Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia or the music video 'Genghis Khan'. if you're confused by the reference watch it and you will understand completely. Original characters are in a sort of grey area but whatever.

Manami gave their leader a look. "I just want to get this straight, Izuku." She took a deep breath. This was the most complicated love problem she had ever heard in her life. "So when you were five years old you decided to look up Villain music on Herotube."

Izuku nodded, idly tinkering at his bench.

"You found a music video called 'Genghis Khan,' and you liked it a lot. Because there was a cool Villain and he had a death ray pointing at a James Bond spy."

"I, uh… didn't know what the lyrics meant. I was five!" He blustered at her expression.

Manami nodded, pressing her index fingers together. Sumi shook her head in bemusement. "And, again for clarification, when you were older you… dreamed a reenactment of this music video with Pixie Bob in place of the spy and you as the Villain."

She felt bad when Izuku squirmed. "Y-yes?"

"And after The Talk you understood it and dreamed that specific scenario with other female Pro Heroes, including Mirko and Ryuko."

"...Well, occasionally it was All Might or Kacchan. But! Mostly lady Heroes!"

Sumi snorted, then paused. "...Did I feature-"

Izuku blinked before flailing in a panic, face even redder than before. "Um…"

Sumi looked away with a slightly weirded out expression. "Knowing how old you are makes that a bit awkward…" Then she gave him a mock frown. "Well, at least I wasn't wholly imagining you being interested."

Manami coughed to interrupt the flailing and Inkblot's mock offended look. "And… lately you've been dreaming about strapping Hatsume and Melissa Shield into a Death trap then getting into an elaborate dance with them?"

"Yes! And that's the problem!" Izuku looked genuinely conflicted. "I-I mean, I don't want to think of them like that! They're my friends, I don't want to be a creep and perv on them!"

Sumi gave him a curious look. "Izuku, what do you notice about them? First thing that comes to mind, go!"

Izuku blinked, then got to thinking. "Well, Mei has a fantastic smile, and she adjusts her goggles in a cute way when she's focusing and-and she can really keep up with me."

Manami exchanged a glance with Sumi. Made sense. Plus the pair of them were utter maniacs.

Izuku continued, hands taking a gadget apart on the bench. "And Melissa - she has this way of tucking her hair behind her glasses and she knows what it's like when a teacher looks at you like you're stupid because you don't have a Quirk even though you're not stupid, and she could probably bench press me - if I was so lucky," he muttered before flushing.

Manami shook her head. "Well, congratulations, you don't sound like a creep."

Sumi patted him on the shoulder, a serious look on her face. "Izuku, as somebody who's been in that situation, my advice is to just ask one of them out. What's the worst that could happen?"

"That's the thing! They're both Heroes in training and I-I'm a Supervillain! I don't want to hurt them but I'm still attracted to them! It's not really fair for them since I can't tell them about me being a Supervillain but I can't get them out of my head!" Izuku slammed his tools down. "I…I don't want to lie about such an important part of who I am."

Sumi and Manami traded a look. "I see," Sumi said. She sighed, ruffling a hand through her bob of hair. "Well, I have to admit that honesty is the best policy but at the same time… as Supervillains we don't have a lot of luxury for that."

Manami glanced up. "Maybe you should-"

Izuku shook his head firmly. "It's-It's not important! What is important is helping Gentle Criminal with the heist planning! B-besides, who knows if Mei or Melissa's even interested in me anyway!"

As he left, she sighed. Sumi just shook her head sadly. "...For a really smart guy, he can be so dumb."

Manami had to agree.

—

In Shionosu, Death Arms checked the calling card again. It bore the League of Supervillain's typical iconography but, rather than a riddle on the back, it had a message.

We at the League of Supervillains are writing to cordially let you know of our upcoming heist. At your next exhibition, our organisation shall liberate some of your art and make a daring escape. Yours sincerely, Gentle Criminal and the League of Supervillains!

He looked back up to the gallery owner. "And you found this on your door?"

"I-yes, yes I did! And just before our Hero art exhibit!" He mopped sweat from his brow. "I-I have no idea why the League of Villains-"

"Supervillains. It's a point they like to stress," Kamui Woods helpfully stated. Mount Lady, stone faced, elbowed him sharply.

