Aizawa and Vlad King never expected to join their students for their work-study. Both men would never admit it, but they were starting to miss seeing them since their work meant they had to miss class and pick up the schoolwork via email.
The last few days had been grueling with late-night patrols, meaning Class 1-A frequently went straight to bed after returning to the dorm. Inside the meeting room were several heroes and their agencies. Sir Nighteye was at the head with Bubble Girl, Mirio, Centipeder, Sero, Fumikage, Kouji, and Rikidou.
"Thank you all for coming. Through our investigations, a few anonymous tips, and some good luck, we now have a good idea of what our enemy is planning." Sir Nighteye said as Bubble Girl got out a notepad. "For the last few weeks, we've been looking into the Shie Hassaikai, a small but organized Yakuza family with goals of breaking into major-league villainy."
"When did the investigations start?" Superalloy Darkshine asked.
"I believe it started when my agency was called in regarding a car crash involving the thief group Reservoir Dogs. We found the villains fused to their own vehicle." Atomic Samurai clarified.
"We had to get the best healers to unfuse them and they confirmed Overhaul's involvement." Blast said.
"Once we learned of this, I started investigating, and learned that the Shie Hassaikai had been increasing contact with the outside world for the last year." Centipeder added.
"Just before the school semester started for us..." Nia noted.
"You think they also moved when they learned All-Might was getting into teaching?" Katsuki asked.
Nighteye nodded. "That's a distinct possibility. We know the League of Villains made their attack on the USJ in response to this. Other villain organizations may have also been emboldened with the thought that All-Might would be more distracted from hero work."
"Something else that came up recently is of particular concern," Centipeder added, "Just a few days ago, the Shie Hassaikai was seen making contact with a member of the League of Villains. Jin Bubaigawara, also known as Twice."
"He was the guy who could make all the clones!" Rebecca recalled. "The guy who looked kinda like Deadpool."
"So now Tomura and his gang are helping Overhaul?" Izuku asked.
"Hard to say, Twice was careful about being followed, so I don't know exactly where they went. But the police were alerted to a massive explosion at an abandoned factory warehouse." Centipeder replied. "The remains of known villain Deidara were confirmed, as well as blood samples matching Atsuhiro Sako AKA Mr. Compress, and Overhaul himself. Given this, it's clear some sort of altercation between the two groups occurred."
"I'm starting to get why you guys pulled me out of retirement. I've seen enough in my time to know that things are about to get ugly." Gran Torino said.
"You and me both, Sorahiko..." Bang sighed.
Rock Lock looked around at the UA students. "Can someone tell me why we invited a bunch of students to this meeting? Sorry, but it's been bugging me for some time now."
"They're officially part of our agencies as part of a work-study," Zenkichi explained. "Plus Midoriya and Kirishima both have vital information regarding our investigation."
"We'll get to that in a moment," Nighteye assured everyone. "We've been trying to trace the Shie Hassaikai's income. All we've been able to figure out is that they've been heavy in drug sales. Watchdog Man, has your partner been speaking with you?"
The S-Ranker nodded. "Golden Ball and Spring Mustachio have been able to help trace the drug distribution plant where Shie Hassaikai makes their product. But so far there's been nothing on the other mysterious substance linked to them."
"Yeah, me and Amajiki-Senpai encountered it during a recent patrol. The thug we encountered had a strange drug that could destroy Quirks." Eijirou said.
"Fortunately, it wears off after a while. I was hit by the drug and lost my Quirk for a bit, but then it slowly started to come back." Tamaki added.
"This is the reason we called in Eraserhead. In order to get insight from his expertise." Nighteye explained.
"I was able to get the drug analyzed with help from Child Emperor. The effect may be similar to my Quirk, but it doesn't work in quite the same way, since what I'm doing isn't attacking the Quirk directly." Aizawa noted. "What we call Quirks are really beneficial mutations of our natural genes, attaching something fantastic onto someone completely ordinary. The main three classifications of Quirks are Emitters, like myself, Transformation, like Fat Gum or Kirishima, and Mutant, like Tsuyu or Maishirao. And of course, some Quirks can combine aspects of these three, such as Yasakani's [Optimal Condition] combining aspects of Emitter, Transformation, and Mutant."
