Chapter 18: Master of Puppets

"Keep pushing forward, we can't let them pin us down like this!"

"Easier said than done!" Kendo replied, sweat dripping down her brow as she flattened herself against the rooftop AC unit serving as their cover. She could hardly even hear her own voice above the constant cacophony of bullets tearing into the metal at any given moment; by now, it was more than clear that one of their opponents was Snipe, and his aim was as precise and deadly at ever. Firing from the top floor of Ground Beta's tallest building, a fifteen-story office complex near the center of the training arena, he had a perfect vantage point to rain down steel on anyone who tried to make an approach. The only respite came in the brief spans when he shifted his fire to Reiko's team, but given the superior mobility One For All provided, they'd spent the majority of the exam thus far in his crosshairs. That fact had done little to daunt their designated team leader, however- five minutes in, Kamakiri's version of a plan seemed to primarily consist of a straight charge at the enemy.

"Like I said," she continued, "he has a solid bead on us! We won't be able to get all the way to him without rethinking our strategy!"

"We just need to wait for the right moment," Jack Mantis insisted, his teeth grit in frustration as he pushed a few loose strands of his bright green mohawk out of his eyes. "The next time he shifts his fire, we go on the offensive, shred their defenses with a combination of you guys' quirks and then charge. Do you think those air blasts of yours are strong enough to deflect bullets?"

"I can definitely try, but no guarantees. We still don't know who the second teacher is, though…"

"It's gotta be someone with a close-range quirk," Togaru retorted, peeking out of cover for a moment before two more gunshots slammed into the metal just inches from his face and forced him to withdraw again. "Otherwise, they'd be on our asses too by now."

"Well that may be so, but-"

"Guys, the other team!" Beside them, Hiryu Rin shot to his feet and pointed across Ground Beta's main street, where their opponents were charging across the gap in between two apartment buildings, their silhouettes faintly illuminated by the streetlamps and the scant amount of sunlight filtering in above the horizon. The sky was slowly turning purple and orange in the far distance, but the early morning air was still bitterly cold, and Itsuka felt a shiver race up her spine as she squinted her eyes to take a closer look. At first glance, it looked like Poltergeist, Mudslide, and Airshifter were running on nothing, but a faint shimmer of reflected light confirmed that it was one of Tsuburara's hardened air constructions, this time in the shape of a simple bridge between rooves.

"Ah, shit!" Behind her, Kamakiri swore viciously. "Those motherfuckers! Battle Fist, do you think you can hit them with a blast from here, knock them off?"

"Maybe, but… we're not supposed to engage the other team! And besides, they're at least five stories up, a fall from this height could seriously injure them, or worse!"

"It's not engaging them, just long-range suppression! And they'll be fine, they've got Poltergeist to catch them!"

In the relative silence that followed, they all realized simultaneously that Snipe had switched targets, and with a drop of Kamakiri's hand, they charged out of cover as one.

"Dragon Shroud, help Snipe out- lay down some more suppressing fire on them! Battle Fist, get ready to jump us all the way to that building!"

While Rin fired hardened scales in the opposing team's direction, Kendo swelled up her hands, her eyes fixed on the distant window Snipe was shooting from, in case he decided to start prioritizing them again. After a moment, she was ready to carry them, and with a nod from Jack Mantis, Itsuka gently wrapped her teammates in her left hand, then launched into the air with her cape whipping behind her. Craning her head to the left as they arced high above the buildings below, she caught sight of Reiko's team, huddling behind cover on a roof just as they had been. Moments later, though, a bullet whizzed past her- she lifted her oversized right hand up just in time to catch a second and third on her palm, and winced in pain. Snipe obviously couldn't use live rounds against students, but his nonlethal stun bullets still packed plenty of punch. Taking one directly to the head or chest could knock someone cold- even her, if the angle was right.

"We're taking fire!" She called, adjusting their course to come in for a landing one or two buildings short of their objective. "I'm taking us back down, we're not gonna make it there without getting shot to pieces!"

"Just try the air blast!" Kamakiri shouted back over the wind. "We can't let ourselves get trapped again!"

"Roger that!"

Before Kendo could even adjust her stance to attempt a flick, however, she suddenly felt a sizable portion of her momentum leave her all at once, and her eyes widened in surprise. When she snapped her fingers together to try and produce the attack, nothing happened, and she realized with a sinking feeling who the second teacher was.

"Guys, it's Aizawa! One of my quirks just got erased, we're coming in for a rough landing! Brace yourselves!"

"Oh, shit!" Jack Mantis cried as the ground began to rush up rapidly beneath them, squirming frantically in her grasp. "Is he trying to fucking kill us?!"

"No, he just knows I can do this."

As they plummeted down past another office building, Kendo extended her massive right hand and plunged it through the wall, tearing through glass and concrete as she slowed them down to a halt over the course of five floors, then swung them all through one of the windows to evade Snipe's barrage. Luckily, it seemed after experimentation that he could only erase one of her quirks at a time, and One For All seemed to almost always be the ability that was targeted.

"God damn…" Kamakiri growled, coughing as Battle Fist set them on the floor and used her hands to beat away the cloud of dust that had gathered. "This is one hell of a test."

"Yeah, they really seem set on the 'plus ultra' part of it all," Itsuka flexed her bruised and battered fingers, doing her best not to show the pain on her face- she would probably need to see Recovery Girl after the exam at this rate. "Is everyone okay? I know that got kinda dicey."

"All fine here," Hiryu replied, dusting off his Chinese-inspired costume. "I had my Scale Armor for protection."

