The city of Musutafu seemed still during the early hours of the morning, at a time when the sun's light was barely able to be seen over the horizon and the stars still twinkled in the sky. Few people walked along the streets with only a few scattered cars here and there to provide any movement. Most of the people were still in their beds, savoring the rest for as long as they could before their alarms awoke them to the new day. Those who were awake at this hour had their own reasons for being up. Among them were the police and a few pro-heroes, yet their attention was lax as the quiet hours seemed to drag on and on.

So much so that they failed to notice a river of sludge as it crept its way down the street, pressed against the buildings close to the sidewalk. The sludge moved at a quick pace, always pausing at an intersection to scout for potential threats before making its way farther into the concrete jungle. Then, seemingly at random, the sludge slipped into an alleyway the same way a vampire slips into his crypt.

The sludge moved deeper into the alleyway, moving away from the walls now to avoid the dumpsters filled with trash and the other filth that littered the ground. Rats and other vermin paused for only a half second as they saw what was coming before letting out a cry, running on all fours to avoid this thing. It was only when it reached a stairwell heading downward that the sludge finally stopped, pooling in one place before taking on a humanoid form with yellow eyes. As soon as his legs were formed, Jiro Yamada aka the sludge villain, made his way down the steps towards a chipped red doorway.

The door opened easily, allowing the villain to enter into the once illustrious Nobody's Bar.

Yamada had heard stories about this place from his old man growing up. How, in the days before All Might appeared on the scene, it had been the premiere place for villains to celebrate their victories. The place always seemed to be packed with criminals of all shapes and sizes, an area where the lowly pickpocket could have a drink next to a kidnapper or someone with a plan to seize control of the city. Beer and other booze seemed to flow like an endless river, served by the most daring and beautiful women as they listened to the villains regaling all with stories of their crimes before it hit the news.

At least, that's how the old man had described the place as it had been in his prime. However, it seemed that All Might ruined everything as Nobody's Bar looked like it was on its last legs. The dim lights shined down on the tables and booths, illuminating the thin layer of dust upon the tables as well as the tape patching up the seats. Most of the tables were empty, their seats turned upside down upon the table's surfaces as spiders made their webs between the legs. The only table to not have this treatment was being used by three depressed, old time drunks. Their clothing looked cheap, tattered and patched like everything else here, save for the name tags. No doubt hanging on to their low paying jobs after getting out of prison, coming here to reminisce about the good old days.

Not bothering to hide his disgust at them, Yamada turned his sludge head towards the bar where the youngest person in the bar sat with the eldest standing on the opposite side. As the living pile of sludge moved closer to the bar table, he took note of the owner and founder of this establishment: Mr. Nobody. The man was in his late seventies, his long hair now white and tied up in the back. His eyes were nothing more than thin slits that, even when he was talking to you, seemed to be paying attention to everything else going on. That, along with his slender build, gave him the appearance of an evil butler ready to kill for his master at a moment's notice. Of course, Yamada knew better. Unlike the rest of the people in the bar, Mr. Nobody wasn't the type that went out to fight heroes or commit crime. Everything he did happened right here. He was a fixer and an information broker; if you needed help with a certain job Mr. Nobody could point you in the direction of the villain most suitable for your needs…for the right price. He also seemed to know when important goods were entering and exiting the city, what sort of heroes were passing through, and so on. And most useful of all: hiding criminals from the police. His quirk, Unnoticed, was a sort of perception quirk. All he had to do was touch an inanimate object and people's attention would drift away from it. So, if he were to put someone in that room right behind the bar and then touch the door, heroes and police could press their noses against it without ever realizing that it was there. Well, so long as the door didn't move and the person inside wasn't making too much noise. It was that quirk that made him a friend to all of those living underground.

But Mr. Nobody wasn't the one Yamada wanted to see. Rather it was the teenager sitting at the bar. Said teen was as scrawny as ever, like a scarecrow who had been put up in the fields without any straw. He still wore the tight jeans splattered with paint stains, but his leather jacket had been replaced with a red hoodie.

