Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Original characters are in a sort of grey area but whatever.

Golden Grin and La Brava stared at the TV screen, displaying Mastermind's latest attack. Behind them, even their captive was gaping at the devastation. "...Holy shit Mastermind, didya have to go that hard?" Golden Grin murmured.

"That ray gun can forcibly activate Quirks as well as erase them?" Ingenium looked between them. "That's… terrifyingly effective!"

"Well, of course it is! The boss made it after all!" Golden Grin pointed dramatically at Ingenium. "But enough of seeing Mastermind, we've got to get everything ready for when the Heroes come after us!"

"You know you're never going to get away with this?" Ingenium asked.

Gentle Criminal shrugged. "We've managed it every time before. We can do it again."

As Ingenium was pulled away and strapped into the 'Death Trap', Golden Grin looked at the screen again, frozen on an image of the warehouse district wreathed in flames. Even knowing that Mr. Compress had successfully managed to get everybody out of the way, it was terrifying to think about.

And to think that the idea for the Quirk activation had come from something relatively harmless. More than that, it had been his idea in the first place.

A couple of months ago…

"So, what would happen if you reversed the polarity of the Eraser Ray?" Daiki asked.

In the lab, the eventually named Shinji and Izuku gave him odd looks. "...Reverse the polarity?" Izuku said.

Daiki shrugged. "Yeah, I remember that being a thing from those really old Doctor Who series. Reverse the polarity of the neutron flow. Isn't that a science thing?"

His uncle had a huge stash of pre-Quirk entertainment, but even by those standards it was old. They were still fun to watch, with the terrible costumes and overly dramatic acting. Happier times with his uncle before he'd disappeared.

Shinji paused. "...That's science fiction! Reverse the polarity? That just means we swap the positive and negative wires!"

Izuku shook his head. "It wouldn't really work - the Erase Ray's circuitry is incredibly delicate. If we reversed the polarity then we'd break it for no reason!"

"I dunno, I thought it also applied to energy or something." Daiki scratched his head. "Like, you have Eraserhead's energy signature or something. What happens if you reversed that?"

Shinji opened his mouth then paused. Next to him, Izuku seemed to be in thought. "...You know what? We haven't tested that."

The pair of them broke into a frenzied mumble storm, looking over at the ray. Then Izuku grinned, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "Thanks for the idea, Daiki! We've got to do some tests on it, but hopefully it will work and not give people cancer!"

Daiki couldn't help but feel anxious about this future development. "Uh… Glad I could help?"

Daiki shook himself. Now wasn't the time to get worried about the past. Not when they had to contend with the Heroes.

—

The main square of Musutafu was still reeling from the sudden attack by Noumu, but it was almost over. Fire still raged, with Backdraft working on containing the blazes. The Heroes were battered and scuffed but had triumphed over the Noumu. And then the televisions had turned on, displaying Mastermind and a horde of those bombers. Mount Lady and the others were concerned, trying to run over despite it being too late - Shigaraki's murderous hatred of Mastermind aside, even if he was a Villain Mastermind didn't deserve to be killed.

Then his car had unleashed that beam weapon of his and changed everything.

The Mastermind Task Force stared agape at the devastation Mastermind's latest trick had left. Death Arms absent-mindedly hit a staggering Noumu in the face hard enough to send it crashing into a building, eyes locked on Mastermind as the screen blacked out.

"What the hell…" Mount Lady muttered, eyes wide. She'd seen the crazy Villain pull off a lot of stuff, but this one seemed different.

"Mount Lady!" Iida ran up, snapping off a salute. "Everybody's been evacuated!" Next to him, Grape Shot wheezed, giving a thumbs up. "Police and ambulances are en route for any injuries!"

She managed a smile. "Thank you, Tenya. Good work out there, the pair of you."

Iida paused. "...So are you going after Mastermind now?" There was a faintly desperate tone to his voice as he said it.

Mount Lady paused, then gave a curt nod. "Death Arms and Kamui Woods will, once the police have arrived. Along with some other Heroes-"

"Such as me!"

