him closely. He was a grown man now, but she still saw the same friend she'd known since she could remember. The small, shy boy with the mop of blue hair. She used to pinch his cheeks when they were younger. It made him mad, but she liked to irritate him back then. "If I see you about to harm someone, or think you will, I will take you in. That's your last warning." She turned from him and started toward the door.

His cool hand gripped her upper arm gently, his pinky hovering inches above her skin.

"Don't come back here. Stay far away from the League. Change assignments, if you can. In fact, maybe you should change professions." His voice was low in her ear, his body unnervingly close.

"Is that a threat?"

"You're getting into something you don't need to be involved in. You should be the one laying low for a while. Forget that you even saw me."

She snatched her arm from his grasp. "I'm watching you."

"You won't like what you see," he said, his hands raised in surrender. She put her hand on the doorknob. "And, Yuri. If you see Himiko Toga again, run."