When Curious said she wanted to know everything about Izuku, she really did mean everything. That first night had been exhausting, all the questions and the constant change in the video feed showing his mother as she left the police station and went to a hotel, had left Izuku feeling like a hollow shell of himself. By the time Curious paused and saved that first recording, the sun was already illuminating the sky. Curious had escorted him to one of the rooms on that same floor, told him to rest while she worked, and blatantly left him on his own. Sure, the room was locked with a digital combination lock, there was a security camera and there were no windows, but they still left him unguarded and without his cuffs on.

The room and adjacent bathroom were mostly empty but Izuku could still come up with a thousand ways to become a proper nuisance for his captors. He could rip the springs out of the mattress on the floor, could take the lid off the toilet and bash a wall, could leave the shower running with the drain covered, could rip the camera off the wall; the possibilities were endless. And yet, he spent the next three hours staring at nothing, sitting on the floor and munching on the food he'd been given. He hadn't given up yet, not really, but he had to give himself actual time to think about his situation before he did anything.

He couldn't fight his way out, that much was clear. There were always people around on their floor, and Curious could take care of herself just fine. Not only that, but Izuku was sure that if he even thought about hurting Curious, every single person he had on the outside would get hurt. Her threats were more like warnings, and Izuku wasn't stupid enough to test her word.

He could wait for a chance to escape, perhaps eventually a wonderful opportunity would present itself, but then what? They had cars and numbers and Izuku didn't even know where he was. The brief glances he'd had of the big windows outside showed him nothing but mountains and small buildings. He must be miles and miles away from the closest city. Maybe he could steal a vehicle, but he didn't know how to drive an automatic car, let alone a standard one. Besides, there was the chance that his escape would be enough to trigger Curious' bloodthirst, and at that point, Izuku would have nothing to go back to.

He doubted that anyone in the building would take any pity on him and help him, either because they thought he was trash or because they wouldn't betray Curious, or whoever else was in charge. What was the name? Re-Destro? It sounded oddly familiar and Izuku made a mental note of it.

If he was realistic, there was no tangible way of him getting out alive on his own. That left some rather… unlikely and bleak scenarios.

A very broken part of his mind told him to just end it himself before they could. Curious had made it clear that they were planning on killing him once she was satisfied. If he was dead, then their threats would hold no weight anymore. They'd left him alone in the room, and even with the cameras, he could find a way to be done before someone could try and stop him. He could bite his tongue off, for one. Hell, he was on the 37th floor, a running start against one of those windows on the other room might just do the trick. That certainly would show that heinous woman that she'd miscalculated big time. The idea floated around in his head for a good five minutes before he eventually discarded it. A very sick feeling in his stomach told him that Curious was more than capable of killing all his loved ones if he denied her precious little story. The idea of dying for nothing wasn't a pleasant one, not that the idea of dying with meaning was perfect either.

But it wasn't just that.

A very small, childish, and stupid part of his brain clung to the most unlikely scenario of them all. That, if he managed to keep Curious interested in him for long enough, Stain would have enough time to come rescue him.

Izuku scoffed, hugging his knees to his chest.

It was dumb to even hope for that. Stain was many things, but at the end of the day, he was just a man. The probabilities of him escaping the law once more, tracking down Izuku, getting here before he was executed, and then successfully getting in and out of this building alive were practically zero.

Impossible, you idiot.

But still, his heart wanted to cling to hope. He wanted, desperately, to get out of here and see his mentor once more. He missed Stain's presence, Toga's smile, Dabi's snark, Spinner's eagerness, Shoto's looks. Hell, he even missed the damn van, crowded and hot as it was.

Izuku bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. Stain would be so disappointed in him, but he couldn't help it. He was scared and hopeful and he just didn't want to die like this.