Mount Lady closed her eyes at the familiar voice, before turning around. Odd Eye posed dramatically, a sidekick pointing a wind machine at his overcoat to make it flutter dramatically while the others handed out emergency aid. "Oh, hey Odd Eye. Did you just get here?"

He made a grasping motion at the sky. "Sorry we weren't here for the battle! Dark forces prevented us from being here-"

"The car broke down," one of his sidekicks helpfully informed her.

Odd Eye pretended he hadn't heard it. "-But we shall prevail to rescue Ingenium from Mastermind's dark clutches!"

"Right…" Mount Lady gave Iida as confident a smile as she could muster. "There's going to be more Heroes than him."

Iida didn't look fully convinced but didn't press it. Death Arms and Kamui Woods gave him as confident a nod as they could. "Mastermind left us a note at the Docks - you can see him do it before he left."

"Probably a taunt," Kamui Woods clenched a fist. "Who knows what that madman is planning…"

—

On entering the lair, Mastermind stomped into the main area. "La Brava, Gentle Criminal! It worked perfectly!"

Gentle Criminal grinned. "Indeed it did! It certainly wasn't what Shigaraki wanted to happen, that's for sure!"

La Brava gave him a confident grin. "He won't be making any broadcasts for a while! We've got control of the airwaves now!"

Mastermind swept around, looking at his captive. "Excellent! Now, have the Heroes found my note yet?"

La Brava turned on the camera feed showing the monitor Mastermind had left behind. A small team of Heroes was coming closer to the monitor, moving carefully.

"Let the games… BEGIN!"

—

Eraserhead had really been enjoying his brief window of time where he wasn't teaching. He'd managed to get a proper day's rest, caught up on his paperwork and had even managed to go to Hopper's cafe and play with cats on his time off.

Then Shigaraki had launched a wave of Noumu suicide bombers straight from the Sky Egg incident and Mastermind had responded by goading him. Now Eraserhead was charging off with Midnight and Present Mic to meet with the Mastermind Task Force to deal with a hostage situation.

It's going to be one of those nights.

Death Arms looked up as they pulled up. "What have you found?" Eraserhead cut straight to the chase.

"Calling card." Death Arms shook his head grimly. "Damnit! If Shigaraki hadn't warped in those extra Noumu we could have been here-"

"And likely got hit by that Quirk activation thing of his," Present Mic cut him off.

Odd Eye looked up, and his face brightened when he spotted Eraserhead. "Ah, Eraserhead! My dark comrade!"

Eraserhead sighed, but forged ahead. Of all the times to be reminded of his middle school days… "Good evening, Odd Eye."

"Salutations!" Odd Eye beamed, then his face turned more serious. "We'll have to talk later, since there is a nefarious Super Villain out there yet. Shigaraki and his League of Villains have put themselves in the eyes of other Heroes, so we have been tasked with Mastermind."

He nodded grimly, only to see a familiar figure. Ms. Joke came up, a small smile on her face. "Hey, Eraserhead!"

Eraserhead gave her a tired stare. "Ms. Joke. I'm really not in the mood for the marriage proposal gag."

She gave a curt nod. "Yeah, it's not appropriate right now. Guess I'll wait for all this to be over."

While he grumbled, Present Mic looked over to the other Heroes. "So, has Mastermind given us any hint as to where he is or-"

The boxy monitor on the ground suddenly lit up. The group tensed as it flickered, displaying Mastermind as he seemed to fiddle with the camera. "-Is this thing - Ah!"

Eraserhead found himself tensing slightly as Mastermind seemed to adjust himself. "Well, hello Japan! As I said, you would be hearing from me later, so… Here I am!"

Present Mic shook his head in amazement. "Is he seriously doing the same thing as Shigaraki?"

His voice turned more serious. "First of all, the League of Supervillains and I wish to express my condolences for those hurt by Shigaraki's attack. This fight is between him and me and I have no wish to involve innocents. We at the League of Supervillains don't consider his actions to be reflective of true Supervillainy!"

(In his lair, Tomura slowly counted to ten before disintegrating a controller, frothing with rage. Another pin was added to the Mastermind voodoo doll.)