"And then you have people like me, who gained our powers from outside forces," Izuku said with Ben nodding alongside him.
"Basically Erasure blocks the Quirk genes that make our powers function, but it doesn't actually damage them." Puri-Puri Prisoner insightfully noted. "This new compound, on the other hand, can directly damage the Quirk genes."
"We were able to confirm it when we brought Suneater to the hospital. Luckily it looks like his Quirk genes healed on their own." Fat Gum said, patting Tamaki on the back.
"Given that, I can estimate that someone like Yasakani or Torekuroshi would only lose their Quirk for a few minutes. But this is a concept we've never encountered, so it's hard to say for sure. Fat Gum, were there any other damages to Amajiki?"
"Only the puncture wound from the needle used to administer the drug," The BMI Hero confirmed. "Beyond that, only his Quirk was impaired in any way. But the thug who fired the shot just...blew up from an overdose of bad Trigger and the round was spent."
"Luckily, I handed the round over to Futaba," Zenkichi said. "She did a DNA analysis of his remains but we didn't get much from it. He was pretty low on the pecking order, and only knew that Overhaul had the drug made personally through some unknown means."
"We were able to get another sample from Kirishima and Tetsutetsu's bodies and my own armor, all of which were able to successfully block the drug from affecting us." Tenya added.
"Yeah, and here's where things get ugly..." Futaba nervously said as she brought up her holo-screen. "When I analyzed the samples we got, I found it matched the DNA signature of the girl Eri, who was rescued by a combined effort of Midoriya, Togata, Torekuroshi, and Akira."
"How is that possible?" Gang Orca asked in shock.
"It has to do with her Quirk; She can rewind things, a metaphysical power emitted from the horn on her head," Izuku explained. "Overhaul had her convinced it was a curse. And with good reason..."
*Flashback*
"My dad disappeared because of this curse..." Eri explained, tears in her eyes. "He was coming to check up on me because my head was hurting... After that Mama gave me up for adoption... That's when I fell into Overhaul's care..."
"Eri, can you show me how your Quirk works?" Ben asked as he sprouted a flower from his hand with the Element of Wood and picked it off before handing it to Eri. "Don't worry, if it disappears, nothing bad will happen."
Eri was hesitant at first, but she tried touching the flower. She started tearing up when she saw it regress into a seed, quickly letting go.
"Now try me." Hilda smiled as she put Eri on her lap and held out her arm.
Eri nervously tried again, watching with fear as Hilda's arm started to regress, only for her eyes to widen when it quickly reverted back to normal.
"H-How did you do that?"
Hilda smiled. "My Quirk makes it so that nothing bad that happens to me sticks. My body keeps itself in a perfect state of condition, meaning I can never get hurt or sick!"
Izuku, Ben, and Hilda could see something in Eri's eyes, something very important:
It was HOPE.
*End Flashback*
"We know from talking with Eri that Overhaul has been medically abusing her to make this drug, but beyond that, he's been mentally breaking her down to dissuade any notion of running away." Hilda continued. "Before she learned about my Quirk, she had every reason to believe that Overhaul would kill whoever was between her and him."
Ben furiously slammed the table. "The poor kid doesn't even fully understand what heroes are, goddammit! That's how much that motherfucking bastard tried to keep her away from the outside world!"
The implications of this were troubling to everyone else. Mirio felt his fists clench unconsciously. He had only seen Eri for a few seconds, but what he saw broke his heart and made his disgust toward Overhaul grow by the second.
"This bastard has a lot to answer for..." Tatsumaki growled, her psychic energy field flaring.
"Sis, calm down..." Fubuki said, even though she was also quite livid.
"What about her mother? Can we get her in to help?" Rock Lock suggested.
"Unfortunately, her mother has no legal right to reclaim Eri," Zenkichi said sadly. "She had officially disowned the poor girl after what happened to her husband."
"And beyond even that, we've learned the mother's identity; Motoko Chisaki, the daughter of the Shie Hassaikai's Oyabun, apparently hoping to keep an eye on her daughter to make sure she was taken care of." Flashy Flash added. "We've recently learned that she's become a member of the League of Villains."
