A/N: So, I had Covid-19 and missed an update. Thanks for your patience! We're getting close to the end! I'm kind of losing motivation for this fic, but I really, really want to finish it because I know if I put it down and think I'll finish it later, I'll lose track of where I was and it'll just get harder and harder, so it's my mission to finish it! So, if the pacing changes, that's why! Just FYI! Hopefully, any pacing issues or holes or whatever can be fixed if and when I get around to revisions! My main goal is just getting the story in full out there, and here's the next part!

Bakugou wasn't stupid. He knew that manic, copycat bastard that followed him along to his own agency was too happy for what the situation warranted. He should have been sulking and moaning and miserable and grating on Bakugou's absolute last nerve. The only explanation that made sense was that he was in contact with the real number nine hero.

And since Bakugou was the de facto scapegoat in that big mess, he decided he could do whatever the hell he wanted, which included tailing his own subordinate to locate said real number nine.

The Hero Public Safety Commission must be a big fucking mess if they couldn't figure that much out because it only took Bakugou a few days to locate Denki that way. Then, all he had to do was wait for Neito to kiss him goodbye in the abandoned warehouse where they met up during his patrol, and Bakugou had him right where he wanted him, all to himself.

"Ah!" Denki exclaimed when he walked past Bakugou's hiding spot, only for Bakugou to reach out and snap the quirk-canceling cuff around his wrist. Denki stumbled back, pouting when he realized what had happened. "Not fair, Kacchan."

"Can't expect me to fight fair going against fucking lightning, dumbass," Bakugou retorted under his breath, stepping fully out from behind the crate he was hidden behind, still tense as he looked around, unfamiliar with the area.

"Aw, c'mon," Denki whined dramatically, pulling on the cuff at his wrist to no avail. "I'd give you a fair shot!"

Bakugou snorted unkindly. "Not likely. With your voodoo hold over my subordinate and your lightning shit—"

"Just because you wouldn't win doesn't mean that it wouldn't be fair, Kacchan."

Bakugou huffed out a breath, leaning his ass back against the crate he was formerly crouched behind as he forced himself to relax a little more as he regarded one of his best friends.

"Well, you have the confidence of number nine, that's for sure."

"It really was supposed to be me?" Denki asked, losing some of his energy at seeing his volatile friend. "I've heard rumors—We've all heard rumors, but—I—it's just hard to imagine that I did that, you know? For what it's worth, I'm sorry they did that to you."

"I'm not," Bakugou barked, making Denki startle at both the admission and the force behind it, "but they're sure as hell going to be."

Denki smiled. "What did you have in mind, Ground Zero?" he purred, eyes alit with delightful mischief as he seated himself next to his best friend, the crate creaking dangerously underneath him, but holding and not giving way.

"The reason none of us could fully support you publicly in the first place was because none of us had the power with the HPSC dangling unspoken threats over our heads. And what do those bastards do? They hand me the public title of number nine on a silver fucking platter," Bakugou spat. "I knew they were dumb, but I thought they had some kind of standards. At this rate, villains are going to be taking over, and—hey!" Bakugou stopped abruptly at the twinkle in Denki's eye. "Don't be going and giving your villain friends any of my fucking ideas, you shit!"

"Oh, but we'll give you full credit, babe," Denki assured.

"That's even worse!" Bakugou roared, palms igniting as Denki leaped up, laughing as he ran.

Even without his lightning, he was able to keep just out of reach, but just barely, twisting out of Bakugou's grasp at the last, unexpected second. If Bakugou had truly been trying to get him and used his explosions for an extra speed boost, Denki wouldn't have stood a chance.

"So, what do you say?" Bakugou asked as they caught their breath. "You ready to start patrols again? You ready to be some kind of publicly supported, legally ambiguous vigilante-slash-hero?"

"Fuck yeah!" Denki exclaimed, flailing his arms up and kicking his legs up into the air to emphasize his excitement at the prospect. "This might be the best idea you've ever had! I could kiss you!"