"Well, look who finally crawled out of the sewer," grumbled the teen as he looked up from his mug of beer as Yamada sat in the stool next to him. The sludge villain said nothing at first, merely eyeing the scrawny teen with one of his massive yellow eyes. He wasn't surprised that Mr. Nobody had served him. The man never cared about age limits or anything like that.

"Been around Ink Drop," replied Yamada after placing his own order of the same beverage. Soon, a mug was placed in front of him, the suds spilling over the rim and running down. After grasping the handle, the living pile of sludge took a drink, watching Ink Drop out of the corner of his eye. The two had only ever met a handful of times and only ever in this bar. And while he didn't know Ink Drop's real name, he knew enough to know that he would be useful.

"I'll bet," was all Ink Drop said before downing the rest of his drink. As he placed the mug back on the table, the teen let out a sigh. "Been how long since you've shown your face in Musutafu? A year?"

"Just about," replied Yamada, keeping his tone nonchalant as he took another mouthful of beer.

The answer brought forth a snort from the teen. "So, what have you been up to? Last time anyone around here heard about you was when you got your sorry ass chased out of town." Yamada could hear the smugness dripping from the teen's words as he looked at him, eyes shining with satisfaction. A satisfaction that Yamada would happily crush.

"Considering that it was All Might chasing me, the fact that I managed to get out of town is pretty impressive," replied the living sludge, eyeing the teen as he deflated a little. Just barely, he could make out the teen muttering 'You have a point' into his empty mug. Seeing that made the older of the two smirk as he went in for the killing blow. "Compared to being left naked in the middle of the streets, I think I did pretty well for myself."

The effect was instantaneous. Ink Drop's hands balled into fists before slamming them onto the counter with enough force that his mug moved. The teen then lowered his head, ears turning red as his teeth began to grind over and over again. It seemed as though his humiliation over that little event hasn't lessened with time.

"Damn it," hissed Ink Drop, slamming his fists against the counter again. "Damn it, damn it, damn it! Do you have any idea how humiliating that was?! To be the headlines joke?! Not only did I lose my favorite jacket, but nearly all of my gang as well! I used to command dozens. But after that loss, I'm such a joke that I can barely keep five people in line! Maybe if it had been some A-lister pro I might have been able to rebuild but…Damn it!" With each repetition of 'damn it', Ink would bang his fists against the counter. His eyes twitched, veins appearing near the orbs making it look like his head would explode at any moment.

That brought a chuckle from Yamada. "Oh wow. Looks like you have it rough. So, who did it? Some crummy D-lister and his sidekick getting a laugh out of you?" Taking another sip of his drink, Yamada fought back a bitter laugh at the truth of his statement. He, along with a few other villains, had either seen or heard of 'heroes' acting in a way that very few people would consider heroic. Heroes convincing people to commit crimes, promising that their sentence would be light as well as a portion of the profits before leaving them to rot in some cell. Heroes causing 'accidents' so that they could arrive and save the day. Heroes who acted like thugs, beating low level criminals who weren't worth all that much just for kicks. Sure, it was mostly the low level heroes who did this sort of thing. The ones who weren't really household names or ones who had fallen from the higher rankings. But it did happen, more than most people thought.

"…I don't think so," breathed Ink as he began to calm down. Ink then closed his eyes, no doubt picturing the person who had wronged him. After a moment or two, he shook his head. "No, she looked too young to be a pro. And the way she talked made it sound like she was a former gang member or something. Plus those yellow slit eyes looked like they had seen…" As Ink trailed off, the younger man pausing to shiver, Yamada nearly fell apart as his eyes widened. A young woman with yellow slit eyes? There was only one person he had ever seen like that. Could it have been… No! It couldn't be her!

"Well, ah," began Yamada as he tried to compose himself. Slowly he leaned closer to Ink, stretching his jaw a bit so that his lips were closer to the younger teens ear. "Got some news that you might be interested in. See, I didn't just come back to Musutafu because I was homesick. This guy approached me while I was hiding out. Said they're looking for people for a special job coming up. And it's going to be a big one since they're recruiting people like crazy. Since we need as many people as we can, I thought you and your gang might want to join. Who knows? Maybe once this job is done, you'll get back all those chumps who left you. That or just going on to bigger and better things with your new street cred."

