There's a fine line between random chaos and destiny but in Dabi's mind, that line was nonexistent. To him, nothing had a reason, everything could happen, but nothing was an accident. Not his failures, his successes, his very existence. Perhaps it made no sense, perhaps he'd never know it, but there was a reason for everything.

They passed a bump in the road, the van jostling only a bit since Stain was at the wheel rather than Spinner. Dabi looked at the four figures strewn about the back of the van with him. Toga and Spinner looked asleep enough, but he was aware of Eraser glaring at him in the dark. Dabi smiled. It was an odd smile, one that turned complicated once his eyes landed on Shoto, the teen's head resting on Dabi's leg and a quiet snore slipping past his lips.

He ran a hand through his brother's hair, a gesture that he was sure conflicted Eraser to no end. It must be so frustrating for the hero to see his old student go down such a dark, twisted path for no apparent reason. He probably suspected blackmail, brainwashing, Stockholm syndrome. And while those were all good candidates, none of those would be able to explain the chaos of things that had led them to this point. His whole existence as it was now had been all up to stupid bad luck, shitty choices made by others, and pure chance. There was no one reason, no logical explanation for anything, nothing for a man like Eraser to understand.

And it wasn't like Dabi hated Eraser. He disliked him, sure; disliked who he worked with and disliked what Ersaer being there implicated, but it wasn't hate like the one he harbored for Endeavor or his own mother. It was more like apprehension if you will. Eraser's presence put in danger everything that the universe had so graciously handed Dabi, and he knew that even the smallest of things could tip the scale. Hell, he knew things were bound to change, if only because the universe seemed to work that way. The fact that Shoto, Eraser, and Dabi were all sitting inside the same vehicle without killing one another was proof enough that life twists and turns however it wants. None of them had taken conscious choices to get here, but here they were regardless. Such was cause and effect.

Yes, in the end, most of the domino pieces had fallen in the right places and Dabi had gotten a good chunk of his revenge served to him on a silver platter—not that any of it had come by free. He was a recognized villain, a killer with multiple hits under his name, one of the Hero Killer's few trusted followers, not to mention that he'd managed to bring his father's pride and joy down into a life of questionable morale. He'd also gotten chances that he never expected to have, much less want. He had the opportunity to give Shoto everything their father never had; respect, love, appreciation, a real reason to live. He, Dabi, broken and corrupted, had the chance to be everything their father had never been.

And yet, something threatened to bring down this wonderful equilibrium. Chaos was never one to let things sit still for long, after all.

The artificial peace between hero and villains was nice, but it was gonna be short-lived. He didn't know if the reason was admiration, trust, or plain desperation to get Midoriya back, but he did know that relying so heavily on Eraser and All Might would end up screwing them over. There was no way in hell that those two would allow Stain even the smallest chance of running off with the two youngest members of their team. It wasn't even about Stain taking the kids, it was more about the fact that Shoto felt like he needed Dabi, and Midoriya just outright loved the Hero Killer. Shoto could be swayed back into his prior life, his hands being clean for the most part, but there was no force in the world that could rip the Disciple away from Stain. Not willingly, at least.

He could already see it: They'd find out where Midoriya was and just before they got to rescue him, Eraser would double-cross them and have them all arrested, taking both Shoto and Midoriya in one fell swoop. It was clear as day, there was no other end to the situation, and yet no one said anything. Dabi himself wasn't one to give others speeches of logic, but he was starting to worry that if he didn't make their situation obvious to the others, then they'd all end up in Tartarus.

His eyes once more passed over Eraser's form.

Decisions, decisions, he told himself, watching as the new staples in his hand glistened even in the dark.

Should he wait longer to see if the tides shifted? Or should he just stop this suicidal mission before it even started? Should he trust that fate would be on his side? He couldn't kill Eraser, that much was clear. And he couldn't just run away, both because he didn't want to lose the Hero Killer's guidance and because Shoto would probably hate such cowardice.

