Ever since their formation, the League of Villains had faced their fair share of setbacks. Tomura Shigaraki's initial attack on U.A had resulted in complete failure when All Might soundly defeated the Nomu he had brought. During the battle at Kamino Ward, All For One had been bested by All Might and ever since had been locked away in the depths of Tarturus. In their preliminary meeting with Overhaul, Magne had unfortunately perished. Even their hopes of gaining assistance from Paradise through Checkmate had gone up in smoke when U.A's Class 1-C had managed to take down the organization in a single night. Yes, the League had gone through plenty of tough times.

But all of those seemed trivial in comparison to their current endeavor.

A deafening roar erupted from a colossal being as it smashed the ground around him, creating a shockwave that blew Shigaraki and the other League members with him back. Were any of them to take a direct hit from one of the blows of the monster known as Gigantomachia, it would almost certainly guarantee their death.

This battle that had their lives in constant peril had been going on for roughly a month and a half, to the point that the League had Gigantomachia's actions down like clockwork. He would wage an all out assault on them for 48 hours and 44 minutes straight, before resting for only 3 hours in-between intervals. His already massive body would grow even bigger during combat. And worst of all, he seemed to always be able to locate Shigaraki like a bloodhound.

The Doctor had given the League - or Shigaraki to be more precise - a trial. Tame the giant beast known as Gigantomachia. If they could succeed, the Doctor would lend them his full support. And so their lives for this past month and a half had been spent solely battling Gigantomachia in hopes of defeating him and bending him to their will. But with his absurd power, doing so was proving to be easier said than done.

Other than Dabi, who was busy helping the Doctor with other things at the time, the rest of the League had been switching in and out to provide Shigaraki support. Those who weren't fighting at the time would rest to stay fresh for combat, or go get food for the others. For whatever reason, Gigantomachia was solely fixated on Shigaraki, and would ignore anyone else so long as they weren't attacking him.

Cougar landed on a nearby tree branch as she took a quick moment to catch her breath. "How much longer till the big guy rests again?"

"A little under an hour from my estimate." Compress responded.

"Dammit." the catlike villain cursed. "I can appreciate a man playing hard to get, but this is ridiculous."

"Complain later! Here he *cough* comes!" Utocha warned in a hoarse voice.

Gigantomachia charged forward at Shigaraki. Cougar acted quickly and lashed out her whip, wrapping it around her leader before pulling him out of Gigantomachia's reach. The titan changed course and came her way next, but he was intercepted by a horde of ghouls made from Utocha's Quirk.

For another hour, the League did all they could to survive against Gigantomachia. But finally, he grew tired and fell asleep. Shigaraki and the others wasted no time in retreating a fair distance away before taking the moment to catch their breath as well.

"You didn't get banged up too badly, did you boss?" Cougar asked.

"Yeah. the big dumb bastard's slowing down a lot." Shigaraki said with an exhausted grin. "I'm way closer now than when this whole saga started. I'll bring that overgrown gorilla to his knees, sooner or later."

A few minutes later, Toga and Spinner returned to the group from their trip into town. Spinner reached into his pocket and pulled out a packet of throat lozenges. He tossed them over to Utocha. "Here you go."

"Thanks. I appreciate it." Utocha said as he caught the packet. "Cherry flavor. My favorite. You know me well, Spinner."

Cougar had her eyes on the new duffle coat Toga was wearing. "I see someone decided to add to their wardrobe."

"You like?" Toga asked, doing a cute twirl. "It keeps me toasty and warm."

"Oh definitely. And so stylish too." Cougar smirked. "You really have an eye for fashion, Toga."

"Aw, stop it! You're super cute too, Akari!"

"Indeed. You're both very beautiful young women." Twice added. He then quickly switched opinions, as he often did when speaking. "Why do girls always fixate on dumb things like clothes?"

The League rested together for a few more minutes. Their quiet time was interrupted however when Twice's phone started ringing. He pulled it out to see who was calling him, and was rather surprised at what he saw. "It's Giran. Wonder where he's been."

"I've been calling Giran, and gotten nothing but radio silence!" Compress complained, waving his broken prosthetic arm. "Ask him if we've got damage insurance."