The owner ignored him. "-why they would target my gallery! I-I mean, I pay my taxes!"

Death Arms put on his professional voice. "Rest assured, mister Gizou, that the League of Supervillains has made a grave mistake with this calling card. Now that we know where they're going to be, we'll be there to protect your gallery."

"And maybe score some free nibbles," Mount Lady sighed wistfully. She shot to attention guiltily when Kamui Woods elbowed her. "Er, I mean we're going to be extra vigilant!"

—

Naturally, such an incident had made its way into the newspapers. And with it came more discussion about the actions of the League of Supervillains. Shouto raised a mental eyebrow at this new antic.

"I still say that it's disgraceful that Mastermind is planning another heist!" Iida chopped his hand furiously.

"Well, apparently Gentle Criminal is leading it," Uraraka argued. "Maybe Mastermind's only helping?"

"It's kind of dumb that they announced where they're going to attack, though," Kirishima commented.

"Those guys are really committed to the Phantom Thief routine. I'm honestly surprised they haven't done this sooner," Shinsou flatly stated.

Shouto paused, considering. "Yes. Especially since I think Mastermind may be a descendant of Harima Oji himself. That or it's Mr. Warp - I'm not sure."

The Phantom Thief could apparently compress objects down to tiny marbles, making it easier to steal them. Maybe that was Mastermind's secret Quirk that he used, or Mr. Warp was secretly hiding that aspect of his Quirk with Support gear.

"Enough with the crazy conspiracy theories already, Icy Hot," Bakugou growled.

"Yeah, that's almost as bad as that 'Society of Manliness' you keep on about," Shinsou shot.

—

Meanwhile, Fourth Kind knelt before the leader of his secret society "I have done as you asked, Grand Leader. The prospects have been educated as to the true nature of manliness and its role in the community."

The Grand Leader nodded. "Good, Fourth Kind. The Society of Manliness will find the Mansiah soon enough."

Fourth Kind bowed. "I shall do my best to help them grow to their full potential. I have already recommended a couple of heroes if they do not wish to study with me for future work-studies."

"Good. Remember: Never skip leg day."

He slammed his fist in a salute. "Never skip leg day."

—

Shouto huffed. "The truth is out there, but enough about that. I'm still gathering evidence to prove who Mastermind is." Accusing Midoriya without sufficient evidence was a foolhardy move that could potentially ruin his career, and if he was innocent Shouto didn't want that.

Bakugou sighed. "Whatever bullshit you're on, I want no part of it."

Hatsume shot up. "Honestly, kind of interested in whatever you've got on Mastermind! I wanna be the one to take him out!" She cackled at that, Eraserhead's finger on the pager already.

"Hard to imagine him being able to outsmart you, Mei-chan." Melissa Shield smiled at the pink haired girl.

Her laughter paused. "O-Of course! Hatsume Industries will crush him and his League!" She shot off. "Anyway, I've got to go! To my Support class!"

"Okay, bye Mei!"

Shouto watched Hatsume go, seeing Melissa looking in her general direction before going back to her desk. Obviously something was happening here, but he had no idea what. Maybe he should ask Fuyumi about it.

—

At lunch, Mayumi sighed. Kawaguchi flopped next to her, tray in hand. "So how's Operation: Matchup going?"

To answer, Mayumi flopped forwards. "Hard," she groused.

After I-Island she had noticed that they both seemed to sneak looks at each other, then get back to work. They still worked together like an old married couple even though Mayumi categorically knew they weren't dating. And both of them seemed completely oblivious to what sneaking looks at each other meant.

"Hey!"

Mayumi yelped when a pink girl with black and yellow eyes grabbed her by the shoulders, plopping down at their table. "My Gossip Sense is tingling!"

She blinked, startled. "Uh-"

Kawaguchi lazily smiled. "Oh, you're Ashido. Yaoyorozu mentioned that you were a, quote, 'shipping expert'. Is that true?"

Pink girl - Ashido - grinned. "You betcha! I helped set up so many people in my old school! So, who's the lucky guy or girl? I don't think it's either of you-"

Mayumi briefly debated keeping it quiet but gave up. "Well, I'm trying to get Mei to start dating-"

"Lemme guess, it's Izuku or Melissa, right?"

