The New Normal

by ClemPrime13

What Izuku Midoriya knew to be normal was blown out the window when the hero that he idolized all of his life told him the words that he had longed to hear for years. Now that he's going to his dream high school and living his dream of becoming a hero, it feels like nothing could go wrong. It's a pity that the League of Villains have other ideas.

21. Fury

Chapter 21: Fury

Now that he had slept on it and his head was clear, Tohru Yaoyorozu's resolve had hardened. His deal with All For One had been simple. He provided intel on UA -and especially on Izuku Midoriya- in exchange for his daughter's safety.

All For One had reneged on his part of their agreement. Tohru was known in the business world for being fair and even-handed with all he dealt with. However, if any overzealous competitors tried to screw him, he could be downright vicious.

The police would never believe his story. So, he would go directly to UA and confess his crimes to Nezu. He had strayed into the shadows for long enough, it was time to step back into the light, consequences be damned.

After he had dropped Momo off for the bus to the summer training camp, Tohru made a beeline for Nezu's office. He needed to do this before he lost his nerve. He knocked on the door.

"Enter!" Said a voice from within.

Tohru entered the office, and saw the... rat? Was Nezu a rat? It wasn't relevant. He saw Nezu making a pot of tea. "Oh, Mr. Yaoyorozu! It's a pleasure to see you. What can I do for you this fine day?"

"I have some... sensitive information for you, Mr. Principal." Tohru said.

Nezu's interest was piqued by the use of his hero name alone. "Oh, wonderful! I love these sorts of visits from people like you! Is it dirt on the HPSC?"

Tohru chuckled. Nezu's grudge against the HPSC president was legendary. "I'm afraid not." He hesitated for a moment. How could he even begin? "Does the name All For One mean anything to you?"

Nezu's teacup froze midway to his mouth. "A great deal. What information do you have?"

Tohru was taken aback by his tone, It had an edge that anyone rarely heard from Nezu. "Near the beginning of the school year, All For One reached out to me with a deal. I give whatever intel I have on UA, and in exchange... Momo would be safe during any sort of attack." Nezu said nothing, so Tohru continued, "I gave him the location of the training camp -the new location, in Nagano Prefecture- but he went back on his word. Said it was impossible to keep her safe."

Nezu said nothing to Tohru, instead he picked up his phone and dialed a number. "Aizawa, we have a hiccup. Please corne to my office and bring Izuku Midoriya and Momo Yaoyorozu."

Tohru looked like he was about to drop dead. "Midoriya I can understand, but why is Momo involved in this?"

Nezu poured Tohru a cup of tea. "They are dating, as I understand it. Here, have some tea. It will help calm your nerves."

They sat in silence until Aizawa arrived with Midoriya and Yaoyorozu in tow. "Father? What are you doing here?" Yaoyorozu asked.

Tohru glanced at Nezu, who gestured at him to explain. Tohru looked over at his daughter. For all he knew this would irreparably damage their relationship.

So be it.

He told them everything that he had told Nezu. How he had been contacted by All For One and pressed for information about class 1-A and Izuku Midoriya. It was because of him the USJ attack had happened, it was why Eclipse had known where to find Midoriya at the Richards Awards gala, and it was why the League of Villains knew exactly where the training camp would be.

Yaoyorozu's face could be etched in stone. She walked towards her father slowly. No one in the room dared to stop her. "Who are you, and what have you done with my father?" She turned to Midoriya, "Izuku, is this some villain with a shapeshifter Quirk?"

Izuku shook his head and replied quietly. "No. There would be some kind of tell... and even then the Quirk wouldn't replicate body language."

Yaoyorozu violently shook her head. "You're wrong, you have to be. Because there is no way my father would ever side with someone like All For One!"

Tohru flinched, "How-"

Yaoyorozu cut him off, "You don't get to know the answer to that." She turned away from him for a moment before turning back, angrier than before. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You made every word I said to you about school or Izuku a betrayal! On top of that, if Eclipse hadn't been so damned principled, I would have died at that stupid gala!"

Tohru frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing much." Yaoyorozu hissed, her voice practically venomous, "Just that as soon as me and Izuku were alone at the Richards Awards gala, we were ambushed by Eclipse for a talk. And by talk, I mean a knife at my throat right before that terrorist bitch decided to throw me off a balcony!"

This was the first time that Tohru had ever heard his daughter use such language, however that quickly became much less important. "Wait, Eclipse was there?"

"Oh yes, father. She most certainly was." Yaoyorozu said, "And would you like to know why? Because All For One wanted her to send a message to Izuku, the message that the people he loves aren't safe, no matter where they are. If he had sent any other villain, I would be dead."

"Momo, I-"

Aizawa stepped in. "Enough. While the emotions you're feeling are valid, we need to focus on the big picture." He waited until he had everyone's attention, "We need to cancel the training camp and do the training we were going to do here at UA. Otherwise we're walking right into a trap."

"What if we don't do that?"

Aizawa looked at Midoriya like he had grown an extra head. "I'm sorry?"

"I mean, we've already switched locations once because of my run in with Shigiraki. If we switch again, All For One will know that Mr. Yaoyorozu double-crossed him."

Nezu leaned in, "Why would we take the risk of inviting disaster, with a impending attack by the League of Villains near guaranteed?"

Midoriya took a moment to order his thoughts. "Okay, this is going to sound a little... weird. Remember how Melissa developed digestible GPS trackers?"

Yaoyorozu connected the dots first. "Izuku, you are not letting yourself get kidnapped."

"I'm not suggesting that!" He quickly retorted, "But if we have everyone at the training camp take them..."

"Then if they take anyone, the League of Villains will paint a bullseye on their head." Nezu mused, "But this is predicated on if that is their objective."

"I think it's a reasonable assumption. We have to assume that we have no secrets. So, operating under that preconception I can name at least five members of 1-A that they would want to get their hands on for various reasons." Midoriya counted them off on his fingers as he continued, "Myself, Momo, Bakugo, Todoroki, and Tokoyami. That's not even mentioning Maki."

"Meaning that if the League fails, they just fail. But if they succeed, they fail anyways because they'll have inadvertently led the heroes and police to their doorstep." Aizawa concluded.

Nezu nodded. "And when all is said and done, we can act like Mr. Yaoyorozu leaking info to All For One was part of a long con on our part, to shield him from scrutiny."

Yaoyorozu glared at her father, "That won't stop me from being absolutely livid with him."

"I know, Momo." Tohru said, "But if you ever believe anything I say again, let it be this. I did it to protect you. Out of everything I've done in my life, my company, the money, the awards... You and your mother are my greatest adventure and greatest accomplishment. I would see the sky burn and the oceans boil if it meant you were safe from harm. Hate me if you must, but never doubt that I love you."

Yaoyorozu turned her back on her father. "I'm sure you can understand why I cannot bear to look at you. That may change someday, but it will not be today."

Without another word, she stormed out of Nezu's office, leaving Midoriya to stand there awkwardly.

Tohru laughed bitterly, "I suppose you hate me too, Midoriya." It was not a question.

"I don't... think so?" Midoriya said, "I haven't had the opportunity to interact with All For One directly yet, but he strikes me as the kind of villain that will put otherwise good people in impossible situations where whatever option you choose forces you to give up a part of yourself. And when you do that, he twists you around his finger and fills that void with what he wants from you, what he wants you to be." Midoriya shook his head, "Honestly, it's kind of like things are with me and Bakugo. You're a victim, just like him." He looked Tohru in the eyes, "But that doesn't excuse what you've done. After this is over, I expect you to come clean. Privately or publicly, I don't care. If you don't, I will drag you to Tartarus Prison myself."

Aizawa and Nezu looked at each other, but said nothing. Tohru nodded but remained silent until Midoriya left.

Finally, Tohru spoke. "Eraser Head?"

"Yes?"

"What the hell are you teaching these kids?"

Aizawa gave a ghost of a smile. "How to survive."

---

It wasn't until on the bus heading towards training camp that Midoriya finally worked up the courage to ask Yaoyorozu how she was doing. She'd been doing well at hiding her hurricane's worth of emotional turmoil, even if Todoroki had given her a couple of odd looks.

But then again, if there was anyone who could spot I hate my dad energy, it was Shoto Todoroki.

"Momo?"

"Yes, Izuku?" She had laid her head on his shoulder and was holding his left hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked lamely. He knew such a simple question didn't even come close to broaching the vast gulf that had opened up between her and her father, but seeing her suffer like this...

Midoriya finally realized why Yaoyorozu hated seeing him hurt himself.

"No." She said softly, low enough that no one else could hear her. "It will probably be a... long time before I can look my father in the eyes again."

Midoriya noticed a single tear run down her cheek. He took a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped away the tear before it could endanger her makeup.

She smiled fondly at him despite everything. "When did you get so good at that?"

Midoriya chuckled, "I used to cry a lot more, remember?"

"I also seem to remember you running into a door frame because you couldn't stop looking at me." Yaoyorozu said. She paused for a moment before looking at him. "Izuku, can you promise me something?"

He canted his head to the side. "What is it?"

"I know that in the coming months, you'll have to march into hell, stare into the abyss, whatever overly dramatic wording you want to use. Please don't let it change you. Don't forget that dorky boy that runs into door frames because I'm too pretty to turn away, that tries to dodge automatic sprinklers, that'll see a new Quirk and start mumbling to himself like it's going out of style. I know that... he will try to hurt you, corrupt you... until there's no trace of light or hope left in you. Please don't let him win."