"And I'm just fucking dandy. Let's get back to the mission." Togaru stood and made his way toward the windows on the far side of the room, which faced their objective- Itsuka and Rin followed close behind. "Alright, looks like Snipe's still targeting the other team. You think we're close enough to make it the rest of the way there in one more jump?"

"Theoretically, yes, but not if I get targeted by Eraser again- I don't wanna risk another fall like that, plus we're vulnerable targets for Snipe when we're all midair. Maybe it would be wiser to get down to street level until we're right beneath them. If I could find something to use as a shield, then we'd be safe from both of them. And come to think of it, Aizawa really emphasized the whole 'play the objective' thing, didn't he? What if this whole idea of one-upping the other team is just a distraction? We're dealing with two teachers- cooperating with Reiko's group could be our best shot at passing."

"Last time I checked, I'm still in charge," Jack Mantis snapped, his insectoid mouth drawn in a frown. "You're not the only one who can come up with a plan, Kendo. And I'm not gonna hand over my points to the opponent just 'cause you want everyone to get along and sing Kumbaya, as usual. Just for once in your life, try thinking of yourself first, okay?" Then he turned to Rin, his ragged black coat shining softly in the pale, flickering glow of the overhead lights. "So how hard can that Scale Armor of yours get? Is it good at taking big impacts?"

"I've trained with the durability pretty extensively- it can take a lot of punishment."

"Alright, excellent. Now listen up, here's how we're gonna get past those two. First, we wait for the other team to make a break for the main building, so both teachers have their eyes on them. Then, Battle First, I want you to take Dragon Shroud and throw him right at that top floor window, just like you're chucking a baseball. Put enough elbow into it, and he'll get there too fast for either one of them to react in time. Once he crash lands, he serves as the distraction, and draws their attention you carry me and charge in just a few seconds later. Once all three of us are in there, they won't be able to stop us."

"That's…" Reckless, overconfident, and needlessly dangerous, Kendo wanted to say, but Hiryu laid a hand on her shoulder, and she forced herself to bite her tongue. I'm not in charge today, and we get more points for following his orders, however risky they are. "Dragon Shroud, are you okay with this plan?"

"Yeah, don't worry, okay? I can handle it. Let's get moving, though, I'm sure the other team isn't just sitting around."

"Not even close!" Kamakiri called, his face still pressed up against the glass. "Shit, they made another bridge, all the way to the main building! We gotta hurry!"

As she rushed forward and lifted up Rin in her undamaged hand, Itsuka spared a glance across the street; Reiko was using her quirk to hold up a sheet of metal as a shield as she charged across the invisible bridge alongside Juzo and Tsuburara, a . There was no time to waste complaining, though; once Togaru had destroyed the window with a blade produced from his wrist and Hiryu had turned his skin to scaly brown armor, she held her left arm up to eye level to gauge the distance and angle, then leaned back and hurled Dragon Shroud up and away like a pitcher with a fastball. Oh god, please be okay, please be okay.

Thankfully, her aim held true, and there was a distant crash of glass as Rin plunged through the window. Moments later, the steady crack of gunfire from Snipe came to a halt, and Kendo exchanged a nod with Kamakiri before picking him up and leaping out on a roughly identical trajectory. Just as planned, it seemed that Aizawa was too distracted dealing with their teammate to defend against their new advance, and there was no sudden sensation of losing speed like last time.

"Blast them before they get there!" Jack Mantis suddenly cried, pointing downward at the other group, who were moving even faster not that they were unhindered by bullets. "Don't argue, just do it! That's an order!"

A frown spread across Kendo's face as she turned midair and flicked her oversized fingers in their opponents' direction, producing a concussive blast of pressure that streaked down with pinpoint precision and shattered Airshifter's bridge to pieces. Sorry, guys. I don't like it either. Thanks to Poltergeist, though, the trio only fell for a brief moment before Yanagi maneuvered their shield around to catch them all, and Itsuka sighed in silent relief as she and Togaru soared through the broken window and skidded to a halt inside. Just a few yards in front of them, Dragon Shroud had already defeated and forced to his knees by the two teachers, much of his body wrapped in Eraserhead's binding cloth. Aizawa still had two strands in hand as he tired the student up, and glanced up with only mild surprise at the two newcomers, his pupils glowing red and his hair lifting up in his signature tell; Kendo didn't have to snap to know that One For All was already gone, but she managed to dive in front of Kamakiri and raise her massive hands in front of her before Eraser turned his gaze to her teammate.

"Stay behind me!" She called back, her eyes still locked on Shota's. "I'm gonna start moving forward, don't let him see you!

"No, you're not going to do any of that." Came another voice, muffled by a gas mask. A few yards beyond Aizawa and Rin, Snipe stood with his gun trained on the back of the hostage's head; Battle Fist's eyes widened in shock when she realized that it was Tetsutetsu. Real Steel was tied to a chair, and when he caught sight of his would-be rescuers, he quickly launched into a desperate plea.

"Oh my god, I'm finally saved! You've gotta help me, these villains are crazy! I think they're gonna kill me!" Tetsutetsu had never been the best actor, so it was immediately clear that his antics were staged- not that the poorly hidden grin tugging at the corner of his mouth did anything to help the illusion. Kamakiri came to the same realization behind her, and started to move forward, but she leaned back and swiftly shook her head.