Mayumi gave Ashido a slightly nervous look. Was everybody in the Hero course crazy or something. "...Yes?" Then she blinked. "Wait, Melissa?!"

She hadn't thought Mei was into girls. Then again, considering that Mei talked as much about Melissa Shield and her inventions as she had Izuku, and how much time she had seen the three of them working in the labs together…

Ashido grinned while Mayumi's mind blew. "Knew it! But I gotta ask, why would she need help? Cause if anything I think Hatsume would be direct."

That made Mayumi sigh. "I need help because, bluntly, if Mei had to choose between a huge, hideously complicated machine she could fix with a toolkit or a boy slash girl, which do you think she would choose?"

Ashido considered, then shrugged. "...Probably the machine?"

"Or both. Probably would use the same toolkit for both parties," Mayumi shook her head. Admittedly her own ideal relationship would include giant mecha duels but that was for another time.

Kawaguchi coughed. "As insightful as this conversation is, I think we're getting a bit off track. At this point we're just sick of them dancing around the subject and want to make it official. Can you help us with getting them together?"

"Sure." Ashido hummed. "As payment for my consultation, I really want to get this cool natto with okra from lunch rush. Lunch Rush doesn't sell it to me because, quote, 'nobody should eat that much natto'." Her sunny demeanour briefly shifted before snapping back. "Would you mind?"

Mayumi gagged. "Are you an alien or something?" Upon seeing Ashido's flat face she sighed. "Fine, we'll get your horrible natto combination."

—

About a week later, Sumi sighed, glancing over at Izuku as they got ready for their cover. "...Look, you need to give an answer one way or another to your crushes. Because I know you didn't befriend them to get into their pants, but you should at least be honest that you're attracted to them."

"W-what? No, no! It's-it's not a crush! I'm fine!"

She took a deep breath. "Look. As somebody who's been there, you're going to have to confess your feelings one way or another. You might as well ask one of them out - maybe Shield? Since she doesn't explicitly hate your alter ego."

He fidgeted with his gear. "What if she doesn't like me like that?"

"Then you stay friends, with a bit of extra honesty." Sumi ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her disguise. "And you respect that they aren't interested. Don't pressure them into a relationship and you're leagues better than some guys."

Her feelings about Mastermind were, admittedly, complicated. A part of her still felt betrayed that he hadn't trusted even Gentle or La Brava with his age until he'd accidentally outed himself. Not to mention how… attracted she'd been to his kindness and general attitude which still hadn't entirely gone away even though she knew he was about half her age. But she could remember being his age and also remembered the awkwardness of asking a close friend out on a date.

Izuku stood there for a bit, then he shook his head. "M-maybe after the heist…"

Sumi nodded. "I'm going to hold you to that."

—

Death Arms looked over the exhibition with a bored look, his concession to the black tie event being a bow tie. He wasn't a big art guy at the best of times, and he certainly wasn't one when Villains were about to attack. Nearby, he saw Mount Lady had changed into a slinky purple dress with a low neckline and heels, that she assured him would grow with her if needed. She had certainly gathered a lot of attention, but he could see that she was keeping an eye out. Kamui Woods was mingling in a different part, ready to unleash a Lacquered Chain Prison at the first sign of trouble.

He had wanted more Heroes nearby but had only managed to get a couple of extra ones. Apparently Muscular was seen nearby and they needed Heroes on standby to attempt to capture the mass murderer. Odd Eye posed dramatically in what he thought was a sneaky way. A couple of his familiars - sidekicks - were hanging around as well, near a professionally attired Ms. Joke. Eraserhead was hiding in the back wings, looking around. "You see anything, Eraserhead?"

"Nothing. Keep an eye on the front - they'll be looking to make a dramatic entrance of some sort."

A waitress with a tabby cat mutation came up to him with a drinks platter and a grin. "Drink, Death Arms?"

He shook his head as politely as he could. "Not now. I'm on duty."

"Of course. Keep on keeping us safe."

As she sauntered away, he blinked. Something about her struck him as familiar…. He shook his head. It couldn't be.