The irony of Momo telling him the same things about All For One that he had told her father was not lost on him.

Midoriya gently laid his free hand on her cheek and turned her until she was looking at him. "I promise." He sealed his promise by placing a kiss on her forehead.

Yaoyorozu blushed. "You dork..."

The bus soon came to a halt and Aizawa called for attention. "Alright. We're here. First things first, since we aren't at UA, we're going to take an extra security precaution." He held up a small case. "Contained in this case are digestible GPS trackers, recently developed by Melissa Shield. They're about the size of a normal aspirin. Everyone at camp will be required to take one." There was a beat of silence, then Aizawa cut Iida off before he spoke, "No, Iida, we do not have any intel suggesting the League of Villains know where we'll be."

Midoriya and Yaoyorozu glanced at each other. That was a bald-faced lie, and they knew it. After throwing their trackers down the hatch, they all got off the bus. They were standing on a cliffside overlooking the forest where the training camp would be taking place. There was an unmarked car parked nearby.

Once 1-A had all disembarked from the bus, the doors on the car all flew open, and the heroes that made up the Wild Wild Pussycats team executed their entrance post that was halfway between a magical girl transformation and something out of Power Rangers. They held the pose for five seconds too long before they dropped the pretense.

Predictably, Midoriya provided the commentary. "The Wild Wild Pussycats are one of the most renowned teams of rescue heroes in the world! While they specialize in mountain rescue, they're usually called up for many different types of disasters. They're weakest at sea -because that makes Pixie-Bob's Quirk basically useless- but they still have a near-flawless track record! The only reason they're not higher up in the rankings is because they're primarily rescue heroes."

Mandalay blinked. "Well, I guess we don't really need to introduce ourselves.."

"Kinda rude of you to be honest, don'cha know that no lady wants a blabbermouth, kid?" Pixie-Bob said.

"I beg to differ!" Yaoyorozu snapped. "He might be a blabbermouth, but he's my blabbermouth!"

"Anyways." Ragdoll swiftly cut in before Pixie-Bob could make a pass at a teenager, "Our base is at the base of that mountain. That's where you'll be staying."

Tiger grinned. "It's nine-thirty now. If you get a move on, you might make it there by lunch."

Kaminari paled. "Uh guys... we should probably get back on the bus..."

"Nah, running ain't manly! We'll face whatever nonsense Aizawa-sensei has planned for us with a smile on our faces!" Kirishima proudly declared.

"I'm moved that you feel that way." Aizawa deadpanned. "Especially since the training camp has already begun. Pixie-Bob, if you would be so kind."

She knelt down and touched the ground. As soon as she did so, the ground shifted underneath them and deposited all of 1-A unceremoniously in the forest below.

"This whole forest is our private property, so you can use your Quirks as much as you want." Mandalay said, "You'll need that advantage if you want to have a chance at survival."

"What did she mean by that?" Hagakure asked as she faded into invisibility.

Ojiro glanced over at where she had been standing a moment ago. "Hey, you learned how to make your clothes invisible too."

Hagakure was eternally grateful that her Quirk hid her blush. Ever since she had learned to switch her Quirk on and off, that was a constant hazard. She was easily flustered, especially where Ojiro was concerned. "Uh... yeah, I-"

She was interrupted by a roar coming from the forest, and it's owner crashing through the tree line. A monster that looked like a wingless dragon was charging them.

"What the hell is that?" Bakugo asked.

Midoriya dodged out of the way of its claws, "Pixie-Bob's Quirk! It has to be!"

Maki charged forward and grabbed the monster by the lower jaw then punched it so hard the head came clean off. "These monsters are attempting to keep us from our lunch..." He said, "AND THAT IS UNFORGIVABLE!"

Jiro plunged her jacks into the ground. "We've got more incoming! They're coming in waves!"

"Midoriya! Do you know what Pixie-Bob's limits are?" Iida shouted, "Yaoyorozu, get an eye in the sky, we don't have the time, energy, or equipment to wander in this forest blindly!"

"On it, Iida!" Yaoyorozu said, "Cover me!"

"Not sure!" Midoriya said, "Theoretically infinite, since it's the same kind of Quirk as Cementoss-sensei!"

Bakugo cracked his knuckles as the roaring got louder. "These things are just to slow us down. If she wanted to stop us, she could just sink us all into the earth."

Yaoyorozu pressed a button on her phone. "There!" In the distance, a flare shot up into the sky from the drone she had sent ahead. "Just keep the flare in sight as much as possible, and we'll arrive in no time!"

As if in response, five more creatures attacked the class, and their most powerful members reacted in kind.

Yaoyorozu had already been in the process of creating a response to the encroaching monsters. She hefted a scaled down howitzer and gleefully announced the name of her attack before pulling the trigger. "Ultimate Creation: Howitzer Impact!" The dirt monster she had targeted disintegrated as the projectile obliterated most of its torso.

"The hell was that, Ponytail? You stealing my moves now?" Bakugo yelled, "I'll show you that I don't care!" Tch, can't let off my own Howitzer Imoact here, too much collateral damage. He blasted forward and fired off focused blasts that took out its back legs. After it fell, Kirishima finished it off.

Uraraka dodged the dirt monster's initial charge and tagged it on the side. Then she grabbed it by the tail and threw it. Uraraka attempted to use her awakened Quirk to push it and the others with a gravity wave, but nothing happened. The monster's momentum caused it to hit the trees behind it, and it broke apart. She looked at her hand. "What the heck?" Why couldn't I do that big gravity wave?

Todoroki calmly raised his right arm. "Diamond Dust." A single shard of ice pierced the dirt monster running at him. He clenched his fist and the shard crystallized, causing the monster to be shredded from the inside.

Midoriya activated fifteen percent of One For All and launched forward into a flying kick that wouldn't have looked out of place in a kung fu movie. "SMASH!"

"Forward, 1-A!" Iida cried out, "We still have a long way to go and only a short time to get there!"

After sticking one of the earthen monsters in place with his balls so Mina could dissolve it with her acid, Mineta jumped into his new role as class cheerleader. "You heard the man, let's go beyond!"

"PLUS ULTRA!"

---

"Huh." Ragdoll said. "They're actually doing pretty good."

Pixie-Bob laughed, "I know! I'm gonna have to start laying traps for them!"

Aizawa turned away and got back on the bus. The results so far from this little test were as expected. 1-A's experience with actual villain attacks was serving them well. Unfortunately that would do nothing to help them with the hell that awaited them.

Speaking of hellish training, he just got a phone call. Given the ringtone was of a certain romcom anime that shall remain nameless, there was only one person it could be. Unless Kaguya had stolen her phone. "Hello, Rumi."

"Hey, Sho'. Made it to the Pussycats' compound. Emi's taking care of Kaguya for the , are you sure about this? Pretty sure my training breaks a law or two in a school setting."

Aizawa rolled his eyes. "Considering your training allowed Midoriya to survive a fight with the Hero Killer, I don't think that his classmates will mind much."

"Yeah, we'll see how they feel about that after I work them over. Anyways, you want me to stay out of sight until tomorrow right?"

"Yes. I want your arrival to be a surprise." Aizawa paused for a moment, "You read the file I gave you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah. I've got it covered, Mr. Rational. Social dynamics, relationships, profiles..." Mirko went quiet for a moment. "Sho. Is this who I think it is?"

Aizawa let out a brief chuckle. "I don't know, Rumi. I'm not a mind reader."

"Jerk. Maki Yoshihiro? Purity's son? Training to become a hero? Why the hell didn't you tell me?"

Aizawa winced. He was getting a mouthful for this later. "Because I had hoped to be present when you realized, because your expression was probably priceless."

"Asshole."

Aizawa smiled. There it was. "I love you too, Rumi."

"Yeah yeah, I love you too."

---

"Well, well! We certainly didn't expect you here this soon!" Mandalay said.

The members of class 1-A were trudging out of the forest, having finally reached their destination. Iida was practically limping along, his exhaust pipes giving out feeble puffs every time he took a step. Bakugo was clutching at his spasming arms. Todoroki was the best off due to the dual nature of his Quirk, but he was just as exhausted as everyone else. Midoriya and Yaoyorozu were leaning on each other, due to all of the muscles in his body protesting every time he thought about moving and overuse of her Quirk making her as weak as a kitten.

"Yaay..." A brain-zapped Kaminari artfully articulated.

Even Maki -who many in the class thought was more or less immune to endurance problems- was limping along with the rest of them.

"Water..." Mina croaked.

Uraraka fell to her knees and vomited out what precious little remained of her breakfast.

"Is no one... going to question... why Uraraka's vomit is rainbow colored?" Tokoyami asked.

Through a great amount of effort, Iida managed to gather his wits. "What exactly do you mean, Mandalay? Aren't we over two hours late?"

"Well... our estimate may have been based on if we had been making the journey." Pixie-Bob said, "You see, it was a-"

"Rational deception." A scattering of the students groaned.

"Get your things off the bus and get settled in. By the time you're done with that, the food will be ready." Aizawa said, "After that, you can bathe and go to sleep. Tomorrow your training begins in earnest, so enjoy this free time while you can."

A chorus of groans grumbled assent. As Midoriya turned to head towards the bus, he noticed a kid standing next to Mandalay. "Hold on, who's that kid?"

