"Nazzaro, you will have time and money enough for a new body if you so wish when we finish the operation." Pestilentia´s voice came from behind the heavy oak desk, but Nazzaro didn't reply immediately. His handsome, arrogant and noble face had been smashed by one of the heroes he had called as part of his boss´ plan to destabilize the kid Midoriya´s friends.
Pestilentia had proved to be unreliable in his predictions for once; assuming that at best the Japanese would arrive in three hours, plenty of time to deal with a single American and whatever puny reinforcements they could scramble. They had the surviving Mountain Brigade commandos, over fifty Nomus, one of them a veritable giant, scores of armed mercenaries, and a state-of-the-art bipedal tank, courtesy of Pestilentia´s pals in the Russian government…more than enough to deal with four people.
Midoriya´s friends had turned out to be absolute maniacs, breaking the sound barrier with reckless abandon and getting to the base at roughly the same time as the Nordics. And Pestilentia´s files had not included any heroes who could jet around and rocket punch innocent, handsome men. His nose was broken in three different places and was bent way out of its former shape; his cheekbones had fractured around the attack; his upper lip was completely swollen and cut; the back of his head was a giant bruise after smacking his head on the floor.
"I could have been a model, boss!" he whined, pathetically. The fight against the bipedal tank and the Nomus had given him a chance to slither away to safety, dragging himself to the tunnel connecting the base with an airfield twenty miles away, using the quiet cable car to traverse the tunnel, and the helicopter on the other side. The only man to leave the base with his freedom.
"You and I know you were a killer before you could have had much of a career as anything else, lad. What else troubles you, apart from having become ugly as an orc?" "They got the jump on us, boss. Everything was going according to what you had said, everything, and then it was all gone to shit, boss." "This is why we mitigate, Nazzaro. It is a loss, indeed, no mere setback. I´m sending you to South America next, the big picture remains. We will still change the world. The Colombians already know you are coming."
"What about Europe, boss? We´ve lost Britain and Scandinavia in a very short time." "Changes will be made to take that into account, but the Pestilence will occur. My child, "Toga", she might even help when we meet. I have sleeves full of aces, Nazzaro. As for the heroes…Midoriya is a joy, and that one we caught with the spray turret…Tenya Iida, a mass of fears and trauma that I will enjoy breaking. Alas, that I did not think to target them all. It brings me back to my origins. Worry not, my underling, I won´t risk the operation in any way with these…hobby…of mine."
The boss´ red eyes had a glint of pure evil that Nazzaro couldn't hold. So, even with the Americans and everyone else this close, Pestilentia still would keep the operation going. The Pestilence, it was called. "I did not name myself as one of the Four Horsemen because I can control dreams. No, I will bring Pestilence to the waking world, and soon the other three Horsemen shall follow" had said the boss, addressing every man and woman high ranking enough to merit personal contact. Were the three horsemen allies? Were All for One and Ndege Mweusi two of them? Were they literally famine, war and death?
Pestilentia had explained his vision, and from the Pestilence, a new world would be born.
Shinsou´s tired eyes looked up and down at Izuku and Toga. "Is this one of Ms. Joke´s lame stories, Midoriya?" Izuku opened his mouth to reply, but Toga was faster "Nope, purple friend, 100% real." "Yeah, that." Shinsou smirked in slight amusement "I´m glad you found someone as crazy as you, Midoriya. Anyway, what can I help you two with?"
Izuku replied "Tenya is coming too, I´m really surprised he´s late…" Toga looked at Izuku with a knowing, mischievous smile "Ochako is probably keeping him busy." She giggled. Shinsou blinked a few times and asked, "How would you even know that?" Toga´s eyes shone brightly "I can sniff out when a person is in love! Iida stinks of it when he thinks about Ochako!" It had taken two days for Shinsou to meet them, as he was working on an assignment for the Japanese government, and in that time the heroes and Toga had been given rooms on an American base, at least until everyone was cleared medically and Texas Red found an assignment for the rest of the team.
"So, some sort of pheromone, huh?" "I guess. Either that or something in the blood" she smiled, showing her fangs. Shinsou didn't react, so Toga continued "Speaking of smells…you smell in love, Shinsou-kun! Who is the lucky person? A gentleman? A lady?" That had caused a reaction, making the purple-headed hero blush all over. "A hand here, Midoriya? I´d prefer to talk business first before your girlfriend sniffs out my whole personal life…"
Toga smiled to herself. It is so great to be treated like an awkward friend instead of an enemy! And who may the lover be? I wanna find out, Izu-Izu! "Of course, Hitoshi. Maybe when Tenya joins he can give more insight, but Himiko and I have had more of these dreams anyway, so we might as well start." Izuku told everything he knew from the supervillain´s own explanation, his conjectures and assumptions, and the experience from the dreams. Toga added what information she could, particularly on the subject of the subconscious manipulation and how it made the commands they had brainwashed in appear as her own thoughts at first. By now, Toga could clearly discern the slight differences in her own thoughts and the villains influence, but not always tune them out. Kill that one, take his purple hair for your own. Shut up, asshole villain, get the fuck off my brain.