But as he looked around the room his instincts twitched. There were a couple of other staff members that seemed off - a tall man with slicked back red hair was pouring coffee while a short man - or teenager, maybe - was hurrying around with canapes.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a couple of rather unassuming staff members turn around, seemingly to have a smoke break. But Death Arms' instincts were on point, and he started to run towards them. "Everything alright-"

The shorter one turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw the gas mask, as well as a familiar gauntlet. His lightning quick punch was caught and then he was thrown back, just as a hissing sound started. Death Arms was just able to hit his panic button before the source of the hissing made itself apparent.

Dark red gas poured through the gallery, flooding the area before anybody could react. Death Arms felt the strength leave his limbs as he sagged to the ground, unable to pick himself up. People panicked, screaming in fear as they tried to run only for their bodies to collapse under them.

In the shadows of the red gas clouds, his eyes widened when he saw some staff members with gas masks pulling on their Super Villain outfits.

—

Before the heist…

Izuku grinned, pulling out a vial filled with a bright red liquid. "Ladies and Gentlemen, BEHOLD! After studying that sample of Midnight's and Bushijima's gas, I've made an exciting new compound!"

"Incredible, Mastermind!" Mr. Compress paused. "I'm guessing it's a knockout gas of some sort."

"You could say that - rather than knock people out, it just renders them incapable of moving! Harder to overdose on as well, though it has a shorter span of time it's active to compensate!"

"So we're going to knock everybody out?"

Gentle Criminal stroked his beard. "Absolutely. We're already on the inside as workers so we'll be ideally placed to get it ready."

"Everybody's gear has been given the same 'quick change' function as well, just to make it dramatic." Mastermind grinned. "Press a button and your costume should snap on dramatically! Took ages to map out but it's just worth it."

—

Helpless, Mount Lady grit her teeth as a familiar looking server took his gas mask off and whipped off his suit, revealing an ostentatious Villain outfit. Gentle Criminal politely bowed to them, then turned around, a flying camera drone popping out from under the cart he was wheeling. "Hello, dear viewers! It is I, Gentle Criminal and the League of Supervillains, pulling a daring heist at the Rosen and Gizou art gallery!"

Mr. Warp and Kouro burst in from the side room, politely taking bows. And Mastermind was, surprisingly, not taking centre stage, instead checking everybody on the floor with what looked like an epi-pen. "You see, there is some art here that I really want to hang in the League of Supervillains' lair, where it would make an excellent addition to the room. You don't mind if we take an employee discount, Mr. Gizou?"

Mastermind and Golden Grin went around the room, selecting a variety of artworks and tossing them over to Mr. Warp, who surrounded them with his smoke. The art gallery owner was wide eyed with fear and horror as millions of yen effectively vanished from his gallery. Gentle Criminal gave him a slightly sardonic smile. "Ah, pardon us for not paying. But we should leave some form of payment for the Heroes so… here you go!" With that, he delicately placed a USB near her.

"You and…" Mount Lady sighed internally before continuing, "your nefarious fellow Villains won't get away with this!"

He looked her in the eyes, before smiling in a gentlemanly fashion. "I am afraid that you aren't in any position to threaten that-"

A blur of movement came from behind him and she managed a grin as Eraserhead shot in, Capture tape wrapping around Gentle Criminal's arm and pinning him to the ground. Other Heroes shot into the room, readying to square off against the League of Supervillains. "Mastermind and the League of Supervillains. You're under arrest for multiple accounts of robbery, assault and illegal Quirk usage."

"Thanks for the help," Mount Lady grumbled, trying to push herself up.

"Hey, Gentle Criminal is the leader of the League right now!" Mastermind protested. "This whole plan was his!"

"No need to defend me, Mastermind!" Gentle Criminal smiled.

Eraserhead snapped his attention back. "It doesn't seem like a very good plan, since you're captured-"

Shouting started outside, half of the other Heroes turning to deal with a sudden incursion of spiders. With that signal, the League of Supervillains charged them, Inkblot swinging her mallet at another Hero and sending him flying. Blasts of blue flame came from Kouro, hitting Heroes and knocking them down.

—

Izuku gave him a quizzical look. "You're going to let yourself be captured by Eraserhead?"

Gentle Criminal laughed. "He's a cautious fellow. Given our ruse with the disguises and the calling card, they're not going to put all their eggs in one basket. I believe that he would hang around and wait, gathering all the Heroes and police that he can outside."

Izuku grinned. "So they're going to come in… and we're going to hit them with the robots from behind!"