"Real or fake, if he 'dies' we fail automatically," she whispered. "We've gotta go along with what they say for now, but the moment Eraser blinks, we-"

She was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass from across the room, as Mudslide, Poltergeist, and Airshifter charged through, with Reiko's metal shield levitated in front of them so that Aizawa couldn't erase their quirks. Within a matter of moments, chaos unfolded: easing the shield just a bit to the right so that Snipe was inside her field of view, Yanagi tore the gun from his hand and sent if flying out the far window. The teacher reached for the knife at his hip, but just a beat later, something slammed into Snipe's chest and sent him stumbling backward with an audible crack. With Eraserhead's attention sufficiently diverted, Battle Fist and Kamakiri charged forward together, and Togaru slashed Rin's bonds with a blade from his forearm before he received a brutal kick to the chest from Aizawa for his effort. Thankful for the distraction Jack Mantis had provided, Kendo made straight for Tetsutetsu. I have a head start on Poltergeist's team, even without One For All I can make it there first!

She was swiftly relieved of that assumption when something hard slammed into the side of her head, and sent her stumbling to her knees just a dozen paces shy of the hostage. It produced the same distinctive crack that she'd heard with Snipe, and when another invisible projectile streaked towards her, glimmering faintly in the dull morning light, Itsuka quickly realized the nature of the attack. Tsuburara's making balls of hardened air, which Reiko throws at enemies with her telekinesis. Impressive- it's a perfect combo of stealth and offense.

Kendo held up her hands in time to bat away the next sphere before it impacted and send it sailing out the window, but she'd already been delayed too long. Reiko's team was continuing their steady advance forward, and past Tetsutetsu, Snipe was already back on his feet, drawing a bowie knife from a sheath his hip. Still deprived of her second quirk, Battle Fist tried to resume her dash towards the objective, only to find that her feet wouldn't move; when she glanced down, they were sinking into the floor, like it was made of mud. Oh, shit…

A brief glance confirmed that everyone in the room was similarly trapped by Juzo's quirk- everyone except for Real Steel, who was being levitated chair and all by Reiko, slowly floating towards the shield that was protecting her team from Eraser's gaze. Crap, we're gonna lose at this rate! She realized, as the softening intensified and she rapidly sank all the way up to her waist. Her feet were dangling into the room below by now, and Snipe and Dragon Shroud had already vanished beneath the surface. Behind her, Aizawa had latched onto a pipe on the ceiling with his binding cloth, and Kamakiri had dug one of his arm blades into a support column, but they were both too far away to reach Tetsutetsu in time. I'm the only one close enough to grab him. Suddenly her mind flashed back to that day on U.A.'s roof, with Midoriya vanishing into the warp gate ahead of her, and Kendo understood immediately what she had to do: Eraserhead had finally blinked, and she could feel that One For All had returned. There's no use hiding this power forever. If I'm going to be a hero worthy of my predecessors, then I have to embrace it.

"Catch him," she whispered, extending one hand out towards Tetsutetsu. A surge of energy rocked through her body in response, and on cue, Blackwhip burst from her hand and wrapped itself around Real Steel's chest, prompting a very genuine yelp of surprise. Now it was a tug-of-war between Battle Fist and Poltergeist, but with her quirk's power divided between holding up the shield and lifting the hostage, Yanagi's strength quickly failed, and Tetsutetsu snapped back towards Kendo like a rubber band, right into her waiting hands just as she fell through and down to the next floor. Honenuki undid his softening in a panic, but Itsuka was already out of reach, and suddenly Aizawa and Kamakiri's strategy of staying off of the floor had backfired. Both Hiryu and Snipe had fallen through as well, and once he had clambered to his feet, Rin swiftly engaged the teacher with a barrage of scales, nodding in Itsuka's direction.

"Go, get out of here with the hostage! I'll hold him off!"

"Stay calm, citizen, you'll be out of here safely soon enough!" Kendo declared, a grin spreading across her face in contrast to the look of shock and terror on Real Steel's.

"Yo dude, seriously, what the hell was that? I mean, I know your quirk situation is weird, but…"

"Escape now, explain later."

Just a few yards away, Juzo burst through a softened patch of ceiling like an Olympic diver and rolled to a stop on the floor, his black-toned armor more menacing than usual in the dim light. Though he was too far away to try and engage her directly, he sufficed by slamming a palm into the floor just as Kendo prepared to jump, allowing her to sink up to her ankles before hardening it again. With both her quirks, the thin layer of flooring around her feet was barely even an obstacle- all it took was one swift chop of her hand and flex of her legs to break it apart and free herself- but it was just enough of a delay for Aizawa to swing down through the window, erase her quirk once again, and plant his boot firmly on her face, just as Honenuki closed in from the other side.

Blood spurted from Battle Fist's nose as she stumbled backward and nearly fell, and she grit her teeth in frustration. God damn, they're really going all out, huh? No training weights this time. Deciding to respond in turn, Kendo pressed Tetsutetsu tight against her chest with one arm, then lashed out at Aizawa with the other. Thanks to the sheer size of her hand, he had no room to dodge- she connected a solid punch, sending him flying backward and out of the window, just before her feet sank back into the floor and Juzo seized her from behind in a full nelson.

Thankfully, though, her attack seemed to have forced Eraser to blink again; she could feel the rush of One For All returning, and a single, swift elbow to Mudslide's stomach was all it took to crack his armor and send him flying halfway across the room. Then came a sharp slicing sound from somewhere above, and it took Kendo a moment to realize that Kamakiri had cut Aizawa's binding cloth again- by then, he was plummeting like a stone, and making no effort to catch himself.

Holy shit, did I actually knock him out?

There was no time to watch and find out. All objectives and grades forgotten, Itsuka dropped Tetsutetsu and launched herself downwards out the same window, reaching desperately for the teacher as he drew nearer and nearer to the ground. Blackwhip emerged from her hand before she could even think to summon it, and once she had grabbed hold of Eraser and pulled him close, she reached out and wrapped the dark tendril around a streetlamp. They'd built up too much momentum for it to stop them completely, but it slowed their fall enough to significantly lessen the pain for Kendo, who positioned herself back-down in order to absorb the lion's share of the impact.