"First of all, I am full of good ideas," Bakugou snarled, thoroughly offended. "Second of all, keep your lips to yourself. Your fucking bastard of a soulmate followed me to my agency, knows where I live, can copy my quirk, and can hold a goddamn grudge."

"He'd get over it," Denki dismissed as he hauled himself up from the dusty warehouse floor. "He's president of the Ground Zero fan club, so honestly, who knows who he'd be more mad at in that situation."

There was a long pause before Bakugou managed a choked, "what?"

"Oh, you'd be surprised, I think, about the members of your unofficial fan club. I even met a few in Tartarus. Stain says 'hi,' by the way."

"What the fuck, Denki."

"He was actually really cool. If he wasn't such a menace before being locked up, I would have considered asking Shigs to help get him out of there, but Shigs didn't really ever like him in the first place, so I don't know if that would have even been a possibility, even for a personal favor for me—"

"He totally would, I think," Toga said, walking in and twirling a knife idly between her fingertips. "You underestimate the power you hold, but maybe that's just because you currently don't have access to a bunch of power right now," she continued, pointedly eyeing the set of cuffs dangling from Denki's wrist, not restraining him, but cutting off access to his quirk nonetheless.

"Oh, Toga is another member of the club I was talking about! Toga, this is Bakugou. Bakugou, Toga."

Bakugou looked at Toga skeptically. He did not believe that she was in any way, shape, or form a member of his "unofficial fan club." He suddenly did believe, however, that Denki was trying to get him killed. He could hardly even defend himself in the warehouse unless he wanted another mark against him in collateral damage. With how much flammable shit was stuffed in every corner, there was no way a fight would result in anything but a fire, especially not when Dabi also joined in the mix.

"I'm not sure if Dabi is a member," Denki said, "but I don't think it would take much to recruit him." He paused, looked considering at Dabi. "Then again, he's already really smitten with Shigs and Hawks, so—"

"Denki," Bakugou rasped, eyes flitting to Denki and then back to the threats. "Hawks?" he repeated as a question, the memory of the number three hero plastering a cocky grin on her blank face just before she strutted across the floor coming to mind unbidden.

"Yeah," Denki answered before looking around the room at the tense figures. "Can everyone just, like, chill? We're all good, yeah?"

Toga dropped into a defensive stance and took a half-step forward, and Dabi lit a blue flame in the palm of his hand. Denki sighed, looking over to Bakugou to find his hand digging in his pocket, but instead of pulling out a grenade or something else that would escalate the situation, he pulled out the key to the cuff around Denki's wrist and tossed it in Denki's direction without further fanfare.

Denki hummed appreciatively as he turned the key in the lock and it came undone with a click, stepping forward to hand them back, but Bakugou held up his hands. At first Denki thought that Bakugou didn't trust him to get closer, but he quickly squashed that thought as ridiculous, and thought that he must be wary of them getting to near with the protective villains close by. But, when he glanced over, he saw that Toga had relaxed her stance, and Dabi had put the flames away, though they still watched with guarded eyes.

"Keep 'em," Bakugou said. "You'll need 'em for your new career path, yeah?"

Denki beamed, clutching onto the cuffs like a lifeline, the metallic tinkling of the keys like music to his ears.

"Hawks is okay? He's with you?" Bakugou asked, directing his question to the room, to whoever would answer.

"Who's asking?" Dabi drawled.

To the League of Villains, Bakugou was a wild card. He was volatile in attitude and surface behavior, but he seemed pretty straightedge when it came to following the rules. Denki seemed to like him and trust him, and at one point, the League wanted to try recruiting him and see where it went, but that never panned out (thanks to that sneaky asshole, Neito). Now, he was number nine, but rumor had it that he was not number nine by his own merit. Dabi knew him from his time spent on Unit Echo, and one of the reasons they wanted to recruit him was because of the absolute fit he threw after winning the sports festival their first year at UA, where he felt like he was handed the win instead of winning by his own strength and earning it.

"Rumors are all over the place," Bakugou said, making the villains perk up.