Yamada watched as Ink Drop gave him a very careful look, his hand coming up to grasp his chin. It was clear he was thinking about it. Then, he whispered softly so that only the living pile of sludge could hear. "What's the target?"

"Heh," laughed Yamada. "Not what, who. All Might. There's a plan to finally put an end to that pain in the neck."

"ARE YOU…" began Ink, shouting at the top of his lungs, stopping himself as he heard the people behind them jump in their seats. The teen gave them all a look before returning his focus back to Yamada, his voice low in a harsh whisper. "Are you crazy?! No one can take down All Might! That's just insane!"

"Hey, I thought the same thing," whispered Yamada back. "Trust me, I told that guy to screw off when he told me that. But…haven't you noticed that All Might isn't around as much anymore. Dude used to be all over the place, either fighting crimes and saving people or doing those stupid talk shows. Now he's out there a few times a day. Seems a little weird, doesn't it?"

"Well…now that you mention it…" replied Ink slowly, causing Yamada to nod his slimy head.

"The person I spoke to represents a group and they got someone powerful backing them. Don't know who that is, but they claim that All Might is getting weaker," explained the sludge villain, earning a shocked look from Ink. "This group, The League of Villains, they plan on exploiting this. Right now they don't know the when or the where, but they have the how all figured out. The League claims to have a weapon created to defeat All Might, something that's as strong as he was in his prime and won't go down easily. All they need right now is a little extra muscle. That's where people like us come in."

For a while, Ink Drop just sat there, folding his arms across his chest as he stared down at the counter. No doubt taking a moment to process what he had just heard, mulling it over in his head. The same thing Yamada had done when he had heard about this. Perhaps it was this fact that drew the sludge villain to the painter. He wasn't completely stupid. Unlike so many of the dumb thugs out there who went wild with their quirks, Ink had a somewhat level head to him. He understood weighing the risks vs. the rewards.

"Have you seen this weapon?" asked Ink Drop at last.

"No," replied Yamada before finishing up his drink. "Won't show it to anyone until the big day…whenever that is."

At that, Ink Drop let out a groan as he covered his face with both his hands, his following words coming out somewhat muffled. "So let me get this straight: you only have their word that it's as powerful as they claim. You have no idea who's backing them. You don't know when or where this attack will take place. I bet you don't even know who's in this League." Ink's hands went up to the sides of his head, massaging his temples. "Yamada, I'm going to be straight with you: only an idiot would sign up for something like this. What if it's a trap by some hero to collect as many villains in one setting? And if it is legit; what if the information is wrong or they're just overhyping this weapon? Then everyone involved with this League gets a one way trip to Tartarus curtsey of All Might's fist! Even in the best case scenario where these guys are telling the truth and you win, then all of Japan will be coming after you. First up: Endeavor! I just don't see any way we get anything out of this!"

At that, Yamada let out a loud laugh earning a small glare from Ink Drop. "You're smart, I'll give you that. But you're forgetting one thing: if this weapon can really take down All Might, the strongest hero ever, what hope do the other heroes have? Think about it. If this weapon can bloody up and kill the strongest hero out there, just imagine what it can do to the rest. Sure, I can see a punk like Endeavor and a few of the others trying to take it down only to end up just like All Might. Dead. The rest of the heroes out there, well, they'll be too busy pissing themselves.

"Look, my quirk is powerful. So is yours. Bet we could take down plenty of pros out there. If it wasn't for All Might, we could be living the good life right now. Just imagine what will happen once he's out of the picture. Villains like us will come crawling out of every dark hole, from around every street corner. The time for hiding will be over. Sure, there will be a few goodie goods who will try to protect people…and we will deal with them the same way we'll deal with All Might. But the rest? You know how they are. Once the job gets too tough, too dangerous, they'll decide the money and the fame isn't worth the risk and hang up their capes. From there, nothing will be able to stop us!"

"Still a big if," muttered Ink.