Mastermind spread his hands wide, cape billowing dramatically behind him. "Now then, Heroes! I believe you have been searching for Ingenium. Well, here he is!"

The camera panned around to show Ingenium strapped to a chair, struggling against his bonds with his hands stretched out in front of him. Mastermind cackled, thunder booming in the background. "Don't worry, Ingenium's fine!"

Ingenium stared at Mastermind incredulously. "I'm not fine! You fiends keep giving me natto for breakfast!"

Mastermind shrugged. "It's good for you! Lots of healthy vitamins!"

"You're a monster!"

That exclamation didn't seem to phase Mastermind, if anything it only made him happier. The Villain clapped giddily, before coughing. "A-anyway, the League of Supervillains has some demands for Ingenium's safe release." He flourished dramatically. "First: going up from our initial thought, we demand seven million yen in unmarked bills to be delivered to a soon to be disclosed location!"

Eraserhead blinked. Seven million was a fairly big ask, but Ingenium was a Hero from a long line of Heroes. And that wasn't the only thing Mastermind was demanding.

Sure enough the Villain cackled, spinning around to Ingenium. "The second thing we demand for his release is something only he can provide!"

Ingenium glared up at his captor defiantly. "And what is that you fiend?!"

Mastermind chuckled, then from a pouch on his belt he pulled out…

Eraserhead blinked. "...A pen and paper?"

Every other Hero seemed as nonplussed. Even the most experienced Heroes on the case were stunned.

"An autograph from Ingenium, dedicated to 'my biggest fan, Mastermind!' That is our second demand for your release, Ingenium!"

…

"How have we had so much trouble catching this guy again?" Present Mic asked. Eraserhead didn't answer, slapping a hand to his face in exasperation.

—

Ingenium stared up at his captors with wide eyes. Every time he thought he had Mastermind figured out, he did something like this to throw the Heroes once again. Calling him dastardly seemed to be too strong a descriptor, but… "An autograph? Really?"

"A unique, one of a kind autograph!" Mastermind cackled, showing the monogrammed sheet, special League of Supervillains logo in the corner. "I've even got a special stamp! When we sell it on the black market…" Thunder boomed as he laughed maniacally.

He glared back at his captor. "And what if I don't sign?"

Mastermind paused his theatrics, then whirled around. "Well, I guess I'd have to use the death trap, but I don't think anybody wants that."

Ingenium stared at Mastermind, an uneasy feeling bubbling in his gut. "...Death trap?"

The Supervillain seemed affronted. "Yes, a death trap. What do you take me for, a NON-Supervillain?" With the press of a remote, the floor underneath Ingenium suddenly opened, his chair suspended above a large vat of steaming green liquid. A thin bridge led from where he was sitting back to the rest of the warehouse, safety railings criminally absent.

Ingenium sighed as the smell hit him. "Is this a vat of Mountain Dew again?"

Mastermind seemed a bit shifty. "...Maybe?" When Ingenium kept staring at him he squirmed. "W-well, it's the most toxic substance I could get my hands on in relatively short notice," he muttered.

Ingenium kept staring at him. "I-I actually have a budget! And besides!" Mastermind suddenly flourished his boxy remote, finger above one of the three massive red buttons on it. "I added a special surprise!"

Dramatically, he slammed the button and a loud grinding sound came from the pool. Ingenium looked down, worried when he saw dark shapes flit in the depths. "W-what have you-"

"MWA-HAHAHA!" A huge shape leapt from the waters, a metallic shark with what seemed to be a laser emitter on its head. Ingenium stared at it as it soared through the air, gnashing its teeth.

As it splashed back in, Mastermind handed him a pen. "I'd advise you to get signing, Ingenium! Or you'll be swimming with the fishes!"

—

Eraserhead gave the screen a tired stare. "Robot sharks," he said flatly.

Next to him, Ms. Joke cackled. "They-they have lasers on their heads! He-he has sharks with frickin' laser beams!"

As she collapsed on the ground, Death Arms turned the calling card over in his hands. His eyes widened slightly as he saw some details. "Eraserhead? I think we have something."

Eraserhead looked at the card with a raised eyebrow. "Not this again."

