Notes: Back again with another chapter people! So some people have asked about how much time is going by during this arc. Remember…. This is anime time… like how the sports festival felt long and yet not much time was passing, or how the Overhaul raid was over 7 episodes and yet only took like 20-30 minutes. {And of course... Namek's 5 minutes exploding in DBZ)

And at the end of the chapter… I have a very big announcement.

Itkomi stood in disbelief at the pile of rubble beneath herself, staring at the unconscious form of Sasori beneath her. "What the hell is this shit?" She muttered.

Leaning down to get a better look, she saw the many scorch marks over the scorpion girls body. Even the armor plating over her tail and torso was broken, something that only a few had been able to. Itkomi bared her teeth as she stood up and stomped down the blown open tunnel, her many spider legs twitching in rage. "What the hell… that explosion kid was that strong?" she hissed under her breath, arching her knuckles and making them crack.

As the minutes ticked by for their plan, Itkomi's rage was growing every moment. While they had successfully gotten the top heroes away and separated, she was beyond pissed that somehow, these others inside had evaded them and shut off the pathways behind them. Separated, she was certain the others would be caught quickly by the others, especially since Shishido had been taken out. But when Kavik came out with those injuries, all her confidence had disappeared.

Kavik was the best fighter below herself and Muteki, and was never one to underestimate his opponent. The fact that girl had caused him that much damage was something she never expected from any of them other than the top heroes. And now… she grew even more curious to why Dabi was so interested in her; Did he know about this strange hidden power inside of her, or was he simply after her for something else entirely. And more than that… She was growing more curious about his whole drive altogether.

"That burnt bastard… I'll skin whatever is left of his wretched flash from his body once I find him." She hissed out, her mind contemplating even turning him over to the hero's with the hostages as another bargaining chip. Either way, she was growing more enraged at the status of her plan. "Even if the others buy us several extra minutes outside, I'm not keen on wasting time here." As she rounded the corner, down the pathway, she faltered in shock as she also saw Rogue's body sprawled across the ground. "Are you fucking kidding me….?"

Suddenly, the crocodile man coughed out, his bloodshot eyes looking up to Itkomi in shock. "I-Itkomi…" He muttered out.

"What the hell…" she hissed, leaning down beside him, "What the hell happened here?"

Gargling out some blood, Rogue shakingly pushed himself up slightly, his jaws aching with every breath he took. "I… that girl…" He wheezed out, "that… red headed kid. She hit so hard…"

Itkomi shut two of her sets of eyes as she scowled in rage. She had sensed that blonde haired teen and the water girl the moment she saw them…. They were certainly different than the others. But that other girl, she didn't sense that. "Her… you mean that girl… beat you?" she growled out, expecting even her weakest subordinate to defeat a child. But then she saw the scorch marks along his scales, seeing she wasn't alone. "And the other one?"

"Huh?" Rogue muttered, not remembering anything else after Kendo had uppercutted his jaws.

Inhaling sharply, Itkomi stood up and stomped away. "Hurry up and drag your ass out of here and take Sasori to the surface. I will take care of-

"No…"

Itkomi's breath hitched when she heard that word, turning around and staring daggers at the crocodile man. "What did you say?"

"I'm done…" Rogue spat out, his shaking arms pushing him up more. "Screw this gang of yours. I'm out of here."

"Done?" She hissed, her fingers twitching at her side. "You are done?"

"I was a crook when your guys came to me. I joined because I was promised good money for what I was doing," He grumbled out, "But this… I didn't sign up to fighting all these heroes. Screw your money and this group. I'm gone."

Itkomi stared down at Rogue as he glared at her, breathing hard and gritting her teeth. Without even having to think, one of her spider legs shot forward and speared through Rogue's shoulder, the croc roaring out in pain as she lifted him off the ground. He reached towards the sharp leg, but two other legs skewered through each of his hands keeping him in place.

"You think you are someone special? The only reason we hired you on was because we were short one member, and we were interested because your quirk had potential. But it seems you are nothing more than a tough street thug who will never reach the potential we need." Ripping her leg from his shoulder, Itkomi hissed through her teeth as he screamed out, "Someone like you is easily replaceable!"