He was mulling over all of his options, calculating the odds of him fucking everything up, when Spinner turned around in his sleep and immediately latched onto his leg. It took most of Dabi's strength not to burn the reptile right then and there, since he also adjusted his position to kinda cuddle up to Shoto and Dabi had no reason to burn his own brother in cold blood.

That, and he guessed that someone waking up screaming could result in the van crashing and all of them dying. So yeah, Spinner got to keep his scales intact. For now.

But that didn't mean that he couldn't annoy the mutant until he woke up, so Dabi started pressing the bigger scales in Spinner's forehead as if they were buttons, typing in imaginary patterns and telephone numbers. It didn't take that long for Spinner to start steering and, after a harsh poke right in the throat, the mutant woke up sluggishly.

"What the…" Spinner muttered, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm not your pillow, lizard." Dabi raised a brow, flicking Spinner on the nose. Spinner immediately hissed in pain, sitting up and glaring at Dabi.

"I do have a name, you know?" Spinner mumbled, though his embarrassment was clear. Dabi only scoffed. Whatever amusement he'd gotten out of shaming Spinner for cuddling up to him in his sleep was starting to fade and he couldn't promise that Spinner wouldn't get thrown out of the van one of these days.

"What time is it?" Spinner asked.

"I don't know." Dabi shrugged. The sky outside was still pitch black.

"Two-thirty." Stain offered quietly. Spinner tensed at the voice and he turned immediately.

"Shit, I… I can take over driving! I slept enough!"

Stain scoffed, though it lacked some of its usual bite. Spinner shifted in place nervously, making Dabi want to push him away, and there was a silent pause.

"I'm fine." Stain finally said, his hand waving in a dismissive gesture before landing back on the wheel.

They'd been driving around the edge of town since sunset, right after Toga had finished replacing most of Dabi's staples. It'd been one of those things that you don't expect to happen, but once they do it just makes so much sense that you feel stupid for not considering it before. Toga had offered to help him the moment they'd parked the van, saying it'd be faster since she could use both her hands as well as take out all the staples on his back. Everyone had panicked a little, and Dabi had been incredibly reluctant, but after watching Toga just remove the staples in his right hand with the utmost care and precision, Dabi had agreed. It'd been almost nice, being able to relax while someone who could actually reach his back took care of patching him up. Besides, Toga had been smiling the whole time, her face mask not covering how her eyes wrinkled due to her grin, and Shoto hadn't left his side just to make sure that Toga wouldn't eat him.

"You need a break?" Dabi had asked at one point, noticing how pale Shoto looked at the sheer amount of bloody, corroded staples piling up by their side.

"I-I'm fine," Shoto had murmured, straightening his back and nodding. "I wanna learn how to do it. Just in case." The youngest Todorki had admitted and Dabi couldn't deny that the sight had been incredibly adorable.

The sound of one of the phones ringing somewhere was soft but persistent. Spinner patted down his pockets, frowning and looking at Dabi. When the burnt man shrugged, Spinner cursed.

"Where is that thing?" Spinner mumbled, turning around and digging through all the shit they had laying on the floor. The sound was definitely muffled, but it was loud enough for everyone awake to hear it.

Eraser was also looking for the damned thing, but neither of them found it before it stopped ringing.

"What are you doing?" Satin asked over his shoulder, the question aimed at everyone in general. Spinner apologized, digging through his backpack but finding nothing. When the phone started ringing again, Spinner resorted to opening bags and just spilling all of their contents out, the ruckus loud enough to wake up Toga.

"Why won't anyone get the phone?" She asked, sleepy but annoyed.

"I'm trying!" Spinner responded. When he reached for Dabi's bag, the villain slapped his hand away.

"Out of my stuff, lizard."

"Are you… We need to find that phone!"

"I don't have it."

"Well, someone does!"

"Who unpacked my bag!?" Toga asked.

Voices got loud enough to wake up even Shoto, who usually slept like a corpse, and he half mumbled a question that he never got to finish.