"Oh, well, if you need an extra incentive," said Yamada with an evil smirk. Once more he leaned a little closer to Ink who just raised an eyebrow at this. "See, I wasn't lying about not knowing the when, or where. But I do know that it will involve U.A. High." The sludge villain paused, a sadistic grin appearing on his face, as Ink's eyes widened, mouth opening in surprise. "Thought that might get your attention. Don't know how the League found out, but apparently there is going to be an announcement once the new school year starts at your old Alma Mater that All Might will be teaching there. Oh, I can't imagine a better way of ruining that man's legacy. Killed while trying to protect his students, only to have his last thoughts knowing that they will soon be joining him! HA! The look on people's faces when they hear about that on the news, the panic everyone will be in. And you, well, you get the added bonus of watching that dumb school that kicked you out go up in flames. Reputation as the best hero school: gone! Trust they earned: gone! Might even have to shut down for good."

Yamada watched as Ink just continued to stare at him, processing what had been told to him. The living sludge could almost see the scene playing in the eyes of the art themed villain, from All Might taking his last breath to the U.A. broken and abandoned. Slowly, Ink's open mouth closed as a smile began to form on his features.

"I think I'd like to meet this…League of Villains," said Ink Drop.

-x-

At the same time, Izuku sat on his bed with his normal sleep wear discarded for his Middle School uniform. As the seconds ticked by, a small amount of light began to shine through the window to illuminate the teen's face which stared with a laser focus towards his open hand. There were no bags under his eyes and his hair was the same tangled mess it had always been. Nothing about him showed that he had had trouble sleeping. No, he was rested and ready for today.

Though he wished he was more ready than he was.

Without a word, Izuku began to focus on his open hand while trying to remember what Ryoko had told him. Power began to flow to his hand, filling it the same way that it filled his finger before he fired a shot. Only, instead of sparks, the green energy began to pool in his gasp feeling like a water balloon filled with hot water. It jiggled about, making the teen hero hopeful think that at any moment it would slip through his fingers. But the teen gritted his teeth, focusing more on the glowing green orb as he tried to focus on his task. If he could only get this right. If he could only figure out what Ryoko meant by-

Izuku's thoughts were cut short as the orb vanished with a loud 'pop'. All the teen could do for several long seconds was to stare at his now empty hand before letting out a sigh of defeat, lowering his head more.

"Still don't have it," he muttered to himself. Maybe there was something wrong with him?

As more light began to fill the room, Izuku lifted his head as he ran his hand through his messy green locks. Just as he was about to go on a muttering tangent, his eyes fell upon something. Upon seeing it, Izuku's eyes widened while a small smile appeared on his face, the topic of his muttering vanishing from his mind. There, still on the ceiling, was the small scorch mark he had created when he first used the finger beam. His eyes began focusing on it, the words of Ryoko as well as his own memories of the last ten months washing over him. Before ten months ago, he stood no chance of getting into U.A. even with the best of intentions. Now, however, he did have a chance. He was stronger, faster, knew how to fight, and had the power to save people.

Standing up, Izuku pointed to the spot right next to the mark as green bolts of lightning began to run along his finger. Less than a moment later, a thin beam of energy flew from his finger to create an identical scorch mark made next to the original. Yeah, he had improved. And he wasn't going to stop improving. He would continue to move forward, trying to figure out how to use these powers until he mastered them all.

With renewed determination, Izuku exited his room while also grabbing his backpack which already had his jogging suit for the practical portion of the exam. After exiting his room, the teen made his way through the silent apartment. Thinking that his mother was tired and forgot what day this was, Izuku opted to just let her and Ryoko rest as he made his way to the front door. No sense in waking them up.

Yet when Izuku opened the front door to his apartment, his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. Standing outside the door was his mother, a proud smile on her face with tears threatening to spill at any moment. What surprised him even more was that Ryo-Ohki was on Inko's shoulder who seemed to be looking at him with a raised eyebrow. And she wasn't alone. Laying on the thin railing, with her back facing him and looking up towards the vanishing stars was Ryoko.

"Izuku, I'm so proud of you baby," cried Inko as she approached her son, Ryo-Ohki leaping off the woman as her arms swiftly wrapped him in a big bear hug. As Izuku felt the grip tighten, he could see Ryoko over his mother's now Cabbit free shoulder. The space pirate turned her head around to look at the green haired teen, giving him a toothy smile before vanishing only to reappear right next to him.