Izuku let out a shaky breath, trying to get himself together. He suddenly stood and walked towards the tiny bathroom, anxiety forcing him to do something, anything. He settled for taking his first hot shower in over a year and as soon as the water hit him, despite his pride trying to get in the way, he enjoyed it. He took his sweet time, even washed his hair, and he stayed in the bathroom for a long time after he was done. He looked at himself in the mirror, took in all of his scars, his wounds, the bump on the side of his head, his badly bleached hair, and eventually, he came to a decision.

He'd said it before, that he trusted Stain with his life, and he'd meant it. It was far-fetched, unrealistic, absurd even, but he was willing to put his faith in his mentor and friends once more. When Curious knocked on his door an hour later, Izuku met her with confidence and determination. She wanted to know everything about him? Fine. Then she'd get her way. He would give her every thought, every moment, every emotion he had ever experienced in his sixteen years of life to buy himself more time. He would talk as much as possible without actually saying much, and he would only give straight answers when demanded of him. He would speak as much as he had to in order to slow down the hands on the clock because, if anyone was going to get him out of here, that was Stain. And he wasn't leaving all the work to his mentor.

….

"Midoriya, you have always been quirkless, correct?"

"Is there a way to start with a quirk and then lose it?"

"You'd be surprised. Your response?"

"Yeah, I was born quirkless."

"Were your parents quirkless? Or was there any record of quirklessness in your family before you?"

"Not since quirks became a thing. I'm the only one."

"Did your lack of quirk ever affect your life?"

Izuku had to bite back a bitter laugh. That was perhaps the dumbest question he'd even been asked in his entire life.

"Come on, is that really a necessary question? You must already know the answer."

"I'd like to know what you think."

"Yeah, it did affect my life. Quite a lot, actually."

"How so?"

"I…" He sighed, uncomfortable. "Kids can be cruel, for one. When you're really young then everyone is the same, you know? Kids make friends super fast, they just need the smallest of common interests. But then everyone starts getting quirks and it becomes this competition. Sure, you wanna get your quirk 'cause it'll be fun and exciting or whatever. But you also wanna get it to just be like the others. Be part of the 'right' crowd, not get left behind."

"Did you get left behind, Midoriya?"

Izuku looked at the woman sitting in front of him; her tone was kind, but in a very professional and fakely polite way, and Izuku had no way of knowing how she felt.

"I did. But hey, don't we all at some point? We're always gonna be behind someone, no matter what we do."

"And do you think they were right? When they segregated you for your lack of quirk?"

"...For a while, I did believe that. I clung to the words and opinions of people that didn't actually care about me, people that didn't even deserve everything they had. I wish I'd realized the truth sooner."

"What changed your mind?"

"Stain did."

Curious nodded. She tapped away on her tablet and Izuku took a moment to look out the window. He hadn't left the 37th floor since his arrival, but at least now he'd been allowed to use the couches on the common area. He kept shifting around in his seat though, no longer used to overly soft surfaces; it honestly felt like the whole thing was melting underneath him, swallowing him, and he didn't like it.

He'd been right the night prior: they were nowhere near a big city. Houses and small buildings were scattered around for about ten miles, and then the environment changed to rugged stone and mountain. It was like a tiny city, a plaything for some child, and Izuku wondered where exactly they were.

Somewhere down the hall, a door slammed and a strange thought struck Izuku.

"I have a question. Well, many of them, actually."

Curious looked up from her gadget, some intrigue and doubt flashing in her eyes. Izuku expected to be rejected; it was honestly a shot in the dark, trying to get Curious to talk so that he could rest between rants. If he wanted to keep her interested then having an actual conversation rather than an interview was better, right? But she was a reporter in the end.

"Why would you want to ask anything?" Curious asked, calculated.

Izuku shrugged, rearranging his position on the couch.

"You're gonna kill me once we're done, right?"

"Not me,"

Izuku gave her a flat look before continuing.

"The point is, I'd like to know… well the reason for me being here. I know you say it's for your interview, but the people you sent after me mentioned a 'sacrifice', and you've mentioned other people, commanders. If I'm gonna die here, if you really are the last person I ever talk to, I'd like to at least understand things before you off me."

