Disclaimer: I do not own My Hero Academia. Original characters are in a sort of grey area but whatever.
Fuyumi took a deep breath as the League of Supervillains stood back in the empty stretch of countryside, Quirk approved thanks to La Brava's computer wizardry. "So… how much data do you need on my Quirk?"
"Everything!" Midoriya beamed at her. "Oh, Quirks are just fascinating!" His grin widened, turning into something more demonic. "And getting the chance to see a new Quirk up close… Oh, I can't wait!"
Fuyumi saw the rest of the League shudder. "Okay… So what should we start with?"
Midoriya seemed to snap out of his manic phase. "Well, I want to hear a basic description of your Quirk.
She nodded, running down her Quirk. "Well, given my family's genetics, I got an uneven version of my mother's Quirk. I can make huge quantities of ice in a matter of seconds, just like my brothers."
Fuyumi hesitated but managed to power through. "I also inherited both my mother and father's temperature resistance."
Their family's messed up Quirk factors was no small source of irony. She got an extra temperature resistance while Touya inherited the wrong one.
Midoriya gave her a slightly nervous look, then continued making notes. "Alright, now I want to see what your maximum output is. Just to see how much I can help you with Support gear, that kind of thing."
Fuyumi considered it, then shrugged. It did make sense that he wanted to see what she was capable of before committing to any plans. As she got ready, she paused. "I've never really pushed myself to the full limits of my Quirk before."
Golden Grin, well, grinned at her. "You want some help with that?" My personal advice is to imagine the surrounding area as things you hate!"
La Brava smacked him. "That's terrible advice!"
"No it isn't! Just let it all go, girl!" Inkblot cheered.
Fuyumi really thought about it, pulling on anger. It wasn't an emotion she felt that much, or at least could express healthily. "Endeavour," she said.
"Yes, good!" Inkblot gave her a thumbs up.
"The board of education!" Fuyumi shouted.
"Nice?" Golden Grin said, backing away from her as the air chilled.
"Entitled parents who act like their kids are the only ones who matter!" Fuyumi screamed.
"Okay, I think you're angry enough." Gentle Criminal turned to the others with a worried look. "Well, now that you've built up, maybe try using your Quirk now."
Fuyumi blinked, the anger momentarily abating. "Oh! Right!" With a wave of her hand, her Quirk activated…
Two Weeks later…
Driving in the Mastermobile, disguised by a holographic projection of a different car, Mastermind turned to face his newest recruit with a comforting smile on his unmasked face. "How are you feeling? Nervous?"
Fuyumi swallowed, looking down at her outfit. "Honestly, a bit," she said.
Next to her, Kouro put a hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, so was I. I was so nervous - I didn't know what to do with myself."
"...So was I when I first started," Mastermind confessed. When Fuyumi gave him a disbelieving look he nodded. "It's true! Underneath all my bravado, I was just a deeply insecure, Quirkless kid! Hell, I gave myself the wrong name - I planned to call myself 'All Mind,' but I only remembered when I got home after the heist. I thought about changing it, but..." He shrugged.
In spite of herself she chuckled. She could see Mastermind doing something like that. "Maybe you should try to change your name now. All Mind suits you better."
"It's been over a year now. I can't change how I present myself. Besides, I kind of like it!" Mr. Warp suddenly stopped the car just outside their destination. Snapping his helmet into place, Mastermind looked at her with a demented smile behind his mask. "Well, Todoroki-san? Are you ready for your debut?"
She grinned, pulling on her mask and getting ready to step out of the car. "Please, Mastermind… Call me Lady de Winter."
—
Mount Lady flashed a grin at the cameras, panting slightly. She had seen a group of Villains trying to get away from stealing from a store and had figuratively and quite literally stepped in. Though it was a bit frustrating, since she now had to do the paperwork for this newly resolved incident. God, there was so much paperwork for doing anything remotely Heroic. "Don't worry people! Mount Lady, coming in clutch!"
While it was a bit muted compared to her debut, the crowd cheered, happy to see Villains being thwarted. A couple of… devoted fans on the outskirts stared at the Villains with clear envy.