"Thought you could sneak off without saying goodbye?" said Ryoko in a teasing tone, one of her fingers digging into the boy's cheek. At the same time, the cuddly space ship had leapt onto Izuku's head, stomping her small foot on Izuku's head over and over again while letting out tiny mews of anger. "Well you'd have to get up pretty early to get one past me."

"No…I mean I didn't…I just," rambled Izuku as sweat began to drip down his face. But before he could continue, his mother let him go. With a smile she backed up several steps so she could properly look her son in the eye.

"Izuku, before you head off, I just wanted to let you know how proud I am of you right now…and how sorry I am," Inko said, lowering her gaze a little as she spoke. "Back when you were little, I said something to you that must've really hurt. You needed me to tell you something, b-but I just couldn't. You probably felt like I didn't believe in you. So, I'm going to make it up to you and supporting you from this point on!"

For a moment, Izuku couldn't say anything as he was taken aback by his mother's words. He could feel his eyes beginning to water, yet by some miracle he managed to hold them in. Then slowly he smiled at her before speaking from the heart. "Mom, it's ok."

"No, it's…" began Inko, but stopped when Izuku shook his head.

"Mom…I do remember that day," said Izuku in full honesty. "And, yeah, it hurt a lot back then when I thought that you didn't believe in me or my dreams. It hurt for a very long time. But, then I found out everything you tried to do to help me. I mean, even though I never knew it, you and dad were out there searching for any chance that would give me a quirk. And when I brought Ryoko here, even though you were uncomfortable with it, you still gave me that chance. Since then, you've been supporting me with everything you have. I don't think I would be standing here, ready to take the entrance exam without you. Either of y-" Izuku was cut off as he noticed Ryoko's fist coming towards his head out of the corner of his eyes. Thinking quickly, he jumped to the side to dodge.

"Not bad," said Ryoko, placing a hand on her hip as she looked at Izuku with a smile. A smile, which quickly faded as Ryo-Ohki, who was still on Izuku's head, began mewing up a storm and hissing. "Hey, we already did the sappy speeches yesterday! Besides, he really needs to stop thinking that we did all the hard work here."

"What? But…" began Izuku, his words trailing off as Ryoko approached him slowly.

"Look, I know I'm awesome," said Ryoko with a Cheshire grin. "But, even with all of my amazing training, it wouldn't have done you any good without all the work you put in. So don't go into that exam thinking that we did all the work here. Remember, you're not a Deku."

Izuku stared at the teen space pirate for a moment, his eyes widening in understanding, before nodding. "You're right," he said.

"Good!" declared Ryoko as Ryo-Ohki hopped from Izuku's head to hers. Still smirking, she gave Izuku a light push…for her at least seeing as the green haired teen stumbled back several feet. "Now get out there and rip this exam a new one!"

"You got it," said Izuku as he turned, waving to the two women as he took off towards the stairway.

-x-

"Looks like I'd better be off too then," said Ryoko as soon as Izuku was out of sight, walking to the railing with both hands behind her head. From where she stood, the day's light was now beginning to cover the city before her. The light of which illuminated everything in a sparkling display. "Don't want to miss a moment of the exams."

"Do they let family members watch?" asked Inko, giving Ryoko a curious look.

"Don't know," laughed Ryoko while shrugging. "Not like I'm going to let a little thing like the rules stop me."

Inko stared at Ryoko in shock, her mouth hanging open. She took a breath to reprimand the pirate girl, but she paused, thinking better of it. After a few seconds she finally replied " Make sure my baby doesn't get hurt."

-x-

Alright, I'm here, thought Izuku as he walked through the gates of U.A. On his bag he had on a special pass that allowed him through the gate, and a sheet of paper in one hand as he made his way towards the large class building that had taught some of the greatest heroes in the country! His head was held up high, eyes focused on the sight before him. So much so that he barely noticed the dozens of other students along the path leading towards the same building, some taking a moment to collect themselves before entering the building while others walked towards the school like they owned the place. His heart was racing almost as if he had just run several miles while dodging Ryoko's strikes, but unlike last Tuesday this was more out of nervousness and excitement than from physical labor.