Printed neatly on the back of the card were a couple of riddles, almost repeating the last time Mastermind had taken a hostage.

What's red and smells like blue paint?

What word in the English language becomes its own past tense by rearranging the letters?

I have no legs. I will never walk, but always run. What am I?

Present Mic hummed. "Let's see… Well, I know the second one - the answer's 'eat,' since you can rearrange it to 'ate'." Despite the serious nature of the situation he grinned. "It's nice to be dealing with a guy like Mastermind."

Eraserhead gave his friend a flat stare. "Present Mic, Ingenium is being held hostage by a man who built robot sharks and a ray gun that can both erase Quirks and forcibly activate them. Who also provoked a more murderous Villain to attack."

While Present Mic looked away, abashed, Ms. Joke nodded. "Don't worry, we're taking this as seriously as possible. Anyway, the first one's red paint."

He went to ask for clarification, only to run the riddle back in his head. He groaned. "And the last one?"

At that moment his phone buzzed in his pocket. Eraserhead took one look at the caller ID and groaned. He answered it. "Principal Nedzu-"

"The last answer is a river! No need to thank me! Just remember I'm watching!"

Present Mic looked at him oddly. "...Where is he watching us from?"

Ms. Joke shook her head. "Wherever you least expect it, if what I've heard about Nedzu is correct."

Eraserhead coughed. "So he gave us clues - red, ate and river. Apparently as some sort of clever hint to his location or the drop-off point."

Death Arms rubbed his brow. "It… might be a red building? But where could that be?"

"If you're having trouble, I'll speed up the process! Checking the map and directory, there is a red painted warehouse at 8 River Street!" Nedzu chuckled. "Follow standard procedure, get as big a police response as you can and set up a proper cordon, possibly coordinating with aerial Heroes to prevent them from flying away!"

With that, Nedzu hung up. Death Arms stared at the phone. "...What he said," he managed.

—

Ingenium glared at his captor defiantly as he reluctantly signed the piece of paper. Over him, Mastermind watched his every movement like a cat. "You'll never get away with this," he stated.

The Villain clapped, practically snatching the signature from him and putting it in a sealed plastic sleeve. "Oh, you are my favourite - and first - Hero hostage!" He paused. "Say, since you are my first Heroic hostage…" He pulled out a piece of card and punched a hole in it. "Here you go, Ingenium!"

Ingenium stared at the demented Villain, trying to figure out what the angle was. "What-"

"It's a Frequent Kidnapping Card!" Mastermind leaned in conspiratorially. "Don't tell the other Heroes, or they'll all want one."

He stared at the Villain. "...You're mad, Mastermind."

"No I'm not," Mastermind crossed his arms. The other Villains met Ingenium's eyes and made 'eh' signs with their hands.

Ingenium managed to recover. "The police and Heroes will be here any moment, and you can't get away from them all this time!"

Mastermind giggled. "Please, they won't figure out my clues at all, and they'll have to pay up-"

The warehouse door exploded, the other Villains suddenly jumping up in alarm. Ingenium couldn't help but smile. Justice would prevail today!

—

Mastermind turned around dramatically, stretching a hand out. "Curses, Heroes! How did you find my Evil Lair?!"

Privately he breathed a sigh of relief. He had gone to all this trouble and the Heroes had been about half an hour later than his projections had suggested. Maybe he should have sent the information directly to Nedzu?

No, that would have been too dangerous. If he provoked Nedzu's attention, then life was going to get substantially more difficult.

"Lacquered Chain Prison!" Was the response from Kamui Woods. A red ray of light hit the Hero then, neutralising his branches before they could spread. He stared at them, then backed up to let the police charge in, backed up by Death Arms and Eraserhead.

"Surrender, Mastermind!" Death Arms cried. "You've got nowhere to run!"

Mastermind shook a finger. "That was rude, Hero!" He turned to the camera. "Alright, I guess this broadcast is finished! And for those watching on HeroTube, don't forget to Like, Comment and ring the bell!"