Underneath her foot, the frustrated crooks groaned. One of them with a set of cartoonishly oversized arms grit his teeth. "Damn… I thought she was a fuckin' joke-"
Her smile twitched as she turned to look at them. "Oh, me and my teammates have trouble with Mastermind, true. But here's the thing…" Her grin widened. "You're not exactly the League of Supervillains, are you?"
With that, the crowd of people nodded, cameras flashing. A little girl in a Mount Lady costume cheered, raising her arms up. "Say the thing!"
"Come, Villains! Face our supercool justice!" Mount Lady managed to get out without sounding embarrassed to the groans of the Villains she had captured. That was the hardest thing about fighting Mastermind - it wasn't that Mastermind kept beating Heroes or the looks that the HPSC representative gave you, though those were steadily decreasing as Mastermind kept making Heroes look like fools.
The methods that they had found worked on Mastermind tended to be campy and cheesy. Though admittedly Kamui Woods spouted those lines naturally and with no embarrassment. Which was a point against him despite him being cute under the mask-
Point was, it made it hard to be perceived as competent when people associated you with those catchphrases. It stung a bit that people didn't think her and the others stuck investigating Mastermind were good Heroes - she was a fully trained Hero after all! And almost a year and a half of chasing Mastermind and his League had taught her a lot and developed what she already knew to razor sharp levels.
Admittedly, it didn't seem that way to the general public when they heard about all the corrupt shit businesses and people were doing. They had managed to save some face by arresting the guilty parties and doing follow-up investigations, legitimising the claims that Mastermind and his League had made and occasionally turning up evidence Mastermind hadn't revealed. Not to mention the fact that Heroes weren't often associated with the kinds of corruption cases Mastermind brought up.
Not that that stopped critics from getting angry that they couldn't just beat a bunch of definitely A or S-Rank Villains like the League. Armchair Heroics was always an annoying thing to deal with no matter what you were investigating. Even though a large number of their critics had quietened down after the League evaded Mirko, a vocal minority of people harassed them about it.
As the police cuffed the Villains involved and she got to signing photos both risque and not, her phone beeped. Looking at the notification, she winced and bowed politely, an apologetic smile on her face. "Sorry to cut this short, but the League of Super Villains has struck again!"
At least it was nearby this time, only five minutes away. Then she and the rest of the Taskforce wouldn't be chewed out not apprehending them when they were an hour away from Musutafu.
Her little fan gave her a gap-toothed grin. "Go take them out, Mount Lady!"
She smiled at the little girl gently, making sure to sign the girl's doll before she hurried off. "Don't worry, we will!"
With that, Mount Lady ran to the train. Even though she and the rest of the taskforce had other jobs to do, somehow she just knew that the HPSC would blame them for Mastermind getting away. Never mind that Mastermind had broken out of U.A's security system, they had to be there all the same.
Death Arms and Kamui Woods met her gaze with matching determined frowns as they shot off. Mount Lady sighed. "At least it's in Musutafu this time," she griped.
Kamui Woods nodded seriously. "Still, we must strive to snuff out this nefarious Villain wherever he shows up. Justice shall prevail!"
Mount Lady sighed. "You're lucky you're cute."
—
"MWA-HAHAHA!" The doors to the bank were knocked in, a cloud of green smoke spreading. Mastermind strode forwards, his cloak fluttering dramatically in an artificial wind and flanked by Inkblot and Gentle Criminal. Various workers and civilians shouted in terror, though a couple snapped photos of Mastermind on their phones.
Gentle Criminal bowed politely to the receptionist. "Pardon me, ma'am, we have a small announcement to make to the building. Would you be so good as to put us on speaker?"
"S-sure?" The Receptionist hesitantly held out the microphone to Gentle Criminal.
"Thank you, ma'am. Mastermind, would you do the honours?" Gentle Criminal tossed the microphone over to the shorter, armoured Supervillain.
"Thank you, Gentle Criminal!" Mastermind snatched the microphone out of the air. "Attention, peons! We have come here to steal some money to fund our Supervillain lifestyle! Please, do not resist and lie on the ground, and we'll be gone before you know it!"
He paused, before waving a hand to the window. "Oh, and I have another announcement! I know that the world has been begging for more members to join the League of Supervillains! Well, you asked, and I delivered!"