Denki perked up, too. He was largely kept out of the loop of the rumor mill because he was Hawks's underling when Hawks went 'missing.' So, to spare Denki's feelings, the subject was abruptly changed whenever he entered the vicinity.

"And still, no one has any direct answers. It's because the HPSC doesn't have any answers either, do they?" Bakugou guessed.

"What are the rumors?" Toga asked.

Bakugou surprised them by actually answering instead of demanding answers to his questions, first.

"Some are saying that he infiltrating the League, got caught, and was tortured to death," Bakugou stated, observant red eyes catching Dabi's wince at the very idea. "Others say the same thing, but that Hawks went into hiding before you could catch him and enact revenge and he's still in hiding. With that one, some say that the HPSC have him in a safe house, and others think that he's on his own without the HPSC oversight or he'd be dead already anyway because of a leak, either malicious or just negligent."

"There aren't any rumors that he infiltrated the League, found his soulmate, and is living happily ever after, then?" Dabi asked airily.

Bakugou coughed. "No, I can't say there are."

"Maybe there should be," Denki said thoughtfully, eyes lighting up with new ideas.

-.-.-

"Hawks! Hawks!" Denki screeched as he flew into the base like a bat out of hell. "Make a TikTok with me!"

The #YearOfTheRabbit was already gaining traction, and what better way to send it sky-high than for the League of Villains to add their take? And what better way to show their support of Mirko than to also reveal that they had been hording the former number two animal mutant hero and keeping him safe and sound?

When the League made a TikTok, everyone took notice. When they were all dressed up in Mirko's hero outfit, everyone took notice. When former Pro-Hero Hawks was included in the madness, everyone took notice. When heroes Mindjack and Phantom Thief were in the mix, dancing right alongside Chargebolt, everyone took notice.

Maybe not right away, though, if the comments had any indication.

Birdy_26: 'NO! NO THIS IS NOT HAPPENING! THIS IS CRAZY'

guppy: 'I had to watch three times to notice Phantom Thief in the background! How many watches did it take you?'

sjandon06: 'I didn't notice until I saw this comment! Then I had to go give it another watch!'

[Video response from Official_PhantomThief]

sjandon06: 'Oop—We're in trouble. I'm afraid to watch it…'

guppy: 'Are you kidding?! I RAN. I never clicked so fast IN MY LIFE. He's my new favorite hero. Every video I watch, I'm going to scour for him. I will 1/2'

guppy: 'Never let him down ever again. Everyone else can #GetForked. You can count on me, Phantom Thief! 2/2'

KO_MO: 'Heroes and villains in the same place? And they dance instead of fight? What a bunch of snowflakes. You'd never see this happen in my generation.'

yasqueeeeeenn101: 'Okay, boomer. I'd tell you to #GetForked, but that would be a waste of a perfectly good fork, wouldn't it?'

HandsToTheSkye: 'Can you believe these people? My generation this, my generation that, then they come on TIKTOK to spout their hate like they bring more than just audacity to the table. At least bring a fork to eat it with. #GetForked'

RedFeatherTheorist23: 'HAWKS! OMG OMG OMG OMG OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG! I'M SCREAMING crying throwing up! I've passed away! I know it! It's too good to be true! AHHHHhhhhhh!'

RedFeatherTheorist23: 'Chargebolttttt! You've been holding outtttt on usssssss! How have you been keeping that big, feathery hero of a man a secret?!'

FangirlTaka: 'No one else see the issue that a literal fucking Pro Hero vanished off the face of the earth and the HPSC didn't make any official statements about it? And now here he is, NOT IN A SAFE HOUSE? No? Just me? I guess I can just go #GetForked then.'

Kailani_Marie: 'ahora que lo mencionas es muy sospechoso'

: 'Fucking hell, translator's broken. The fuck does this say?'

: 'It says that you shouldn't swear on your official account, Ground Zero.'

: 'Fuck all the way off. You don't know shit about Italian.'

: 'It's Spanish, actually. It says: Now that you mention it, that is very suspicious.'

: 'If you ever decide to defect, like some asshole we know, at least you have other options than joining the fucking LOV. You could be a translator.'