"Oh, that's Kota. He's my cousin's son who's staying with us for... a while." Mandalay said.

Midoriya walked up to Kota. No reason to not introduce himself, right? "Hi, my name's Midoriya. I'm in UA's Hero-"

Danger Sense tripped. What, wha-

Midoriya's train of thought was spectacularly derailed by Kota punching him in the balls.

"Uh oh." Bakugo said.

Yaoyorozu and Iida were by Midoriya's side in an instant. "You demon child!" Yaoyorozu snapped.

"A punch to the scrotum is unforgivable!" Iida declared.

"It's his own fault." Kota said, "For thinking I'd ever want to speak to some wannabe hero!"

Pain from a delicate region notwithstanding, Midoriya frowned. When he was Kota's age, he had wanted nothing more than to be a hero. So why did Kota hate heroes?

---

Even with Pixie-Bob's ominous warning that they would have to cook for themselves in the future, all of 1-A had torn though the food that the Wild Wild Pussycats had put in front of them. After that, they quickly entered the compound's hot springs to wash away the stench of a day's worth of combat.

"Oh, this hits the spot better than the food did!" Kirishima said.

Kaminari rolled his eyes, "Says the guy that chomped through the beef like cows are going extinct."

"Don't you dare bring such an evil thought into the world, villain." Tokoyami snarked.

"I'm with Bird Brain." Bakugo said, "Shut the hell up before you cause a culinary genocide."

"Wait a sec, weren't you going to stop with the nicknames?" Sero asked.

Midoriya glanced at Bakugo. That was an excellent question. He had said that he was going to stop using them after all.

"Uh... Hound Dog said that as long as I'm not trying to... how did he say it..." Bakugo looked up at the sky for a moment, deep in thought. "As long as I'm not trying to dehumanize or belittle my peers, I'm good to still use them." He grinned, "But villains are fair game."

"I'm fine with you continuing to call me Icy-Hot Bastard, Explosion Boy." Todoroki deadpanned.

Everyone burst out laughing, Bakugo even joined in. "You know what, Icy-Hot? I deserve that."

There was a burst of laughter from the other side, reminding the guys that the girls were just on the other side of the wall. Everyone looked at Mineta.

"What?" He said, "Do you really think that I'm going to scale that wall and try to sneak a peek at the girls, only to get knocked off the wall by the kid that made Yaoyorozu ready to rain down hellfire by punching Midoriya in the balls and land on Iida's face?"

"That was... oddly specific." Maki said.

"But not inaccurate it seems." Shoji said, pointing at the top the wall. "Look."

If you squinted, you could just barely see Kota's red hat peeking over the edge.

"Mineta, to clarify..." Iida said, "Are you not doing it because you know it's wrong, or because you know you'll get caught?"

"Because I know it's wrong." Mineta said bluntly, "I meant what I said during my final exam. I'm going to go Plus Ultra every day of my life until I earn the right to stand by you all. No matter how long it takes, or how much my scalp has to bleed."

Iida smiled. "Good. I for one applaud your efforts, Mineta. Especially since I would rather remain unacquainted with your butt."

Another gale of laughter ripped through the boys.

It would be the last one for a long time.

---

Since they had made it to the compound a good three hours before Mandalay and the others thought they would, they had a little free time before they had to go to bed.

Midoriya went to the compound's office, where he found Mandalay. "Um, can I ask you something?"

"Sure." She said, "Midoriya, right?"

"Yeah. It's about Kota." He said, "Why does it seem like he hates heroes so much?" When Mandalay didn't say anything, he started to ramble, "It's just that I've always been so driven to become a hero and been around people who want the same thing. So for him to be so hateful... it's jarring."

"Nothing gets by you, does it?" Mandalay said, she leaned back in her chair, "He's not alone. You're pretty sheltered from it, but there are plenty of people who are critical of us. At best."

Midoriya nodded absentmindedly as he recalled Eclipse's general opinion of heroes. "Like the QLF."

"Sure, that's one group." Mandalay admitted, "Plus there's the rumors that the MLA is secretly building up to a comeback."

Midoriya froze. The Meta Liberation Army was a old villain group that had risen to power near the time of the Dawn of Quirks. Put simply, they were Quirk supremacists. It was more or less their fault that Japan's Quirk usage laws were so strict.

"But that's a conspiracy theory at best." Mandalay said, "But Kota...My cousins were his parents. They were heroes, but they died in the line of duty about two years ago now."

A familiar pain gripped Midoriya's heart. So Kota hates heroes... because his parents died like my dad did.

Mandalay kept talking. "He was only four years old when it happened, so he couldn't understand why everyone would tell him that his parents died honorable deaths..."

"All he knew was that his parents left him. Alone." Midoriya said.

Mandalay looked up at him. "Yes. How..."

"My dad was a security guard working for some Quirk research company. There was a villain attack one night. He made sure everyone else got out, but..." Midoriya stopped and smiled sadly, "But it had the opposite effect on me that it did on Kota. Before I wanted to be a hero to be like All Might, but after... It was because I wanted to be like my dad."

Mandalay sighed. "Thank you for listening, Midoriya. It's been a while since someone's actually asked what Kota's problems are. Go get some rest. You'll need it."

---

Five-thirty in the morning was much too early for anything, much less being up and ready to train. Regardless, the twenty-one students that made up class 1-A had dragged themselves out of bed and were standing in the courtyard of the compound in various states of wakefulness.

"Good morning, class!" Aizawa said a little too cheerfully.

"Ugh... that's a red flag." Mina said.

"Yep." Jiro said, "This is a trap."

"Today, this training camp will begin in earnest. We will be working to increase your skills exponentially so that you will be ready to attempt the provisional licensing exam."

Iida's hand shot up, "Aizawa-sensei, are such drastic measures truly necessary? We have all improved a great deal and endured various crises together. Surely that must count for something!"

Aizawa nodded, "Let's test that hypothesis." He pulled out a ball and threw it at Bakugo, "Throw that."

He stepped forward and prepared to throw. "Alright, just like the fitness exam, right?" He flung his arm back and threw the ball, propelling it through the air with a full power explosion. "GO TO HELL!"

"At least some things never change." Yaoyorozu muttered.

"Your previous record was seven hundred and five point two meters. Your new record... is seven hundred and nine point six." Aizawa reported.

"What?" Bakugo said.

"No way..." Kirishima said.

"While it is true that you have had much more experience in dealing with villains than the average first year class, you've still only had a single term." Aizawa said, "Most of your improvements at this point are more due to better judgment, technical skill, and so on. Your Quirks haven't actually gotten stronger. The sole exception being Uraraka due to her Quirk Awakening. We will now be focusing on improving your power."

"But that's not all, you hellions!"

Midoriya tensed up. He knew that voice!

Mirko leapt from a nearby building and landed next to Aizawa. "That's right." He said, "In addition to Quirk training, those of you that are primarily hand to hand fighters will be receiving combat training from none other than Mirko."

Mirko grinned, "I've already put Midoriya through the wringer and I'm sure he's told you stories about my training. I'll say it plain. It's worse."

Kirishima chuckled. "I'm in danger!"

Aizawa grinned right along with her, "Over the course of the week, you'll feel like you're dying." He paused for effect. "Normally at this point I would say that I hope you all survive. However, your performance yesterday raised my expectations of you all immensely. So, if you happen to die at this camp... walk it off."

---

Shigiraki tugged at the artist gloves he had decided to start wearing. With two fingers missing, they were just about the only gloves he could wear with dusting them. He turned and looked at the assembled villains.

Kurogiri was there as always, smarty dressed in a suit, implacable as both his guardian and caretaker. Spinner, a heteromorph who followed Stain's ideals to the lettter, but was a great deal more flexible in how he applied them. Mr. Compress and Twice, former members of the Levelers- a group eerily similar to the League's goals of reforming society and righting wrongs, but with silly rules like no killing and no hurting civilians. Magne, Muscular, and Moonfish, all members of the loose support system for villains that were unrepentant killers known as the House of Red. Mustard was... present. While his goals of dunking on UA didn't completely align with the League as a whole, he was key to this operation. Then there was Dabi and Himiko Toga. Dabi was an enigma to Shigiraki. He was clearly hiding some big secret, not to mention he had a fire Quirk that was on par with Endeavor. Toga was... less of an enigma. Her Quirk relied on blood, which had led to an obsession with it. Which society frowned upon. It was no small wonder that she had eluded capture for this long, the media had even given her a villain name- Blood Lily.

"We gonna get this show on the road or what?" Eclipse said.

Shigiraki glowered at the QLF leader, decked out in her combat gear of black combat jumpsuit and gas mask. Next to her stood Purity, an assortment of CRC goons, and a few choice members of her inner circle. Contrasting with Purity's near blasphemous approximation of a nun's attire -it was the cleavage and tight fighting jumpsuit- were the skull masks and armor of Pain, Hush, Long Step, and the newly freed Deathmonger.

"Yes." Shigiraki said. "It's time to go over our plan of attack."

Muscular banged his fists together. "It's about damn time!"

"Peace, my overly violent comrade." Mr. Compress said, "Let us hear what our leader has planned."

"We have three main objectives. The first is the capture of one the hero students. His name is Izuku Midoriya." Shigiraki said.

"Why bother?" Dabi asked, "If he's good enough to take down Stain, we should just torch him."

"You hold your tongue!" Spinner interjected, "That boy has been recognized by Stain as a true hero! I can't allow you to harm him!"