—
Fuyumi took a deep breath as she heard Mastermind over the comms. "Never a dull moment with him, is there?"
Next to her, Kouro nodded. "Oh, no. Maybe my life before meeting him was safer but it was a hell of a lot less interesting."
The layers of her costume shifted. "I could have done without the whole… experimentation thing."
"Call it a hazard of the job." Kouro said.
She shuddered slightly. Yeah, that was one job hazard she could live without…
Two weeks earlier…
"Oh, there's so many options to go with!" Mastermind beamed at her, his grin seeming to stretch from ear to ear. Pieces of equipment and tools were strewn around as he chattered. "I've got so much beautiful Support gear to test!"
"Aheh…" Fuyumi slowly backed away. The look on his face made her feel like she was being hunted.
Various pieces of tech were pulled out and then put back as he cheerfully spoke rapidly. "See, knowing how your Quirk works I've got these overclocked heating coils, and this computer doesn't have an internal fan to increase data and processing capacity since you can keep it cooled for maximum efficiency andthisarmourusessoftroboticstoflexand-"
"M-maybe I don't need all those fancy bells and whistles in my costume?" Fuyumi tried. Mastermind stopped his ranting as she continued., "I-I mean, I could have some hold-out stuff for an emergency. And with the rest of the League with me-"
A pair of gloved hands clapped on her shoulders. Turning, she saw Golden Grin and Inkblot staring at her with dead eyes. Gentle Criminal and La Brava gave her more sympathetic looks. "You'll get used to it," they all chorused.
Her left eye twitched as she sought a way out. Then Mastermind's hand clasped onto hers with inescapable force. A shark-like grin crossed his face. "It's time for SCIENCE!"
All thought of using her Quirk left her mind. She could only scream in terror as the green-haired gremlin descended upon her, laughing like a maniac.
The rest of the League watched from a safe distance. "We should really help her," La Brava mumbled. Despite her words, she didn't go forward while Fuyumi was strapped into an exoskeleton.
Inkblot nodded with a small smile. "Yeah, we'll get in there in about… five minutes. I think Izuku'll have worn himself out by then."
The Present…
Shaking her head one more time, she squared her shoulders as Mastermind spoke.
"Please, you think that I wouldn't see the increasing response of Heroes against our harmless League of Supervillains?! Think again!"
A part of her screamed that what she was doing was insane, that this was ridiculous. That she shouldn't make a scene, that she was going to get caught and then she wouldn't be able to help her siblings or students. It was outweighed by the part of her that didn't want to deal with any more bullshit from the Education Minister and Endeavour, that had taken on too many responsibilities in too short a time because the alternative was collapsing.
Most of her life she had to be the responsible one. The reasonable one, the person that Endeavour and her brothers leaned on whether they knew it or not. She had given up a lot of her personal life just to make sure that Natsuo and Shouto got something resembling a normal life.
Didn't she need a break?
She strode forwards, heeled boots clacking. Checking to make sure that her mask was in place, she got ready to make a scene.
—
The computer in his helmet beeped. "Your newest recruit had just gotten out of the car, Mastermind."
Mastermind grinned behind his mask as the employees of the bank looked confused. "Well, I have a new member of the League to introduce to you fine people and our devoted subscribers on HeroTube! INTRODUCING…"
A drumroll sounded from his speakers. He waved to the main doorway. The camera bot swung around with him as the doors suddenly frosted over, delicate fractals spreading out over the ground in a way similar to a carpet.
The woman who came through those doors wore a black jumpsuit, with a black dress coat reaching down to ankle height. Bright white LED light shone from the dress, solid lines radiating out from the logo on her chest - a six-pointed snowflake in a circle. These lines stretched out to white wedge heeled boots, a glowing fur trim on the end of the coat and her sleeves. A similar snowflake design on her gloved palms completed an elegant, almost sexy, yet deadly cold look.
"LADY DE WINTER!" Mastermind cried, waving her over.
Bone white hair swept just over her shoulders, topped with a five pronged crown made of ice. Light blue eyes glittered behind a Venetian mask that hugged her upper face, pure white with black snowflakes picked out around her eyes. The air around her fogged up as she smiled at the employees cheerfully. "Hello Japan! I'm here to chill you to the core!"