The sound of the phone was soft, exceedingly so, but the sound of the tires exploding when they passed over the line of spikes was deafening. The van swerved to the left sharply, then to the right in a dangerous arch before the weight and momentum of the vehicle flipped it on its side. The window that collided with the pavement exploded and the sound of metal scraping against stone sounded unnatural, hellish. Thankfully the van didn't flip over entirely, instead just crashing against something that stopped them instantaneously.

For a second, Dabi assumed that they'd all died. He was in pain, couldn't see anything and the smell of smoke filled his nostrils. Surely he was in hell. He wondered what his eternal punishment would look like, but then the sounds of groaning and coughing filled his ears, and reality slapped him all at once. He inhaled sharply, coughing because of all the smoke gathering inside the van, and he attempted to incorporate himself. He was on top of Shoto, Toga's bloody leg pressing against his shoulder, and his side hurt in what could only mean that a few of his staples had ripped off. And they were brand new, too.

"What the hell happened?" Spinner asked, voice shaky. He had glass in his hair, blood dripping down his forehead. A few of the scales that Dabi had been pressing at minutes prior were gone.

"A fucking trap." Stain hissed. His seatbelt had kept him in place and so he was hanging above the rest of them. He looked livid, cutting off the belt with a knife and landing unsteadily on the ground beyond the broken window.

"Get up." He ordered, not bothering to check if anyone was alive before he kicked open the back doors of the van. He did, however, drag both Toga and Shoto outside the burning vehicle when neither of them responded fast enough. The rest of them tumbled out of the car drunkenly, wounded legs threatening to not support their weights. Dabi rushed over to Shoto's side, the kid coughing hoarsely while Eraser checked up on him.

"Wha–what…" Shoto murmured, his breathing coming in short, fast gasps.

"You're okay," Dabi said, grabbing Shoto by the shoulders. He got slapped away by Eraser and he was just about to incinerate the hero when the man started talking.

"Don't move him, his spine might be injured." The man explained. He took off his jacket and bundled it up messily, placing it on one side of Shoto's neck to keep it immobilized. Dabi, not knowing what else to do, did the same with his coat. The effort pained him.

"Todoroki, can you hear me?"

They got a groan in response and Dabi let out a shaky breath.

"Shoto, come on. Answer." Dabi half gasped and Eraser gave him a look. Dabi pressed his hand against his side, wincing. Every inhale was hell on his left side and he was almost entirely sure that he'd broken a few ribs. Still, he stayed focused. He was used to pain.

"Touya?" Shoto asked raspily and Dabi smiled.

"Right here." Eraser gave him a look—a long, dissecting look—but Dabi couldn't care less about that at the moment. "Can you breathe fine?"

"...Yeah. I think so."

"Does anything hurt too much?" Eraser asked. He was checking Shoto's arm in search of fractures, movements small and gentle.

"My shoulder."

Eraser raised Shoto's left arm slowly and, sure enough, Shoto hissed in pain. The hero gently crossed the teen's arm over his chest, telling the teen not to move.

"His collarbone is fractured. We need to secure his arm."

Dabi was on a weird sort of autopilot, ideas and solutions springing to his mind with ease. Back when he'd been alone, not much older than Shoto himself, quick thinking and improvisation had gotten him out of hundreds of bad situations. He looked up, found Spinner attending to Toga, and immediately called out.

"Scales, your scarf." Spinner looked up, his brows furrowed in both pain and determination.

"She's bleeding." Was the response and Dabi realized that Spinner's scarf and mask were already being used to wrap Toga's head and right wrist. Dabi cursed but Eraser only nodded.

"Is she awake?"

"No."

"Is she bleeding from her ears?"

"...No."

"Check her pulse. If you have a light, check if her pupils react to it. Don't move her neck."

Spinner nodded. Dabi gave Eraser a look of apprehension, though it was heavily mixed with shock and amazement, and another idea came to mind.

"What about your fancy capture tool? We can tie up his arm with that." At the sound of the suggestion, Spinner started untangling the grey strip of metal mesh from his neck. But then Eraser looked up, made a frustrated noise, and stood. He stretched his hand out to Spinner.

"Give me that."

"What about Shoto?"