Thrusting her hand forward, she drove her sharp fingers directly into Rogue's chest. His eyes burst open as she pierced straight through his hard scales and broke through the back, vomiting out blood as she ripped her hand out of his body. Ignoring his screams, Itkomi flung the hunter across the cavern and slammed him into the wall, flicking her legs free of blood as she growled in anger. She watched him weakly claw at the hole in his body, his blood pouring from his chest as he panted in fear. After a few moments his movements slowed, his twitching hands fell to the ground as his breathing finally stopped. She looked down to the blood dripping off her fingers and hissed out.

"A coward like you would've given up anything if you were captured," She said to herself as she turned from his corpse. She would grab Sasori on her way back… after she dealt with the rest of the trash inside here.

"Come on, this way!" Bakugo yelled as he stormed down the corridor.

"No, we just came from this way!" Kendo shouted, noticing the same cracked rocks to the side.

"No you idiot! It just looks the same!" He barked back, pointing at the rock below his foot. "This is different from what we saw earlier!"

Kendo raised her eyebrow and frowned at him. "You have no idea where you're going, do you?" she asked.

"Shut up! I know where we are going!" He shouted, his forehead vein pulsing. "We just gotta keep at it until we get out of this place!"

"That means we can get more lost!" Kendo snapped back, "Just shut up and sit still for a second!"

Gritting his teeth, Bakugo cursed under his breath and stomped his foot. The two of them had gone down the clear path after they ran into one another, but that was the only beneficial moment after that. Now, they had been running in circles, the many catacombs going in so many directions, with some even looping themselves back towards where they came. And after trying the last two paths, he didn't want to admit that he himself had no idea to get through this maze they were inside now.

"Damn it… God damn it!" Bakugo kicked at the wall in frustration. "Where the hell is the damn exit from this place?!"

Kendo huffed out as she looked down to her injured palms. She turned to the rock walls to the side and squeezed her hand. "Let's make our own path through the side here." She said, which only made Bakugo scoff.

"Nice idea, genius… We could be burying our way deeper through solid stone." He said, "and that's before we cause a cave in on ourselves."

"Well we have to try something else!" She snapped at him, "Katara and the others are trapped inside, and if we can't find a way out, then we need to find and help them!"

"No shit, but blasting down through a solid mountain isn't going to get us anywhere!"

"Then what the hell are we supposed to do? Just keep running in circles?!" Kendo shouted, her frustration growing every second. "We can't just be lost and being useless!"

Bakugo raised his brow at her statement, seeing her shaking her fists at her sides. "The hell you whining about? You are getting pissed because-

"Because I feel useless, alright?!" She snapped, admitting something that had been bothering her for a long time. "Katara saved my life in the forest when Yaoyorozu and I weren't able to do anything, and I thought I had moved past that. But now I could barely hold my own against one of these guys here, and I would've been dead if someone else didn't save me!"

Seeing her breathing hard, Bakugo scoffed in annoyance. "Quit complaining, would you? Why the hell are you whining that you got caught off guard?"

"Oh, why don't you just shove it and…" Kendo's mouth hung open in surprise as Bakugo walked ahead. "What?"

"That bastard was already on his last leg by the time I got there… it didn't really take much to finish that bastard off after you damaged him so much,"Bakugo answered without looking at her. "The fact you weren't dead fighting this guy should have told you enough."

As he continued on ahead, Kendo tilted her head in bewilderment to his response. While it didn't seem like it, it seemed he actually did respect her power. As she caught up running next to him, she stared at him in confusion before sighing. "You know if you talked like this instead of just screaming all the time, people may actually enjoy you around."

Bakugo's eye twitched before he scowled at the girl beside him. "I don't care what others think about me! If they don't like me, that's their problem!"

"And you don't learn…" Kendo rolled her eyes and looked ahead to the winding pathways they were in, trying to find anything they could use to help find their way out of here or to the others. "I ran what felt like left when I first got separated, and It feels like we could be heading towards the main entrance if we continue."

"You're right about that."

Both Bakugo and Kendo froze to the voice from behind, flipping around and coming face to face to Muteki grinning their way.