For about a minute, Curious stayed silent. She examined Izuku up and down as you would a chessboard. Izuku met her look for a while before turning towards the window once more; the brief impulse of grabbing Curious and hurling them both through the glass flashed through his mind, but he didn't even bother considering it. He watched as a few birds flew away outside.

"Do you like tea, Midoriya?" Curious eventually asked.

"Uh… yeah, I guess."

Curious waved at one of the people on the other side of the room, asked them for something, and then sent them on their way. Izuku noticed that she stopped the current recording and started a new one, taking a charger out of her purse. She nodded for Izuku to follow her and they moved from the couch to a small table by the wall, next to an outlet where Curious plugged in her tablet to keep it from dying.

"Well then, ask away." Curious offered plainly and Izuku blinked a few times. This was perhaps the only time he was half glad that Curious' ego was bigger than the sun. Had he wanted actual information, he would have taken some time to think about what to ask, but he just wanted her to talk.

"Wh-"

"Ah, wait. Name for the record."

"...Midoriya Izuku."

"Date and time of interview, August 23, 13:17. This particular recording will need to be edited as needed, depending on what you want to know. Is that okay?"

"Sure. Whatever."

"Now you can ask." She waved a hand welcomingly as if giving him the stage, and Izuku swallowed.

"Where am I?"

"You're in Deika City, in Aichi Prefecture." Izuku was taken aback; he hadn't expected such a forward answer. Maybe he really could keep her talking to win himself time.

"Why am I here?"

"Because I asked for you to be brought here. This wasn't the original idea the rest of my… peers had for you."

"What was?"

"To kill you and leave no trace or evidence of what had happened to you."

Involuntarily, a small chill worked its way up Izuku's spine. He hadn't slept since he'd been taken, and suddenly the light outside the window was too bright for him. He opened his mouth, but Curious signaled for him to stay quiet. The person from before came back with a tray, a pot of hot water, two cups, and a variety of bagged teas. They left the drinks and then left, and Curious nodded for Izuku to continue.

The teen, feeling oddly unsure, accepted the cup of steaming water that his captor offered him, resisted the urge to throw the boiling liquid in said woman's face, and picked a tea at random. He took a sip immediately, tasting nothing but pain. Curious was putting sugar in her tea, not a care in the world and, after a few moments, Izuku felt grounded once more.

"Was I your only target in my group?"

"At the moment, yes."

"Why? What did I ever do to you?"

"You and your mentor took out a few of our members. I'm acutely aware of the fact that you attack at random and had no way of knowing what those particular individuals were involved with, but some others took it a tad more personally. Not many of our relevant members have found their ways into the hero industry, so every single person counts."

Curious stirred her tea with a tiny spoon, the clinking noises sounding like loud bangs to Izuku.

"They worked for you?"

"Not quite. They follow my instructions along with those of the other leaders, but I don't think 'worked' is the right term. They respected us."

"Leaders of what, exactly?"

Curious smiled mischievously.

"Tell me Midoriya, do you like reading?"

"...Why?"

Curious shrugged and Izuku sighed. He took another sip of his tea, which was now tinted with the taste of mint.

"I enjoy reading, though I haven't had the chance to read a book in a long while."

"Are you familiar with the work of one Yotsubashi Chikara?"

Izuku had to think about that for a short while. The name sounded vaguely familiar, in the way that the name of a historical figure sounds in a school test. At his hesitation, Curious offered a hint.

"Went by the name Destro."

Izuku blinked, something clicking on his mind quietly.

"I've never read his book before, but I do know him. He was the original founder of an organization called the 'Meta Liberation Army', correct?"

Curious nodded, something akin to childish pride in her eyes. The look made Izuku feel momentarily disgusted with himself.

"Do you know what he fought for, Midoriya?"