"Are-are you seriously streaming right now?!" Inkblot demanded, tangling with Eraserhead. She tried to reach into her Cartoon Quirk, but nothing happened. She stared at her empty hand long enough for Eraserhead to snag her with his Capture Weapon.

Mastermind stared at Eraserhead, who had clearly been just on the edge of the Erase Ray. Either the ray hadn't worked or Eraserhead was naturally immune to his own Quirk's effects. "I was not expecting that! But then again, I expected not to expect something today so it doesn't count!"

"Nedzu already said that," Eraserhead said drily, clocking Inkblot well in the head. Mastermind breathed a slight sigh of relief when Inkblot took the dive, waiting for her opportunity to get out of Eraserhead's grasp.

The rest of the league of Supervillains had started responding already. La Brava and Stitch were already in the vehicle, and were guiding the robots to attack, their spider-like bodies charging the police. Kouro was sending blasts of fire at Kamui Woods, Backdraft appearing to extinguish them as quickly as they came. Golden Grin fired a blast of golden light at Present Mic, forcing the Hero to shift position. And Mr. Warp was running interference, 'warping' various items in to harry the Heroes and aid the League.

Mastermind couldn't help but beam as he charged in to clash with Eraserhead. He'd gotten the signature, so they would have made some profit today. Since it had been such a poorly timed event, he hadn't had much hope of getting the money anyway. Now they had to sell the menacing Villain act.

Still, he wondered if this was all the Heroes that would show up. Did a Supervillain of his stature only deserve this many?!

—

While all the fighting was happening, Odd Eye snuck through the chaos. He had his own dark mission to accomplish. While Mastermind and the fiendish League of Supervillains was occupied with fighting the Heroes, he was going to be handling the damsel in distress.

He sidled up to Ingenium's position, and carefully started to cut through the other Heros' ropes. "Don't be afraid, Ingenium! For I am not a Villain, but rather an anti-Hero-"

"That's nice and all, but can you cut me out faster?" Ingenium hissed. Odd Eye spared a glance at the battlefield and his eyes widened. Mastermind and his League had been busy, it seemed.

Mastermind had freed Inkblot and the rabbit themed Villainess was launching a barrage of punches at Death Arms, the electrically powered Hero managing to retaliate. The police were starting to get overrun by the spider bots, blobs of that containment foam of his hitting them and pinning them in place. The Mastermobile seemed to be gearing up to leave, with the Villains already making a fighting retreat back towards it.

"MWAHAHAHA! IS THIS THE BEST YOU FOOLISH HEROES CAN DO?!" Mastermind taunted Eraserhead, the other Hero cursing and being driven back by Mastermind's flamethrower.

Odd Eye cursed slightly, then saw Ingenium's eyes widening. "What's the matter, Ingenium-" He saw the huge robot shark coming at him and he saw what the problem was immediately.

With a manly shriek he leapt back, out of the path of its crushing jaws. But he had managed to get Ingenium's hands free. As Ingenium rubbed his wrists to try and get some feeling back into them, Odd Eye shot off to try and help. Seeing Eraserhead fighting, he saw a chance to potentially get valuable information from Mastermind and he darted forwards to reveal Mastermind's dark secrets.

Mastermind whirled around as Odd Eye came up, but it was too late. Odd Eye grinned triumphantly as he gripped Mastermind's helmet. "Reveal your inner darkness, Villain!"

—

Mastermind couldn't react before Odd Eye's hand clamped onto his head. What secret would come out? Would it be his other projects? His fated rivalry with Kacchan? Or would it be his name?

Fortunately or unfortunately, as embarrassing as it would be to reveal any of that, there were other embarrassing secrets he had and Odd Eye hadn't had the time to focus on anything pertinent. Mind Reaper managed to pull on one that had been buried deep and pulled it to the light.

And so Mastermind shouted, "I want to lick the sweat from Mirko's abs!"

The battlefield froze, Heroes staring at him. Golden Grin winced with Gentle Criminal from the door to the Mastermobile. Inkblot shook her head with a slight grin. "Like that was a secret," she sighed.