"The hell?!" Bakugo shouted as he aimed his arms up and released a blast, only for Muteki to drop down and clothesline him, launching him back through the cave.

"Bakugo!" Kendo yelled as he bounced across the ground, but yelped out as Muteki's tail spun and knocked her back as well.

As both teens were crawling back up, Muteki stood up straight before chuckling in amusement. "So, what do we have here? Two little birds who couldn't get out of the nest in time?"

Coughing out, Bakugo glared and stood back up. "You…" he growled out, sparking up his hands. "So you're the one Cottontail is pissed at."

"Cottontail?" Muteki raised his brow for a moment before his eyes widened and he laughed. "Ah… I see. Sokudo had said Mirko actually chose to have some little brat under her now. Looks like you are the lucky punk she picked."

"Oh yeah? Let see who's the punk!" Bakugo launched himself forward straight at the raptor user. He unleashed a explosion at Muteki, but he casually ducked to the side and grabbed Bakugo's arm and threw him out of the way. Landing and kicking off the wall, Bakugo flipped and shot out several more blasts. Like the first, not a single hit landed on the hunter. Unlike the scorpion girl he fought, this guys speed was unreal, weaving back and forth and evading his attacks. He was on another level from her.

"This is the kid she thought was good enough to work for her?" Muteki taunted as he redirected one of Bakugo's hands, casually dodging as Kendo threw a punch at him from behind. "So far I'm not impressed!"

Kendo gasped as Muteki grabbed her arm and threw her straight into Bakugo. Growling as he caught her and set her down, Bakugo yelled as both his hands came forward and charged up his blast. "Die!"

Muteki chuckled and bolted through the cave, evading the chasing explosion and leaping over the next blast. Flipping down, his leg shot out and drove straight into Bakugo's stomach, blasting him across the cavern and crashing into the far side. "Really not impressed," He snickered, turning to see Kendo staring at him. "And you… you work for Shishido, don't you?"

Swallowing, Kendo re expanded her hands, ripping off the cloths as he stepped her way. "Once he gets here, you won't be acting so tough." she threatened, which only made him chuckle.

"He put up a decent fight, in all honesty." Muteki said, cracking his knuckles. "Although he won't be joining us anytime soon."

Kendo's eyes widened in shock when she heard that, feeling her blood run cold at what she feared may have happened to her mentor. Her jaw clenched in anger as her fist shook, yelling as she ran at the villain and launched a punch at him. The loud crack rang through the cavern as she landed her blow… straight into his blocking palm.

"Not bad, kid. You got decent raw power," Muteki said as he pushed her hand out of the way, laughing at the shocked look on her face. "Judging by those cuts on you, you were the one who faced Rogue. He was certainly the weakest of us, but honestly didn't think some students were going to beat him."

Before she could even see, Muteki's fist shot out and gave a quick hit to Kendo's stomach and made her collapse. As she gasped out for air, he turned back to see a bloody Bakugo corkscrewing through the air at him. "Take this!" He shouted, but even his blast still missed as Muteki sped through the area. Even as he unleashed is AP auto cannon, he watched as the hunter evaded all his blasts. The speed at which he moved made Bakugo grit his teeth in realization.

This guy seemed as fast as Mirko.

"And you… you beat Sasori, didn't you? I'm impressed!" Muteki admitted, sprinting in underneath the barrage of blasts before his clawed hand shot straight at the teens chest. Bakugo gasped as he prepared the claws to dig straight into his chest… but was shocked as they stopped just an inch away. Muteki only smirked as he quickly closed his fist, driving his one inch punch into Bakugo's chest making him cough out blood.

"I gotta say I really am surprised. I didn't expect you kids to cause such a fuss and beat a few of us." Mtuteki muttered as the explosive teen dropped to his knees. "But I can't be having my fun anymore." Fighting through the pain, Bakugo yelled as he thrust his hand up releasing another blast, forcing Muteki to flip back out of the way. The hunter grunted in annoyance as he landed back down, before he heard coughing to the side making him smile.

Spitting out, Bakugo stood back up ready to fight, but the sudden yelp of pain made him freeze. His eyes widened as he saw Muteki's foot pinning Kendo down beneath him, his large curved claw tapping against her back. "You hide behind someone like a coward? Come on and fight me!" Bakugo shouted, only causing Muteki to shake his head.