"That means she must still care for Eri!" Mirio realized hopefully.
"She must have realized how wrong she was for abandoning her daughter." Mipha nodded with a sad look on her face. "But now, it's too late to make amends..."
"If Overhaul is able to get his hands on the kid again, he can make a souped-up version of his drug that can destroy a Quirk... Permanently." Rock Lock noted grimly.
"Then it's a good thing I was able to get Eri away from him. That will halt Overhaul's plans until we can deal with him." Akira said. "When we brought her in she had bandages all along her arms and legs, and she was terrified of losing too much blood.
Yusuke nodded. "Given what we know about Kai Chisaki's Quirk, which can disassemble and reassemble physical matter, I think you can understand the grim picture that's being painted."
"It's horrible to think about. That poor child must have been killed and resurrected dozens of times to make that drug." Ryuukyuu said with a disturbed and heartbroken look on her face.
"To make matters worse, Eri would have had to remember each death in horrifying detail. Until her chance encounter with Midorang, she was trapped with no way out." Dr. Bofoi hummed grimly.
"What's worse is this; If everything we've learned is true, then what we've seen so far is nothing more than a testing phase. Samples that were given out to test the efficacy of the product to rally soldiers to the Shie Hassaikai." Nighteye said. "If Overhaul does indeed intend to perfect this drug to erase Quirks permanently... Then it's likely his goal is nothing short of the eradication of hero society."
Izuku thought of something. "Something's off about all this, though. Tomura is backed by the Dark Knights and they prefer balancing the struggles between Good and Evil. If Overhaul wants to remove heroes, why would the League aid him?"
"That might not exactly be the goal, zygote. Don't forget the League have Eri's mother on their side." Gran Torino said.
"He's correct. You think Overhaul would work with the League if he knew that?" Drive Knight added.
Atomic Samurai nodded. "Clearly the League's trying to pull a fast one on the Shie Hassaikai as a favor to Motoko."
"Could he even pull it off?" Centipeder wondered. "One of Overhaul's men has a Quirk that can force people to tell the truth."
"But a few members of the League are quite skilled in deception and don't forget August has inherited Thanoseid's power, he could have easily tricked Overhaul and his men's senses." Blast pointed out. "Trust me, the power of the Mind Link is no joke. I've seen it myself."
"Excuse me! I'm sorry to barge in, but there's an emergency!" Mumen Rider shouted as he came in. "Eri has disappeared!"
Eri didn't know what happened. She was sitting with that nice Rider man a while ago and now she found herself in some kind of red-and-black void. At first, she was afraid she was being taken back to Overhaul, but then a hand was offered to her.
"You looking for someone?" The hand belonged to a large towering figure with chalk white skin, a mustache, black overhalls, dark red clothes, white gloves, and a red cap with a skull symbol. "Seems you don't recognize me...It's-A-Me, MARIO!"
Eri looked frightened, not fully trusting the man in front of her, only for someone else to step out beside him, a face she recognized very well.
"Mr. Freakshow!"
The clown-themed subordinate smiled and stretched his arms out for a hug, which Eri ran into. Freakshow then separated from the hug and made some signs that Eri could understand due to him being born mute.
"Hey, sweetie! Don't worry, we ain't taking you back to those jerks!" Micha giggled as she skipped in. "Twice here is gonna make a clone of you with his Quirk to give to Overhaul in your place, then we're gonna send the Heroes to destroy that jerk!"
"I just need your exact measurements. It'll only take a moment." Twice said as he pulled out his measuring tape from his wristbands. "It's gonna take FOREVER!"
"And don't worry about this place, it's a place I created with my Quirk." The large Mario-like man said. "It's called the Warp Zone. When we're done, you'll be back with the good guys before you know it, little Paisano!"
The man was one of those who joined the League along with Kagetane and Kohina. His name was Masaki Hagihara AKA MX. He was a big fan of the Super Mario franchise and styled himself after the famous red plumber himself. His Quirk, [Mario Madness], also allowed him to harness powers similar to the world of Mario itself.
"Also, your mom wanted to tell you something," Kohina said, figuring a girl around Eri's age range would make her comfortable. "She said she's sorry."