"It'll be a bother, yeah." Shigiraki said. "At full tilt he rivals All Might, but he can't use that much power constantly. If he does, he starts hurting himself. But the thing is... me and him, we have the same ideals. Wanting to make society accept the people on the fringes, people like us. I want to take one last shot at bringing him to our side of things."

Eclipse tilted her head to the side. "It could work, if you've got a nice sob story to feed him. I've got some experience with this kid. He'll eat that shit up."

"Alright." Shigiraki said. "Muscular, you'll be in charge of finding and detaining Midoriya. Do not kill him. You can play with him a little, but don't do lasting damage to him."

"That won't be an issue." Purity said, "I have a doctor with a potent healing Quirk. As long as this kid isn't in critical condition, she'll be able to heal him given a couple of days."

"Perfect." Shigiraki said, "The secondary objective is up to you, Purity. Namely, taking your son back. Kill however many of his classmates as you need to, as long as we get Midoriya, I don't care what happens to the rest."

"Understood." Purity said before licking her lips, "It'll be so wonderful to have Maki back where he belongs. In my embrace."

"That's not normal!" Twice said, "I'm into it!"

"Dabi, Twice. You'll be in charge of suppression of any pro heroes at the compound." Shigiraki explained, "With Twice's Quirk you can send an endless deluge of Dabi clones at the heroes." He turned to Mr. Compress, "Compress, we know that Ragdoll will be present. You'll be responsible for capturing her. We don't need her using her Quirk to coordinate the kids. Magne, Spinner, Eclipse. It'll be up to you to take on the rest of the Wild Wild Pussycats. Do not bother worrying about taking them alive. There will also be a Nomu joining you. It will be coded to respond to Dabi's voice."

"What about me?" Mustard asked.

"I will drop you where there is the biggest concentration of UA students so you can incapacitate them with your gas. Prolonged exposure is lethal, correct?" Kurogiri said.

"Yeah."

"Good." Shigiraki said, "Finally, Toga. Get blood from as many people as you can. You'll be provided with equipment that will allow you to collect up to six. This will help with future operations."

"Ooh, I get to make that many people bleed?" Toga said, a gleeful smile on her face, "Oh, I bet they'll be so cute all bloody for me!"

"Alright, Kurogiri will drop you in after we've verified that they're all in the open. Be ready."

---

"That's it, Tsu!" Mirko yelled, "Take it to him!"

Ojiro grunted as he blocked an explosive drop kick from Tsu. "Aren't you supposed to be impartial?"

"Less bitching, more learning to hit a girl!" Mirko snapped. "You think female villains will just let you politely arrest them! No! They'll just kill you!"

"Damn it!" He yelled, "Twirling Tail Dance!" He spun around and smashed his tail into Tsu, sending her flying.

Mirko continued to the next group. Midoriya and Kirishima were fighting Maki. Kirishima was working on how to fight an opponent stronger than him. Midoriya was learning how to work with another melee fighter that was slower than him. Maki was figuring out how to bring his Quirk to bear against people who weren't necessarily morally repugnant.

"Midoriya!" Mirko barked, "Your movements are still too linear! You trying to die?" She whipped around. "Bakugo! Join their fight. Foul up Midoriya's lines of attack until he isn't so damn predictable!"

Bakugo broke off of his spar with Iida who took a moment to catch his breath. "You're a madwoman..."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Mirko said. "If this keeps you alive, you'll thank me." She took her stance. "Now come on."

"Just give me a second for my engines to cool-"

Mirko immediately lunged forward with a flying kick. She hit him in the gut before he could react, leading Iida to stumble backwards while clutching his stomach. "No."

Iida recovered and let out a wild spin kick which Mirko easily ducked under. She popped back up and fired off another kick, but Iida grabbed her leg and revved his engines to make himself spin around before throwing her. She hit the ground and laughed. "Ha! Good one, Tensei!"

Iida became as still as a statue. "I'm... not my brother, Mirko-sensei."

"Shit. Sorry, I wasn't thinking. Uh... Ingenium Jr." Mirko quickly changed topics. "What do you call that throw anyways?"

Iida perked up. "It's good enough to be an ultimate move?"

"Yep!" Mirko said, quickly trying to move past her error.

"Recipro Torque." Iida said, "I'd use Recipro Gyro, but that's a different move."

Mirko nodded. "Alright." She turned away and called out to everyone, "Water break!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose. This whole teaching thing was a lot harder than Aizawa made it look. But there hadn't been a challenge that she had shied away from yet, and she wasn't about to start now.

---

At dinner they were surprised by Pixie-Bob telling them that they'd have to pass a test of courage after they had cleaned up, and that they would be pitted against class 1-B and vice versa.

Naturally, Monoma went into a rant about how 1-B was superior to 1-A. He was swiftly shut up by Kendo who apologized for his lack of decorum.

"Alright, here's how this is going to work!" Pixie-Bob said, "One class will hide throughout the forest in position to scare the crap out of the other class! Then you'll switch."

"Revelry in the dark." Tokoyami said. Shoji glanced at him worriedly. He had gotten Dark Shadow more than the usual amount of darkness in training.

Just as they were about to draw lots, Todoroki spoke up. "Do you smell that? I think there's a fire somewhere."

"You put out the cook fires like you said you would, Kirishima?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Of course!" Kirishima said, "Even dumped dirt on them."

Aizawa narrowed his eyes. There was purple smog in the other direction. This was not an accident. As we predicted then. He looked at Mirko and nodded.

"Listen up, kids! If crazy shit goes down, you have my permission to throw down!" Mirko yelled.

The view of the forest in front of them became distorted, as if looking through a mirror. Then, figures began to step through it. Some of which Midoriya recognized.

"Hello, boys and girls!" Eclipse said.

"Eclipse?" Vlad King asked, "How the hell did you just appear like that?"

"Portals." Midoriya said, "Don't ask me how, but she can use her surfaces to make portals."

"Full marks as usual, kid." Eclipse said, "It's a shame we've gotta kill some of your friends."

Purity stepped out of the portal flanked by several people in combat armor and skull masks. "It's time for you to come home, Maki." She said.

"Over my dead body!" Maki roared.

Shoji, Tokoyami, and Tsu closed ranks around him, "We have your back, my friend." Shoji said.

"Perfect." Purity said with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. "Long Step, now!"

Maki, Tsu, and the others blinked out of existence, along with Purity and her soldiers.

"Oh, hell no!" Mirko seethed. She charged Eclipse, "Bring them back or I'll beat you within an inch of your life!"

Just as Pixie-Bob knelt down to activate her Quirk, she was enveloped with a red glow and was yanked into the forest. "Wait, what in-"

She was silenced by a massive pillar smashing into her head. She hit the ground in a crumpled heap. Her assailants stepped out of the forest. Midoriya and Iida tensed. One of them was dressed eerily similar to Stain.

"Having a peaceful night folks?" The lizardman dressed like Stain said. "The name's Spinner, and we're the League of Villains' very own Vanguard Action Squad."

Aizawa activated his Quirk, erasing their Quirks.

The person who had wounded Pixie-Bob rested their pillar on her head. "Drop it, Eraser, or her head gets broken."

"What do you want?" Aizawa asked.

"Die." The giant said.

Midoriya's head throbbed. He whirled around to see Kurogiri's black fog rushing towards all of them. "No! Not again!"

Aizawa braced himself, but after the fog cleared, he remained where he was. As did the other pros and the villains.

All of the students were gone.

---

When Yaoyorozu came to she immediately leapt into action. Alright, just like Aizawa-sensei taught me. When you have unknowns, focus on what you can control. She looked around to find Uraraka. "Uraraka, are you okay?"

"It's the USJ all over again. Kurogiri even scattered us again." Uraraka said, unease creeping into her voice as she moved to stand back to back with Yaoyorozu.

Yaoyorozu decided on a course of action. "We need to head towards the gas attack, I can make gas masks that can protect us, and I'm willing to bet that Kurogiri dumped a bunch of us in that gas."

Uraraka nodded, "Alright, let's go."

Neither of them noticed the glint of a knife or the manic smile in the undergrowth.

---

When Midoriya materialized, he was unceremoniously dumped on a mountain with a clear view of the entire compound.

"What the hell are you doing here, you wannabe? This is my secret hideout!"

Midoriya immediately recognized Kota. "Kota! Thank goodness! We're under attack by villains, I need you to come with me, I'll keep you safe."

"Bullsh-"

A large man in a black cloak stepped out of the shadows. "You'd better worry about yourself, kid. You've got bigger problems."

Midoriya put his fists up and activated Full Cowling. "What are you villains after?"

The man shrugged. "The others have a bunch of goals or whatever. My job's simple. I just gotta bring you back alive, then I can run wild!"

Kota fell to the ground and started shaking in fear. "You're... you're the one who..."

Midoriya glanced back at Kota and then back to the cloaked man. The cloak fell off, revealing none other than Goto Imasuji, better known by his villain name, Muscular. This is the villain that killed Kota's parents!Should I just take Kota and run? No, that won't work. He said his job is to bring me back to the League... he'd just chase me down and kill everyone else in his way. I have to face him here and beat him, while protecting Kota!

"Alright, kid." Muscular said, cracking his knuckles, "Just because I gotta bring you in alive doesn't mean we can't play a little first." He lunged forward, fist chambered for a punch, "SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!" As he charged, his muscle fibers began to burst through his skin.