"Sorry, but I can't be playing with my prey too much. Time for us to go." Muteki answered, reaching behind his back and grabbing the pair of handcuffs and throwing them at Bakugo's feet. "Go on and make this easier for me."

Glaring at the cuffs, Bakugo sneered and sparked his hands out again. "I've already been a prisoner once, and not in the mood for that again!"

"Bakugo, just take him out!" Kendo shouted, but gasped as Muteki suddenly grabbed her right arm, twisting it upward behind her back. She screamed out as the pain increased, her arm strained to near breaking.

"You bastard!" Bakugo shouted and aimed his hands forward, but froze as Kendo's scream grew louder.

"You've caused enough trouble, and I need you brats alive. But that doesn't mean I can't make this worse for you both," Muteki growled as he wrenched harder, making Kendo scream in agony. "Now unless you want your friend here to never use this arm again, I'd end this little game you are trying to play."

"AHHHH!" Kendo cried out, her heart hammering in her chest as she felt like her arm was about to crack.

Bakugo hands glowed as he had his blast ready to unleash, but he knew he couldn't release it with Kendo there. Even if he had focused it to hit only Muteki, he saw Kendo's arm was only an inch from snapping, and if he tried anything it certainly was going to break. He looked down, seeing her face twisted in agony as she trembled. Her cheeks stained in tears as she laid helpless, looking up to him in desperation. Bakugo's hands shook in frustration, before clenching his fists and throwing his hands down.

"Fuck!" he shouted out, gritting his teeth and standing down. Grabbing the cuffs off the ground, he hissed as he clamped them on his wrists.

Smirking, Muteki let the crying girls arm free, watching as she clutched at her strained elbow.

He pressed his foot against her side and shoved her hard, punting her through the air at the other teen. "Hey!" Bakugo shouted as he awkwardly caught Kendo with his cuffed arms. As she coughed out in pain, he glared back up at the hunter. "You damn dinosaur!"

"Now, both of you get up and start walking," Muteki held his hand out for them to lead. "And if you try to run, I will have no problem tearing one of your legs apart so you will be left crawling."

Growling, Bakugo turned to see Kendo shaking beside him. Her right arm shook as she clutched at it, her muscles and joints in agony from being strained to the limit. She breathed heavily as a sniffled from the pain and frustration of what happened, her eyes glancing down to the cuffs on Bakugo's hands. She grew even more humiliated since Muteki didn't even request to put some on her, knowing she wasn't even a threat to him being free. She glanced up to Bakugo's face, her eyes filled with guilt knowing she was responsible for him like this now.

Someone who was still useless.

Both teens remained silent as they were marched down the pathway, with Muteki only steps behind as he cracked his neck. "Now, let's find those other friends of yours."

Getting shoved in the back, Bakugo growled as he was forced down the pathway alongside Kendo. He glared over his shoulder at Muteki behind him, his frustration rising at the smirk from the man. "I can walk myself, damn it…" he snapped out.

"Then don't walk like a little bitch and keep moving," Muteki taunted, laughing as he saw sparks form in the teens cuffed hands. He almost wished he tried something, his claws twitching at his side.

Bakugo himself was so tempted to just turn around and shoot a blast at this man's face, but with his hands cuffed now, he knew fighting was going to pretty much be impossible. Glancing to his right, he saw Kendo was still clutching at her arm, her joints and tendons possibly damaged from how far her limb was stretched. She looked over to him, frowning herself at the situation they were in now. They both knew trying to fight him like this would only result in something far worse than what they already experienced. They just had to somehow wait for the right moment to act.

Pacing down the dark pathway, the trio found themselves back within the first massive cavern from where they first came into the mountain, Kendo exhaling at the corridor that they entered this place from the beginning, knowing it was closed off now. She grimaced as Muteki spit on the ground next to them, scraping his claws together in amusement. "Your other friends better hope they didn't get through our members." he muttered.

"Why, because it shows how pathetic your little gang is?" Bakugo scoffed out, making Kendo's eyes widen in worry that it would piss Muteki off. Her worry came true when a powerful kick slammed into Bakugo's back launching him onto his stomach.