Mastermind's visor glowed bright red as he flushed. Ever since Mirko had come onto the scene she had captured the imagination. And he was a teenage boy, how was he supposed to react when extremely attractive rabbit women with thighs that could crack rocks (he knew, he had the video proof that made him sweat profusely just thinking about it) came onto the Hero scene? "Um-"

"Mirko detected heading to this position. Mastermind Full Cowling engaged."

At that statement, Mastermind suddenly stopped. Even the other Heroes paused, warily backing away as Mastermind's armour lit up to engage with a member of the Top Ten. "Uh oh."

Frantically he shoved Odd Eye off, turning to run to the Mastermobile. The rest of the League was similarly moving, panic crossing their faces. Inkblot even stretched her arm out and rocketed towards it like a certain rubber themed Pirate. "Bail, bail, bail, BAIL-"

"FOUND YA!"

And Mastermind was forced to brace as Mirko crashed through the skylight above, delivering an axe kick that crashed into his arms. Not for the first time, Mastermind thanked everything that his armour was able to absorb so much kinetic energy - otherwise he would have popped and the gig would have been up.

Mirko grinned savagely. "You made this armour to fight the Top Ten, didn'tcha?! So get ready for the stress test of a lifetime!" Her grin widened. "I got disappointed when all those Noumu got taken out, but this'll do nicely!"

Mastermind did his best not to scream like a little girl as he threw Mirko off him. "O-okay, Heroes, you may have beaten us right now-" Mirko bounced back pretty much immediately and he was forced to block again, slamming her with her own kinetic energy as he desperately started to run for the Mastermobile. "SoanywayIhavetogorightnowandyouhaven'theardthelastoftheLeagueofSupervillains-"

"Where do you think you're going?!" Mirko shot forwards, and Mastermind's eyes widened when he saw her aiming for the Mastermobile! "LUNA ARC!"

Hastily he managed to get there just before she smashed the engine to nothing. "Do you want to level the block?!" He cried.

Mirko paused, her bloodthirsty expression changing for one of disbelief. "Wait, that's a thing that could happen?!"

"Yes! It's powered by a plasma reactor~ It's heavily armoured for a reason!"

She stared, then her grin returned. "Okay, that just makes me want to kick your ass even more!"

"MASTERMIND! GIVE UP NOW!" Death Arms yelled, already running after them.

"Please don't!" Mirko yelled cheerfully. "I'm just getting started!"

A nervous giggle passed Mastermind's lips. "W-well, Heroes, I-I guess you win the day-" Mirko tried to kick his head off and he was forced to duck. Quickly whipping out his Freeze Ray, Mirko was forced to bounce backwards as he covered the surroundings in ice. "-But we have a daring escape to make!" He hammered on the roof. "Faster, faster, FASTER-"

Mirko cursed, jumping on and tearing the back door of the van off. Inside, Golden Grin screamed shrilly. Inkblot whipped out what looked like a cartoon blunderbuss and fired it at the Heroine, knocking her away with the force of a cannon. Mastermind hastily threw himself in, and the vehicle sped off.

Growling, Mirko chased after them. "Get back here, Mastermind!"

Mastermind pulled himself into the front. "Quick, hit the Eurobeat button!"

Gentle Criminal didn't ask questions, sweat beading on his brow. He quickly slammed the large red button on the dashboard labelled 'EUROBEAT'.

Do you like, My car?

Mastermind nodded once, turning back to see Mirko bounding towards them. "FREEZE RAY!" Blasts of ice blue light shot out, trying and failing to peg the Heroine. "Uh, Golden Grin?"

Whimpering, Golden Grin warmed up a blast and fired it at Mirko. He then boggled as she ducked under his attack and shot forwards. "Can we panic now?" He squeaked. Kouro nodded in agreement, hands clenched on the side of his seat.

Mastermind wanted to panic, but he had some remaining tricks up his sleeve. As Mirko jumped up, he threw a confoam grenade at her. The rabbit Heroine's eyes widened as the thick green foam closed around her, sending her tumbling to the ground.

Panting, Mastermind turned to the side. "Step on it, Gentle! That won't hold her for long!" Even as he'd deployed it, he'd seen the foam stretching as it did its best to contain a feral rabbit woman. Gentle Criminal floored it, a nervous look on his face.

