Izuku Midoriya: Last time on "Building Up a Hero!", our classes was supposed to have a special rescue class at the USJ, a special training area made by the Space Hero Thirteen!
Sento Kiryu: I was supposed to be there to supervise, but I had to chase after a tip about Faust and the Pandora Box. But it was all a trick by Meta Bolt to distract me!
Ochako Uraraka: Yea, because while he was away, a new group of villains attacked us! They called themselves the 'League of Villains', and they wanted to kill All Might!
Itsuka Kendo: Not only that, but Blood Stalk was there too, meaning that whoever those League guys are, Faust is working with them.
Setsuna Tokage: And Mr. Musclehead here managed to get caught up in it somehow, and also exposed our secret to two of our classmates!
Ryuga Banjo: What was I supposed to do, you kids needed help!
Kendo: Well he's got a point, we were in a pretty sticky situation with Blood Stalk, since he Smashified several of our classmates and Eraserhead.
Eijiro Kirishima: And all of those Smashes would've been an issue with Midoriya, too!
Mina Ashido: Yea, with all the teachers down and our classmates scattered all across the USJ, someone had to help hold back the Smashes until Mr. Kiryu and All Might came!
Midoriya: But now Toyoda and Asui know our secret! What are we going to do, Mr. Kiryu!?
Kiryu: Well, that's what we'll find out in this chapter of 'Building Up a Hero!'... as well as a well-deserved scolding for Banjo about this!
Banjo: Oh come on!
It wasn't long until the police and other pro heroes arrived on the scene. Officers and pro heroes alike were leading villains and criminals away into patrol cars and vans, while others were busy asking questions from the students that were there after doing a headcount.
"So this was a joint operation between Faust and some new group calling themselves the League of Villains?" a detective repeated, as he wrote down what the UA students were telling him.
"Yea, those assholes were working together!" Tetsutetsu shouted, as most of the students huddled together. "And they did that Smashifying thing with some of our classmates!"
"Dude can you be a little more sensitive!?" Genta hissed, taking a quick glance over to the students who were turned into Smashes. Indeed, they had split off into a separate group just a bit away from them. Some of them stared at their hands intensely, as if they were trying to force their Quirks to work.
"AAAAAAAAAARGH WORK DAMMIT!" Inasa yelled, as he strained himself trying to use his Quirk. His face was turning into a deep red as he grunted and tensed his muscles.
"Yoarashi, quit it," Sun'Ichi chided. "If you keep this up, you're going to either strain a muscle, pop a blood vessel, or crap your pants. And I really hope it's not the last one."
"Agh, yea, but this is so frustrating!" Inasa fell onto his back, staring at the sky. "I mean, I know it's temporary, and it's not like we use them in public, but it's like a huge part of me is missing!"
"It's uncanny, unable to feel my Quirk," Momo said, flexing her fingers. She thought of the matryoshka dolls she loved, and was on the verge of tears when she didn't see them pop out of her arm. "It's as if someone took it and placed it inside a chest. I know that its there, but I'm unable to use it or feel it for myself."
"I suppose I got it off the easiest since I'm a heteromorphic type," Tsuyu said, as she tugged on her tongue a bit, revealing that it still was a bit stretchy. "I... just don't feel as froggy as I usually do."
"Yea, you're not even doing the little cute 'ribbit' thing," Mina pointed out, having walked over with the other teens from Team Build.
"Huh, I didn't even notice," Tsuyu said, putting her finger on her chin in thought.
"If you guys want to talk about it, just come to us," Itsuka said, putting a reassuring hand on Momo's shoulder.
"Yea, we've gone through this before, so we know what you're feeling!" Eijiro said, patting Denki on the back. He looked to Shoto, and grinned. "It'll be al-"
Shoto scowled and turned his back on them, walking away from the group. Everyone stared at him, though Inasa had opted for a very harsh glare instead.
"Oh, I guess he's just the type of guy who likes his space," Eijiro said, rubbing the back of his head. "Well, our offer's still on the table, you know!"
"Thanks for the offer!" Inasa said, snapping out of his harsh glare quickly as he turned and slapped Eijiro's back hard. The detective coughed into his hand, bringing their attention to him again.
"Sorry about that, but there's still some things we need to-" he began to say, when a police officer came jogging up to him.
"Detective Tsukauchi sir! We've rounded up all of the villains that were still here," he reported. "We've also found the one that the students described and called 'Nomu'."
"That thing's not dead!?" Hanta said, sweating as some of the other students who saw Nomu trembled slightly at the thought. "All Might punched that thing into the sky!"
"Was there any issue capturing him?" the detective, Tsukauchi, said as his brow furrowed.
"A-Actually, that's the thing. He's like, completely obedient," the officer said, as other policemen came out of the woods, leading a very tightly secured and bound Nomu. "No fight, no arguments, not even a sound. It's like the lights are on, but nobody's home."
Despite the reassurances of the officer and the fact that Nomu was in chains, that did little to comfort some of the more anxious students. Detective Tsukauchi took note of this, and gave them a reassuring smile.
"Tell you guys what, you've all had a frightening experience," he said, looking at all of them. "You all should go ahead and go back to your classrooms and decompress. We'll get the rest of your testimonies and questions after you all feel better, alright?"