"Not right now." Eraser glared ahead and Dabi followed his eyes. Stain was standing a few feet away from them, fighting stance ready and katana in hand. Not too far away, past some trees, they could see moving lights approaching them, all of them eye-high and bouncing a little.

"Watch over them." Eraser instructed them both, placing his capture tool around his neck with practiced ease and moving to join Stain. It was quite the sight, hero next to villain, and under different circumstances, Dabi might have laughed. A pro-hero protecting criminals alongside a serial killer. Endeavor would be rolling in his grave.

Dabi let out a shuddering breath, his side aching more and more with each passing second, and he stayed kneeled by Shoto as they waited. He gave everyone a once-over.

Shoto and Toga were down, one unconscious and with deep cuts and the other one with one arm out of commission. Spinner was missing scales all over his body, his nose bleeding profusely. Dabi himself had some broken ribs and he knew by the feeling that some of the staples in his torso had ripped clean off. Eraser and Stain were standing tall, not a quiver in their stances, but Stain's leg was bleeding and Eraser's hand dripped blood onto the ground. They were all covered in red spots that would soon start bruising, some of them with glass embedded in their skin and most of them with wounds they didn't even know about.

All in all, Dabi told himself, it wasn't the absolute worst-case scenario but it came close to it. And they were far from done.

One by one, the approaching lights started going out. They were like candles being snuffed out, or like fireflies all suddenly dropping dead, and every second filled Dabi with more and more anticipation. Blue flames started to come alive over his skin and he became faintly aware of a pain in his right ear. He turned towards Spinner, both men giving each other a curt nod. He didn't know how bad Spinner's wounds were, but he did know that if it came down to it, they would both fight.

Before them, the dark glared at them and behind them, the van was still burning, the crackle of fire filling the silence with electricity. They'd kept to lonely roads and thus it was unlikely that someone would see the wreckage and report it. They were on their own.

A shadow, one of many, moved past the treeline, followed by the clear loading of a gun, and Eraser and Stain jumped into action like one single entity. Even wounded, they both shot forward with ease, speed always on their side. Stain went in from the right and Eraser from the left, both men jumping a lot higher than people fresh out of a car crash should've been able to and they disappeared into the shadows.

The sound of fighting began immediately. There were suddenly voices, oh so many voices, all yelling at one another, some barking orders and others just right out screaming as they got easily taken down. Gunfire also became present and Dabi instinctively placed his own torso over Shoto, his hand holding the kid's head gently. A body—alive or dead, who the hell knew—shot out past the trees and landed about ten feet from them.

Dabi half expected each individual shot to fill the darkness with a flash of light, a brief picture of the nightmare that was going on past the trees. But everything remained dark, only the noises telling them that anything was happening at all.

"They've never attacked us with guns." Spinner growled.

"They can't use their quirks on Eraser." Dabi guessed.

There was a loud, long, pathetic scream of pain and Dabi knew that Stain had gotten someone. Only hearing the fight rather than being able to see it was aggravating the eldest Todoroki, his adrenaline spiking higher and higher with every passing second.

"We can't just stay back here." Spinner hissed. Against any sense of logic or self-preservation, the mutant attempted to get on his feet. His legs wobbled and his knee buckled under his own weight and he went down with a grunt of frustration.

"You'll get killed if you get in there," Dabi said, though he too was being tempted into jumping in. Figures moved closer and closer to them, the once invisible conflict now making itself known with shadowy blurs, bodies barely illuminated by the fire consuming the car. Spinner clenched his fists, exhaling loudly. Dabi looked at him, saw how his back tensed and face scrunched up in terrible, frustrating helplessness. But then pink eyes shot open and Spinner pushed himself up once more.

"Now's not the time to play hero, you dumb lizard." Dabi scowled, but Spinner ignored him. Dabi expected to watch a suicide, but Spinner started crawling his way away from the fight, towards the burning van.

"Cover me." He said shakily and Dabi cursed his luck. At his side, Toga started stirring. Great. Yellow eyes squinted open, and it was clear that she was confused to hell and back.