"HA! Ice puns!" Mastermind's newly implemented AI said.
"Not now, Notou," Mastermind murmured. "...But it was a good pun."
She turned that polite, teacherly smile over on the receptionist. "Thank you for assisting my debut," Lady de Winter bowed politely to the receptionist.
Privately, Mastermind was really happy with how her costume had turned out. It wasn't easy to hold back on a new costume but he had managed it with the help of his friends!
—
One week ago…
Izuku wiped his hands clean, pulling a lever. "Well, Todoroki-san, BEHOLD! Your new costume!"
The rest of the League looked over it appreciatively. Todoroki - or maybe Fuyumi since she was one of the League now - ran her hand over it softly. "This - this is beautiful," she quietly muttered.
"Not just beautiful, but stylish as well!" Izuku grinned, tapping the insignia. "Regarding how your Quirk works, I had to design this for both practical movement and to accommodate your Quirk! This costume is as heavily armoured as you can get without putting on full plate since you requested mobility, the headset is tough and can connect with the rest of the team easily and the heating system is state of the art! In fact, it clocks up to higher temperatures than a non-heat resistant person would need since you also resist high temperatures!"
Todoroki looked it over. "Why not a full dress? I know I asked for-"
"I know, I know!" Izuku said. He rapped the mannequin that the suit was modelled on. "But full dresses aren't good for your mobility. So I decided to go with a dress coat and jumpsuit." He had measured Todoroki to get accurate measurements. He spent the whole time worried htat Endeavour would somehow drop in and Prominence Burn him.
"And what's that for?" Todoroki said, pointing to the rather dingy looking bottles labelled 'Hair dye.'
He tapped a small bottle. "This is the other part of the disguise - it's a water soluble hair dye. Washes out really easily. I can't say I invented it but this is a brand that Gentle and I use when we're disguising ourselves."
Izuku had to thank BlueFlames for the recommendation all those years ago. If he ever met the guy he'd have to shake his hand for both hating Endeavour and the nice, affordable quality hair dye. "And… that's the basics! I added some extra self-defence stuff - minor strength enhancing exoskeleton in the coat, some soft robots to harden it to serve as armour, standard stuff."
He beamed at her. "So, what do you think of the costume?"
Todoroki gave him a concerned look. "No, this is perfect! You should get some sleep though. You look like you need it."
"I don't need sleep-" Izuku cut himself off with a yawn. He couldn't help it! Ever since Todoroki had shown what her Quirk was capable of, Izuku had been working on her gear without a break. His work had been so intense he had decided to actually implement his new AI buddy in his helmet.
After studying the AI Cores that U.A had used and his success using them for his D.E.K.U Units, Izuku had finally caved and decided to add an assistant to the Master Computer and suit. Mostly for mass production of his robot spiders.
"Notou, tell them I'm fine-" He yawned again .
"You need to rest up, Mastermind," Notou gently chided.
Todoroki shook her head with a small smile. Inkblot carefully went over to grab Izuku as Todoroki looked over her costume again. "Okay, I think that you need a nap, Mastermind."
"M' not tired-"
As soon as Inkblot deposited him on the couch, Izuku was out like a light.
—
Lady de Winter had to admit, Mastermind's statement about her costume not chafing was absolutely correct.
She looked at the various cashiers and the members of the public still in the building. "It'd be 'ice' if you gave our League some money to fund our operations. Our existing accounts have frozen and we need some extra cash. Would you mind?" she said politely. Shaking, the cashier started handing money over to Mr. Warp as he held up a comically oversized bag with a yen symbol on it.
Gentle Criminal waved her over to the vault. "We can't get this door open. Would you mind terribly?"
Nodding, Fuyumi held her hand on the vault. Frost spread from her touch, covering the door. The hinges of the vault creaked and groaned under the force before Gentle Criminal nodded. Taking out his pocket watch, he started to cut through the hinges, easily snapping them in twain. "Terribly sorry!" He called as the vault door fell forwards, only to half bounce on an invisible platform in the air.