"That guy cares about me more than anyone ever has. He got me into the League, you know. A real mensch, that one." Twice told him before finally answering the phone. "Why the hell haven't you been answering Mr. Compress's calls?! You're the absolute worst, man!"

Rather than Giran however, a strange voice came from the other line. "Oops, that would be our fault. Sorry. Don't be mad at him." Twice raised a brow under his mask and pulled the phone away, putting it on speaker. The person speaking through the phone continued. "Don't tell me. You're Jin Bubaigawara, the villain known as Twice, right?"

"Who are you? Where's Giran?" Twice asked.

"Never mind that. Turn on the news if you can." the mysterious person instructed.

Cougar pulled out her phone and looked up recent news. The first result she found was a video from a local news station.

"Our top story. Following yesterday's events, another finger has been found. Earlier, a severed finger was found near the home of the Shie Hassakai boss. Then, at Hosu City Terminal, on the Metropolitan Expressway, and at Ground Zero in Kamino Ward, all within the last three days. And now a pinky finger turns up in central Fukuoka, at the sight of Endeavour's recent battle."

Cougar narrowed her eyes, coming to the same conclusion the rest of the LEague was likely reaching. 'Each of those are places we've been active in recent months. That can't be a coincidence.'

"Who the hell are you, huh?!" Twice shouted.

"I'm the grand commander of the Meta Liberation Army. The name's Re-Destro."

"First the Yakuza and now the Liberation Army?" Shigaraki questioned in an annoyed tone. "All you has-beens trying to make a comeback. Hear you've been selling lots of books lately. You wanna get in on the trend while the getting's good."

"Think again." Re-Destro replied. "We're the ones who started the trend."

"Congratulations!" Twice commented sarcastically. "What do you want with Giran?! You better not hurt him any more or you're toast!"

"I've got your broker right here. And he's still alive of course." Re-Destro assured them. "Our objective is to liberate all meta humans. To demolish the existing framework and rebuild a world where people can be themselves. Where they can use their abilities to their fullest capacity."

Compress found himself intrigued by the idea. "Interesting. I don't see any reason why we should oppose that."

"Is he trying to exploit our name, like the Yakuza?" Toga accused.

Shigaraki himself couldn't help but be curious at the idea himself, but he had more important priorities. "Give us the broker, and we'll get back to you soon. We're busy now. I'll hear about your little revolution club once our task here's complete."

Unfortunately, Re-Destro wasn't willing to cooperate. "While you're taking a breather, why not just hear me out? I'm not gonna release my hostage now, because you're not calling the shots. And your friend has told me what a tight-knit group you are." he said. "Your broker is an admirable man. Takes great pride in his work. I imagine he's determined to remain hidden in the shadows, ever careful to avoid the prying eyes of heroes and the police. Sadly he never thought someone might be lurking in those same shadows waiting to pounce. Still I commend him. He had the foresight to delete his client list before we struck. Not only that, but he didn't so much as wince when we started taking his fingers, nor did he give you up. But as for that client list? We were able to recover it. I must praise his resistance, futile though it was."

Utocha clenched his fists in frustration. "Bastard…"

"We liberation warriors have worked hard. Preparing for years to enact the coming events. We've endured for generations, biding our time, spreading our roots far and wide! Revolution club? I don't like jokes made in poor taste. I have 116,516 hidden warriors. And we are lying in wait, ever ready to take action."

"This guy must be bluffing." Spinner said.

Re-Destro quickly proved him wrong however. "Niigata, huh? How's the weather deep in those mountains?"

The entire League widened their eyes in shock that their present location was known. Twice threw his phone to the ground in an attempt to break it. But Re-Destro continued.

"Too late I'm afraid. We're watching you right now, thanks to our satellite. Go where you will, but we'll always find you. We're always watching the League of Villains. Endeavour, Hawks, Edge Shot, Mirko, Crust. One quick call, and they'll drop everything and have you surrounded."

"I do appreciate the advance warning." Shigaraki told him. "Now, what do you want from us?"