"Sit still" Dabi warned her, shifting his attention to the side without turning his head. He felt something, far more than he saw or heard it, and he sent out a blaze of hellfire towards the foliage. Sure enough, a scream came from there and Dabi smiled. The blue light, the crackling of fire, the panicked silhouette attempting to put themselves out, all of it filled him with a sense of fullness. He was right there, in that moment, and none of it had been a mistake.

"Touya," Shoto called out. Dabi turned his head to see a few forms running out of the cover of the trees, all of them pointing their weapons towards the vegetation and firing wildly. At least Eraser or Stain were still alive, otherwise, they'd be opening fire upon the wounded youths on the ground. Dabi let out a shaky sigh, turned to find no Spinner, and forced himself to stand. Shoto held onto his wrist with his uninjured hand, and Dabi gave him a gentle smile that didn't belong in a face like his.

"I'll be fine, bro." But he wasn't so sure. Still, at this point, he'd sacrifice many things to keep the boy at his feet safe.

His knees cried out in pain, and his side protested loudly. When he gasped, his ribs hurt all the more and for a second he thought he was gonna pass out. White, hot pain flashed before his eyes and his body swayed to the left. Shoto called out his name, scared.

Dabi's foot moved on its own, his leg rearranging his position so that he wouldn't fall. His head moved in a wide arch, colors, and darkness, and sounds making him feel like he was inside a kaleidoscope. His neck cracked, another staple came off from his back, and Dabi took a wide step forward, his body now between the trees and Shoto. Unfazed, he raised one arm and unleashed a wide fan of flames. It was like a gasoline explosion, his skin crackling right before the blue flames shot out. The attack started small, only as big as his hand, but with every inch that it went forward, the fire consumed more and more space.

The three people that had come out of the trees found themselves in a sea of hot, neon light and they all screamed. One of them yelled out that he was dying, his dumb form running to the side and waving its arms. The fire didn't quite reach the trees, but it illuminated the area enough for Dabi to get a glimpse of a sword getting swung, the metal catching and reflecting the light. With his back arched and his head still tilted back, Todoroki Touya grinned. It was wide, disgusting, forceful enough that all the staples in his face pulled at his skin harshly, threatening to tear off. His teeth shimmered blue and white in the dark and he let out a sigh of satisfaction that made his ribs hurt all the more. From the front, he looked like a maniac.

Maybe he was. Since age 13, Dabi had been all on his own. He'd done things to stay alive, like anyone else in this God-forsaken world had to do. He'd stolen, killed, lied, destroyed things, all just to see the sun rising once more. All so he could make Endeavor pay off his debt. But what set him apart, the one thing that made him more than just a survivor was the fact that the worst things he'd done—the things that would have him sentenced to death if he ever got caught, the cruel and evil things he's done to others, the unseemly things he'd partaken in—he'd done because he wanted to.

Todoroki Touya had died attempting to survive long enough to make his father proud. Dabi lived only to destroy the world and people that had allowed things to happen the way they did. And he was gonna burn anything, he told himself as he raised his arm towards the tree line. He was gonna turn everything into ash until there was nothing left to destroy, no one left to blame, nothing left breathing. He'd lived in pain, burnt in shame for years, and he was gonna give everyone a taste of his despair before he left this Earth.

As if the universe was handing him a gift, someone else came running out of the trees. They had a deep gash on their arm.

"Goodbye," Dabi told them simply, sending an unnecessarily large attack their way. Screams melted into nothingness and Dabi's smile finally widened enough for one of the staples on his cheek to tear his skin. He swallowed back the miserable laugh that wanted to flow past his lips.

Because from the front, Dabi was a bloodthirsty killer, one that was daring the world to send more and more people that he could send down to hell, people he could make a little bit as unhappy and wretched as he was. But from the back, reflected in blue and grey eyes, Todoroki Touya looked like an older brother standing in between hell and his only real family.

Then again, people can be many things at once.