Eri began tearing up as Kohina smiled and held her hands in hers.
"Don't worry, you'll never have to worry about Overhaul again. We'll all make sure of it."
"How could Eri be gone?!" Hilda panicked. "She was right here and-"
Suddenly, a Warp Pipe rose from the ground and Eri popped out of it, quickly landing in Hilda's arms as the big beautiful girl held her close.
"Eri! You're okay! Oh thank heavens!"
"These men took me for a little bit and said they needed to make a clone of me to stop Overhaul." The little girl explained. "Mr. Freakshow was with them. He's part of Overhaul's group...but he was always kind to me."
"So it seems our hunch is correct." Atomic Samurai noted. "The League really is planning on pulling a fast one on that bastard."
"And it seems one of Overhaul's own men is providing aid as well," Zenkichi added. "Guess there really is no honor amongst thieves."
"And we'll be right there to bring him down as well," Nighteye said. "I actually happened upon Freakshow while he was buying a children's toy. I was able to use my Quirk on him to track where he would go."
"We got Eri for ya." Spinner said as he and Leiur delivered the clone of Eri to Overhaul.
"Thank you for your assistance." The Yakuza Leader nodded as he turned to leave, not noticing the smirk on Spinner's face.
"Just you wait, you bastard. You've got enemies on all sides closing in on you. Soon, you won't have a single foot to stand on."
Merciless and Drowned were watching from afar, nodding in approval at the deception the League had pulled.
"Twice did very good work. He just needs to stay close to maintain the copy." Merciless noted.
"That Quirk Killer formula Overhaul is making out of that poor child." Drowned scowled. "Something that abominable should be purged from all reality."
"Do not worry, sister. It is only a matter of time."
The heroes had decided to wait until the time was right, to better catch Overhaul off-guard. In the meantime, the students of Class 1-A were training harder than ever, some of Class 1-B even joining in. After all, this would be their first official villain raid.
"They were all given the option of backing out, but they chose to join the raid." Aizawa noted as he oversaw his students.
"They're all concerned about Eri. Any true hero would be." Nedzu pointed out. "Even with only a few days of work-study, they've advanced so rapidly. I've heard many heroes who partake in the work-study want to keep working with the students they've been training since they show such promise. Perhaps this will give us the leeway we need to affect that."
"If the raid succeeds, I doubt our sponsors will have any complaints." Vlad King said.
Tooru and Nimona were helping Yuuga to his feet, the Franco-Japanese boy shaking slightly.
"You alright, Aoyama?"
"That's not it, mademoiselle. My normally sensitive skin has managed to toughen up working the long patrols with Monseiur Prisoner. But I've been feeling a burning sensation in my joints for some time now."
"For the most part, we're just focusing on finding and rescuing Eri. We may not even have to fight any villains from the Shie Hassaikai." Nimona shrugged. "Though to be honest, I really wanna get a chance to punch that Overhaul guy in the face."
"Overhaul might be another matter. Although Aizawa-Sensei did state that Bakugo, Midoriya, Yasakani, Torekuroshi, Kirby, Polendina, and I would have a larger role. With how strong we've gotten, Aizawa-Sensei believes we just might be able to handle fighting alongside the Pros and the Big Three." Shoto noted as he came by.
"Don't forget the Phantom Thieves!" Minoru added.
Meanwhile, Hilda had gotten a large order from Lunch Rush and was wolfing everything down as the Cooking Hero wiped his brow.
"This is even more than you usually order. Is your metabolism spiking from all your training?"
"Nah, just tanking up for something important."
Momo was also eating just as much as Hilda, the two large lovely girls needing all the fat and calories they needed to take on Overhaul and his forces.
"Everyone, be ready..." Izuku said. "Because we're going to be heading into war."
"I am soooo gonna enjoy this..." Katsuki smirked dangerously.
"This bastard has a bill he needs paying." Ben said, writing in a notepad. "Don't worry, I'll make sure he cashes in."
The Raid shall happen in the next chapter! Also, MX in this story is gonna be a composite of the MX from Mario '85 and Ultra M from Friday Night Funkin': Mario Madness! Stay tuned!