They still managed to carve out a small crater in the asphalt, and Battle Fist could tell immediately that her lower back would be sore for the next few days, but when she checked his pulse and heartbeat, Aizawa's condition was normal, and she let out a heavy sigh of relief. A slow stream of blood was trickling from his nose where she'd hit him, and when his eyes finally opened after a few seconds, he winced in pain before glancing around at his surroundings.

"Damn, that was a good punch. Nice catch, too, but I'll still have to deduct points for removing your focus from the objective."

"Wha… but I…"

"More importantly, though, I think you and I need to have a talk about your quirk."

"Well, I, um…"

"Holy shit, are you guys okay?"

"Language," Eraser grunted, lifting his goggles and glancing up as Reiko, Juzo, and Kamakiri descended toward them on a sheet of metal levitated by Poltergeist. "We're both fine, Mudslide. I appreciate the concern, but I'd rather you all keep focused on the hostage."

"The others agreed to put things on a momentary pause while we checked on you two." Yanagi released her quirk as the metal platform set down on solid asphalt, then yawned and pushed her silvery bangs out of her eyes, both of which had notable purple bags. "Even Snipe said it was okay. He stopped the clock, we still have around ten minutes left."

"Of course he did." Aizawa sat up with a grimace of discomfort. "You're all lucky he's in a good mood- I might not have done the same."

"Sir, please forgive my conduct. I didn't know you were unconscious." Hopping nimbly off the metal platform, Kamakiri fell to one knee and bowed his head low. "That attack could've killed you if Battle Fist hadn't gotten there in time."

"It's fine, Jack Mantis- you had no way of knowing my condition. Your decision was tactically sound, given the limited information you had at the time. I would likely have done the same in your situation."

Eraserhead gingerly pushed himself to his feet, while Togaru stepped forward and extended a leather-gloved hand toward Itsuka. He had a bare hint of a smile in between his razor-pronged mandibles, with one eyebrow raised skeptically as he looked down at her.

"Come on, sidekick. You gonna get back on your feet, or just fall asleep down there?"

"It's more comfortable than you might think, boss." Kendo retorted as he helped her up out of the dust and rubble, then clapped a hand on his arm, her torn cape swaying in the morning breeze. "Don't beat yourself up too much about it, alright? You didn't do anything wrong. Now let's get back up there and finish this."

"Interesting, that's very interesting. Not your best performance, but not bad either."

A soft grin on his lips as Battle Fist's team left the arena victorious some five-odd minutes later, Midoriya held up the remote and pressed rewind, reeling back the camera feed to a shot of the mysterious black substance emerging from Kendo's hand and wrapping itself around Aizawa's falling body. Vivid memories flashed through his head of those same dark tendrils grabbing hold of his arm, pulling him back through the portal and away from Toga- of the sting of his blade as he drove it through his own limb to free himself. Izuku's gaze shifted to his mechanical replacement, and he flexed the metallic fingers before leaning over and using them to stroke Himiko's hair. She'd come down to join him some time ago, after she woke up and realized he wasn't in bed. Tokoyami had dropped by as well, but left soon after, complaining that the final exam wasn't nearly violent enough to be interesting.

"Ugh, I hate that stuff," Carmilla declared, screwing up her face and sticking out her tongue in disgust. "It was like a big gross tentacle, trying to steal you away from me. What's up with that, anyway? How can she even do that?"

"That's an excellent question. Excellent questions get rewards." Taking her cheek in one hand, Midoriya leaned in and kissed her deeply. "I've been wondering the same thing ever since the operation, and I still didn't have an answer, until tonight."

One arm still wrapped around Toga, Seraph pressed zoom, blowing up the center of the image until Kendo and the dark tendril took up nearly the entire screen.

"That day, everything happened so fast that I honestly wasn't sure what she used on me. Half of me was convinced that it was some type of capture-focused support item, but the other half had a wild theory, one she just confirmed. This is no support item, Himiko." Opening his phone, Seraph pulled up a second image and cast it to the TV screen alongside Kendo: it was a bald, burly man with a scruffy chinstrap beard, a leather jacket, and goggles over his eyes, swinging around a city block with an identical set of tendrils.

"Whoa…" Toga let out a whistle. "Looks the same to me. So who's that?"

"This is someone I came across during my research into One For All- one of the previous users, a famous hero who died nearly a century ago. His quirk was called Blackwhip, and now that I have an image to compare, I can say with certainty that Battle Fist has displayed the exact same power."

"Ooh!" Toga's grin widened, and she shifted in place, leaning back and laying her legs across Midoriya's lap. "So does that mean she's this guy's secret great-granddaughter or something?"

"Not quite- there's no familial relation, but they do share the bond of One For All. Until now I only thought it was strength that was passed on- raw power. But now it seems I may have been mistaken. Through some mechanism or another, a full quirk has been passed from one user to another. Now, I need to find out how, why, and whether or not this could happen again with another predecessor's power. This might be a random fluke, or our dear Itsuka might be even more unique than I thought."

Toga pouted and rose to her feet, her arms crossed in indignation as she strode over to the television and stared Kendo down.

"You two got on a first name basis real quick. You sure are real interested in her, huh?"

"In the same way a biologist is interested in the animals he dissects. It's clinical, darling, I can promise you that. In order to break her, or to fight her if need be, I first need to understand her- her powers, her limitations, her motives and background. To know one's enemy is the greatest gift."