As if being summoned from hell, Eraser jumped out of the tree line. He had his hand pressed over his shoulder, blood on his hands, and someone came running after him. This person had a gun, one that they pointed at Eraser's form without hesitation. Eraser turned, capture tool thrown in an attempt to catch the criminal's hand to deviate the shot. Dabi's own hand pointed their way, though he knew there was no way to get the attacker without getting Eraser. A shot rang out, much too loud. Eraser landed on the ground without much grace, his attacker's body tumbling to the side with a sizable hole where their face should be. They turned to see Spinner, crouching next to Toga with the sniper rifle Stain had acquired placed professionally against his shoulder. He reloaded the gun, taking out another person to their right in a single shot and Dabi chuckled.

"Give me light." Spinner told him, his own sadistic grin decorating his face.

Dabi reflected the expression, turning and letting out a sharp, long whistling sound. He saw Stain jumping away, his form silhouetted against the night sky, and Dabi let out a two-handed attack that completely engulfed the trees ahead. The attack itself had enough power to be considered an explosion, and screams could be heard coming from everywhere. The few figures that came running out of the blaze, be them on fire or not, were disposed of by Spinner with ease.

As the fire burnt, as his adrenaline started going down, Dabi became aware of the fact that his skin was smoking. His hands ached and everything stung as if he'd been submerged in acid. The smell of burnt skin and hair was coming both from the corpses around him as well as Dabi himself, and the villain allowed himself a long sigh.

They waited for a moment, watched around the now very illuminated area to see if anything moved, but nothing happened. It was over. Dabi didn't know if he was glad or disappointed. Perhaps an unhealthy mix of both.

Dabi let his arms fall by his side, his entire body losing strength due to pain and exertion. He stumbled backward, his legs no longer able to hold him upright, and he closed his eyes fully expecting to meet the ground. Instead, someone grabbed his arm and steadied him. He blinked groggily, turning to be met with red eyes. His arm was probably burning hot, his entire skin exhaling a steady mist, but Stain didn't recoil. He waited until Dabi found his footing again and only then did he let go, slow and calculating, making sure the young villain wouldn't pass out.

"Thanks," Dabi whispered.

"Can you walk?"

"I think so."

"Good, because he have to move." With that Stain turned and walked towards Toga and Shoto, who were still on the ground. He made a move to carry Shoto, but Eraser stopped him.

"They're in no condition to be moved." He warned.

"And we're in no position to stay here." Stain shot back, pointing at the massive fire ravaging the trees around them.

"Look at them!" Dabi, blinked, meeting Eraser's eyes and, for once, unable to give the hero a snarky remark. The man had a point; Toga was still getting a hold of her surroundings, Spinner was shakily trying to get up, Shoto looked pale and Dabi himself felt like he'd hit the ground at any given second. Even if Spinner somehow managed to get on his feet, they wouldn't make it far.

Stain gave them all a look—a real look, not just a glance. He actually saw them. His face scrunched up in frustration but not even he could argue. He gave the fire a spiteful look, saw the wrecked car, and cursed because even though the motor hadn't quite exploded, the vehicle was clearly out of commission.

"...Now what?" Spinner asked. No one answered for a moment. They were sitting ducks and while they could deal with opponents, for the most part, Spinner and Dabi wouldn't last much longer without rest. Dabi glanced at Stain and he knew the man was furious, though he wasn't sure at what exactly. There was plenty to choose from.

"...Shoto," Dabi said eventually. His two elders looked at him but he had to speak louder to get his brother's attention. "Shoto."

"Mhmm?"

"Can you put out the fire?" And then, with a small shrug, "Fires."

"He's hurt," Eraser warned. Dabi was too tired to be snarky, so he just sighed.

