'So many pros in one place.' Kamui Woods thought as he looked all around him. The last time he saw so many top pros gather together for something was during the Sports Festival, only this time, the reason for that was much bleeker.
Edgeshot stood silently on the wall, leaning and watching everything observantly. Taking notice of the various intricacies of the police. He was probably looking for signs of fear, confusion, or traitorism. A mole now would make everything worse after all.
But he was just one of the top ten here. Miriko was also here, glaring at the whiteboard with fury only a mother could conjur. He learned after the internships Suzuki interned under her, and the rumors of Miriko adopting were suddenly a lot more believable.
Speaking of internships, Best Jeanist was around, likely to aid in the rescue of his own intern Bakugo. The pro had a soft spot for hard cases, so this wasn't that surprising to see. Endeavor and Ryuko were around as well, the former there likely because it was a big emergency no rising wanting to be number one could miss.
Next to him was Mt Lady, a reluctant partner he's grown to live with. Behind them were three members of the Wild Wild Pussycats, likely joining to rescue their kidnapped comrade.
The detective leading the charge, Tsukauchi, walked in, coughing to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming. I'll get straight to the point. Thirty-six hours ago, the League of Villains attempted and succeeded in an assault on a U.A training ground. In doing so, they kidnapped two students as well as the Wild Wild Pussycat member, Ragdoll."
"And we're here because you've located them right?" Jeanist asked, an edge in his voice.
"We have two sources." He clicked on the monitor, displaying a bar. "One report showing a man with burn marks and a lizard-like mutant coming in and out of this bar." Another click for a warehouse. "Meanwhile, we have a tracker on one of the Nomu, set for this specific location." He turned to the heroes. "We are unaware who is in what location at the time, but we have a reasonable collection of information."
Miriko looked like she was getting more and more antsy with each passing second. It felt like she was seconds from bursting out of the room to attempt her own solo raid.
The detective frowned. "Another fact to be aware of-" He added. "-Is that there may be a villain that can take the quirks of others, due to the specific makeup of the Nomus." The room was hit with a temporary chill, quickly passing over the stronger and more determined heroes. "We have reason to speculate this villain has reasons to use the quirks of the kidnapped for their own personal gain."
Tiger slammed their fist on the table, a noticeable crack present. "Then you better get us informed fast. I'm not sure how much longer we're willing to take."
"There's packets near the door for individual reading on the way … now then, let me show you the man leading the charge." He turned to the doorway, in coming the number one himself. The room visibly felt warmer … or maybe that was Endeavor.
"Fear not everyone … I am here."
"According to Hawks." Spoke Number 174. "There is a Meta Quirk villain in charge of the League of Villains, which will be hit in a two pronged assault by All Might, multiple top 10 ranks, and a few average heroes."
"This is a disaster." Number 30 groaned. "I thought All For One was taken out five years ago?"
"That was All Might's report." Number 221 reaffirmed. "However, a man that powerful doesn't last as long as he has without backup plans." Sadly true. There was barely any accounting for such a resourceful villain. "What are we to do if All Might falls tonight?"
"The Provisional License Exam is coming up soon, correct?" Number 4 asked. "Just give a larger passing field with remedial studies if they fail. We should expand the quantity to fix the quality issue."
"You want to send kids to their deathbed?" Number 290, the softie, asked. Why they were accepted into the board would be a mystery.
"They accepted the risk of heroism, let them take it." They already started hero training at highschool, this was only the next logical step.
"I think the real problem is the polls." Number 136 changed the subject. "With All Might gone, Endeavor is next in line. He got the second spot from hard work and people accept that, but as a symbol he might not be a great fit." Fair argument. "Plus if he actually gets handed first place by retirement he's going to murder somebody. He already has enough home problems as it is."
"We'll bury it. We've done worse." No one needed to know about a hero's domestic life. "Assuming the League doesn't die out tonight, we're going to need inside information on anything they have."
"Hawks is already infiltrating the Meta Liberation Army, do we have anyone else that could be a suitable substitute?" Number 174 asked.
"We could have had Nagant, if she wasn't a moron that shot the last director." This was a complete disaster. "Bring up any information we have on the currently known members of the league. One of them might be willing to cooperate if we offer the right bait." These were the choices that had to be made. For society.
"I don't see why I have to wear this."