Midoriya dodged to the left, away from Kota. There was no way that he'd be able to block a blow like that and not be left with injuries. He went into the Dempsey Roll, slipping past Muscular's blows and countering with fifteen percent-powered hooks aided by the momentum afforded to him by the stance. "TSUNAMI SMASH!"

Muscular laughed, "You're awesome, kid! Let's go!" He fired off an overhand blow but thanks to Danger Sense, Midoriya ducked out of the way in the nick of time. His fist left a crater behind.

No choice... have to risk twenty percent! He darted around Muscular and aimed a rolling sabat kick at his side. "SQUALL SMASH!" In the instant of impact, more muscle fibers surged out and softened the blow. Midoriya gritted his teeth. Twenty percent hurt... but it didn't injure him. Good to know.

"Hahaha! You figured it out yet, kid?" Muscular flexed, causing even more fibers to armor his body, "Pump Up, son! It makes my muscles harden in response to physical trauma! You can't beat me, Midoriya!"

For an instant, Midoriya was confused. That was definitely not what was happening. Then he understood the reference. That meant that there was only one option available to him. The nuclear option. "I'll just have to swing harder then!"

Muscular grinned, "Holy shit, no one told me you were a man of culture! LET'S GO!"

Muscular lashed out with a kick, catching Midoriya in the midsection. It sent him flying back into the mountain before he collapsed on the ground. Midoriya spat on the ground and began to rise, when he saw Muscualr begin to menace Kota.

"It's your fault! It's all your fault!" Kota said.

"Kids these days, always so quick to blame. It ain't like that. You see, I wanted to kill people, your parents wanted to stop me. It's as simple as that. The end result came about because we were all doing what we wanted. How can you be mad about that?" Muscualr raised a fist as he prepared to beat Kota into a bloody paste. "Sorry, kid. Can't make an omelette without breaking a few eggs..."

There was no time for half-measures or second guesses. Sorry, Momo, there's no other choice! Midoriya scrambled to his feet and charged. He grabbed on to the muscle fibers of Muscular's arm so he couldn't dodge and punched him in the face with one hundred percent of One For All. "MIRACLE SMASH!" The recoil reverberated up Midoriya's arm, opening up several nasty lacerations. Every joint in his hand and arm was screaming at him. In his layman's opinion it wasn't broken but it was still out of commission. With the angle of impact, Muscular was sent back into the mountain at the same exact spot he had kicked Midoriya into.

The wind pressure sent Kota flying, but Midoriya grabbed him with his good arm before the boy was endangered. "Got you!"

"Why?" Kota asked, "Why hurt yourself like that just to save me, I hate you, remember?"

Midoriya smiled at him, "It's not a Hero's job to pick and choose who they'll save, Kota. It's-"

Another burst of maniacal laughter told Midoriya that this fight wasn't over. "Oh man, that was close." Muscular rose from the crater, his entire front one singular mass of muscle. "Playtime's over, Midoriya. You're coming with me, but I think I'm gonna kill that annoying brat first."

Midoriya made a choice. The choice he would make until his dying day. To stand between those who would hurt the innocent and those that cried out for a hero. He forced his mangled hand into a fist and met Muscular's charge head-on with another one hundred percent smash. He felt his arm give way as more blood spurted out. Okay, that was broken now.

"What's going on? That was weaker than before!" Muscular taunted.

"It's fine..." Midoriya looked back at Kota, "I WILL NOT let him past me! Run! RUN!" The stone crumbled under his feet as he struggled against the wall of muscle.

"Hell yeah, you're awesome, kid! I might not be able to stop!" Muscular yelled, "Now, SHOW ME YOUR BLOOD!" All of his muscles doubled in size and pinned Midoriya to the ground.

Midoriya tried to push back, but his injuries were too severe. It was all he could do to hold Muscular back. His joints were screaming, his lungs were burning, and the edges of his vision were going black. Mom, I'm sorry! All Mi- Dad! Help me! Momo! MOMO!

"You know what, kid?" Muscular said, "After I'm through with you, I think I'll find that girl of yours and play with her for a while! I mean, a body like that..."

In that instant everything faded away. The pain, the stress, the exertion. In that instant, there was only one sensation that Izuku Midoriya knew. He only knew that this bastard had just threatened to violate the woman he loved.

There was nothing but rage.

---

In the depths of One For All, the various wielders looked at each other. No one wanted to say it.

Finally, Shimura bit the bullet. "Oh, fuck. Second, he won't survive without-"

Second stretched forth his hand. "I know. The preservation of One For All eclipses any sort of petty disagreement I have with Ninth's normal methods. Besides... if your prediction was right, he is about to meet my conditions anyways."

---

(Music Start: Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron Blooded Orphans: Iron Blooded Orphans)

Midoriya pushed back Muscular's final attack with sheer power, more than he had ever used before. Somehow his body was holding together, but he was in no state to ask why.

Muscular was saying something. Midoriya didn't hear it. All he heard was his blood roaring in his ears. Midoriya unleashed five full-power punches in a fraction of a second, causing Muscular's muscle armor to rip apart as he recoiled from the blows. The murderer retaliated with a clumsy punch, but Midoriya was long gone. Danger Sense had warned him so he was somewhere else. With a kick, he broke the offending arm at the elbow through all of the muscles. Muscular screamed out in pain and surprise. No one had hurt him so bad since the Water Hose heroes had taken his eye!

Midoriya did not heed his distress. He didn't heed anything except that Muscular was still a threat. When Muscular tried with his other arm, Midoriya repeated the action, breaking his other arm. Then he unleashed a brutal combo of body blows, Muscular's ribs giving way with each impact.

Muscular finally looked Midoriya in the eyes. They were fully covered by the same energy that cascaded around his body and it was leaking out.

Then he was gone. Midoriya punched Muscular in the small of his back, and the psychopath's spine broke. He fell to the ground, paralyzed from the waist down.

"Stop! Please! You win!" Muscular pleaded, "Take me to jail, I won't even try to escape!"

He caught Midoriya's eyes again. There was no mercy there. Then he knelt down and brought his fist down on Muscular's good eye. Even with his injuries, Muscular tried to get up and run. That only convinced Midoriya that he was still a threat.

Midoriya brought his foot down on Muscular's throat and held it there. Muscular tried to push him off with his Quirk but Midoriya was just too strong. "Please!" Muscular begged, "Not like this! Not on the ground like a dog! Let me die fighting!"

Midoriya responded by sharply pressing down with his foot and snapping Muscular's neck.

(Music End)

Midoriya dropped One For All and sank to his knees while screaming in pain. His other arm was busted and his legs hurt, but he could still move. He got to his feet and looked around. "Kota?"

"You killed him."

He turned to see Kota staring at him. "He... he was an S-Rank Villain, if there's no way to detain them, I can kill them if it means saving-"

"I'm not mad." Kota said, "He killed my parents, nearly killed you, and threatened to hurt someone else."

Midoriya felt tears pricking at his eyes. "Kota, this isn't the kind of hero I want to be..."

"I know." He said, "You want to be like All Might." There was a pause as Kota climbed on and held onto Midoriya's neck. "You want to be the kind of hero that... that can make me want to believe in heroes again."

Midoriya reactivated One For All at five percent. He couldn't take many more risks with the state his arms were in. "Hold on. Let's get you back to the compound. That's probably safe right now. This might be a little rough."

He jumped off the mountain and into the forest. His friends were still in danger, which meant that injured or no...

He couldn't stop. He wouldn't stop.

---

Maki blinked. What had happened? One second everyone had been right there and-

He felt someone hit him in the back of head, and it hurt far more than it should. He fell to the ground face-first, any attempt at thought was overwhelmed by the amplified pain coursing through his nervous system. He felt someone place a knee on his back to keep him down, causing a new wave of pain to hit him.

Pain. Of course it was that sadistic asshole, and of course that sadistic asshole had a Quirk that amplified pain he caused.

"Maki!" Tsu cried out.

"Unhand us, for your own sake!" Tokoyami demanded.

"You'll pay for this!" Shoji said.

Pain yanked Maki to his knees, and he saw that Tsu, Tokoyami, and Shoji were held fast by CRC goons. Judging by the position of the flames and gas cloud, they had been warped to a clearing on the other side of the fire.

"Now that we have some privacy..." Purity said, "Maki, you've been very bad."

"Go fornicate with yourself, hag." Maki said, borrowing Bakugo's favorite insult for his mother. He was rewarded for his defiance with Pain punching him in the ribs.

"That's no way to talk to your mother, dear." Purity tutted, her whorish nun outfit at odds with her motherly tone. "I'll make this simple. You're coming home with me. Willingly. You see, every time you refuse to come home, I kill one of your friends here."

Maki glanced over at Tsu and the others. The CRC members holding them were just average goons, and he couldn't see anyone truly dangerous like Infection. Also, there was no way Purity wouldn't just kill them if he agreed immediately. "Go to hell."

Purity shrugged, "Well, this is one way to finally get some blood on your hands, isn't it?" She gestured to the henchmen holding Tsu. "The girl first."

"NO!" Maki shouted.

The CRC members holding Tsu threw her to the ground. Purity drew a knife and got on top of her. "Oh, do try to resist, dear. I love it when you freaks squirm." She brought the knife to Tsu's throat. "Any last words?"

"I took your son's virginity."

Purity bluescreened. "Wha-" She was interrupted by Tsu's tongue whipping out and smacking her in the face, then kicking out with her legs. Purity went flying and landed squarely on Long Step.