But while Gentle Criminal and Kouro methodically scooped money into sacks, she saw a notification in the corner of her eye. From how Mastermind and the others seemed to stiffen, she wasn't the only one. Lady de Winter opened her mouth to say something-
"Don't worry too much, Lady de Winter," La Brava's voice cut through the air. "We've got your back! We just stick to the plan and everything will be alright."
Lady de Winter smiled upon hearing that. "Oh, good."
Gentle Criminal grinned, tapping the ground. "Mr. Warp! Heads up!"
The sack of money bounced off the now springy ground, flying through the air and into Mr. Warp's waiting hands. With a puff of purple smoke, the bags had apparently vanished. Lady de Winter had to admit it was a really clever way to hide what Mr. Warp's Quirk actually was.
As they made their way out, Mastermind cheerfully talking to the camera, La Brava's voice came through on the headsets, more nervously. "...That being said, there's… a lot of Heroes coming near. How do you feel about giving them an impromptu Winter Wonderland?"
Underneath her suit and skin, Fuyumi felt her Quirk itch to be released. She bared her teeth. "It's time for the Heroes to have a snow day," she purred.
—
Kamui Woods stared at the bank doors anxiously before shaking his anxiety off. "Surrender, Villains! Come out with your hands up as you face our supercool justice!" He shouted dramatically.
Unfortunately, the League of Super Villains was not willing to play ball like that.
A new Villainess strode forth with the rest of the League and Kamui Woods couldn't help but stare with the rest of the Heroes around them.
"The name is Lady de Winter!" She cheerfully introduced herself. "I don't suppose you Heroes would be cool and surrender, leaving us to our dark business?"
As one, the Heroes got ready for the League's assault. Kamui Woods glanced over at Mount Lady as the heroine squared up in her enlarged state.
She smirked, shrugging dramatically. All around, Kamui Woods could swear that the air got colder. "Figures. Well, Hellfrost will help you Heroes learn-"
Kamui Woods glared at her, preparing a Lacquered Chain Prison to secure this newest Villainess. "Please, surrender peacefully! Let's not commit senseless violence-"
"-how to chill out."
His branches lashed out just as her foot stamped on the ground. Unfortunately, it was too late.
—
Two weeks ago…
Izuku stared at the scene. One second, there had been a relatively happy mountain, no abnormal weather. The next, there was an iceberg in front of him, towering above the trees and blotting out the sun. "Incredible…" he breathed.
The rest of the League stared at the ice with him. Gentle Criminal in particular seemed stunned. "This is…"
Todoroki took deep breaths, seeming slightly winded. "That's the biggest blast I can do."
Golden Grin stared at her. "And you said you've never trained seriously…"
She shrugged awkwardly. "Well, I never really wanted to be a Hero in the first place - not since my father's obsession with being the Number One Hero took over," she said bitterly.
Izuku and the rest of the League winced. "If you want us to help humiliate Endeavour…" Izuku began.
"...Maybe later," Todoroki said. She shrugged. "My feelings about my father are complicated."
The League looked at Izuku, who shrugged. "Right! So, how's your control?" Izuku asked.
To answer, Todoroki made a small gesture with her hand. Her ice shattered, and Izuku was astonished to see nothing more than residual damage on the trees nearby. "Mother taught me and Natsuo how to control our ice." She frowned as she saw a tree keel over. "...Though bigger blasts aren't as controlled."
"That's to be expected!" Izuku grinned, taking a look at the ice all around. "But we can work on that."
—
One second the world was normal. Then a superchilled blast of air came crashing towards Kamui Woods, accompanied by a flow of ice like giant ice cubes stacked together. Kamui Woods flung his Chain Prison out, trying to hold the barrage of ice back before it caught the other Heroes but it barely slowed the chilling onslaught. He grit his teeth - about the only thing worse for his Arbor Quirk was fire - the sap in his wooden limbs was hardening, going sluggish.
But as a Hero, he had to push through the hardest situations. Out of the corner of his eyes he saw several Heroes splitting off, ducking down side streets to try and capture the League of Supervillains from a different angle.
Mount Lady tried to help him hold the ice back, a couple of fire themed Heroes blasting their fire. But in the face of an icy assault like that, their efforts were comparable to bailing out a ship with a thimble.