"Exactly!" Gentle Criminal nodded. "Good to see you and I are on the same wavelength."

"You've still got more experience than me, Gentle-sama."

Gentle Criminal coughed awkwardly. "S-still, I would never have dared for something like this without La Brava and the rest of you. Too much could have gone wrong."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Not to mention I never really cracked any major ground. It was mostly supermarkets that sold dodgy food or small-time stores running scams." He looked up. "That time at the bank was the very first time I'd tried a heist of that scale and I got to meet my biggest fan after La Brava herself."

"I-I didn't do anything-"

Danjuro smiled. "You believed in me. That's enough."

—

For a second, Eraserhead's attention wavered as the spiderbots attacked. It was enough for Gentle Criminal to throw him off, his pocket watch sending out a stream of red light that cut the Capture Tape on his arm. "Sorry, I really shouldn't underestimate Heroes like you! La Brava!"

Eraserhead's eyes widened as his Capture Weapon lashed out at Gentle, managing to tie an arm up. Outside, the familiar figure of La Brava, equipped with proper Support gear, appeared. Immediately he focused on the diminutive Villainess, eyes flashing red as he activated Erasure on her.

Tsukauchi and Nedzu had gone over the records and had tentatively described the full boost of La Brava's Quirk as roughly ten percent of All Might's maximum output in terms of physical strength and speed. What was worse was that the boost's strength and length of time had increased as La Barava had pushed her Quirk to the limit thanks to their more frequent crimes. And that wasn't even going into being blindsided by it blocking mental Quirks like Ms. Joke's Uproar and affecting the entire League.

Stopping La Brava's Quirk right now was imperative. Right now the fight was fairly even, the Heroes not affected by that gas weapon managing to hold the League in place. Gentle Criminal's face fell for a second, and Eraserhead felt better.

"MASTERMIND, CONTINGENCY!"

Then Mastermind pulled a tiny gun from his belt and aimed it at La Brava. Green light shot out, hitting the smaller Villainess. For a second Eraserhead was confused, then he realised what Mastermind was trying.

"I LOVE YOU GUYS!" La Brava yelled, and Eraserhead swore when he felt the rush of power from Gentle Criminal. He tried to whip around but Gentle Criminal's fist knocked the wind out of him. To make matters more insulting, while he lay there gasping Gentle Criminal wrapped his arms behind him using his own Capture Weapon.

"We would love to stay and chat," Gentle Criminal apologised, as all around the fight turned from even to decidedly one sided, "but we really must leave. Ta ta!"

As the Villains fled, he grit his teeth and tried to get his phone. "L-League of Supervillains fleeing," he rasped, already trying to dislocate his shoulders and get into pursuit. "Send backup - they're going down the alleyways-"

"We've got other problems," Dispatch sent back.

Eraserhead managed to get an arm free. "What kind of problems?"

"Muscular."

At that, Eraserhead was already on the move, the other Heroes recovering with similar looks of terror on their faces. At the end of the day, Mastermind and the League weren't monsters like that.

—

"SHIT! MUSCULAR!"

Muscular laughed as a Hero called out in fear. "HECK YEAH, GIVE ME A GOOD FIGHT, YOU ANTS!"

A fiery sensation on his back alerted him to a couple of Heroes trying to burn him. He immediately flung himself back, muscle fibres already knitting back as he went to pulverise them. "Nice! Give me more though!"

He'd come here hoping for a decent fight and so far wasn't disappointed. He grunted in pain as some Heroine stabbed him with a sword, flickering around the battlefield at high speed. Not bad at all. He grinned, building more muscle fibres and then bulldozing forwards.

She'd left a scar, she should be proud. Too bad for her that he was fast enough to catch her and smash her through a building. As a Hero came charging towards him with a glowing fist, he simply threw her at him, then changed to a decently bulky guy.

"Don't let this mass murderer get away!" A Hero shouted before he grabbed his head. He had about a second to scream before…

CRUNCH.

He howled with laughter at the horrified Heroes. "YOU'RE WEAK, I'M STRONG AND I WIN!"

Nobody here could actually stand a chance against him!

—

As they drove off, Mastermind hi-fived Gentle Criminal. "The plan worked almost perfectly Gentle!"