Shoji and Tokoyami didn't miss a beat. Shoji broke out of the minions' grip and beat them down with a flurry of punches. "OCTOBLOW!"

Tokoyami didn't move a muscle. Instead, he said two words. "DARK SHADOW!" Dark Shadow burst out of his back and smashed their heads together with a ferocious roar. Surprised, Tokoyami looked at Dark Shadow. Their eyes were red, which usually meant that they were out of control. "So, that's the secret." He said, "We have to be in sync emotionally."

Maki engaged his Quirk, targeting Pain. He leapt into Gear Three, and suddenly his Quirk ceased to be an issue. He grabbed Pain by the throat as he stood up and proceeded to chokeslam him. He looked up and saw Purity engage her Quirk on the rest of her followers. "Tokoyami, throw me!"

He felt Dark Shadow's arms wrap around him and heave him towards the CRC formation. "ABYSSAL PALADIN FASTBALL!"

Maki retargeted his Quirk at Purity.

Gear Four.

His muscles bulked up so much he ripped through his shirt. He brought his fist down just in front of Purity causing an explosion of rock and dirt. The debris ended up knocking out Long Step, and the others quickly intervened to knock out the remaining henchmen before they could bring their enhanced strength to bear.

"Well, this is awkward." Shoji said, looking at the knocked out Deathmonger. "Isn't he a S-Rank villain?"

"How dare you!" Purity screeched. "I am your mother, Maki! And you will do what I say!"

"Dark Shadow, set it up!" Tokoyami yelled.

Dark Shadow surged forward and uppercutted Purity, sending her skyward. "Now, Tsu!"

Tsu leapt up and delivered a leaping roundhouse kick, sending Purity hurtling towards Shoji. "FROPPY REBOUND!"

Shoji's arms reached out and grabbed her out of the air and swung her around twice before throwing her to the ground. "Octo Whirlpool Slam!"

Maki dragged her to her feet before she could recover. "You are no mother to me." He declared, "The only name you will ever use for me is the name of the hero who defeated you. Paladin: The Smiting Hero." He delivered an elbow strike to the side of her head, finally knocking out the CRC leader.

"Come on, we need to get back to camp." Shoji said.

Maki wished that he could arrest his mother and the rest of the CRC that were present. But he could settle for the beatdown that he and his friends had delivered. He looked at Tsu with a smile, "Did you have to tell my mother about my sex life?"

"It was hilarious and you know it."

Maki grinned. Despite the utter chaos, his life was better than it had ever been before.

---

Academically, Katsuki Bakugo knew that some villains could objectively be described as having about a hundred screws loose. That didn't even come close to describing Moonfish.

He used an explosion to dodge out of the way of a barrage of blades, only for Moonfish to rant some more.

"No good, no good! Stop dodging so I can... so I can taste you!"

Bakugo didn't bother trying to banter back. He needed all of his focus on dodging the blades that we're trying to skewer him. At least there was no one else for him to...

"Let's go, Bakugo's got him distracted!"

Shit. That wasn't anyone he recognized. Was it someone from 1-B?

Moonfish laughed maniacally, spittle flying freely from his mouth. "Yes! More! More more more! MORE FLESH!" He shot his blades at the fleeing students only for Bakugo to blast through them.

"Oh no you don't, you sick freak!" Bakugo yelled, "I'm gonna put you down!"

(Music Start: Neon Genesis Evangelion OST: Cruel Angel's Thesis)

Bakugo maneuvered through the blades and landed behind Moonfish. When the cannibal didn't immediately turn around and try to attack him again, he grinned. His peripheral vision was basically nonexistent. Perfect. He fired off explosions into Moonfish's back to get his attention.

Moonfish turned and attacked. That was one blessing about villains like him. They had a one track mind. Alright. I've got my work cut out for me. Gotta get close and pop a Stun Grenade. Can't use Howitzer here, that'd just start another forest fire. Plus that freak would flay me alive. Could use my new move, but I still need time to get it ready, and I haven't figured out how to make it safe to use on people. But he's S-Rank so-

His train of thought was rudely interrupted by several of Moonfish's blades getting too close for comfort, opening up cuts on his cheek, arms, and legs.

"YES!" Moonfish crowed, "FLESH!" The madman went for the kill, practically vomiting his blades at Bakugo. He couldn't dodge forever. That would just get him killed.

So he would go through.

He shot forward right into the jaws of the veritable maelstrom of razor sharp blades. He thrust his hand forward and unleashed his new attack. "ARMOR PIERCING SHOT!" A lance-like blast fired from his palm and dashed the blades that made up Moonfish's teeth to pieces. With another blast, he perpetuated his momentum and nailed Moonfish in the jaw with a spinning backfist. Seeing an opportunity he twisted in the air and fired off three more blasts. "ARTILLERY COMBINATION!" Moonfish fell to the ground and didn't move. The only sign of life he gave off was his chest moving up and down.

(Music End)

Bakugo tried to find the 1-B students that had drawn Moonfish's ire earlier, but they had already escaped. Yeah, that was valid. He was about to start looking for the next villain to pulverize when Mandalay sent out a message using her Quirk.

To anyone able, find Ragdoll! She hasn't reported in yet!

Bakugo clenched his fists. That meant heading towards the part of the forest where the flames and fog converged, meaning more villains.

What a tragedy.

---

Mirko had come to a decision.

Eclipse's Quirk was some Grade-A premium bullshit. It didn't matter how many surfaces she busted through, the bitch could just make more. Mirko sprang forward, twisting her body as she went, perfectly evading three surfaces that would've sliced her to ribbons. She aimed a series of kicks at Eclipse that would hopefully finally take her out. "LUNA RUSH!"

The onslaught of kicks met several of Eclipse's surfaces. Mirko groaned. In an open field like this, Eclipse had the advantage over her. Keeping the QLF leader suppressed was about all she could do. She hopped sideways due to an alert from her Rabbit Instincts. If she hadn't moved, Eclipse would've just cut her left hand off. Which would be a damn shame, because that wrist had the tattoo that she counted as her wedding band.

Aizawa and Vlad King weren't faring much better. They were dealing with a seemingly infinite supply of clones of the Arch-Arsonist. Their saving grace seemed to be that they were only coming one at a time.

"Eraser! I can deal with this on my own!" Vlad King said, "Get into the forest and save the kids!"

Aizawa glanced at his fellow teacher, "You sure, Vlad?"

"YES! Now go!"

Another clone came out of the forest. "Oh, fighting me all alone, Vlad? Don't you know what I'm capable of?" He raised his hand and blue flame started to gather.

Vlad King responded in kind. "HEMOGLOBE!" A solidified sphere of his own blood shot out and hit the villain in the head. He took advantage of the opening and charged, forging a weapon made out of solidified blood as he went. "BLOOD SCYTHE!" The weapon cleaved the clone in half, reducing it to sludge.

"Ugh, you know you're really annoying, right honey?" Magne said as she blocked Tiger's blows.

Tiger had exactly zero chill left. "Be silent, villain! You'll pay for what you've done!"

Magne laughed, "Do you mean here or just in general?"

Tiger used his Quirk to wrap around Magne, restraining her. "Countless acts of armed robbery, three murders, and twenty-nine attempted murders!"

Magne laughed, "I think you made a mistake..."

"There's no mistake!" Tiger said. "You're a wanted woman, and it's time to pay for your crimes!"

"No." Magne said. She smashed the back of her head against Tiger's nose, causing the veteran hero to release her as he recoiled. She made a mad dash for her pillar and stood menacingly over Pixie-Bob's fallen form. "Hmm, how about I make it four murders?" She hoisted the pillar up then began to bring it down.

"NO!" Tiger rushed towards Magne, but he knew his limits. He would never make it in time. He was about to see a friend and trusted confidant die.

"RECIPRO BURST!"

Heralded by the blue fire pouring from his exhaust pipes, Tenya Iida arrived to the scene and unleashed his strongest attack. While he had misjudged how durable Magne's pillar was, he had been successful in knocking it out of her hands again. "I will not let you harm another, villain!" Iida said, "Not as long as my name is Ingenium!" Recipro ran out with a stutter of his engines, but he knew that thanks to his training he could keep on going as long as he didn't use another Recipro Burst.

Tiger's eyes widened as he made a shrewd calculation. He knew that 1-A hadn't had much in the way of rescue training or triage experience, so he would need to get Pixie-Bob. "Hold her off, Ingenium! I'll get Pixie-Bob to the infirmary!"

"Understood!" Iida kicked Magne's pillar further away before running circles around the villain. He made sure to kick up as much dust as he could to obscure his opponent's vision.

Then he heard the other villain from behind. "Magne! Switch dance partners! I have to fight that one! Shigiraki said that he was one of the brats that took down Stain!"

Magne disengaged and started towards Mandalay as she scooped up her pillar. Iida whirled around and found himself face-to-face with someone who would've been the spitting image of Stain were it not for him having a heteromorphic Quirk that made him look like a gecko. And the absurdly oversized sword that was just a bunch of other swords strapped together. "You'll pay for what you did, you fake hero!" Spinner said.

Spinner raised his massive sword for an overhand strike but was interrupted by 1-A's human equivalent of a battering ram. "RED RIOT HAMMER!" With his arms crossed and hardened, he smashed through Spinner's absurd weapon.