"Free quirk usage around the world. He was against all of the quirk control laws and regulations that were starting to become the norm in his time. He wanted chaos and freedom at the expense of order."

"He wanted to expand upon the human rights of people with quirks," Curious sternly corrected and Izuku narrowed his eyes. That was probably the first time she'd adopted a serious expression and voice, but both things were gone before long.

"Why is he relevant anyway? He's dead, right?"

"You asked what we were leaders of."

Izuku half choked on his tea. With eyes much wider than he wanted he looked around the room. Suddenly everyone seemed too close, too tall, too strange.

"You're… This…"

"This building, along with the rest of Deika CIty, are the Meta Liberation Headquarters, Midoriya. And I am currently one of the leaders."

Izuku felt like he'd been slapped in the face with a wooden plank. He would never admit it, but the true weight of his enemy's power made him feel small and powerless. The tiniest sliver of doubt dug itself into his heart and he almost dropped his cup. Perhaps a rescue had been far more unlikely than he ever anticipated.

For a while, Izuku lost himself in his head. She'd just said the entire city? There was no way, it couldn't be possible. No one organization could have that much power, especially a force that worked against the government. This was a place that showed up in maps for fuck's sake. Had they taken over the entire city by force? Were the original inhabitants forced to just stay and say nothing? Or had they already been disposed of? No. You couldn't just kill an entire city's worth of people and get away with it, could you? But if they had some of their members inside the hero industry, who was to say they didn't have people in other favorable places? They probably had all kinds of things in the palm of their hands. But then why, why woul-

Izuku was violently snapped out of his thoughts when Curious placed a book in front of him, on top of his hand. Part of his tea spilled in his surprise, but it was either already cold or Izuku's shock was so big that he felt nothing when the liquid landed on his lap.

"Perhaps reading this will give you a better understanding of how we work. Consider it a gift, from me to you."

Izuku stared dumbly at the book in front of him. He couldn't even read the title properly at the moment, the green color of the cover seeming unnatural. Had Curious gone to get it or had she been in possession of it all along?

"I don't… I don't understand." Izuku said, attempting to recover some of his bravado. It was pointless, but Curious wasn't one to openly mock him while conducting an interview.

"What don't you get?" She sounded smug, clearly enjoying her position of power. Izuku put his cup down, entirely forgetting about his drink in his rush to get his thoughts in order.

"What do you want with me? Why only me? I don't even have a quirk!"

"That, Midoriya, is exactly why we wanted to get you alone."

Izuku wanted to yell. He wanted to do a thousand things, but he just sat there like an idiot, waiting for some sort of explanation.

"We stand for the rights of those with quirks. In our eyes, they hold the future and so they should have all the liberties that their quirks bring, regardless of what those entail. You, Midoriya, a quirkless child, do not have a place in the future we're planning."

"Oh what, so you just hunt down quirkless people?!"

"No. Quirkless individuals will go extinct on their own soon enough, and there are so few of them to begin with, that there is no need to do anything about them. They don't pose a problem for our cause. You, on the other hand, have proven to be quite the nuisance."

"Because I killed your members?" Izuku spat.

"Because you created the illusion of power around your entity. At first, you were just a missing kid, but then you started getting popular. Your mentor killed the second strongest hero in all of Japan, which was already a harsh blow to some of our members,"

"Endeavor was with you?" Izuku asked. He wouldn't put it past that horrid man, but Curious shook her head.

"No, he was not a member. But he was an inspiration to many here, and his loss was a hard blow to us. Still, Endeavor was killed by the Hero Killer, and thus you were still passing by unnoticed. But then your mentor got arrested and what did you do? You joined the League of Villains, an organization strong enough to challenge and attack the U.A. openly, you took the son of the man your mentor killed, and then you broke apart the League of Villains.

"You, a quirkless kid that would have been a nobody otherwise, started getting powerful in a sense. You started getting a little following online, not that you would know, and the Hero Killer became one of the most feared villains in the entire country. Feared enough to scare off some of our new recruits."