As it finally ground to a halt, Kamui Woods panted, gritting his teeth. The same vegetable strength that could push a new sprout through frozen solid soil pulsed through his branches and he managed to break free of the thin sheet of ice holding them in place.
Mount Lady shrunk down to regular size, rubbing her arms and wincing. "That's almost cold enough to burn," she said.
"She wasn't kidding about it being Hellfrost," Kamui Woods muttered. "Still, we must thwart these nefarious ne'er do wells!"
—
Fuyumi felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders as she let her Quirk out. She took a deep breath, before looking at the devastation she had wrought. "...Wow," she said, eyes wide with amazement.
A huge stretch of blue-white ice blocked the main street. It shot upwards in vaguely rectangular prisms. She felt a stab of guilt at potentially hurting Heroes and innocents, but managed to shove it down. Two weeks of practice with these mega blasts of ice had improved her fine control. If she didn't want to freeze something, it wouldn't get frozen.
Is this what Shouto feels when he uses his ice? Does my father get this release like I do? She wondered.
The rest of the League moved quickly, loading the most conspicuous of the giant bags of money into the Mastermobile. Mastermind grinned, patting her on the shoulder. "Not bad, Lady de Winter! Now, it's time to make our escape. If you would?"
Blinking, Fuyumi nodded. As a group of Heroes came down a different way, she flared her Quirk again, the heating in her costume starting to kick in. This time, she threw out a much thinner layer, covering the street ahead. As the camera bot floated around them, she smiled. "Well, I've personally had a great 'rime', but we need to go! Lady de Winter of the League of Supervillains, signing off!"
Mastermind grinned at the camera. "Oh, no, an icy road! A terrible predicament. Except…"
The Mastermobile fired up. Thick spikes suddenly came from the tires as the League poured in. Mastermind bowed to the camera, arms spread theatrically wide. "NOT!" He shouted as he spotted Mount Lady and Kamui Woods heading towards them.
The giant Heroine shook a fist. "Don't you try anything! Just give yourselves up already!"
Mastermind leaped into the car, looking over at Golden Grin. "Apologies, Heroes, but we can't wait!"
As their vehicle sped off, spikes punching through the thin layer of ice in front of them, Mastermind turned back to Lady de Winter. Idly he pulled out his own Freeze Ray and aimed it carefully out the window, firing a blast of ice at Mount Lady's foot as she made it over. "So, how do you find being a Supervillain?" He asked.
She let out a sigh of happiness mixed with tiredness. "Nerve-wracking, exhausting…" Lady de Winter stuck a hand out of the window, starting to release ice to form a ramp. The flight mode activated, and she giggled slightly as she heard the Heroes outside start shouting and trying to melt the ice. Good luck with that.
"...and freeing," she finished as the Mastermobile shot into the air. Looking down at Musutafu, she appreciated her handiwork once more, the giant mass of ice that stretched halfway down a main street. Small blasts of fire were already starting to melt it, but it would be a while before it could be cleared.
Golden Grin hastily breathed a laser at Air Jet, the Hero having to dive out of the way, hand on his headset. He turned back, a thumbs up. "Yeah, there's nothing quite like it!" He shouted.
"A fine debut, Lady de Winter," Gentle Criminal bowed, before gesturing to the dozen or so Heroes running and shouting, police cars forming a blockade. "Inkblot, would you mind assisting me?" He said.
Inkblot saluted. "You got it!" She beamed.
Lady de Winter winced, eyes wide. "Do… you want me to help?"
"Relax, we'll be fine!" Inkblot pulled out her mallet, before diving down to start clearing a path for the Mastermobile, Gentle Criminal following. Fuyumi watched nervously, then took a deep breath.
Lady de Winter fell into the fray, a carefree smile on her face.
—
And so the last heist before the I-Island Expo went off without a hitch! Our newest member had an incredible debut and we made off with a staggering amount of money from robbing a bank. Not to mention boosting our reputation thanks to Lady de Winter.
I have to admit, Todoroki-san was really knowledgeable about Hero tactics - apparently she used to overhear Endeavour yelling things out to Todoroki while they trained.