"I insist the leader of the revolution bear the name Destro. Your organization has become too well-known. Therefore we shall crush you. Thus, signaling the revival of the Liberation Army. the fingers prove our resolve. Let's not draw this little talk out with pointless bargaining. The war's begun, to liberate meta humans from all tyranny! Next, you will make your way to Deika City in Aichi within the hour. That's your only hope of freeing your friend Giran. Then, you must make your choice! Will you stand against us and be destroyed or do nothing and be captured by the heroes?! You must decide, Shigaraki!"

With that, the phone call abruptly ended. As much as the League hated to admit it, they were currently in the palm of the Liberation Army's hand. Ignoring this challenge would mean letting the heroes become aware of their location. Such a thing was a death sentence for them, especially if it was true that Re-Destro could track their movements at any time through his satellite.

"This certainly feels like checkmate for us." Compress stated grimly.

"Do we even have to discuss this?" Twice asked. "No way! That guy described Giran to a T! This Re-Destro guy's got him for sure! Giran saved me! Gave me somewhere to belong! So we have to go save him! Like right now!"

"Agreed!" Utocha chimed in. "I owe Giran a lot. He helped me when I was lost and alone. I won't abandon him."

"Hold on, pussycats. Let's not lose our heads." Cougar commented. "All we have is that Re-Destro guy's word. For all we know, Giran might already be dead."

"But even if there's a slim chance Giran's alive, we have to help him!"

"You want us to barrel in there without a plan? Calm yourself. You've gotten way too attached to people lately. It's become a bad habit." Compress told Twice.

"What's so wrong about getting attached to others?!" Utocha argued. "We're all comrades, are we not?! We're supposed to have each other's backs!"

"Yeah!" Twice agreed. "It's because I'm an outcast-"

Before Twice could continue, Shigaraki pulled off his mask. Twice quickly gasped as if his life was in danger from his face being exposed.

"I think I've got an idea." Shigaraki said. He put a hand to his earpiece. "Doctor, did you catch all that?"

"Yes, I've been tuned into "Villain Radio", and I'm shocked to hear that the Meta Liberation Army is back." he confirmed. "The waves you've been making in the underworld have dredged up some real darkness."

Shigaraki glanced at Compress. "How long do we have until the big baby wakes up?"

"If left undisturbed, he should wake up in 2 hours and 35 minutes, give or take."

"Perfect. Where's Dabi?"

"At the moment, just outside the border between Mie and Shiga." Doctor informed him.

"That's a great place to be." Shigaraki said. "Ok, we'll need a transport. Let's go."

"You're taking the bait?!" Spinner exclaimed. "What if they really have a hundred thousand people?! We'll be dead!"

Shigaraki grinned as he pointed in Gigantomachia's direction. "The giant's not invincible. After a month and a half of fighting him, it's clear to me. But he does have an excess amount of HP. And no matter where I am, he'll sniff me out and hunt me down."

Cougar saw where Shigaraki was going with this and grinned. "Interesting…"

"We're going to send Gigantomachia right into the fray and let him face all those fighters. Battling all those revolutionaries will wear that meathead down."

"How sneaky." Doctor commented. "And what'll you do if it turns out Re-Destro is bluffing?"

"Then he'll die, simple as that."

"We're really doing this then?" Spinner asked.

"That's what I said." Shigaraki nodded. An excited grin was etched onto his face. "And they won't even know what hit 'em."

It had taken almost the entire hour allotted to them, but Shigaraki and the League stood together at the edge of Deika City. They stared down at it from atop the forest hillside. If Re-Destro wasn't bluffing, then waiting for them there would be an army of Liberation Army soldiers.

"Welcome to the suburbs." Spinner commented. "Completely unremarkable."

"I like the atmosphere." Twice said before changing his tune with "This place sucks!"

Compress took a look at his pocket watch. "Once Machia wakes up in 1 hour and 40 minutes, he'll chase Shigaraki to this stage. When he makes his entrance, he'll run into the so-called Liberation Army."

"Two birds with one stone." Cougar smirked. "I love it."

"Now we just need to last long enough for the big behemoth to get here." Utocha said.

Toga's ears twitched as she heard a noise. "Someone's coming!"