Izuku looked at her as if he didn't understand anything. And, in a sense, he didn't. None of it sounded real.

"Stain isn't a villain." He finally said, his mind unable to find anything else to say. Curious chuckled, her smirk hidden behind her cup of tea, and Izuku ran a hand through his hair.

"The point, Midoriya, is that having a quirkless kid gaining enough power to take down some of our best members, enough power to scare off some of our own, is just something we cannot allow any longer."

"I… but…"

"Your presence, the stories told about you, are far more powerful than you actually are. You're just leeching off powerful quirk users such as your mentor and as long as you were with them, your little facade of power and relevance wouldn't fall. So we brought you here alone to learn about your story, all with the purpose of getting rid of you and exposing you as the weak, incapable quirkless kid you are. Your desperate attempt to gain a place in this world ends here."

Izuku didn't even know he was moving until his hand had already slammed against the table, his chair screeching horribly as he stood. People around them turned their way immediately, some even rushing over, but Curious just kept a calm expression on the enraged teen looming over her. To her, Izuku was as threatening as a blind puppy and that made him feel even worse. He didn't know which emotion was strongest at the moment, but he did know he was angrier than he'd been in a while. He was also incredibly offended, but perhaps not for the same reason he would have been a year prior.

He didn't care about being called weak or quirkless anymore. Stain had made sure to erase those problems from his heart, at least in the face or an enemy. No, what got him was her complete lack of understanding. She was even more blind than he originally thought and his pride was getting the best of him.

At Curious' signal, the people around them let them be, and Izuku briefly resented her for it; he would have loved to fight any person at the moment.

"Stain and I don't do what we do for power or popularity. If you think I'm doing this for something so superficial, then you know nothing about me. If our message is getting stronger, louder than your own, then perhaps that's because our cause is more just."

At last, after so long, Curious looked the slightest bit irritated at Izuku. Childish satisfaction filled him for a second.

"I don't expect a quirkless kid to understand the oppression that quirk regulation brings. You are part of the minority that never experience change, and thus you don't experience the injustice."

"Injustice?! Ohhh, you poor quirk holders. You have to follow basic rules to keep society from collapsing into chaos."

"I do believe it is that same society that you and your mentor are trying to dismantle."

That did it. Izuku reached over the table without a single thought, not an ounce of consideration in his mind. At that instant, there were no consequences, no plans, just an impressive desire to take down what was, without a doubt, a target. Curious was wearing a long sundress, an expensive-looking jacket, and jewelry on her neck and wrists. She looked like a woman entirely out of her league as Izuku shot forward to strike her.

She moved in a blur of lilac and blue and white, getting out of reach faster than Izuku believed possible. She grasped his outstretched hand, digging her long nails into his flesh, and used her other hand to slam his face down on the table with an unexpected amount of strength. She grasped most of his hair, lifted his head, and slammed him down one more time before throwing him to the side. Izuku went down, taking a chair with him, and before he knew what was happening, there was a foot pressing him against the floor. The sharp end of a stiletto stabbed him in the back painfully, but the pain on his face was much greater.

"Now Midoriya, here I thought we were having a civilized conversation!" Curious said, her voice bright as the morning sun. "Though I will admit you've given me some excellent material."

Izuku hit the leg pinning him down with his elbow, effectively managing to free himself. He was on his feet in a second, battle stance coming naturally. Curious was fast, and she was out of range in a second, and Izuku found himself outnumbered and surrounded.

"Have you forgotten what's at stake here, Midoriya?" Curious asked mockingly, her phone in her hand. Her white dress had a light splatter of fresh blood and Izuku became overly aware of the fact that he couldn't breathe through his nose properly.

"I'm not just gonna sit here and listen to you comparing your pretend revolution to Stain's ideology," Izuku growled, his mouth filling with blood as he spoke.