"Well I still can't forgive what she did to you, baby. But now that I take a closer look at her…" Toga leaned in close to the screen, and ran her fingers softly along the pixelated outline of Kendo's cheek; there was blood streaming down Battle Fist's face where Eraserhead had kicked her, and Izuku watched as Himiko shuddered at the sight, her cheeks slowly flushing red. "I guess she is pretty cute. I know you said we can't kill her, but… can I still taste her blood?"

Seraph smiled a wide smile, then rose to his feet and wrapped his arms around Carmilla from behind, planting a gentle kiss on her neck. The morning sun was filtering in through the window behind them, made even brighter by the reflection from the snow, and Midoriya couldn't help but think that Toga looked breathtakingly beautiful right now, her blonde hair and pale skin bathed in dappled light. In that moment, he would have done anything she asked, no matter how difficult.

"I think that can be arranged."

Monoma Neito rose early, as was his habit, gazed with bleary eyes at the watch on his nightstand, and slipped silently from his bed. 7:38AM. That's later than usual, he mused with a frown, glancing about the room. Though I doubt that sleeping with them has done my internal schedule any good. Since their return from Okinawa, he'd been sharing quarters with Gentle, Mustard, and Setsuno of the Eight Precepts- a byproduct of a shortage of living space in the cabin, which was meant to occupy only ten. With Tobita gone for the time being and his other two roommates still fast asleep, the room was blissfully quiet aside from the faint sound of chirping birds and an occasional snore from Toya, and Neito took a brief moment to breathe deeply and soak in the peace and calm in before stepping into the closet and shrugging off his black silken nightgown.

Setsuno's wrinkled clothes were strewn about the wardrobe when he opened it, a dramatic contrast his own neatly folded and ironed stacks. An involuntary shudder wracked his body at the sight, and a grimace spread across his face when he realized one of the Expendable's pairs of dirty jeans was brushing up against his pile of undershirts; . If there was one trait that Chaudron would happily admit he shared with Overhaul, it was a love for cleanliness and order in all things. How tragic that he failed to impart that particular lesson on all of his subordinates. Suddenly he found his eyes flitting unbidden to the lacquered ashwood box tucked on the shelf beside his slacks; he flicked the lid open, and ran two fingers over the smooth steel blade of his dagger, and the gleaming pearl grip of his pistol. I could teach him that lesson myself. But Midoriya wouldn't like that. He closed the box, and set about getting dressed, his movements steady and deliberate as he slipped on one piece of his elegant costume at a time. We can't anger our allies, can't sow any mistrust or discontent without reason. That would be going against his plan, after all. Then came the bathroom, where the process of smoothing out his bedhead with a comb and gel took another few minutes; though he was much less likely to admit it, Monoma cared a great deal about his appearance, and gave any changes to his signature look a great deal of thought.

After all, if I am to be the hero, surely I must look the part, Neito reassured himself, as he unbuttoned his collar to spritz his neck with cologne. It took a great deal of self-discipline to ignore the various unfamiliar toiletries placed haphazardly about the sink and cabinet, but Chaudron took a small amount of comfort in the fact that Gentle's things were organized as neatly as his own before he departed and made his way downstairs. In the kitchen, Seraph and Carmilla were already up and moving, eating breakfast at the counter alongside Overhaul and Nemoto, whose plague masks were removed in a rare sight.

"You're later than usual." Chisaki sipped at his coffee, his tone dry and his golden eyes disinterested. "What happened to Monoma the Machine? Always up at 7:00 AM like clockwork, sitting in the kitchen drinking tea all alone. I thought you were a man of routine."

"Some routines are harder to keep than others," Neito countered calmly, "especially when one is forced to sleep alongside a feral rat of a man who doesn't seem to understand the concept of basic hygiene, not to mention allowing others to rest in peace and quiet."

"You got some kinda issue with Setsuno?" A hint of a grin playing about his lips, Kai leaned back in his barstool and raised one eyebrow. "Come sit down and tell me all about it, buddy- let's have a nice little chat. Maybe let me know about your girl problems too, or how tough your finals are. Must be so damn hard, being a high school brat whose balls haven't even dropped."

"That's enough," Midoriya declared quietly, and Monoma's retort died on his tongue. Izuku didn't so much as look up from his eggs and rice when he spoke, but the room fell silent all the same, at the drop of a pin. "We all have work to do. Get some food, Neito, then join me in the living room. I expect that to be the last outburst I hear from you today. Please excuse his behavior, Overhaul."

"I'll consider it," Chisaki chuckled and turned back to his plate; Monoma could feel Nemoto's eyes boring a hole in the back of his head as he poured his morning tea and grabbed a bowlful of rice from the cooker. Agitated enough that he nearly spilled his egg on the counter when he cracked it and moved to pour it on top, he followed Izuku and Himiko through the doorway the moment his meal was ready, struggling to hold his tongue as his cheeks flushed red from the effort.

From the moment he could string together complete sentences, insults had come as naturally as breathing to Monoma, and asking him to refrain from them was generally a fruitless effort, a lesson his parents and teachers had learned a long time ago. In his life, he had only encountered two people whom he respected enough to stay his habit on their behalf, and Midoriya was without a doubt one of them.

"Imbeciles," he muttered under his breath the moment he was out of earshot from the kitchen; if Seraph heard him, he didn't acknowledge it, gesturing instead to the television as Chaudron took a seat at the coffee table and sipped at his tea.

"I have some footage for you, courtesy of Tower and the camera spike you gave him at your last meeting: Class 3-B's final exams. Many of them have made significant progress on their moves and techniques, Battle Fist in particular- I've been taking notes all morning, and it seems that my theory about her was correct. I'd like you to review the matches as well, give me any insight you can offer, and adjust your counter-strategies for each high-threat target accordingly. Contact me when you're done, and we'll discuss our next operation."