The rest of the League soon heard it too and turned to see an individual coming their way. The costume they were wearing gave off the impression that they were a hero. As the League prepared for battle, the hero called out to them. "A friend approaches!"

"Huh? Who's this whackjob?" Dabi questioned.

"Seems to be a hero. Though not one that I know." Spinner said.

"I've been commanded to act as your guide today, so if you want to speak with our esteemed leader, you can follow my lead." the hero explained.

If they were being offered an invite in, who was the League to say no? It certainly beat trying to storm the city by force. They decided to play along and followed the hero into the city. His Quirk seemed to be sliding, as he was able to hover around on the ground with ease. He brought them into the city and they began walking along its streets.

As they walked, the empty atmosphere caught everyone's attention. "There's nobody here." Compress stated.

"No. They're here alright." Cougar realized, catching a few glimpses of people in the shadows or on rooftops with the help of her keen cat-like eyesight.

Shigaraki quickly realized what was going on. "I get it. It's the whole city."

"Right you are!" the hero confirmed. He came to a stop and turned around as a new figure walked out from behind an intersection. It was a man with black hair and seemed to be in his thirties. Another persona, a woman with blue skin and purple hair stood at his side.

The new man spoke to them. "This is a liberated district. Ninety percent of Deika City's population is hidden liberation warriors." he explained. "We appreciate you traveling so far to meet us face-to-face. We celebrate your arrival. You are the guests of honor!"

"Isn't that Hanabata from the Hearts and Mind Party?" Compress questioned.

"Ick, a politician." Cougar said in disdain. "I really don't like his kind."

Hanabata shows a slight grin. "Now let the festivities begin. Welcome in, new friends-" he said as he snapped his fingers. "-to our revival party!"

Without warning, the people of Deika City came out from the shadows and swarmed the League as they began attacking. Shigaraki and the others acted quickly and began fighting back.

"Seems they weren't lying about their numbers!" Compress stated.

"It doesn't matter!" Twice said. "We're here! Where's Giran?"

"You must mean the broker." Hanabata realized. He gestured to a tall tower in the distance. "He's with our grand commander. I'm sure he's being entertained."

Cougar evaded an attack from one of the Liberation Army soldiers before slashing them with her claws. They became coated with the red stain of blood. "I think you'll all be able to provide me with some lovely nail polish." she said. "What's the plan, Shigaraki?"

Shigaraki replied with a simple order. "Head for the tower."

Not wasting any more time, Cougar leapt up toward the rooftop of a building. She was agile and had plenty of stamina when it came to her legs. She'd have little trouble avoiding the soldiers on the ground if she traveled along the roofs. Unfortunately, the Liberation Army seemed to have that route covered as well. Several people were ready to intercept her, including a couple that had Quirks that allowed them to be airborne.

"You really shouldn't get in a girl's way, little kitties!" Cougar told them. She nimbly dodged each attack that came her way before slicing each soldier she passed by. "Heh, Liberation Army. What a joke. You all should never have-"

"Big sis…"

The familiar voice caught Cougar off guard. Through the horde of people coming to attack her, Cougar saw a young blonde girl. She was the spitting image of a younger version of her sister. "Hikari… Augh!"

Cougar's momentary distraction had left her open to a hit from one of the soldiers, who delivered a blow to her gut. Cougar was sent tumbling off the roof onto a street parallel to where her allies had been. They had split her off from them.

"Dammit." Cougar cursed. She had known deep down that Hikari couldn't have been here. Not only was she currently at U.A training to become a hero, the Hikari that Cougar had just seen was one far younger than the Hikari of the present. But that scared expression she had seen on the girl's face brought back unpleasant memories.

"Akari Akabane." a voice spoke up. Cougar saw a man in his mid thirties walk down the street towards her. He was wearing a fancy hat, and had a cigar in his mouth. "Villain name, Cougar. Age 20. Ran away from home three years ago and joined the League of Villains just this summer."

"Someone's done their homework. I'm flattered." Cougar responded. "And just who the hell are you?"

"Where are my manners?" he shook his head. "I'm Haruhiro Ichigame, former detective turned private investigator. But my friends in the Liberation Army just call me Inspector."