Curious unlocked her phone and the sound of a call being made echoed around the room.

"Do they really mean that much to you? The ramblings of a madman?"

Izuku's eyes flashed with fury, his legs tensing. He was just about to throw himself into a fight that he knew he couldn't win when,

"Yes?"

A crackling voice spoke over the speaker of the phone and Izuku froze midstep. His breathing hitched in his throat and, all at once, his rage faded.

"Hello?" The voice spoke again, and Curious cleared her throat.

"Good evening ma'am, do I have the pleasure of speaking with Midoriya Inko?"

"Yes, that's me. Can I help you miss…?"

"Kizuki. I call representing the Asahi Shimbun. We were wondering if you would agree to give us an interview. We'd like to publish a more in-depth article about your son's story."

Izuku felt like the ground was no longer beneath him. He was falling into an endless chasm and he wanted to cry out for help. But no noises came out of his mouth as he just listened silently to a voice he never thought he'd hear again. The weight of his own rashness hit him like a bag of bricks.

"I'm sorry miss Kizuki, but I have not the time or interest in doing any more interviews at this point."

"I see. Is there any way I could convince you otherwise? I could send a vehicle to pick you up and bring you to one of our offices. We'd like to showcase a more personal side of Izuku's story." Curious said, not unlike the people that manage to convince you to buy things that you don't actually need. Izuku shook his head without realizing, white panic drowning him completely. Curious smirked at the reaction.

"As I said, no. Would that be all?"

"Yes, Mrs. Midoriya. Sorry to take your time. Have a wonderful day."

"You too."

The phone started making a flat, repeating noise after that. With every beep, Izuku felt like his heart was shattering more and more.

"Listen, Midoriya. I'm not mad at your outburst; I quite enjoyed it, to be honest. I love raw emotions. But my deal to have you up here only lasted as long as you behaved. I'm sorry, but you leave me no other choice."

She didn't sound sorry at all. She signaled for two of her underlings to grab Izuku and the teen put up no fight. He walked only to not get dragged, his legs moving on their own. His mind was a mix of static and whispers that promised nothing good. He was barely aware of the fact that he was shepparded towards the elevator and he didn't bother checking what floor he was being taken to until the doors opened with a cheerful 'ding'. He looked up, scared, and realized that he was in one of the many basements the building offered. 'B4' the little sign told him. He was dragged along hallways and towards a locked door that opened to a set of stairs, and they went down another four floors. He was starting to get some sense back when he was led towards a black door, and upon opening his heart sank.

The hallway that greeted him was long and dirty, the walls made of bare concrete, LED lights illuminating the space ever so often. The whole place was lined with barred doors, a few people with quirk-suppressing cuffs visible in each tiny cell as he walked by. But that wasn't the worst part. Not by a long shot. The worst of it all were the screams. They emanated from the door at the very back, a door made of pristine white metal that looked horribly out of place in the dank space. He could hear someone screaming horribly from behind the door and Izuku immediately wanted to put up a fight, as useless as it was. But he was shoved into his own little cell before he could react, the reinforced door locking behind him.

"See, Midoriya, Re-Destro wanted you down here all along. I convinced him otherwise because I hate this place; it smells horrible and the echo makes for some terrible audio. But now that you've shown that you cannot stay calm, I am forced to share you with my companions."

"Sh-share me?" Izuku asked, hating the way his voice shook.

"I'm not the only one that has business with you here; as I said, many of my fellow men have taken your actions in a far more… personal way than me. They want to have some time with you as well. But don't worry, they won't do anything too harsh. We still have our interview to finish, after all, and you're no good to me if you can't speak."

With that, Curious threw the book she'd given Izuku inside the cell through a tiny gap in the middle of the door and walked away, her two goons following behind her. Izuku looked at the ground, the book, the wall, and then he threw himself against the bars locking him in. He only managed to see Curious' retreating form, the door closing behind her, before the lights went out and plunged him into hellish darkness.