"Stop!" Kendo yelled out, only to gasp as Muteki's tail swung out and smacked her across the face, throwing her onto the ground next to her classmate as she gripped her stinging cheek. They both looked up to see Muteki stepping closer, but instead of a glare of anger, they saw him smirking at them.

"You think because you beat a few of us, you are suddenly special?" He chuckled, kneeling down and flexing his claws. "We were retiring after this anyway, so numbers mean nothing. Besides, lower members can be replaced if we had to. But you need know this single fact; even if you beat the eight lower members, all of them together do not even equal what Itkomi and I are capable of." He brought his claws closer towards the glaring Bakugo and Kendo's fearful face. "You kids truly have no idea who you're dealing with."

BOOM!

All three of their eyes widened from the loud crash from the side, turning towards the main entrance to the cavern. Several more powerful impacts echoed through the area, the sound of shattering rock following the hits. Suddenly, a final deafening crash rang out, dust and rocks bursting inward towards the cavern arena. Both teens stared in confusion as several boulders collapsed and rolled through the thick cloud of dirt. Muteki however stared straight face, exhaling and standing back up, knowing exactly what this was.

Through the clearing smoke, the outline of a figure stood up and cracked their neck. Some of the dust settled, revealing the tall ears standing above the head of long white hair, and a face covered in some blood and the look of a crazed beast.

"Hello mother fucker…" Mirko grinned as she panted out. "It's been a long time.

Several minutes Earlier

Katara breathed in as Dabi walked towards her, her heart beating faster as the league of villains member was here now. "You…" She growled out, glaring and keeping her hand raised and focused on him.

Chuckling, Dabi dropped down the step and clicked his tongue. "I'm glad you missed me. It's been a long time since we got to spend quality time together."

"Quality time? When you were trying to kill me back then?" Katara shot back at him, only making him laugh.

"Kill you? I didn't want to kill you… Yet." he grinned, the fire in his hands growing larger. "I needed to have you suffer first!"

The blue fire burst out from his hand at Katara, shooting the large stream of water she had colliding into his attack. Steam hissed out from the intense fire sizzling her water, but Katara quickly waved her hand and guided the steam together and formed ice spikes, shooting them at her foe. Dabi smirked as he swung his hand releasing a wave of blue blames out, melting and evaporating the ice at once before swinging his other hand to shoot more flames forward. As Katara's water clashed against his blast, Dabi laughed as ducked to the side as another ice spike shot past him. "I've been waiting for the chance to get you outside of school, and Endeavor gave me the perfect chance for this!"

Katara gritted her teeth as she spun as her water shielded the incoming flames, shooting out two streams of water at Dabi. She glared as his hands thrust outward, the wall of fire bursting out and stifling her water from getting any closer. She prepared to launch another water whip out, but her eyes widened as another burst of flames was heading towards Burnin. Quickly redirecting the water, she exhaled as the flames crashed into the ice she formed, glaring back at the flame user as he only laughed.

"Little Burnin, the number one suck up to Endeavor," Dabi whispered, "I'm in luck to get you and her together in one spot."

Katara eyed him curiously as she regathered the water around her, stepping to the side as Dabi circled the other way. "You did all of this? This whole trap? You hired these hunters to try and capture me?!"

"Of course. I needed the opportunity to get you out of that school and to separate you from Endeavor. They were the perfect opportunity to draw you prideful heroes out here and chase ghosts," Dabi's eyes widened in crazed excitement, his hands ignited once more. "And now I can make that bastard suffer!"

Katara sweated as the column of fire burst her way, shielding herself with a wall of water and freezing it. The blue flames crashed into it breaking some pieces off, with the intense heat scorching the front and melting away a large chunk. Gritting her teeth, Katara flicked open both her gauntlets and shot both of her streams forward around the flames. Dabi swiped his hand and unleashed another powerful wall of fire, the blue fire sizzling the streams and forcing Katara to pull them back before she suddenly shot forth several blocks of ice from her shield at him. Jumping back, he yelled as he slammed his palms down, unleashing a column of flames up and shielding himself as it melted the ice before it could reach him.