"He can do it without moving." He assured, his eyes focused on Shoto. The teen didn't nod, but he placed his right hand flat on the gravely ground. He let out a little moan of pain, frost building around his fingers. Eraser started saying something, something about Shoto not needing to do anything, but Shoto exhaled slowly. Like ink on water or fire on paper, the thick layer of frost expanded around them all. It grew in a circular area, climbing over everything it came across; feet, bodies, the car, the trees, even the road they'd flown out of. At first, it seemed like it was a lost cause, the frost melting rapidly when faces with Dabi's fire. Shoto noticed and, after a small groan, the ice layer got much thicker. It advanced much quicker than before, this time crawling up all their bodies up to the waist. There was a natural hiss in the air as the fire extinguished, and they were slowly but surely plunged back into darkness. Everyone sighed, some with more relief than others; ice really did feel nice on wounds.

"I don't think I can defrost anything," Shoto said and Dabi chuckled.

"I got it. Good job." Dabi's skin was so warm that most of the ice around him was already melting, his pants and shoes soaked in water and sweat. He took a few steps towards the others, ice melting everywhere he went without the need to produce actual flames. He reached the van shakily, placed a hand over the carcass to defrost the inside of the car, and then promptly fell on the ground, exhausted. He was breathing heavily, his staples burning hot against his skin, and the full weight of his injuries crashed over him. The pain in his ear got ten times worse and when he reached up he found that two of his piercings and a piece of his ear were gone. He scoffed.

There, within the darkness and the sudden silence surrounding them, a tiny sound was heard. It was small and chirpy and annoying and Dabi recognized it as one of their phones. Eraser looked over as well, both men confirming that the other wasn't hallucinating, and he crawled inside the wreckage to look for the stupid gadget.

If the phone had survived, then surely some of their things had made it as well, right? Dabi didn't want to part with the new surgical stapler he'd gotten, if only because it made things so much easier. Surprising that he would have anything that would matter to him after so long of not caring even about himself. He scoffed again.

Eraser got out of the car, phone in hand. The screen was cracked to oblivion, lines of neon color crossing it vertically, but the thing clung to life. Eraser answered the call, placing the phone to his ear since the speaker button wasn't visible anymore. He waited, silent, for All Might to start their usual little code, but the man frowned after a moment. He moved the phone away and Dabi could see that the call had been ended.

"What is it?" Stain asked, walking over. An odd sense of anxiety grew between both men as Eraser clicked at the screen over and over, trying to get the thing to register his touch.

"Did you give this number to anyone?"

"No."

"You have over thirty missed calls and two text messages from a number I don't recognize," Eraser said after a pause. He clicked at the phone once more, apparently finally getting the touchscreen to respond. His frown deepened and he moved the phone closer to his face, trying to make out whatever they'd been sent through the cracks and dead pixels. He blinked, tilted his head. And then he tensed, a short gasp making it past his lips. His eyes widened and immediately Stain ripped the phone off his hand, Eraser making no attempt to keep it. Stain looked at the screen, confusion giving way to denial for the briefest of moments before giving way to utter desperation and rage. He pushed the phone back into Eraser's chest and then promptly stalked towards the van. He growled demonically and then kicked the side of the overturned vehicle, denting the top and moving the whole thing a solid inch to the right. Then he hit it again and again as he roared in animalistic fury, the poor car's roof becoming more and more dented with every hit.

Spinner and Dabi exchanged a look of panic and the burnt man swallowed.

"What was it?" Spinner asked and Eraser offered them the phone. The hero looked away and then ran a hand through his hair, ominously silent.

Spinner took the phone and Dabi crawled over, both of them staring at the two messages on the screen.

It took them a moment, Spinner coming to the horrible realization a few seconds before Dabi did. The mutant let out a tiny whimper and he put the phone down without locking the screen.

There, amongst broken glass and static, were two things. The first was a photo, blurry and bizarre. It'd been taken from inside a dark room, light filtering in only through the rhomboid spaces open between metal wire. The angle was weird, it was pixelated to hell and back, and the figures on the other side of the mesh wire were overexposed. But the person in the center was unmistakable. There, being dragged down a hall and towards who knows what, was Midoriya Izuku. He looked beaten, terrified, but the burn scars and badly bleached hair, green roots coming in, pointed to no one else. Even his profile was recognizable if you knew him well enough.

Beneath the photo was the message 'We'll stay in touch, Hero Killer.'

And with that, the balance fully broke.