P05itiv3r3v0lt: 'ExCusE mE! It wasn't exactly much of a choice! And putting 'un' in front of your off-duty handle isn't exactly bulletproof, Ground Zero.'

: 'Yeah? What if I wasn't talking about you?'

P05itiv3r3v0lt: 'Oh my gods! Who else would you be talking about?!'

: 'It's not all about you.'

P05itiv3r3v0lt: 'Humor me. Who's it about?'

: 'Well you can just go #GetForked.'

: 'I'll get the fork.'

womenarechefskiss: 'What's this?! Pro Heroes *acknowledging* Chargebolt's existence?! Never thought I'd see the day! Grab a fork for me, too, because I might just be dreaming!'

TippyDog: 'You must have missed the Live with all the clones?'

womensarechefskiss: 'I did. :( I heard it was an… experience.'

TippyDog: 'It was! And not just for the show, but the comments, too. That's when the Pros really started weighing in again. Someone screen recorded it. I know there's a link floating around somewhere…'

: 'Shouto, for future reference, you aren't allowed to stab random civilians with forks… Just FYI.'

: 'But is that in my contract?'

No1_Endeavor: 'It is now. Come in before patrol in the morning to sign the updated version of your contract.'

: 'GOD FUCKING DAMNIT.'

: 'Maybe it's not the best idea to take ideas from Ground Zero.'

[Video response from ]

[Video response from ]

Eli_f: 'Oh, no.'

IStillCantEmote: 'Oh, YESSSSSSSSS. BRING ON THE DRAMA'

The video from Shouto showed the hero storming around his apartment with a handful of forks, that he was removing from his hero costume and putting back into the kitchen drawer, muttering angrily and dramatically about how he finally had a new move that no one was expecting.

The video from Ground Zero (unofficial, mind you) was an angry rant about how Shouto stole his idea to have an unofficial account that mirrored his official account, angrily questioned how Shouto switched between them so quickly, and threatened to take the fork idea for himself since he owned his own agency and was now number nine so no one could tell him what to do.

: 'You wouldn't dare!'

: 'Of course I wouldn't. Because it's a dumb fucking idea. Fucking forks?!'

: '#GetForked, Ground Zero.'

: 'Come say that to my face, five weenies.'

[Video response from ]

Piggy4Ever: Villains should have tried this AGES ago, tbh.

Microwave: Yeah. The heroes are tearing each other apart, and the villains can sit back and watch.

[Video response from ]

Chargebolt read some of the comments aloud, and Twice responded, "it's no fun this way, though. Speak for yourself! This is plenty fun!"

: 'Rest assured, good citizens. This is all in good fun. We have it all under control.'

ProHeroUravity: 'You think.'

ProHeroUravity: 'Uh, oh. I'm getting a phone call from Ingenium, now!'

: 'Uravity, answer your phone, or I'll come to your house to talk in person.'

ProHeroUravity: 'Uh… will you drive here or run?'

: 'I'm outside. Let me in.'

thecosplayingwriter: 'Oh, shit! Okay. I want tickets for that show!'

NenaShadowslayer: 'Is Uravity going to #GetForked?'

13: 'He's a hero. I'm sure she'll be fine.'

NenaShadowslayer: 'Oh, you sweet summer child.'

thecosplayingwriter: 'Yeah, it's probably Ingenium we should be worried about, tbh.'

13: 'Oh… OH!'

The public noticed the shift almost immediately.

.c0splay: 'This is barely believable, even with video evidence, but Chargebolt came out of nowhere and saved me today.'

Ribbon3Leaf: 'Chargebolt is back in business?! What?!'

Ohlookacatt: 'Oh, yeah. I swore I saw him patrolling two nights ago, but thought I had to be mistaken. I guess not!'

BZZT629: 'Looks like it's time to play victim. I wanna be saaaaaved!'

Cattisclaw: 'Hawks, too! It was like déjà vu seeing them out together again.'

REPIP: 'Are we going to have former heroes and current heroes fighting in the streets?'