"And where will you be?" Monoma raised an eyebrow as Toga tossed him the remote control and blew a kiss in his direction, then skipped back to Midoriya's side. Seraph had a small silver cylinder in hand, with a blinking light at one end- the beacon to summon a portal from Kurogiri.

"Niigata, with Synapse, Longshot, and the others. They've found a suitable location for a new headquarters, and I'd like to discuss this matter of Gentle and Spinner's disappearance with them in person. Brief Twice, Dabi and the rest on the situation for me, would you? La Brava too, if she wakes up today. We'll be back by evening for Coldflame." His brows furrowed briefly in contemplation, and he nodded towards the laptop sitting on the nearby side table, used for communication with the Recruits. "Ah, and I nearly forgot. You'll need to reprimand Tower for his behavior this morning. He was unduly clumsy during his exam- a mediocre performance."

"Understood, he'll hear from me once I've gone over the footage. Are you sure I shouldn't join you, though? If you're going to be discussing this new group with the other Founders, not to mention the issue of the new task force, it might be best for me to be there."

"I'll be sure to call, Neito- don't worry." Izuku gave him a sympathetic smile, one Monoma hesitantly returned. "I need you here, keeping this place in check in case our new friends come calling again. I'll be back before long."

"Indeed. Give Pandora and the rest my regards, will you?"

"Can do!" Carmilla cried enthusiastically. A portal opened up behind them on cue, then vanished a moment after they both stepped through, leaving Chaudron alone once more in a silent room.

Niigata, Chuo Ward

Two Hours Later

"I have to say, I'm glad you decided to come join us here. I know every use of warp gate is a risk, but discussing an issue this complex would have been difficult over the phone."

Yaoyorozu glanced up from Midoriya's report on the Gentle-Spinner situation, currently pulled up on her laptop, and gave Izuku a soft grin. His face remained stoic as usual as he responded, though Momo had to remind herself not to stare too intently at him- Toga was just a few feet away, after all, with eyes like a hawk and a killer instinct for sniffing out rivals. Pandora had already made it a year without arousing her suspicions, though; it was practically a game for her at this point, and the thrill of pushing the boundaries was growing all too enticing. The time for that would come later, though- for now, Syndicate business held first priority.

"Not to mention the fact that we're going to have to rethink how we secure phone calls from here on out," Hatsume added, a frown on her face as she paced over to the office's floor-to-ceiling window and tapped a button on the wall to shut the automatic blinds. It was a grey, foggy morning in Niigata, and the penthouse suite they were occupying was forty-odd stories off the ground, but if there was anything their group had learned over the past two years, it was that no amount of precaution was ever too much. "It's a stroke of absolute luck that Gentle was the only Syndicate member who actually used Feel Good Inc. for his carrier, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are safe, not by a long shot." She took a moment to snigger at her own pun before a stern glance from Synapse set her straight.

"What Mei is trying to say," Hitoshi continued, "is that despite the fact that none of us aside from Tobita use the company for our internet or mobile, their satellites could still be eavesdropping on our conversations, if they have a good idea of where we're located."

"And based on how they knew exactly where to wait for Tobita and Iguchi, it's safe to say that they weren't far off from the rest of us." Momo turned her gaze back to the wall-mounted monitor, and used her touchpad to scroll through a log of FGI's active cell towers and satellites in the region; practically nowhere was outside their coverage. "Even with all our technological prowess, their resources make our own look almost primitive by comparison. If we engage with them directly, their cyber capabilities alone could practically annihilate us, especially with La Brava still out of commission."

"All of which only further reinforces the soundness of our current course of action," Midoriya replied calmly, scarcely even sparing a glance to the screen as he continued to write feverishly in one of his notebooks. "We make no rash or sudden moves, and wait for them to come to us. With two hostages and a likely fix on at least one of our current locations, they believe that they hold all the cards. But we have a few aces up our sleeves as well. Don't we, Mei?"

"You got that right! Aiba's tracking program really came through. By bouncing from camera to camera, we were able to follow the car that took them all the way to the Sapporo airport, where our mysterious hooded friend- who's actually a lady, it turns out- took a private jet right back to Deika City. From there, it was pretty easy to figure out where their HQ is." Hatsume made a few keystrokes on her wrist gauntlet, and the image on the screen changed to one of Deika, where a massive corporate tower dominated the skyline.

"What a wonderfully evil-looking building!" At the back of the room, Mr. Compress clapped his gloved hands together in approval. "It gives quite the dramatic atmosphere, don't you think? It would be a fitting place for grand rescue operation, and a climactic confrontation!"

"With any luck, there won't be a confrontation of any sort," Seraph replied. "And I don't intend for us to set a single foot in their home territory, if we can help it. When we do meet to negotiate, it will be on neutral ground. Depending on their disposition, it might be a while yet until we reach that stage, though- it's only been twelve hours since Gentle and Spinner were taken. Yaoyorozu how long do you estimate until they reach out to us?"

"Going by our own system of managing prisoners, if they're even awake by now, which may or may not be the case, they're almost certainly still in the interrogation phase. Their questioning will likely continue for the rest of the day- the leaders of this organization doubtless want to obtain all the information about us they can. What comes next depends on how much or how little Gentle and Spinner reveal during this process."

"I've been giving that specific question thought." Shinso leaned forward in his chair and glanced up at Midoriya with tired eyes. "Not that I don't trust them, but Gentle only joined us a month ago, and Spinner… is Spinner. How can we be sure they're not talking right now? All creative torture methods aside, the people we're talking about have way more money than even we do. Those two could be staring down the payoff of their lives."