"Oh goodie. A policeman." Cougar's voice was laced with sarcasm. "My favorite type of people."

"Now, now. I became a private detective specifically because I couldn't abide the way things were done on the force." Inspector explained. "So I decided to solve cases my own way. Outside the law."

The soldiers didn't let up their attacks. Cougar found herself desperately dodging them all. But she was vastly outnumbered. And the hit from earlier was still a little sore.

Inspector continued his speech. "The police act simply as lapdogs to the central government. You know how ordinary citizens have restrictions placed upon Quirk usage? You'd be surprised at the number of assault victims that get into trouble from fighting back against their attackers and injuring them with their Quirks. These situations sickened me. So I became a P.I in order to help such people get revenge on the real criminals of society."

"You sound more like a hitman than an investigator."

"Ha, well you're not entirely wrong I suppose." he chuckled. "I used my connections to do quite a bit of digging into each of the members of the League. Your backstories. How you all came to be who you are. Some of the things I found were truly fascinating. Though in your case, Miss Akabane, I'm afraid I found it rather cliche."

Cougar narrowed her eyes to a glare. "Well who asked you?"

"A normal troublemaking high schooler. You participated in a burglary with some friends of yours during your second year, but were caught. You got off with little more than a slap on the wrist since you were a minor, but you ran away from home less than a year later. Troubles with your family, I'm guessing?"

"Shut up…"

"Children like you are a dime a dozen. You act out to try and feel important. And when you get scolded for your actions, you cry about it and call the world unfair." Inspector shook his head. "You're nothing more than an immature little brat."

"I said SHUT UP!" Cougar shouted. She sped at Inspector with a murderous look in her eyes, cutting down the soldiers that dared to get in her way.

But when she made it halfway towards the man, her surroundings suddenly changed. A veil of violet covered the world around her and Cougar found herself in an empty void.

"What is this?" Cougar questioned. "Where am I?!"

"Big sis…"

Cougar gasped as she turned towards the voice. Once again, she was met with a young version of her sister Hikari.

'Like I'm falling for that again.' Cougar thought to herself. But suddenly Hikari wasn't alone. Figures rose up from the ground, taking the form of her little sister as well. Within seconds, the area was littered with Hikaris.

"Big sis…"

"Big sis…"

"Big sis…"

'This must be that bastard's Quirk.' Cougar thought to herself. 'Tune it out. Just tune it all out. This isn't real.'

True to Cougar's intuition, Inspector stood where he was. Only Cougar was seeing the things he was showing her with his Quirk.

Haruhiro Ichigame. MLA Codename: Inspector. Quirk: Hallucination. He can create illusions that target a specific individual.

"From my investigation into your background, your sister is currently enrolled in the U.A hero course, isn't she?" Inspector said, his voice echoing around Cougar. "She must be just as disappointed as your parents about how you turned out."

Inside the illusion, the fake Hikari's all moved towards Cougar. She tried to ignore them, but Inspector coordinated their movements with the soldiers who resumed their attacks on Cougar. The voices of the illusionary Hikari's drowned out the sounds of the soldiers, who didn't become visible until the moment of attack. Cougar took hit after hit which gradually sapped away her strength.

A powerful hit came that knocked Cougar flat on her back. Her body slammed into the road with a painful thud. As she tried to recover, two new illusionary figures manifested. Cougar instantly recognized them as her parents. But rather than normal humans, there were slight changes. Their faces were distorted and horns grew out from their heads, making them look more like demons than humans.

"What's this supposed to be? Some messed up family reunion?" Cougar asked.

The mother weeped into her eyes. "Why? Why did you turn out like this, Akari? We only ever tried to raise you to be a good girl?"

The father went next, giving her a disapproving glance. "All you ever do is get into trouble. Why do you have to be such a problem child? Why can't you just be a normal girl?"

"Rgh!" Cougar instantly got to her feet and slashed at her parents. They evaporated into mist, but were quickly replaced with two new ones. They continued with their harsh words.

"All you ever do is cause trouble. Do you realize how badly this makes our family look?"

"Why were you ever born? We'd be so much happier if Hikari was our only daughter."

Cougar snarled. "Yeah. You made that perfectly clear to me when I was growing up."