RetroRadiation: 'Not likely. They teamed up with Phantom Thief and Real Steel last I heard. Seems like they're working together like all's good.'

sky_hi: 'I saw them pass right by Creati and Earphone Jack. They waved at each other, exchanged some words, and kept on going. The heroes didn't even try to stop them or convince them to turn themselves in it didn't seem like.'

UrM0m5aWh0r3: 'The HPSC is oddly quiet about it.'

Zinc: 'Afraid everyone's going to tell them to take their opinion on the matter and #GetForked, probably.'

Dying_Banana: 'Probably trying to handle it quietly, more likely. I doubt they're doing nothing. Doesn't seem like their style, is all.'

weirdasshuman: 'Shady either way, if you ask me. They should have to be more transparent.'

bisexual_slut1187: 'Agreed. They should make their stance public and known. They should own it.'

lorixxdrury: 'Not everyone can strut their stuff like #HardyHawks and #CharismaticChargebolt. They could learn a thing or two from them, couldn't they?'

-.-.-

Bakugou walked into the office first thing in the morning, just like he was commanded to do, even if following the demand left a sour taste in the back of his throat.

The Hero Public Safety Commission agent looked smug as she sat behind the desk with her long nails tapping rhythmically against the wooden desktop. Her smug look dropped slightly when Bakugou took exactly six donuts from the table that hosted twelve. Half. Always half.

"Those are for everybody, you know," she snarked.

"Maybe I'm more important than everybody else who might come in," Bakugou said as he strolled in at a leisurely pace and flopped into a chair, not caring if he got donut crumbs anywhere. "I am number nine, after all. Aren't I? Or maybe it's compensation for wasting my time, because you aren't going to pay me any other way, are you?"

It was glorious to know that both of them knew why he took exactly half of the donuts. It was wonderful to know that she wouldn't broach the subject because acknowledging it would mean letting Chargebolt win. They both knew in that moment that the rest of the conversation was pointless, but it had to be done anyway, just to be completely clear and leave no room for miscommunication.

"Are you going to do anything about your subordinates collaborating with a defector?" she asked, cutting right to the chase.

"Why would I?" Bakugou asked, annoyingly answering her question with a question.

He brushed nonexistent dust from his shoulder, drawing her eyes to a small, silver pin that was affixed to his hero costume for all to see if anyone would pay attention. A small, stubby thing that was obviously a caricature of a fork. It looked more like a spork than a fork, and the prongs were rounded off so it couldn't really do any damage if it got knocked loose and hit a civilian, but it was definitely meant to portray a fork all the same.

The stupid symbol had been popping up everywhere. Restaurants toted the symbol on their signage to attract a wider consumer-base. Markets did the same. Customers knew that they might actually spot Hawks or Chargebolt there, or maybe even a member of the League of Villains. It wasn't rare for someone to realize hours later that the blonde girl with the sharp smile they had bumped into in line at the deli would have looked just like Toga Himiko if her hair would have been up in twin buns.

The heroes who didn't see Hawks, Chargebolt, or even the League as the threat that they were started to wear the symbol as some sort of beacon that they were willing to put aside their differences and work together on the streets, that they didn't need to be avoided at all costs and they could go on about their lives as normal. It was fucking weird.

It was kind of fucking cool.

It was still stupid he had to wear a fucking fork of all things. Shouto was having a fucking blast, though.

"I expected better of you, number nine," the agent said, leaning back in her chair, her disapproval clear on her face like that would change his mind.

Sure, he thought, let me rip this symbol of change off, throw it down, denounce my friendship and loyalty, and pledge my undying servitude to the Hero Public Safety Commission so they can use me and screw me over some more.

"Then maybe you should have brought number nine in to talk, then, huh?" he spat, standing up to take his leave, relishing in the shocked look on the agent's face.

Like it was hard to figure out that he didn't earn his place as number nine? Like it was hard to figure out whose place he took? It was almost more insulting that they thought he wouldn't find out than that they put him there in the first place.

It was a big decision, but he didn't regret making them regret it so far, and he didn't predict that he ever would.