It had been a little close in places but that was just part of the game, the thrill. Mastermind's Knock Out gas was certainly going to see more usage in future heists, especially after checking to see that nobody there had suffered from any adverse effects. Not to mention that they had confirmation for another piece of Support gear for his friends!

Risking La Brava's Quirk not working under Eraserhead's Quirk despite his Quirk Activation Ray had been a gamble, but a gamble that he was happy paid off! That opened up a couple of avenues for future tech.

"Indeed it did," Gentle Criminal smiled back at his protege. "Though I have to admit, without your help and Support gear we wouldn't have much of a plan."

"Ah, it's not a problem…" Mastermind frowned. "Where's the police and Heroes chasing us though?"

The rest of the League looked between each other. "...That's a fair point. Are we really asking for a fight though?" Golden Grin pointed out.

Bushijima nodded a bit shakily. "Let's not tempt fate and drop All Might or Endeavour on our tail."

"I-I know, I know…" Mastermind looked over at the gang, then switched on the radio. "There's got to be an explanation-"

"Muscular is attacking on the main street! The Heroes are engaging but we are afraid that Muscular will once more evade justice-"

Mastermind stared off into nothing. News reports from two years ago flashed through his mind. "Muscular…"

His fist clenched. Gentle Criminal glanced over to him, a worried look on his face. "Mastermind? …Izuku?"

"Head there now."

—

Shinai grunted in pain as he took a massive punch to the gut, his Bamboo Quirk barely snapping up in time to take the brunt of Muscular's Quirk. The Villain cackled at that, muscle fibres coiling around him.

"YOU THINK YOU'RE ANYTHING, MAGGOTS?! YOU AIN'T NOTHIN!"

Desperately Shinai grit his teeth, making more bamboo with his Quirk to try and fight the monster in front of him. The civilians were almost away and they'd called for the best Heroes they could. A Hero that could erase Quirks was apparently en route, he just had to hold on.

Leering, Muscular brought his arm back. Shinai readied a veritable forest of bamboo, ready to hold Muscular for just a second longer-

SCREECH!

Muscular briefly paused, fist raised to smash him. Shinai couldn't help but despair when he saw the Mastermobile pull up. First Muscular, now Mastermind?!

Mastermind stepped out of the car and Shinai couldn't help but flinch. The Villain was radiating menace. His armour glowed with green light. "Mastermind, Fully Cowled."

Muscular grinned, already gearing up. "I saw your fight with Mirko, Mastermind. Gotta say, pretty arousing stuff!" He reached up to his eye, tapping it. "So are you going to show me a good time-"

The Eraser Ray fired, bathing Muscular in its light. The Villain frozefor an instant as those seemingly impenetrable muscle fibres of his disappeared into nothingness. Then Mastermind seemed to vanish. One second he was by the Mastermobile, the next-

"That's for Water Hose."

-He was in front of Muscular, foot pulled back. Then his boot blurred directly up and into Muscular's groin, sending the man shooting straight up into the air. Shinai and his fellow conscious male Heroes clutched their own in sympathy, the shockwave that resulted from Mastermind's kick knocking away gravel and dust. The Villain landed, eyes rolled back in his head and mouth open, presumably in too much pain to even scream.

(In a different part of the city, Hound Dog turned and started barking rapidly as a high pitched sound tore around. Other dogs joined in the barking at the loud noise, believing that they were helping.)

Mastermind stood there for a second, breathing heavily. "Your actions aren't reflective of Supervillainy," he stated, before turning to leave.

Shinai manager to recover enough to try and get up, but then Gentle Criminal was in the way, an unreadable expression on his face. "Don't try it, Takeshita," he warned.

Takeshita blinked, frozen in place with a bamboo shoot half sticking out of his palm. How did-?

The Mastermobile sped away while he was distracted. As the sound of sirens came closer and the shouts of other Heroes came, Takeshita had no idea what to make of that encounter.

—

Shino looked over at Kota as she tidied up. Her nephew wore an angry scowl on his face as he helped her put the dishes away. "Do you want to watch TV, Kota?"

"I suppose," he grumbled, looking away pointedly. "If you want to."

It was a step up from when he had come to live with her and the rest of the Pussycats, at least. She sighed, reaching for the remote. All her great skills dealing with kids and she couldn't even help her own nephew.