Spinner drew a wakizashi and swung at Kirishima. "Die, you fake hero!" Kirishima responded by charging in and letting the sword bounce harmlessly off his hardened skin. Spinner gulped. "Oh, errors have been made." He offered lamely.

Kirishima offered no clemency for said error, instead delivering a haymaker punch to Spinner's jaw. "Don't you know who I am, villain? The name is Red Riot, and NO ONE BEHIND ME IS GONNA BLEED!"

Eclipse did a rapid tactical reassessment. While she had Mirko at a stalemate, it was only that. Due to the hero's insane reaction time and instincts, the odds of her actually slicing Mirko into bits were low. Now that some of the students had found their way back, Magne and Spinner were at a severe disadvantage. The Iida kid -He had to be from that family, no one else had Engine Quirks- and that kid who had declared himself to be Red Riot had the upper hand due to their Quirks. On top of that, Magne couldn't bring her Quirk to bear in any meaningful way since she couldn't use it on herself and her ally and opponents were all male.

It honestly didn't matter that Twice was sending in clones of Dabi with how Vlad King was slicing them-

"Exploding Fireball."

She hastily erected a surface shield right before a wave of fire hit her from behind. Eclipse's face was a textbook example of quiet rage, not that anyone could see it behind her gas mask. Shoto Todoroki had arrived. That development made holding this position -and trying to kill the heroes here- impossible. Eclipse keyed her comm. "We need to bug out. Too many of the good hero students found their way back."

After a moment, Dabi responded. "Copy that. Muscular, do you have the target?"

Dead silence.

"Oh, that's not good." Twice said over the comm, "Amazing work, Midoriya!"

In the forest, Dabi facepalmed. This had just gone from according to plan to off the rails. "Compress, give me some good news. Please."

Mr. Compress's voice came through as a whisper. "I have Ragdoll marbled. Child's play. The heroes don't know I have her, either. Mandalay must have asked everyone to search for her with her Quirk, because Midoriya is here. His arms appear to be broken."

Dabi made a choice. "Grab him, then we leave. Everyone else who's standing, make for the exfil point."

Eclipse used a myriad of surfaces to spice up everything in her general vicinity causing Mirko to fall back. Todoroki tried to immobilize her with ice but it was chopped to bits. Before he could retaliate with fire, she grabbed Magne and Spinner and ran for it.

"Yeah, you better run!" Mirko yelled.

---

Yaoyorozu and Uraraka were about halfway back from camp after passing a duffel bag full of gas masks which Yaoyorozu had hastily passed to Kendo, Tetsutetsu, and Monoma, who had figured out that a villain was controlling the gas cloud and promised to take him down when Yaoyorozu stopped dead in her tracks.

"Yaomomo, what are you-" Uraraka asked.

Yaoyorozu cut her friend off with a raised hand. "Come on out, villain. I know you've been stalking us."

Uraraka moved back to back with Yaoyorozu and dropped into a ready stance. "How did you know?" She whispered.

"My training with Aizawa-sensei." She replied. She scanned the forest, but saw no one. Had she scared the villain off?

A knife thrown from the darkness was enough proof that no, she had not scared the villain off. It grazed Yaoyorozu's arm, leaving a shallow cut. She created a bandage and covered it. She would freely admit to being slightly paranoid about villains with blood based Quirks ever since Hosu.

"Aw, that's no fun..." A woman said, "You'd both look a lot cuter if you were all bloody..."

Yaoyorozu saw a flash of movement out of the corner of her eye. She whirled around and was rewarded for her vigilance with a kick to the face.

She stumbled backwards and hit a tree, clutching her face. Uraraka stayed focused on their opponent. If she had learned nothing else from Gunhead and her sparring sessions from Bakugo, it was to never take her eyes off of her enemy. Said enemy was a blonde woman close to her height. The woman smiled, revealing honest-to-goodness vampire fangs. She drew a knife from a sheath on her thigh and waved it in front of her face almost hypnotically. "I'm Toga! Let's be friends!" Paradoxically, she lunged at Uraraka.

Okay. Definitely crazy.

Uraraka's body moved automatically, defaulted to the training she had received from Gunhead. As Toga lunged, she pivoted on one foot. Her hands lashed out, grabbing Toga by the wrist and base of the neck. She spun and slammed her into the ground, causing her to drop the knife. Uraraka used her leverage to hold Toga down. "Yaomomo! Are you okay?"

Yaoyorozu got to her feet and shook her head. "As well as I can be with my nose bleeding like this, Ochako."

Toga squirmed in Uraraka's grip. "Oh, Yaomomo, you look so adorable like that!"

"Only my friends get to call me that!" Yaoyorozu snapped.

"Oh... just Momo then." Toga said, "After all, there's something we have that's deeper than the friendship I have with Ochako here."

"We are not friends!" Uraraka hissed.

Toga went on, either not hearing them or deliberately ignoring them. "After all, Momo. We like the same guy... Ochako... you don't like the same guy. But there's someone else isn't there? I can smell it on both of you! You're in love."

Yaoyorozu's blood ran cold. This psycho was after Izuku? Uraraka swallowed. How did she know? The only way she could know is if there was a traitor in the class, right? But that was insane!

"I bet you both want to be just like that special person, huh?" Toga said, "So you start changing things about yourself, to be more like them... dressing like them... and then you want to be them! That's what love is!"

"Watch out!" Yaoyorozu darted forward and knocked a piece of equipment from Toga's hand right before she stabbed Uraraka with it. Toga snarled and jabbed Uraraka in the ribs with an elbow, causing her to lose focus and release her.

"You two are no fun right now." Toga said as she slowly backed away from them. "But once Muscular captures Izuku... oh he'll be lots of fun! So fun to tease and love on... Especially once I have some of your blood!" She threw two syringes like what she had tried to stab Uraraka with earlier. This time they struck home, hitting both of the girls in the leg. Their blood began to flow throwing the syringes into vials on Toga's equipment. "Oh, and I wouldn't struggle." Toga giggled and licked her lips, "Cause if you take those out before they're done... then it'll just spray everywhere..." Toga swooned, clearly excited about that prospect. "Both of you would be so cute all bloody... but you wouldn't live long enough for me to enjoy."

After about a minute, the machine stopped sucking and the syringes disengaged. "Wait, you're letting us go?" Yaoyorozu asked.

"Of course!" Toga said, "It would be such a waste to kill either of you here, because I'd have to do it quick." The only way that Yaoyorozu knew how to describe the look in Toga's eyes was adoration. It made her skin crawl.

"What do you mean?" Uraraka asked despite herself.

"I'm so glad you asked, Ochako!" Toga said dreamily, "It's no fun killing someone quick. Sure, I get to see lots of their blood and it makes them super cute, but it's over just as quick. I want to take my time with it, y'know? Savor it. Make them look so pretty, make a masterpiece with their blood!"

"You're insane!" Yaoyorozu said.

Toga walked up to her and caressed her cheek, "Oh, Momo... that means you're insane too. We love Izuku, remember?"

Yaoyorozu opened her mouth to offer a rebuttal, only for Toga to forcefully kiss her. The lip lock lasted just long enough for Yaoyorozu to register Toga's tongue flicking in her mouth before she shoved her off of her. "Fine, be like that." Toga said, "I'll be sure to give Izuku your best." With a wink, Toga disappeared into the forest.

There was a beat of silence before Yaoyorozu spoke. "The next time I see Toga, I am going to shoot her."

"Several times?" Uraraka helpfully suggested.

Yaoyorozu didn't quite hear her, as she was wrapped up in her anger at Toga. "And if she dares to lay even a single finger on Izuku, I will rend her from existence."

"I know how to hide a body."

Yaoyorozu looked at Uraraka in confusion. "Pardon?"

"Look, if that bitch zeroes in on Katsu- Bakugo, she'll be squarely at the top of my shit list." Uraraka said, both her accent and natural vocabulary making an appearance, "So, if we need to get rid of her, I know how to hide a body. Hiding bodies in cement works wonders.

Yaoyorozu blinked. "Are you sure you weren't an assassin in a past life?"

Uraraka thought about it for a second before she shrugged. "Weirder things have happened."

---

"Monoma, this plan is insane." Kendo said.

Kendo was inwardly regretting promising to take out the villain projecting the gas cloud now. Because Monoma had made... changes to the plan. Changes that were utterly insane.

"Nah, it's super manly!" Tetsutetsu said as he put his gas mask in place.

Kendo shook her head and reminded herself to ask Yaoyorozu advice on herding cats, since that's what her responsibilities as class rep amounted to.

Monoma placed a hand on Kendo and Tetsutetsu's shoulders, copying their Quirks. "Don't worry, this plan is much better than anything those 1-A plebs could've come up with."

Kendo rolled her eyes as Tetsutetsu armored up and ran full tilt into the poison fog. She followed behind him and Monoma went wide. As the fog got thicker, they had to take care to not trip over the fallen bodies of their classmates. "The filters on our masks aren't going to last much longer in this soup!"

Tetsutetsu didn't bother replying. He knew. On seeing a figure in the distance, he began to run faster. "Found you, asshole!"

