Another two days went by with no word from the outside world. Solitary confinement really was solitary confinement. No messages came in from any of his friends, it was like his signal was shut down. Geus didn't mind either way as his mind was gone. Even to eat became bothersome. Ten pounds from his body disappeared within the three-day absence. And many more would vanish in the days to come. His body became a stain of its former self, his clothes wreaked which only made his body odor worse. His muscles ached from the lack of movement, his eyes red and strained, his wellness stripped. The thought to continue school was slim. His mindset saw no possible positive outcome of any of this. To accept nothing and deal with the failure was better.

"You're just going to give up like that?" Geus heard his own voice come out. This voice sounded purer than what usually came out of his mask. It sounded exactly like when he had his mask off with his name announcement. The recognition of it wasn't instant. After a year of the same voice, the slight mufflization was normal.

Geus's near dead eyes dragged up from the solid white concrete. His comic book self stared right back at him. Only he looked more advanced, and stronger. His face was chiseled with each line stroke made him appear slicker. He wore the same mask that Mei gave him, with a few tubes on the cheeks that ran the length of his arms and to his fingers. The metal plating shaded pitch black and sleeker than his current ones. If it wasn't for the gray shading under it, it looked like thick cloth. Hair and a mustache were the last things he noticed on himself. The slicked back of the black hair made him sick. It was too much like the warden's.

"I know I wasn't deaf at this age." His self-spoke again. "You going to give up that easy? I remember this year as the year that made me. I sure as hell don't remember this."

"Shut up," Geus didn't move his lips as he spoke. "you're just a figment of my imagination. The last shred of hope I have left."

"I'm god damn right I am. You can't even think of me in color because of how frail I am."

"You switched from being your own thing to me."

"I thought you'd actually see that this is real. I may not be but who I am in your mind is. You envision all these upgrades for yourself in time to come. These tubes guide our quirk to be more controlled somehow. The thin metal plates are coated in the antidote to our quirk to protect others. This mask is perfect for what we need. Even hair! But now you sit here as a pathetic shrew."

"This world isn't meant to be our dream. Some are set to win and succeed. And others keep on being crushed down to have those winners get up further. We are the human step stool for them."

The older Geus grabbed his gas mask and pulled it off. A black space emerged from under it. "You're so scared of what you are you can't even see under this! Life is full of doubt yes but look at your past! Your own parents hated what you are but they still love you! Even the principle believed in you so much he personally recommended you into UA Highschool. There's a mask out there for you that everybody will copy you and look up to you. Your god damn friends skipped a day of interns to be with you! This isn't over!"

"I complete my three years and then what?" Geus's body groaned, he grabbed the side of his bed and forced him up to his feet. "I'm still a killer of two people, the court won't say that should be ignored for my heroism."

"God my younger self really was stupid. Listen to me. Those crimes? Those crimes were committed by a child with no direction or proper guidance. And I'm not Geus. I'm no Sansei. Gasus is a hero to the people, his past is nonexistent to the people."

"Pathetic." Geus rubbed his eye. "I'm sure I forgot that my whole life is lit up to the public." He switched from his eye and picked his ear. "Even if I hide for a years before my return it won't take long for people to build connections. And I'm sure I can't sign up for a credit card with my hero name. Gasus, god what a stupid name I came up with."

"You could also become a villain."

Out of all possibilities, that one never came up. The idea was always suppressed out of memory. One sliver of hope kept it patched in the corner and out of mind. Geus always thought that day could never come, he fought villains. To become one was impossible.

The figure Geus saw in front of him morphed. The hair fell off and melted over with the effects of his gas. His eyes milky white, the mask is torn open with gas huffed out. His clothes were also ruined, stained to be forever part of his body.

"Ya see the boy? Like this nobody can hurt me, at this point I feel nothing. Skin so far from repairable that each nerve died, all friends and happiness went to despair. There still is something from this hellhole."

"God that's cringy."

"Come on, join up with the League Of Villains. We can bust out of here no problem, kill everyone inside, escape before anyone can stop us. Cops? Bullets won't do a damn thing. Hero's won't be able to touch us without mortally wounding themselves."

"Don't listen to him kid." A hand grasped his imagination's shoulder and walked over to his side.

"Not you too Kamui." Geus punched the wall. His ring finger broke on impact and the rough concrete split open his knuckles. "Why can't I get it through my thick skull! I'm worthless, I'm nothing! I'm a murderer! I'm pathetic!" He squatted down and plunged his palms in his ears. "You're fake, imaginary, I can end it all. Just rip open this mask and kill myself with it."

"Killing yourself only allows them to win." All Might's powerful voice broke through Geus's muffled ears. "Time and time again history has proven that a powerful and misunderstood group earned their way to equality. Don't be a martyr to them. A hero to their cause rose up to change how society viewed them. It's now your job to stand on that mantle and rise above. Plus Ultra!"