"Big sis…" Most of the illusionary Hikaris vanished, leaving a single one that stood by her parents. Her features changed, taking on the same demonic form as them.

Cougar's body trembled. "No… Don't…"

"You were such a horrible big sister to me." Hikari spoke. "I hate you. Why don't you just die and stop dragging our family name through the mud?"

Cougar grit her teeth. "Hikari…" Suddenly the blows from the soldiers resumed, and pain racked her body all over again. "Augh!"

Inspector chuckled to himself. "Does it hurt knowing your family hates you? You can't really blame them, can you? All you've ever been is a worthless troublemak-"

Inspector stopped short when Cougar suddenly knocked away her attackers. She shouldn't have been able to see anything other than the illusions he was showing her. But without hesitation, she sped in his direction and gripped her hand tightly around his throat.

"I-Impossible…"

Cougar glared hatefully at the man. "You talk too much."

"What were you thinking?"

Akari frowned as she avoided her mother's gaze. "It was just sparring."

"Why did you have to be fighting in the first place?!" The mother of the two girls pressed an ice pack against the bruise on Hikari's arm. "Hikari dear, your sister didn't hurt you too badly, did she?"

"I'm fine, mom!" Hikari argued. "I asked Akari to-"

"No! Not one more word, young lady!" their mother said.

Their father glared at Akari. "We'll talk about this later. For now, you're grounded for two weeks."

"What?! But I-"

"Would you care to make it three weeks?"

The eldest daughter fell silent, giving up on trying to argue with her parents. It was always like this. They never bothered to listen to her. All they ever did was scold her.

After their parents walked away, Hikari looked apologetically at her sister. "I'm sorry. This is all my fault."

"Forget it. You didn't do anything wrong." Akari told her. "And I was the one who agreed to train you a little."

"But why did you say yes if you knew mom and dad would get mad at you?"

Akari gave her sister a pat on the head. "If there's one thing I know, little sister, it's that the world is a cruel place. I'm not always going to be around to protect you. If it means you can defend yourself at least a little in case you ever run into trouble, I don't mind catching a little heat from mom and dad. Not like them being mad at me is anything I'm not used to."

The head pat caused Hikari to smile just a little. "Thanks, big sis. I'm gonna be super tough like you when I grow up."

Akari giggled slightly. "I'm sure."

"I don't give a damn about you dressing my folks up like demons. I've been seeing them like that for as long as I can remember." Cougar told Inspector as she tightened her grip around his neck. "But I will not tolerate anyone using my little sister against me."

Even during the toughest of times, Hikari had always been in her corner. Whenever Akari got into trouble, Hikari would try to defend her. Of course, it never accomplished anything. But just having one person she knew was always on her side made all those difficult times worth it. Even after her parents had gone ballistic on her for shoplifting with her friends, Hikari would still sneak into her room to chat with her briefly.

"You don't know my sister. And you definitely don't know me." Cougar said. "Cause if you did, you would have known it was a big mistake to piss me off!"

As a wave of soldiers rushed at her, Cougar broke Inspector's neck with one swift motion. She let go of his lifeless body and met the soldiers head on. Without any more illusions to distract her, she tore through them without mercy. Anyone who came too close fell to the ground with claw marks tearing across their body.

Cougar had been separated from the rest of the League. But she knew exactly where she would find them. The tower in the distance. She had left her old family behind her. The League was her new family. It was a place she knew would always accept her for who she was.

"Now which of you bastards wants to be my next scratch post?"

A/N: Phew. This chapter took me a bit of time to write out. It also took me a bit to figure out how to best pace this arc. Since the focus will mostly be on Cougar and Death Metal's battles, seeing as everyone already knows what happens in the other fights, this arc is just going to be two chapters. I considered having one chapter each dedicated to Cougar and Death Metal's fights, but that would have made the first chapter for this just be everything leading up to the battles, which everyone who's read the manga or watched the anime has seen. So I put cougar's fight into this chapter as well, hence the long time it took to write this one.

Hope you all liked seeing Cougar in action and are looking forward to a close look at Death Metal, including his backstory, next chapter. Until then.