…I think I know too many Todorokis.
Of course, me and the League knew that we had to improve. After all, one of our own had been hurt by the Number Two Hero. Before, trying to steal his painting was just business. Now, it was personal.
But before that happened, I had to prepare for I-Island with Mei and Melissa! After all, we had all been given passes to present items at the Expo itself. And even though I spent the lion's share of my inventing genius on Mastermind's gadgets, I had a few that simply didn't suit his style.
I-Island… I was just happy to go there again. It was like a home away from home. I could only hope that the expo would go well!
—
In a nondescript room, a red-haired man with scars on his face grinned. His right hand man and hacker Bartmoss looked over at him. "Penny for your thoughts, Wolfram."
Wolfram looked up. "Just been thinking… How much do you think we could get for this piece?"
The hacker hummed, pulling out his laptop and typing. "Conservatively and knowing certain pressures, the Americans would pay at least five million US but might go as high as twenty. Star and Stripe had been almost as bad for business over there as All Might in Japan."
Wolfgang grunted. "That's if it works."
Bartmoss shrugged, looking through other dark web listings. "We going to pay our insider trader?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. We're going to give him his cut of the money, set him up with a supermodel and ship him off to Hawaii," Wolfgang replied.
They stared at each other before laughing their heads off.
—
In an abandoned aquarium, a tall, dark haired man in a suit adjusted the light grey helmet he wore as he looked over the information sent his way. "Hm… what an interesting device."
His bodyguard Bearhead grunted, clawed fingers itching to tear something apart. "So, are we going to try taking it?"
"Of course we are," Curator said. "With this, we can grind humanity beneath our heels, under my glorious leadership."
"... Sounds good…" Zookeeper said. She stared blankly ahead, clutching a mop.
Curator stood up. "Get the rest of my underlings. It's time for the Wild Villains to take our rightful place at the top of the food chain."
Bearhead bared his teeth. "Got it, Curator."
"...Can I get back to cleaning? I like cleaning…" Zookeeper said dreamily, mop primed.
—
"HOT DAMN!" Maguma shouted, looking at the specific details he had been given. His quirk spurted from his body, melting holes in the warehouse floor.
Konako poked her head around the corner. Sports bra and panties paired with a combat holster on. "So we're going for it?"
"OF COURSE THE VOLCANO THIEVES ARE GOING FOR IT!" Maguma stomped around, a huge grin on his face. "JUST THINK ABOUT THE MONEY AND POWER IT COULD BRING!"
"Boss, I don't want to deal with tinnitus as well as tenosynovitis," Tsumuji complained. "I'm not disagreeing about the heist but could you quiet down-"
Maguma grinned manically, his temperature gauge overheating. "MONEY! POWER! FRIED CHICKEN! IT'S ALL OURS FOR THE TAKING!"
Konako matched the boss' grin. "I guess it's been a while since our last heist…"
Using his powers, a small explosion of magma poured from the floor. "THEY SAY THAT I-ISLAND IS IMPREGNABLE?! THERE HASN'T BEEN A FORTRESS THAT THE VOLCANO THIEVES COULDN'T BREAK INTO!"
—
…In hindsight, I really shouldn't have jinxed it.
AN: Sorry for the delays!
This mutated quite a bit from my usual plan. I wrote out an outline, changed things, and dropped a bit that I'll have to do later… It didn't feel right doing it otherwise. For a while this fic has been hard to do. So I'm going to take a break from writing this for a while and I might do some other bits and bobs.
So here is Fuyumi's debut! Funnily, Fuyumi is the character who changed the most. Her outfit, its functions… even how her Quirk functions! There's a bit more to Fuyumi's Quirk than has been seen here but that's for future chapters. Now that I've got a firm fix on who Fuyumi is, exactly, I can push on to other chapters.
And it seems like Izuku's I-Island expo is going to be interesting. Hopefully none of these disreputable types make it past the first checkpoint.
A warm thank you to Banchoking for editing this mess, and for people on the Discord ( link here: /BBVa2xFsTf) who got to see this in its raw state. Please comment and continue to give me ideas to make this better.
Next time, it's going to be Celebrations and Investigations! See you then!