"Because I'm wearing nothing, and I will gladly be naked if it means laughing at your ridiculous outfit." Toru smirked as she watched Ochako come out of the booth. As Momo pointed out, they were way too suspicious as a group of news worthy kids, and thus needed disguises. "Besides, we can't look like a bunch of highschool ua students. Our faces are too recognizable."
"I feel this is more suspicious." The gravity girl pointed to her crop top, pants from an age old time of the 1980's, and shades with stars on them. "I know you did this on purpose, but why did everyone agree?"
"If we're gonna be inconspicuous, do it in style." Ejiro came out as well, having two long pieces of metal on him, almost like ears. Sure it made them think he had a different quirk, but you were a walking antenna.
"I'm not sure style was put into consideration when choosing these." Iida came out in overalls, a red bowtie, and a little mustache on his face. "I feel ridiculous."
Following him was Shoto, who along with a dark suit, wore a black wig that covered the scared eye on his face. "This is me, incognito." Now Tokoyami had a fellow emo in class.
"I might actually keep this, it fits me well." Momo came out wearing a silky red dress with her hair fluffed out and untied, along with some shades.
"Wait, couldn't you have just made us clothes? You don't need to buy all this right?" Shoto asked the real questions.
"It's for the economy, and everything and … I just wanted to shop with girls, don't judge me." She twiddled her fingers cutely. Right, rich girl, she always forgets about that.
"Don't worry about it, I've been needing to update my wardrobe a little." Setsuna waltzed right out in a leather jacket and a bandana. "Come out girl, we don't have all day."
"This is for Iruma … this is for Iruma …" Shiozaki finally came out of her booth, wearing skimpy clothing suggested by Setsuna for 'looking at the wrong thing', since her hair was her most recognizable feature. "I feel scandalous … may god have mercy on my soul."
"Really?" Toru glared at Setsuna. "There wasn't anything MORE revealing you could've given her?" She sarcastically asked. And Shiozaki called HER a whore?
"Well there was a bathing suit over by section three, but we weren't going deep diving today, were we?" Apparently the sass ran across classrooms. "Now come on, we need to get there before the heroes start wreaking shit."
Kurogiri watched as they continued to try and convince Bakugo Katsuki to join. Shigaraki, wanting to wait for the news to criticize, just kept flicking through channels. The more energetic members on the other hand…
"Okay, how about you join us, and then you can have cookies?" Twice asked. Probably assumed HE would make the cookies. DREAM ON!
"Oh yeah, that'll convince me. Spend all my time running and hiding for the rest of my life while eating cookies." Bakugo rolled his eyes. "You really know how to drive a hard bargain."
"See, he's saying he wants to join-"
"Twice, for the love of a theoretical god!" Mange shouted out. "He is. Being. SARCASTIC!"
"... I still don't get it. Understand you loud and clear." The boy looked like he would facepalm if his hands weren't tied up.
"How you morons caught me will forever be an enigma." Bakugo groaned.
"You charged right into one of my barriers thinking you could win because you don't comprehend the concept of losing." Kiriwo walked in, most likely to make the situation worse.
"Would you look at that, the bastard of the month walks right through the door." Bakugo growled low, simmering anger.
"Not the year? Truly I must be slipping, who's my competition?" The demon playfully asked the tied up student. "Can't be Deku-kun, you haven't seen him in…who knows how long by this point, human world time can get so confusing compared to Netherworld."
"Right, because you've got a Demon fetish, don't you?" The explosive boy asked, teeth gritting.
"Better than your perfectionist fetish. You, constantly believing you need to win at any and all costs because you're afraid deep down that you're not actually the hottest piece of shit like everyone in your life said you are." He smirked. "According to files you came in second place through the entirety of the sports festival and most events in the beginning of the year, except for the win at the end which was forfeited of all things. Then you lose to us and get captured when many other classmates didn't, right?"
The boy was silent, turning to Tomura. "You know i'd be more inclined to agree with joining you on the off chance I can murder this bastard."
"Hm, I'm not entirely opposed to the idea…"
"Oh, you both wound me so…" Kiriwo faked being offended. "And here I thought we were becoming friends."
"You don't know when to shut up." Bakugo told the demon. "How the fuck do you even know De-Izuku?"
"He was my kohai." The boy actually blinked in confusion. "Was gonna blow up a school, drown it in despair from parents seeing kids die, you know how it goes."
"We don't." Every villain in the room spoke at the same time.
"So I was working on the bomb in the magical apparatus department-"
"Tinker club?" Spinner asked. "You're an inventor?"