"They won't talk. I can assure you of that, Hitoshi."

Izuku's voice carried a tone of absolute certainty, and Momo raised one brow in response. I personally wouldn't be so sure, but if he trusts them, I'll accept that there must be a reason.

"Well, assuming you're correct, then, and they don't learn anything new about our locations or membership, I predict that they'll wait a few days for us to respond to our members' disappearance ourselves, to watch our movements and see if we either strike at them or open communications. No fewer than three, no more than a week- they want us to come to them, not the other way around, but their patience won't be limitless. If we maintain our silence and lay low as you advise, then only after that period will they reach out to us again themselves."

"At least three days… That gives us just enough time to carry out the surprise we have planned for the U.A. graduation ceremony." Rubbing his hands together in delight, Midoriya turned to Toga. "Himiko, darling, I trust you gave the disk to Temperance as planned?"

"Yep! It'll be in place on the big day."

"Perfect. Then it's time to start handing the fireworks over to the Recruits at tomorrow's round of meetings- Pandora, I trust you can handle the manufacture later today?"

"Of course- I can practically make cyclonite in my sleep by this point. We'll be using around half a ton, correct? That won't take too long, but I'll need a large meal."

"I'm sure we can manage that. Compress, order some sushi for lunch after an hour or so, would you? Make sure that Yaoyorozu gets a triple portion."

"With pleasure, sir."

"And now on to the star of our upcoming performance. Mei, pull up the data feed from Uraraka's implant."

A few more taps, and the image onscreen changed to a first-person view of Asui Tsuyu, sipping at a cup of tea across the 3-A common room kitchen table. More students were visible in the background and periphery: Kaminari, yawning as he poured himself coffee, Bakugo brushing his teeth with a scowl on his face, Shoji and Hagakure chatting in the corner. It was, by all means, a typical morning scene in the U.A. dorms- one of dozens that had been recorded in full and transmitted to them wirelessly from the baby Longshot had implanted deep inside Uravity's skull during the final days of her captivity. No larger than a coin, it had taken Mei and Overhaul nearly twelve hours of open-brain surgery to successfully install the chip, with Chisaki using his quirk to reset things every time Hatsume accidentally killed Ochako or damaged her nervous system irreparably- most of the process had been sheer trial and error, given that none of them had any real medical training.

Their efforts had finally been met with success, though: nicknamed 'Baku' after the mythical Shinto devourer of dreams, the implant was practically untraceable, and after nearly three weeks, there was still no indication that any of the tests Uraraka had undergone after her recovery by the heroes had detected it. Even if they had, any attempt to remove it would trigger a release of neurotoxins that would instantly kill Uravity, with a backup electrical overload for good measure. Its internal battery used the natural electricity from her own body to recharge, and with each passing day, its programming adapted and evolved to gain more and more access to her brain's internal functions. By now, they could assume full remote control of her body any time they wished; since there was still no way to tamper with her memories, they'd run their trials late at night, and luckily it seemed that Ochako had written off the few instances she did recall as sleepwalking.

"I think I could have done better," Tsuyu was saying, her expression downtrodden. "We got Jiro back in the end, but only barely- Ojiro and Shoji ended up doing most of the heavy lifting. I just hope it's enough to pass…"

"I'm sure you did great," Ochako replied, her voice echoing through the receiver. The Baku tapped directly into her optical and auditory nerves, and converted the raw data into images and sound with only a few-second delay. "Combat aside, I bet you contributed a ton to your team strategy and coordination! Don't worry too much about the little things, okay? The teachers all know you still can't use your tongue, they won't be expecting you to perform at the same level as when you could!"

"I'm still sad they put it in again," Toga interjected from the side, a pout on her face. "That's no fun, I cut it out fair and square!" Then she giggled, and her cheeks flushed red. "But Tsu still looks so cute even with it- right, Izu?"

"Of course she does, darling."

"Ooh, and Toru's looking fashionable too!"Himiko clapped her hands together in glee as Hagakure sat down at Asui's side, and the three began to chat about their plans for the weekend. "I think that's a new top! Do you recognize it, Momo? So risqué, showing her shoulders like that!"

"No, I don't believe so." Pandora exchanged a brief, amused glance with Seraph, and couldn't help but crack a grin. She latches onto the strangest things about her little crushes, doesn't she? All the same, though, Yaoyorozu couldn't fully suppress the brief pang of bittersweet pain that rose up in her chest as she watched the students of Class 3-A go about their morning, as much as she tried. When Uraraka turned her head to the side and Jiro walked into the frame alongside Kendo, Momo felt her eyes drop to the wood of the table out of instinct, as her heart sank in her chest.

I was hoping they wouldn't be there.

A month ago, Pandora had been overjoyed at the chance to reunite with Todoroki and Uraraka, in spite of the circumstances- they were both dear friends, and once upon a time she'd even been hopelessly smitten with Shoto. Her relationships with Kyoka and Itsuka had been something different entirely, though, and in many ways far closer. Her best friend and her perfect rival- between weekends and evenings with Earphone Jack and her internship at Uwabami's agency with Battle Fist, she'd likely spent more time with the two of than anyone else over the course of her aborted first year. Leaving them behind for Midoriya and the Syndicate had been nearly as difficult as abandoning her home and family.

But it was all for the greater good. My personal ties don't matter- not compared to the fate of the country. And besides, we'll still have still a chance to teach them the error of their ways. I can help Izuku show them the light. Yaoyorozu took comfort in that thought, and the pounding in her chest slowed as she lifted her gaze back to the screen- she only slightly flushed when she realized that Midoriya was watching her intently, his expression inscrutable.