This is it, he thought as he continued to walk. My first steps to becoming a hero! Ryoko's right, I've put the work into making my dreams come true. And nothing is going to get in my way! It was then, however, that Izuku spotted something that made his blood run cold and sweat formed on his brow. Standing there near the entrance was Kacchan. At first, he seemed to just stand there shooting glares and disapproving looks at the examinees as they got close. That is, until he locked eyes on Izuku. In a slip second, his eyes became bloodshot while his hair seemed to stand up just a little bit more. One of his fists opened in a manner that would normally be followed by a series of small sparks or explosions. Seeing all this made Izuku's heart stop in terror.

Then, Kacchan began walking, his eyes never leaving Izuku while flaring his nostrils. Somehow, the fact that the exploding teen was just walking towards him silently was more terrifying than it would have been if he had launched himself through the air screaming 'DIE!' at the top of his lungs. A part of Izuku wanted to make a break for it, his long conditioned fight or flight instincts telling him to bolt. But for some reason he stood his ground as the blonde got ever closer to him.

After what felt like forever, Kacchan was next to him. "I thought I told you not to show your face here," came a low growl from the teen, placing a hand on Izuku's shoulder. Rather than letting off tiny explosions and creating tendrils of black smoke, Kacchan just tightened his grip. "Now, here's what you're going to do. You are going to turn your shitty ass around and leave. I don't care where you go. Just get the fuck out of my sight. Because if you're not gone in the next ten seconds, I'm going to blast your useless, quirkless body all over Japan so much that they'll be looking for your remains for weeks."

"I…I…," stammered Izuku as he looked over at the bully, seeing that all his words had done was create more veins in the other teen's eyes.

"Stupid Deku," growled Kacchan. "What part of get the hell out of here don't you understand?! Last warning! Leave or-"

"There you are," came a sudden, cheerful voice that cut Kacchan off. Laughter then filled the air as Izuku then found his arm being grabbed and pulled away from the exploding boy towards the school. "Come on! We're going to be late for the entrance exam!" Wide eyed, Izuku allowed himself to be pulled away as his legs began to suddenly work. Together the pair moved quickly away, only stopping once they were right in front of the glass doors. It was then that his rescuer turned around, revealing it to be a girl with short brown hair and what seemed to be permanent rosy cheeks on her round face. His face began to heat up at seeing someone who looked so…so cute!

"Sorry about that," said the pretty girl as she let go of Izuku's arm. "I saw what was happening and it didn't look like he was giving you a pep talk. Oh, I'm Ochaco Uraraka by the way. Pleased to meet you."

"Oh, right!" said Izuku, speaking a little louder than he meant to while doing his best to fight back the blush on his face. "Sorry, I'm Izuku Midoriya. And, as for Kacchan…well you're not wrong. He, ah, doesn't really want me to be here."

Uraraka's head tilted slightly at that, her smile vanishing. "Well, it's not really his decision. He has no right telling you what you can and can't do."

Izuku didn't say anything right away, instead turning to look at the blonde. He was still standing right where they had left him, looking like he was trying to gain a new quirk that would let him burn a hole right through the two of them with his gaze alone. His scowl had doubled, teeth showing off his fangs in a way that made him look manic. But despite all of that, he just stood there while taking deep breaths and making loud angry noises. He wasn't trying to charge him, setting off his quirk, or anything else. Because he…

"Yeah, you're right," said Izuku as he reached towards the door and opened it so that Uraraka could head in first. As she entered, he shot a look back at Kacchan, knowing that he couldn't try anything right now. Not here with all the teachers watching. And he knew it as well.

As he entered the building, Izuku was completely unaware just how right he was. Cameras were everywhere, the exam truly started the moment they entered through the gates as a certain bear-mouse like creature watched everything while sipping his tea. The creature would only pause to make a note or two on what he saw, noting student behaviors with the plans on bringing them up should something come down to the wire with their scores.

But there was someone else watching with her yellow slitted eyes as she floated above the school.