They had found the villain. He was dressed in a school uniform, but wore a helmet and gas mask reminiscent of World War Two Germany. "Oh, finally some of UA's best are here to stop me. Show me how elite you are!" He pulled out a revolver and took a shot at Tetsutetsu. The bullet bounced off, but it hurt like hell. Kendo tried to back off, but the villain aimed at her next. "Don't even think about it, sweetheart. My Quirk gives me complete control over my gas clouds, to the point where I can sense where everyone is!" He threw back his head and laughed maniacally, "I thought UA was supposed to be the best! They gatekept me with that stupid entrance exam, all because I couldn't destroy any of those stupid robots, even though I've got their students at my mercy! How stupid is that?" He took another shot at Tetsutetsu, destroying his gas mask.

"Tetsu!" Kendo cried out. Come on, Monoma, any day now...

A familiar laugh filled the air. "Oh, you think you're superior to us? As if some washout could ever beat the Hero Course's best!"

The villain whirled around and fired a shot in the general direction of the voice. "Who's there?"

Monoma hit the play button on his phone.

(Music Start: Persona 5 OST, Last Surprise)

"You think theme music is going to save you from me, Mustard?" He fired again in vain. Mustard shook his head, "This doesn't make sense... how are you moving without me knowing?"

Alright then. Time for phase two. Kendo enlarged her hands and began waving them in Mustard's direction, causing the gas to swirl around. "Like this!" Judging by how confused Mustard was becoming, Monoma was doing it too.

Tetsutetsu lunged at him. "You fight without manliness, so you gotta go down!" He bruised a steel covered fist in Mustard's gut. "STEEL MASHER!"

Kendo was about to chastise him for breathing the gas in, but as soon as the punch hit, it began to dissipate. "We need to finish this!"

Monoma charged, his fist covered in steel. "Let's do it then! All-Out Attack!"

The three of them jumped in and pummeled the ever-living tar out of Mustard, causing the gas to fully disappear. Somehow he remained standing. "How... did you..."

Monoma walked up to him. "Because you never saw it coming." He flicked Mustard on the nose, and the villain fell over.

(Music End)

Kendo placed a hand on his shoulder, "What can you tell me about his Quirk?"

"No one's in serious danger." Monoma said. He experimentally let out a puff of the purple smog, then banished it. "You need to be exposed to it for an hour for a lethal dose. Everyone who's knocked out should be fine after a couple days."

Tetsutetsu groaned, "Ugh, the whiff I got was enough just to make me woozy. What's in that stuff?"

"It doesn't matter now." Kendo said, "We won."

---

Aizawa's brief meeting with Midoriya had set him on edge. His arms were broken, but yet he insisted on continuing to fight rather than let everyone else deal with it. He was practically running on adrenaline, once that ran out he would drop like a rock.

So, why didn't he stop Midoriya? Why did he let him shove Kota at him and then run off to check on Ragdoll's status as per Mandalay's telepathic message? All it would've taken was a dose of Erasure. So why?

"Is he going to be alright?"

Aizawa looked down at the child in his arms, "He'll be fine."

Kota trembled, "But he got hurt protecting me, even through I punched him in the balls. Even then, he still..."

"That's just who Izuku Midoriya is." Aizawa said, "If there are people in danger, he won't rest- can't rest until he sees that they're safe. Even when it's to his detriment."

Aizawa returned to wrestling with his predicament. Why had he let Izuku Midoriya keep going, despite his injuries? It wasn't rational in the slightest.

Maybe... just maybe it was because that deep down, even with how jaded he had become over the years, Shota Aizawa dreamt of a day when heroes like himself were no longer necessary. For there to be no need of heroes that did morally and legally questionable things for the greater good.

And while he couldn't see any clear path to that future, he could see the first steps.

He could see them in the future of Izuku Midoriya.

---

Bakugo got to Ragdoll's last known location -the halfway point of the trail that looped through the forest- just in time to see Midoriya engage one of the villains. Midoriya was beat to hell and back. His arms looked shot, and it looked like he was running on fumes. The villain was wearing a top hat and some kind of full faced mask that was reminiscent of the Peerless Thief of the era of the Dawn of Quirks...

Bakugo sharply drew a breath in and used explosions to move faster. That was Mr. Compress! It was all over the news a couple weeks ago how he had used some civilians that had gotten caught up in one of his heists as bait by using his Quirk to throw them into the middle of a river with no life preservers. One of those civilians was five-year-old boy who didn't know how to swim. The heroes didn't make it on time to save him. If the details of his Quirk were accurate, this would be a terrible matchup for Midoriya on the best of days. But now? With how injured he was?

It was practically a death sentence.

"Midoriya, don't!"

Bakugo could only watch as his friend hesitated mid-kick, which gave Mr. Compress the brief window of time he needed to tag Midoriya. There was a flash of light and then Midoriya was gone, stuffed into one of Mr. Compress's marbles.

"NO!" Bakugo roared, "GIVE HIM BACK!"

Mr. Compress faced him, "I think not, young man. It would reflect poorly on my reputation if I let a mark go just because you said so." He wiggled his hand and another marble fell out of it. "I don't have the time to entertain any futile notions of a rescue attempt, so please accept this parting shot." He threw the marble at Bakugo. He raised his hands to shield himself, only for three sets of bolas to materialize and wrap around him, pinning his arms to his chest and making it nigh impossible for him to keep his footing.

Bakugo fell to the ground and tried to break out of his bindings to no avail. "Damn it, no!"

Mr. Compress loomed over him. "Don't bother struggling, my boy. The release for those bolas can only be triggering externally, and even All Might would be hard-pressed to break out."

"YOU BASTARD!" Bakugo screamed as he thrashed against his bonds in vain, "IT DOESN'T MATTER HOW FAR YOU LEAGUE OF VILLAINS ASSHOLES RUN! WE'LL FIND YOU AND WE'LL KICK YOUR ASSES UNTIL YOU GIVE MIDORIYA BACK!"

Mr. Compress turned his back on Bakugo and prepared to leave. "You'll forgive me if I don't feel particularly threatened by your impotent yapping." He left, leaving Bakugo lying on the ground.

Bakugo didn't know how long he laid there, only that by the time someone found him, he had almost screamed himself hoarse.

"Katsuki!" Uraraka said, running over to him.

No, not her. Anyone but her.

She found the release switch for the bolas, and they retracted, but Bakugo made no move to get up.

"Bakugo, are you hurt?" Yaoyorozu asked, "Have you seen Midoriya? No one's seen him since this attack started."

Bakugo wept, "I'm sorry, I tried to stop them... But I couldn't... Mr. Compress, he..."

Uraraka was worried. For Bakugo to be reduced to this, that meant that he had failed in whatever he had tried to do. She tried to comfort him with a hand on the shoulder, but he jerked away.

"I'm sorry... I wasn't strong enough..."

"Bakugo, what happened?" Yaoyorozu said harshly, "Where is Izuku?"

Bakugo finally met her eyes. "They took him. The League of Villains have him."

Yaoyorozu's eyes went wide. Her hand went to her mouth and she shook her head as she backed away. "No... NO!" Her eyes darted around, as if she hoped to discover some vital clue or as if she expected Midoriya to miraculously appear.

---

All Might was no stranger to delivering bad news. How many grieving widows or families had he consoled over the years? But to have to tell the woman he loved that her son had been kidnapped? That... this was going to be bad.

He entered their bedroom to find her in bed reading a book. She looked up at him. "Toshi, you look like you've seen a ghost. What happened?"

The words felt like ash in his mouth. "The training camp has been attacked by the League of Villains."

Inko froze. "Are the kids-"

"No serious injuries. There's just... something..."

Inko's eyes narrowed. "Toshi, what is it?"

All Might met her eyes. "It's Izuku. They took him."

Inko went pale. "No... no no no no! Not him! NOT IZUKU!"

All Might was by her side in an instant, enfolding her in a tight embrace. "I swear to you, Inko, on my name as the Symbol of Peace. I will not rest until our son is home safe and sound. I promise."

Gran Torino had once told him to never make promises that he wasn't completely sure he could keep.

Right now, All Might didn't give a damn.

---

A/N: WELL THAT HAPPENED.

Tohru finally comes clean. It had to happen eventually. And once again, Midoriya has a plan that will lead to a certified Midoriya Moment. But that's for next chapter.

The kids show their improvements. They don't do absurdly better than in canon. But they arrive a couple hours early.

Mirko making all the hand-to-hand fighters run the gauntlet will have an impact later. Literally.

Speaking of Mirko, yeah she gives the kids permission to fight at the first sign of trouble. Did you really expect her to do anything else?

RIP Muscular. I will not apologize for the Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance references. Nanomachines, son.

Okay, serious now. Midoriya is a bundle of rage. And during the fight with Muscular, he embraces it for the first time... because Muscular threatened Yaoyorozu with... things.

We know from canon that One For All has some sort of rage boost thing baked in, combine that with Izuku's own rage, and you get a dead S-Rank villain.

Everything else is pretty cut and dry. Eclipse calls for a retreat because Iida and Kirishima would thrash Magne and Spinner.

Let me make something else clear. Magne is cringe. Tiger is based.

And... Toga. Yeah, she's just as crazy as always. Both Uraraka's and Yaoyorozu's training helps a little, but you're never really ready for someone like Toga, at least not until after the first encounter.

The Mustard takedown happens. Complete with a hundred percent more PRESENTATION. I regret nothing.

Bakugo being at fault for Midoriya beung captured (at least in his eyes) is going to sting for a bit. Especially considering that leads directly into Kamino Ward...

All Might is going to be relentless. All For One never put his loved ones in danger because All Might never had anyone before. Now he does. All For One and the League of Villains have no idea what they're in for.