"Feeling nostalgic, Pandora? I could hardly blame you."

"No sir, not quite. Just looking forward to the day when the rest of our generation finally comes to understand the worthiness of our cause. That footage of her new ability you shared with us was quite interesting." Momo nodded toward Itsuka, who was currently braiding Tsuyu's long green-black hair while Kyoka kicked her boots up on the coffee table and strummed at her guitar. "It seems your theory regarding her quirk was correct after all. If you'd like, I could help you look into potential countermeasures for this quirk and the others she'll likely receive in the future."

"I would certainly appreciate that, but for now, there's another pressing matter that requires your attention. Another old friend of yours, in fact. Last night, Todoroki reversed his previous stance, and expressed a willingness to join the Syndicate. What do you make of that?"

"I… is that so?" Yaoyorozu's eyes widened in surprise, but only momentarily- she managed to regain her even tone before continuing. "That's wonderful to hear. But how can we be sure he's being truthful about his intentions? I see no intervening factor that could have influenced him to undergo such a radical change of heart in the past few weeks, given how staunchly he was opposed to the idea the last time I spoke to him."

"Seconded," declared Shinso. "Coldflame is entirely too straight-laced to turn on the heroes like this- if he was going to break, he would've broken a long time ago. As far as I'm concerned, all this means is that he's getting desperate. Take that quirk suppressor off him for even a fraction of a second, and he'll burn the whole cabin to ashes in a heartbeat."

"From what I've seen of the boy, he's hardly an actor," added Compress, stroking the bottom half his mask in contemplation. "But if we want to get to the heart of the matter, it seems to me that all we need to do is ask our friend Nemoto to interview him. He has a quirk tailor-made for the job, wouldn't you say?"

"I appreciate the suggestion," Seraph replied, "but it's hardly necessary. I'm already certain that he's lying. I could read it on his face, as plain as day; you're correct, Compress, he is a horrible actor. What I want you to do, though, Yaoyorozu, is string him along- let him believe that he's tricked us, and that we're planning to let him join. Give him an 'interview', grant him little privileges bit by bit, even pretend to fall for him again if you deem it necessary- just make sure that he trusts you. He's still suspicious of the rest of us, me especially, and for good reason. You're the only one who can win him over. Do you understand your task?"

"Of course, sir. To clarify, though, what is the ultimate objective of this operation?"

"Another puppet for the theater, of course." A smile on his face, Izuku glanced up to the camera feed from Uraraka. "The Recruits are invaluable, but we'll need another set of eyes and ears in the hero community after we dispose of this one. After you gain his implicit trust, and fully convince him of our willingness to accept him, you'll feed him false information on our future plans, before 'slipping up' and giving him the perfect chance to escape on his first field operation. He'll run back to his father and the task force none the wiser, blissfully unaware that the 'valuable intelligence' he has in store for them is actually part of a trap designed to kill as many members of this new hero team as possible."

Across the table, Shinso nodded approvingly, and Hatsume clapped her hands together in anticipation.

"So I guess I'm gonna be sticking a Baku Mk. II on his brainstem before we let him loose, huh? I promise I'll only kill him a few times before I get it right, now that I have some practice!"

"Feel free to try as many times as you need- I'm sure Chisaki will be more than happy to assist. As for this meeting, though, unless there are further questions, consider yourselves dismissed. We'll be warping back to Sapporo at 1800 hours. In the meantime, Compress, continue monitoring the footage from Uraraka for any new intelligence. Carmilla, check in with Chaudron, and see if there are any new updates from the Recruits- if not, make sure you're ready for your meetings with them tomorrow. Pandora, start prepping for your conversation with Coldflame- you'll need to be prepared for any questions he throws at you. You can start producing the cyclonite after lunch. Synapse, Longshot- on me."

Tapping a few keys on his laptop, he pulled up two live video feeds, displayed side-by-side on the screen: one each for David and Melissa Shield, currently confined in the Yokohama headquarters' holding cells. A squad of armed and masked Yakuza gunmen hand-picked by Overhaul patrolled the corridors and checked on the two prisoners regularly, but that fact hadn't stopped Melissa from making several escape attempts already, all of which had failed pathetically- the only things she had to show for her efforts were bruises and a busted lip from the butts of her captors' rifles. Her father, on the other hand, seemed to have accepted his fate more readily, and spent most of his waking hours huddled in defeat on his bed. Momo watched as Izuku's eyes shone with glee at the sight of his new prizes, and couldn't help but linger a moment in the doorway to listen while Toga and Compress filed out ahead of her.

"Ah, there they are. I do hope they haven't been feeling too neglected; I think it's about time we paid our new guests a visit."

First of all, apologies again for the slightly longer than average delay on this one- as tends to happen, I ended up underestimating how long the next chapter would be, so I had to find a good stopping point and split my planned outline in two.

As far as this one is concerned, though, I tried not to take up too much time with the final exam, but it was fun to write, and I wanted to set up Kendo getting more experience with Blackwhip in a way that would force her to be more honest about her quirk(s) to the U.A./hero community- that conversation will come next time. Midoriya is pretty interested in it as well, though, not to mention new revelations about Uraraka, Todoroki, and the Syndicate's next operation- what do you think they have planned for the graduation ceremony? Any more guesses on the identities of the Recruits? Was that really a new top on Hagakure? Let me know what you think in the reviews!

Chapter 19, Requiem for a Dream, is one I've been planning for a while, and I hope it'll deliver. It should be out within two weeks at the absolute latest- for anyone who follows my other main story, Rhapsody in Green, I'll be taking a brief break from that one to focus on this next Entropy chapter.