"I knew you were a tough one, but I thought they would've caught you already!" Dabi yelled and brought his hands forward shooting a powerful stream of fire right at Katara. The size of the fire column made Katara jump out of the way, the waterbender forming a large ball of water and launching it at him before arching her knuckles, the ball bursting out into multiple water tendrils and shooting them forward. Dabi burned through the first few before several of them ensnared him, but he simply thrust his arms out unleashing a burst of flames, incinerating the water around him as the blue flames danced over his skin, the color of the flames making her mind flash.

Images of Azula flowed through her head, the blue fire a sick reminder of the firebender. Like her, these flames were even hotter than normal, noticing how her water was not penetrating through like normal. While Azula's skill was greater in terms of technique, Dabi's raw power was simply that much greater than hers, rivaling or even more than when she was empowered by the comet. And like her, he was giving off a crazed drive to complete whatever goal he was trying to accomplish.

And it had to do with her.

Yelling as she shot out another thick stream of water, she stifled another blast of fire with another water shield. The wall of flames pushed her back from the force before she redirected the blast to crash into the wall behind her, breathing hard as the temperature was rising inside the cave from the many intense flames. The high temperature wasn't what was bothering her though, but the confusion that was growing inside of her as she glared at Dabi.

"What do you want with Endeavor? And what does that have to do with me?!" She shouted as she jumped forward, launching a dense water whip straight at Dabi. Her technique struggled but broke through his fire and struck him in the chest, throwing him backward against the wall . She froze the water immediately and locked his hands against the stone, freezing that as well before summoning several ice spikes ready to strike. "Why are you after me?!"

Dabi didn't move as the ice encased his body, not worried of the chill locking him in place. In fact, the sensation actually relieved his overheated body, laughing to himself at the body he was given from birth. His crazed eyes stared at the waterbender, blue flames flickering over his cheeks. "It has everything to do with Endeavor… Everything I do is to bring that bastard down."

The Blue flames erupted out from Dabi's chest, melting all the ice away and dropping to the ground, his hands engulfed in flames. "Watching him struggle day after day to become the number one hero was enjoyable, but then he got handed that spot at number one. It was obvious he would never be happy with it, knowing he was handed that title without ever earning it."

Katara didn't want to agree, but she couldn't avoid the plaguing thoughts coming into her head. She had seen a change in Endeavor ever since she came back working for him, but she still was so confused. "Why? Why all of this for him? What did he do to you?!" She yelled out, "And me… Why?!"

"Me…" Dabi chuckled, "I am who I am because of that beast. His drive to be number one destroys everything around himself. I bet you've seen how much his family despises that man… like your little crush Shoto."

Katara's eyes widened when he said that name, distracted just for a moment before she saw Dabi launching himself at her with his flames bursting out. She shielded herself against the blast, gritting her teeth and opening her canteen as well to unleash several streams around the flames at him forcing him to block those. She bended her shield down to her feet and carried herself through the cavern to the other side away from Burnin. "What does he have to do with any of this?!"

Blasting away the incoming water whip, Dabi swiped his hand and created a new wall of fire stifling her path. "He has everything to do with this. He was groomed to be Endeavor's pride and joy, the one to surpass him. I actually was hoping he was going to be here, to bring down the little prodigy right in front of his proud father, and destroy whatever reputation he has. The new number one hero, losing his own son under his watch… imagine just what the world would say about him. And then you showed up…"

Before she could even respond, Katara shielded herself as Dabi's hands thrust forward and blasted a thick column of fire at her, the force of the blast shoving her back and against the rock wall. Gasping out, she quickly summoned the shattered ice and engulfed her body, blocking as Dabi's flaming fists came at her. His hands collided with the water barrier in front of her, the second barrier of water on her body protecting her from a majority of the heat. She glared out as Dabi's crazed face beamed down at her.

"I wanted to capture you originally because you were working for Endeavor… to bring down his new intern to ruin his name. But then I saw how Shoto had grown attached to you, and that was something even better for me," Dabi's eyes narrowed in amusement as his burning hands began sizzling through her barrier. "You… the mysterious girl who came to UA after engaging with Endeavor, now falls for that man's own son. And she goes missing under the top hero's own watch. The situation only gets better for me!"