"I dabble." Kiriwo shrugged. "So my club is about to be shut down by a lack of members, but suddenly I'm greeted with four new Kohai. A no name who's super scary, a crazy maniac that terrorizes the school with games, the first year representative with a pyromaniac streak and a stick up his ass bigger than Manges-"
"Hey! My ass is fine!" Compress tapped their shoulder and pointed to the giant magnet on their back. "Oh, continue."
"And the honor student, danger-junkie, the tamer of the beast of cutthroat valley, calamity cultist, Izuku Midoriya." Bakugo stared at the demon for a solid minute.
"Bullshit." Bakugo gritted his teeth. "There's no way in hell you're talking about De-Izuku."
"Oh, you doubt what I'm saying?"
"According to his dad, the real asshole of the year by the way, he and auntie were sold off to some mob boss with a pedopheliac look to him."
"And here I thought we had it bad." Dabi spoke up, most of the villains giving some form of agreement with a nod.
"So don't give me some crap about how the quirkless runt managed to do all that while having fun in high school." The boy glared daggers at Kiriwo.
"Then how would I know about your cute little nickname for him, in fact, how would I know about yours, Kachan?" The explosive boy was silent as the demon approached him. "So since you're not going anywhere anytime soon, tell me, how did you do it? What makes him lose that hopeful look in his eyes? What makes him despair to the point he gives up everything that matters to him?"
"Get closer and I'll tell you." The boy seemed … far too agreeable for this.
"Oh, of course." The boys met face to face. "An intimate moment between two lovers of tor-" The boy realed his head back and headbutted the demon straight in the face. "AGK!" Kiriwo cried out, hitting the ground.
"Listen here you bastard. I don't care how the fuck you know him, when I get out of here i'm going to get you to take me to him before I tear our your organs one … by …" The boy's tangent was stopped, replaced with a look of disbelief. "Is he unconscious?"
The villains looked down to see clouded eyes and an unresponsive body. "He always has those barriers active, guess we know why now." Shigaraki shrugged. "He can't take a punch."
"He's kinda cute like this." Toga spoke up. "Bloody, shiny, and most importantly, not able to get a word in edgewise." She raised her blades up. "Can I cut him?"
"Later. Watch." Shigiraki turned to the TV. "It's starting."
All For One watched as Iruma glared at him. "What's wrong? I'm simply showing you how uncomfortable it is for someone to lose their quirk." He tossed the now unconscious body of Ragdoll into a wall. "It's basically like losing your soul for anyone that values it. Everything that they are, everything they could accomplish, just 'poof'! Gone in an instant."
"Quirks don't make people. They're just something they're born with. Like pink hair, or nails." The boy was a moron.
"You only think that way because you were born without one, you convinced yourself that everything was alright."
"Last I checked I made it all the way in my life to the third round of the sports festival without it." Iruma spoke. "When was the last time you did something without your quirk?"
"Convince you of course. I'm not outright brainwashing you, am I?" Plus the kid's brain was fucked up with his parent's own brainwashing. If he did anything more, the brat would probably go catatonic, and One For All would be lost to him.
"Last I checked you were doing a real shit job at it." Oooh, he was cursing? That meant he got under this dense idiot's skin. He was nine for nine on that now. "So you're just going to keep me in a cell and torture me while Tomura wonders how I am and All Might comes to find me?"
He had a point about Tomura, his successor's 'bond' with the brat would probably lead to 'disagreement', but it wasn't anything he was too worried about. "All Might? I have no doubt he'll come to me. In fact, he's making his way here now." It paid to have 'friends' everywhere.
"Then he'll beat you up just like last time."
"Last time, you precious 'Bunny-sensei', had the full power of One For All in him when he crippled me." The man laughed, and it made the brat shake unnervingly. "But while I've recuperated and recovered, he's slowly been getting weaker and weaker, not to mention he no longer has it." Iruma looked like he was choking on air.
"N..no…"
"Yes. You had to realize it right? He's been getting weaker and weaker because he gave it to you. All Might will die tonight." He paused. "But if you give me my brother's quirk back, I'll only make sure he never fights again, get him to use up those embers. It's your fault he's in this mess after all."
The boy's expression faltered. Come on … and then returned a glare full force. "He would tell me to run away and let him handle it, even if he died." Jesus, this kid, sitting in his little cell while constantly denying him what he wanted … fuck, it was his brother all over again.