"You're the number one hero if you can't do it then I cant. I'm just a kid that will leave everyone mortified. People will only see me as a villain trying to be a hero."

"Isn't that what we're trying to fix ourselves?" Midoriya asked. "My quirk destroys my own body. If I wanted to I could split a man in half with a single punch. With a little more training I could make anyone in my way disappear. But the school and my own ambition tells me to stop these kinds of people and put the civilians at ease at the same time."

Midoriya's hand relaxed on Geus's back. "Don't touch me!" Geus squirmed and rolled to the corner of the room. "You're meant for that life! Not me! I'm better off here or dead!"

"Geus."

Geus's eyes shot open, cold sweats dripped down his body. His imagination replaced the room he was in. It wasn't the prison cell anymore, instead, he changed it to his childhood home. Tan walls, a full-size bed with blue covers, a large window directly across his bed. And a desk on the left wall that was covered in half-finished papers and a static tv screen. The door to his room creaked open.

"Geus?" The same voice called. A full black figure with red eyes walked through the door. "Surprised to see you here. You always said once your quirk manifested that you'd leave this place to work with a hero. Why haven't you done that? You seemed to have given up in here."

"Dad," Geus whispered. His hands swung up to feel his face. The mask was gone. His mouth felt normal as if nothing was there."

"Well after the failure of the surgery, you said you'd never call me that either." The black figure laughed. "I guess you were just angry at us. Love triumphs hate I guess. So you meet with the other sinner yet?"

"Dad."

"What? I get it, you proved us wrong that you can control your quirk so much that you don't need the mask anymore. Can't kiss your girlfriend because of your heroism won't let you? That'd happen. You can come back to the bookstore you know. I bet your girlfriend will like you again."

"Dad."

"What? Son, no matter what you do we'll support you. If anyone can prove us wrong it's you." The figure looked away. "I doubt it though." He mumbled.

"Dad, what if I killed you with my quirk?"

"Son. You'll only prove us right. Of course, I wish it wasn't you but that sometimes has to be. Your mother will be extremely angry with you. But like today, we'll be able to tolerate your existence." He sighed and walked over to the window. "If you're trying to get me to say that we'd still love you no matter what. Then that's what you get." He turned around. "Son, you could leave for ten years to become the number one hero. And the entire time never talk to us. The day you come back we will still love you. We just hate who you are. That will never change. You're a stain on this world just like the other 80% of you. You will never be loved as a family member, our family will never see you as one of us. But as our son. You're with us. All ways."

The world engulfed into his eyes and returned back to normal. White walls now covered most of his vision, his double bed was now a thin cot and his bright sunlight now artificial fluorescent light bulbs. The sight was the true memories he held dearest. If any place would shape him, this was the place.

Geus looked around the room, he stood in the very center and angled to the camera. "You almost had me. There's a truth in that. But I won't give up." Geus's hand clenched into a fist. "I'll get back on top."

The elevator doors slid open. The faint sound of a laugh echoed through. Chills no longer trembled his body. Geus turned to the elevator. The sight of the man was longer fear, it was a challenge. Iroh could tell Geus's new attitude. He didn't react poorly or positively. He remained neutral among the subject. His appearance brought on the thought that he really didn't care no matter what.

"So after a twenty minute talk with your self, you think you're strong? Powerful stuff, I want to let you into a secret. My job as a warden is to rehabilitate those who are corrupted by the seven deadly sins of this society. You may see that my methods are extreme but they work."

"So all of this is to make me better of a person? All you do is try to create more villains. If my spirit was gone, I'd be gone, a widow of my self."

"If it makes you feel better, I'm riding all my cards on you. However you turn out is going to set my future. I'm going to be tough on you, bring you down till you beg of death. Either you become a hero and I win. Or you become a villain" Geus crunched his fist tighter. "and I break you so far that you will never create another crime. And I win." His yellow teeth exposed from the spread of his grin. "I'm not on your side or against. However you turn out, I will always be on top."

"By the end of this. I will fight you." Geus pointed at Iroh. "Not to kill, not to brutalize, to prove by the end of this that I'm stronger."

"I'll tell you what. The day before I get promoted or the day before you become a pro hero then we face. I don't deserve my position on top if I can't take on my strongest prisoner. And you don't deserve recognition if you can't beat your greatest set back."

Days went by, the death of an influential villain called Stain died. And the public outcry of villains was heard, their numbers rose in his name. Even the power of All Might couldn't stop this momentum. At this point, Geus couldn't turn to the internship for help. Help was something he had to strive for on his own. His weight and muscle tone had to return. His mind as well needed to be in tip top shape. For Geus, this was harder. The thought of suicide to end everything he corrupted was still there. Even the thought to become a villain didn't leave.

The place he was held in was no longer a cell to be destroyed. A different outlook took shape, the shape of a gym to decide future. Every reflection he saw was either his heroic side or his villainess side. His decision to escape this place wanted to overshadow his goal to protect. Nothing was going to stop him.