Iida had arrived as she described one of the most recurring of dreams, where she toured a school, they now knew was the Tselinoyarsk Institute, was tied up to a chair and subjected to traditional brainwashing. "Oh hey, Ingenium pal" she greeted the serious lad, who politely gave a nod of acknowledgement. So far, he had been more concerned with Toga´s effect on Uraraka than whatever he may feel for her past as a villain, and was courteous, if not especially friendly.
"Would you like to tell your dream next, Tenya? We are giving Shinsou everything we have on Pestilentia´s Quirk to see what might be done." Izuku offered. Iida had agreed, and told of how Stain had beheaded him, as Izuku and Shouto held him in place. My Izu-Izu is too pure for that, that was too obviously a dream.
"And last night, there was another one. I´m sorry if I may seem distant today…it really shook me, and you were both there." He had looked at Izuku and Toga in shame, and then averted his gaze.
"It started at UA, we were all there, you, Ochako, me…even Mineta. I began to read some announcements as class president, I think something about lunch I had to say on second year. As I finished and started walking to my seat, the wall exploded as a Nomu crashed through it. In a second all the members of the League of Villains were inside. The Nomu had tackled Aizawa-sensei to the ground, just like at the USJ when I arrived with the Pro Heroes, and Shigaraki had not wasted a moment to get beside our teacher, ready to dissolve him.
"All for One was just steps behind, and in an instant, he had grown some sort of…tentacles from his back and had attacked Todoroki and Momo, who were already running ahead to fight. The tentacles pierced them through the spine…the screaming was horrible. I was frozen in fear. He took their Quirks, the tentacles pulsing as they sent their powers to their thief. It had taken a few seconds, and then everyone was frozen solid, with chains wrapped on top, made with Momo´s stolen Quirk.
"All of us were frozen, save Aizawa. Shigaraki started with his face this time, grabbing it with both hands. Sensei tried to hold on, to be brave for us…but it wasn't enough. He cried while he still had tear ducts, while he still had eyes. He yelled in agony as his face melted off and his brain started to go. Shigaraki removed his hands from a corpse, half his head turned to dust, his jaw open in a silent scream.
"All for One had made us all watch, and, after our teacher was dead, he made us all move around in our blocks of ice. He arranged us in a circle, so we could see everyone around. He spoke, and if I hadn't already been frozen by fear and ice, I would have been stopped dead in my tracks. "All of you must die, but the methods of your execution…that will be fun, poetic." Even more villains entered the classroom, some from minor gangs, even a few from the Eight Precepts of Death."
His voice grew even more afraid, sadder, almost in grief. "They…they started with you, Izuku. It was you, Toga, you stepped up, knife in hand, and kissed Izuku. Then you slashed open his throat. And you smiled after that. We all yelled, in anger, in grief, in fear. All for One gagged us with some other Quirk, I couldn't make a sound. One of the Eight Precepts started punching Kirishima next, Bakugou almost got free to try and save him, but the ice overpowered him, and the chains held. All for One let Bakugou yell. Kirishima held up for what seemed like an eternity, but he couldn't keep up in the end. The villain bashed his head in the moment he let up, and his skull cracked open. Bakugou cried and screamed and cursed. Until a villain made of sludge, of sewer water, got into his mouth. His cries became pleas for help, for anyone to save him. He called out for All Might, for his mom and dad…just before the villain suffocated him for good…he even called for you, Izuku.
"Shouto died next, incinerated by Dabi, yelling "Brother, no!" as the flames took him. And then I was next. I thought it would be Stain, due to my history with him, but the one that carried his sword was Toga. You walked towards Ochako, and I felt my mouth could move again. I just screamed "NO!" as you playfully swung that bloodstained, dented katana. But you didn't swing it at Ochako, you turned it over.
"The chains broke down and the ice melted. Ochako took the sword from your hands, taking a couple practice swings. Her school uniform wasn't wet from the melted ice, it was covered in blood. Her eyes narrowed, her usual smile was gone. In a second, she had turned into a different person. Then she spoke "Do you all remember in first year, when there was a theory of a traitor among us? You could say it was me…but then again, I was never really one of you. Remember all my stories about my "poor parents"? All the misdirection with "having a crush" with that useless broccoli over there? You fell for it, completely. And you, Tenya Iida, you didn't just fall into my ruse, you fell in love with me. As if I would ever love you back, you fool!" And then she beheads me, and the dream ended."