Kota blamed the entire Hero industry for the deaths of his parents, for how people praised their death as being noble. She could understand why he felt that way, at least - the thought that her brother's murderer hadn't been caught and was still killing people enraged her. And his parents had been his entire world and he simply couldn't understand why people had praised their bravery. She just had to hope that somebody could get through to Kota and help him past his hatred of Heroes before he did something like abuse his family for wanting to be Heroes.

(Tomura briefly paused in his game. For some reason, he felt like he had been cheated of something. Then the Ahri on his team decided to feed the enemy and he understood it completely.)

She shook her head. No matter what, she was going to help her nephew through circumstances that no child should live through. The only thing she could hope for was that her brother's cowardly murderer would be caught soon. "Okay, I'll just-"

The television snapped on and they both froze at the sight of Muscular's prone form. "What?" She went for the remote only for Kota's hand to grab hers.

He wasn't moving as he watched the TV. "-And earlier this evening, Muscular was defeated by Mastermind of the League of Supervillains. Witnesses are describing his attack as 'the most terrifying kick to the dick in the world'-"

Shino belatedly muted the television, turning to her nephew with as stern an expression as she could muster given the bombshell that had casually been dropped on her. "Kota, we don't use that word-"

She stopped upon seeing his eyes filled with tears. He sniffed, trying to stop them from coming. "He's… he's been beaten," he whispered. "They got him."

That was all it took for her to start crying as well. He lunged to hug her and she wrapped her arms around him, both of them crying tears of relief and sorrow that a monster had been captured and neutered in such a fashion.

Eventually, they recovered. As Shino grinned, already planning to tell the rest of the Pussycats about this windfall and toast to her brother's health, Kota looked up at her.

"Um… Who's Mastermind?"

Mandalay hesitated. "Well, he's… a Villain." 'Like Muscular,' she didn't say, because while he was a Villain he had also won a staggering amount of goodwill with her for kicking Water Hoses' murderer in the dick so hard he apparently needed to go to hospital.

Kota blinked. "But he stopped Muscular. How can he be bad?"

"Well, um… Sometimes Villains fight each other." Mandalay hesitated, then sighed. "Though I have to admit, he's not that bad a Villain. He's kind of like Doofenshmirtz in real life."

Kota considered this with all the gravitas a five year old could muster. "...Are there videos of him?"

"Yes, all over Hero Tube."

"Can I watch them?" When she hesitated he pouted up at her and oh no, he was using the kitten eyes. "Please, Auntie Shino?"

She hesitated, then nodded. "Alright, Kota. But only one for tonight, then you have to go to bed."

What was the worst that could happen from him watching some videos of Mastermind?

—

THE FUTURE

"MWA-HAHAHA!"

The people of Japan had gotten used to very similar laughter for a bit over a decade now. At this point, people who hadn't heard of Mastermind and his exploits were few and far in-between. But this laughter was new, and from a relatively undisguised voice.

A cape made of shimmering water was suspended behind the new Villain, while the rest of his costume was sea blue, paired with a red horned helmet that hid his features, with huge red boots and gauntlets. "TREMBLE, PEOPLE OF TOKYO! THERE'S A NEW SUPERVILLAIN IN JAPAN, AND HIS NAME IS…"

He clicked a button on his gauntlet and the sound of waves crashing thundered out from speakers on his suit. A couple of citizens cheered at this, while a couple of others rolled their eyes. They had heard similar displays before, after all.

"THE OCEANIC SUPERVILLAIN, MASTER TIDE!"

AN: Sorry for the delays! Other fic ideas took residence in my head and induced severe brainrot. I also had a bit of stuff on so sorry for the delays.

This heist is, admittedly, not as long or as consequence heavy as it could be but I think this flowed better. Plus I got to have Izuku save Kota, if in a different way than canon. Probably went a bit too smoothly, so the next job will be more difficult. Originally it was but I felt this was more amusing personally.

Who knows how Shigaraki will respond to this? I sure don't!

More tech is coming for the crew so stay tuned! I've got some new ideas, some old ideas… Izuku will be working on some stuff in future!

As always thank you Banchoking for editing my hot mess.

Please comment, shoot ideas at me! I need them. I also have a poorly organised Discord here: /BBVa2xFsTfand for people to join if they want to.

Next time… We're going to get some Guild Recruitment!