Police sirens sounded up ahead, but they had prepared for that. The Mastermobile switched to its flying mode, and Mastermind reached for the controls, Gentle Criminal managing to crawl out of the way. With the press of a button, the Mastermobile's springs contracted and then unleashed coiled force, sending the Mastermobile into the air. Its rocket booster flared just as Mirko rounded the corner, pieces of confoam dripping off her.

With a feral roar she rocketed towards them, Air Jet appearing to try and take them out. However, Gentle Criminal had already swiped his hand through the air, his Quirk working on where they had been only a second ago. Mirko cursed as she stretched on an invisible rubbery surface, before being shot backwards. Gentle managed a grin before having to quickly make another barrier as Air Jet fired a blast of compressed air at them.

Mastermind quickly deployed a smokescreen, thick green smoke pouring from the back of the vehicle. Another couple of button presses, and the Mastermobile's holographic disguise slotted in place, a drone popping out with its own hologram emitter activating. As they quickly gunned it to a different part of Musutafu Mastermind had to hope that it would be enough.

In the back seats, Golden Grin and Gentle Criminal sucked in deep breaths. La Brava and Inkblot looked over at Mastermind, the shorter Villainess summing the night up. "Well… that was a bust."

Mastermind shrugged, grip white knuckled. "True, but at least nobody got captured. I'd call that a win in my book."

—

Ingenium sighed, looking over at Death Arms. "Good to see you again, Death Arms."

Death Arms looked him over. "Did they hurt you?"

He shook his head. "Not really. Mastermind tried to get me to join his League with one of the most cliched speeches I've ever heard and they kept putting aluminium cans in the glass recycling bin-"

"What?"

"-But apart from that and not having any grapefruit juice to fuel my engines I'm fine." Ingenium looked up as Mirko came in, covered in pieces of that strange chemical foam. "How are you-"

Her pupils were mere pinpricks. "The first good fight I've had in ages and he just… runs away!" Ingenium leaned away slightly as Mirko cracked her knuckles. "When he pops up again, I'm getting my rematch!"

Despite Mastermind's general attitude, Ingenium felt a bit of pity for him. He stood up, slightly shakily. Despite having a relatively clean bill of health, he still felt drained - a side effect of not drinking any grapefruit juice for a week. "Okay, I need to call my family, tell them I'm alright-"

"BIG BROTHER!"

He had a split second warning before Tenya crashed into him, wrapping him in a hug. Tensei grabbed his brother in a hug as well, managing a grin. "I'm sorry for worrying you, Tenya."

Tenya sniffled, tears in his eyes. "I-I was so worried! We-we all were! I'm just - I'm just so happy you're okay!"

Mount Lady gave them a small smile. "So… You want to make your statement later?"

Ingenium had a lot of responsibilities to deal with, even now. He had to get back to Team Idaten and hand over the data that was hopefully still stored in his costume's hard drive. Tensei, however, was tired. He gave a short nod and Mount Lady left the brothers to organise with the police.

Maybe justice had lost a chance to capture a Villain. But right now, seeing his brother in the flesh, Tensei felt like he'd won.

Especially since he had valuable intel on the League of Supervillain's other member.

AN: Sorry this took so long!

I mentioned it in my other fic, but I got COVID literally on Christmas Day and felt like crap for most of the week. Then I had a lot of family stuff on, and between enjoying gifts and laziness I wasn't able to finish this in a timely manner.

So! Ingenium managed to get free and he has information on the League! This was a slog to get through but now it's over I can get to some of the fun scenes I want to write!

Here's to the next year of Villain Notebook! In all honesty I didn't expect this to get as big as it has. Thank you for all your comments and interest, it really means a lot to me. You're all great.

Given how much time and effort I'm putting in, I am considering making a to get some extra spending cash. Being completely honest my writing process is 'fuck around and find out,' so I have no idea how to properly set up a scheme for it but I'll find out.

As always, thank Banchoking for helping me edit this fic.

Next time… We come back from Internships, stronger, wiser (?) and feeling a bit Genghis Khan!

Please comment, for it gives me ideas/motivation!