Katara gritted her teeth as she watched her shield melting away, but her mind was so focused on what he was saying. Her own frustration and anger grew as she whipped forth several water whips engulfing his hands and arms, but his burning flames only grew brighter and fried through her water. Her eyes widened as his hands seemed to be physically smoking from overheating, and yet his crazed face showed no reaction except excitement.

"This country looks to Endeavor as the next All Might, and what would they think seeing him fail? An entire team of heroes and students gone from a mission he led, and so soon after he took the top spot? Any remaining hope in that man would vanish, along with whatever pathetic respect he has. And that's only surface level… Imagine Shoto finding his girl is gone now, under the watch of his own father that he despises. His hatred for that man would never go away, and forever feeling the guilt of not being there to keep his little girlfriend safe. Their despair would only grow, consuming both of them until they fell apart from the inside."

Growling, Katara kicked off the wall and pushed back through the fire, her water crashing into Dabi's chest and throwing him back away. "You leave him out of this! He has nothing to do with Endeavor and whatever shit you have against him!"

"Oh really? Then why don't you ask Shoto's siblings how they feel? Cast aside as worthless since they weren't the perfect specimen like your boyfriend is. Fire and ice, blended together to create the ultimate quirk to counter the others' downsides. I guess the others were only pathetic failed experiments, weren't they?" Dabi sneered as his body expelled more heat, feeling his core getting hot before laughing… His drive inside allowing him to ignore the pain. "I'm going to tear down that bastard, the false hero that he is, and anyone like you associated with him is just as guilty!"

Katara's own anger was rising inside her body as she regathered the shattered ice around her, yelling as she shot the newly formed water whip at Dabi. Their attacks crashed into one another over and over, but despite her attempts, the insanely overpowering flames were eating away at her water supply. As she leaped out of the way of a fireball before launching a water slice at him, she noticed even with the massive excess of water she had brought, she was getting down towards her amount from what she carried before. Even so, she refused to stop, both out of the fear of what this man wanted, the anger from his threats… and the growing confusion inside of her about who he was.

"If you are pissed at Endeavor, then face him yourself!" She shouted, punching at her water stream shooting ice spikes while also launching forth a water stream above. "Me and Shoto have nothing to do with you!"

"Of course you do… you and Shoto are just what I need for my dream to come alive!" Dabi's yell was followed by an explosion of blue flames outward from his body engulfing the cavern. Katara's eyes widened as the bright wall of fire rushed at her, gathering all the water she had and rushed to the side covering Burnin, her water stifling the flames from coming closer. Her feet skidded against the ground as she held the fire back, sweating as the heat was overwhelming her. Her eyes then glared through the flames, the bright eyes of Dabi shining through like a demon possessed.

"I know Endeavor will survive the nomu I sent after him. That bastard is too stubborn to die from that creature. But if he manages to get back here in time, I have the perfect shield with you to get out of here. I can't imagine the face on Shoto when he sees you in my grasp once more, too pathetic and weak to come help you just like last time! And then… I want you to see it when I set the other half of his pretty face ablaze to make him match."

Katara's heart pounded in her chest as she heard his threats, her emotions in turmoil as she pushed back against the fire. She clenched her eyes as the fire surrounded her, struggling to keep the fire from reaching her or Burnin. Her teeth clenched together as she dropped to her knees, the sweat dropping down her face from the immense heat coming through the water. Feeling the flames growing closer however caused visions to rise into her mind, seeing the flames engulfing herself as she was left with nothing to protect herself. And then her mind pictured Shoto, his face staring at her in fear before the burning flames overtook him as well, causing her emotions to burst outward.

As did her eyes burst open glowing white.

"Huh?" Dabi grunted as the water suddenly pushed outward through his flames, yelping as he was shoved back away from the waterbender. "What's this?" he grunted out, watching as she stood back up with her hands to her side.