Iida had told his story between sobs, hugged by Izuku and Shinsou, and even Toga had joined the hug when he ended, and he wasn't giving her an accusing stink eye. When they had finally managed to calm him down, he said, "I was late because I needed to speak with Ochako, I…I just needed to be sure it had been just a dream. It felt too real, it shook me to the core…I don't know if I could take too many of these dreams. Please Shinsou, tell us you can take him from our brains." He was almost on his knees, pleading to the purple haired hero.
"Well, with all this information I think I have a rough idea how to keep him from having full control. Toga, you had no dreams while sedated, but Izuku had, yes?" She nodded. "The syringe from the base used on Izuku is a different knockout drug, maybe we could try using it for dreamless sleep on you. The other thing I think about is Hatsume´s adrenalin shot, you said it woke you up?" Izuku answered that it had. "Good, in case of an emergency, we could try an pulling out the victim from the nightmare with that, though its effectiveness when Pestilentia is giving the victim his full attention is unknown…Still it's a good possible option. Maybe keep the victims under observation as they sleep and give them the shot when they start screaming and convulsing."
Toga´s eyes lit up "Oohh…I love watching Izu-Izu sleep, I could do that!" Shinsou looked slightly unnerved by her loving statement "Izuku, your girlfriend is being creepy, I meant having nurses or something. Though I guess it could work if it doesn't creep you the fuck out…I don't kinkshame, my friend." He gave them a smile that looked somewhat like Eraserhead´s in those Internet memes from a couple years back. "You should totally ask Ocha-chan to be your…what should we call this? Nap buddies?"
Shinsou then became serious again, and said "Obviously not, that term is patented by Hatsume Industries for the final projects group consisting of Izuku, Hatsume and myself! Find your own name, Nap Buddies is taken!" Toga looked at Izuku with curiosity "Izu-Izu?" "Oh, it's a really fun story! On second year we had a joint project where we had to make a movie, and we also studied for the exams together. Shinsou and Mei work really hard and sometimes will go days without sleeping, so I started with the idea to be Nap Buddies! We made a room to nap from the ground up, bought some cushions and made a good place to sleep, with soft music and everything! Then I just made them sleep!" Shinsou added "Crazy kid cured the dark bags under my eyes for a while and all. We should nap again sometimes, Izuku."
Before Izuku could agree, Shinsou snapped his fingers and said "Oh right, I think I have an idea for your Quirk, Izuku! One for All allows for some degree of communication with your predecessors, right?" Izuku nodded "Added to your own mental strength from all the training we did together, I think you could overpower him." "I had thought to use my Quirk to snap the link, but I could only do it once." "I think that you could do more than that, maybe even hurt him directly. But you have to stay completely lucid and not lose sight that it is a dream, Izuku." "We can do it, Hitoshi. I´m going to take him down."
Izuku looked at his clenched fist with intensity and conviction, in a pose that seriously made Toga´s heart flutter. "Well, good luck with that, my friend. I´ll see if I can find a surgeon that can remove the cells in any case, for Iida and Toga´s cases. I wish I could assist more directly, but they are sending me on a mission too, I don't really know too much so far. They´re sending a few UA graduates with me, Todoroki´s wind friend and a few pros, no one too high profile."
Knocking preceded Hatsume barging in, her overalls covered in oil stains, some type of goggles on her eyes. "Iida! I have great news! My mom can operate Tensei! She´s here to visit, come and talk! She found a new method!" She was bouncing up and down with energy. Iida lost all fear in his eyes, replaced with hope and joy. "Hatsume! That is incredible! Take me there! I have to tell everyone, mom, dad, Tensei, Ochako!" His hands were already moving robotically with great energy as he left the room without waiting for Hatsume.
"Nap Buddy!" yelled Mei when she spotted Shinsou, before performing a complicated handshake with the Mind Control hero. "It's so good to see you, Shinsou! We have to share some energy drinks when we have some time, but they are already here for you!" "Oh, they already sent the car?" "Yeah, Ashido is already talking the guard´s ears off. She´s on your team?" Toga saw Shinsou blush slightly and said "She´s your crush!" Which made him blush fully. "Uh…obviously not, we´re just teammates…and she´s annoying anyway." "He´s in love!" Toga was absolutely delighted with pestering Shinsou. "Izuku, tell your girlfriend to stop bullying me, I´m just gonna go. Drinks when we´re all back?" "You got it, Hitoshi!"
Outside, Hatsume was rushing to Iida, who had sprinted away to bring Ochako along to meet the inventor´s mom, who apparently was some sort of doctor. Shinsou hurried to a dark sedan with government plates, smiling slightly at the Acid Hero waving her at him, half her body out through the car window. Oh, how cute! she thought. A darker part of her mind, but still her own, thought and that´s a girl less to worry about. Our love is just the two of us, Izu-Izu.