Katara stared silently as she waved both her hands upward, bringing all the remaining water up and compressing it tighter and tighter, forcing the massive water stream into a whip so dense it wasn't even possible to see through. She yelled and shot it forward at him, Dabi shooting his flames out at the stream, only for the water to suddenly redirect up and around the blaze. He turned and brought both hands in front and released a wall of fire to block the water, but it suddenly burst outward in several whips, ensnaring his arms and lifting him off the ground and throwing him across the cave. Dabi growled as he shot out flames from his hands stabilizing himself, landing back down and blasting out several balls of fire at the waterbender, only for the whipping stream to zip through the air and break through his attacks.

"Denser water to combat the flames… You are something special." He snickered and engulfed his arms in fire, the flames scorching at his sleeves and his skin itself smoking more. "There really is something weird about you, is there?!"

Spinning forward, Katara shot the water whip as Dabi's hands went to shoothis flames forward, but the water stream smacked his hands to the side cutting his knuckles. The water suddenly wrapped around his wrists and yanked him into the wall, growling as he ignited his hands burning through the water and freeing himself… but when the bottle he was storing inside his jacket fell, he froze as it bounced on the ground and popping open.

Katara immediately noticed the water dripping out of the bottle top, her hand aiming at the source and ripping all of it out at once. She whipped it up and combined it with her stream of water, launching it straight at Dabi and smashing it into him and throwing him across the cavern. As he bounced across the ground, something inside Katara suddenly made her gasp out, the glow in her eyes disappearing as she dropped to her knees panting. The water splashed down on the ground, spreading out wide as the dense stream broke up to normal.

"Wha…" She huffed out, realizing that sensation had come over her once again. Breathing hard, she felt this was slightly different however, able to somewhat remember what just happened. She was growing enraged at what he was saying about Shoto, her emotions seeming to explode thinking he was going to be hurt. Suddenly her mind clicked, remembering how Aang became when his emotions took control, looking down at her hand in disbelief.

"An… avatar state?" She said to herself. Was this that power Kyoshi had told her? a way to boost her power temporarily? Looking back up, Katara's heart skipped as Dabi was crawling back up, water dripping down his body from the attack earlier. But what shocked her was his wet hair… noticing the dripping black water coming off it as the color began lightening up. "Wh-what?"

As he walked closer, Dabi couldn't help but laugh as his seemingly black hair was washing away, revealing the snow white hair beneath. "That was a special color removal in there I was saving, kid. Was keeping it for the right time to show good old Endeavor… but I guess it never works out perfectly."

Katara's mouth hung open in complete confusion as Dabi's hair was changing color, his burned face streaked with black hair coloring. Now his head was covered in spiky white hair, completely changing the appearance of the villain. Now with everything he wanted, this just made her head spin even more. "What are… Who are you?!" She shouted.

Dabi stared at her for a minute before a small chuckle escaped his throat. He had planned to keep his true self a secret until the right moment, but at this point he knew he could cause damage from a different angle now, his hand brushing through his hair and shaking it free of the dark streaks off the tips. "You mean you don't see anything similar?"

As his hand came down over his face, Katara remained silent as she had no idea what he meant, seeing the frost white hair above his head, his piercing blue eyes that-

A cold chill suddenly ran over her body as everything he had said clicked inside her head, along with the fire he had been using. But it was the cold eyes that reminded her of someone she had worked for, and someone else who she'd grown so close to that made her blood run cold. "Y-you…"

Touya Todoroki stared through his fingers as he grinned. "What is this… You can't see the family resemblance to your boyfriend Shoto?"

Notes…. Wow… wow wow. Talk about a twist to the canon and what will be coming now. We are nearing the climax of this arc, and we have only the big baddies left to deal with.

Mirko… I love you. my bunny girl getting the love she deserves here.

And now…. The big announcement.

I have started a gofundme for more artwork and to get a full comic done of this story. Yes… I want to make this story a comic/manga. All funds made to it will go directly to creating more content, as I refuse to accept money as actual payment for work.

This story will remain completely free to all you fans, and I don't require payments to make me write faster. I simply want to bring more content for people to enjoy.

www. gofundme f/ help-me-create-a-full-comic-for-my-story

And if you can't or don't want to contribute, I still want to thank you for your support, since you all are the reason I kept this going so long.

So anyway…. Please leave your comments/ reviews of your thoughts and what has happened, and be prepared for what comes next, Till next time!