The students looked at each other (save for the more standoffish ones like Katsuki and Neito), when Ochako walked over to Tsukauchi.
"Before you go, can you tell us how the teachers are doing?" she asked, steeling herself for the worst. Tsukauchi saw the concern in her eyes, and pulled out a different notepad that he was given containing the information about the injuries the teachers had received.
"Vlad King suffered a few broken ribs from landing against the wall hard, along with a broken left femur. Thirteen only got some lacerations on her back that should heal relatively easy. Eraserhead... there's no way to get around it, since you all saw him in that state, but he has it the worst. Both arms are broken at the elbow, his eye sockets have fractures, and some of his skin was crumbled away by the lead villain's Quirk. Not to mention that he moved around while he was turned into a Smash, so those injuries were probably aggravated by it. He's going to need a lot of hospital time, but at the very least he should recover," Tsukauchi replied.
"I-I see..." Ochako said, her eyes shifting to the ground while her fingers tightened. Itsuka, Setsuna, Mina, and Pony went and gave her a comforting hug, while Izuku and Eijiro clenched their fists tight, still thinking about what had happened.
"Come on y'all, no point in waiting around here now," Snipe said, motioning to the buses. "We got things under control over here, buckaroos."
Later, at the big classroom
The students sat around, almost silent save for the occasional whisper here and there. They had changed out of their hero costumes and into their uniforms, and were mostly waiting for the police to finish getting all of their testimonies. Izuku and his friends were gathered in their normal circle, but they were all very tense, as Izuku and Setsuna had given them the rundown that Tsuyu and Machiko now knew Izuku's secret, and that not only did they know Ryuga, but that he was also Cross-Z, and that Sento had something to do with them.
"... so what were those Kamen Rider guys like?" Genta asked, breaking the silence. "They left before we all got there, and you all seemed to get a good look at them."
"Truth be told, we were way more focused on the fact that we got hit by that Nebula Gas stuff and didn't get transformed," Rikido admitted, rubbing the base of his neck. "I still don't understand that."
"Wait, you got hit!?" Gumi said, eyes wide.
"Yea, Sato, Oji, and I got hit by that stuff," Hanta said, pointing to them. Everyone who wasn't at the entrance stared at them with wide eyes, Izuku and the Team Build teens most of all. "It was weird, we definitely breathed some of it in, but all it was to us was really, really smelly."
"That's so weird!" Toru said, the invisible girl forgetting about her own 'technical Quirk loss'.
"How come you three of all people didn't turn into Smashes!? Does this mean that there're people who don't!?" Neito said, pointing at them accusingly.
"Hey, we don't know, either!" Hanta retorted, crossing his arms as he went to his and the other two's defense. "We're just as surprised as you all are-"
"BULLSHIT!" Katsuki shouted, slamming his hands down on the desk in front of him, and got everybody's attention. He gritted his teeth as he glared at them. All three of them were some of the most nondescript losers he's ever seen, so what made them able to resist being turned into Smashes!?
"What I want to know is why those Kamen Jackasses got there!" Tetsutetsu said, crossing his arms and huffing.
"Whoa, what's up with that, Tetsutetsu?" Yosetsu asked, raising his eyebrow.
"Come on, don't you see the connection!? They only appear when those Faust guys and their Smashes are around!" Tetsutetsu pointed out. "They've got to be working together or something!"
"That is a good point," Neito said, rubbing his chin in thought. "The Kamen Riders are constantly doing that, um, 'de-Smashifying' thing, so it could be just engineered 'heroics' for them."
"And they were conveniently at the USJ, too..." Seiji added, as the students began theorizing about the true intentions of the Kamen Riders. Izuku and the other Team Build teens for their part kept quiet, too nervous to say anything. They were lucky that in the chaos of things no one seemed to have seen Izuku transform into Battler, but then they looked to Tsuyu and Machiko, who both seemed to have very neutral faces while they were in thought.
"What about you, Toyoda?" Ichiyo asked, looking to the taller girl. "Your group was the closest to the Kamen Riders and all."
"You too, Asui!" Hanta said. Everyone's attention went to the two girls, and Izuku and the others froze in fear of what they would say.
"Well, I think they genuinely want to help," Machiko said, coolly. "I mean, if they didn't, I don't think that dragon guy would've gone out of his way to help us."
"Yep, I don't think they're working with those villains at all," Tsuyu said, with a shrug. "The way Cross-Z talked to that Blood Stalk person was way too genuinely hostile for it to be an act."
"Cross-Z?" Chiaki asked.
"That's the name he gave us," Machiko explained. "Makes sense, the other one called himself Build, right?"
"What about that third guy?" Rikido asked.
"Oh, I don't know," Tsuyu admitted, shrugging. "I was a Smash by that time, remember?"
"He's Battler," Machiko stated. "I don't know what his deal is, he just came and went, but I'm pretty sure he's out there wanting to do the right thing."
"How can you be so sure!?" Tetsutetsu demanded. "How did they find out about the USJ, huh!?"
"Indeed! The Kamen Riders are quite suspicious, how on earth are you so sure that-" Tenya began to say.
"Hey, lay off us! Maybe I feel a little appreciative that those three came in and helped us!" Machiko snapped. Tenya was taken aback by the reaction, as were some of the 1C students. She took a deep breath, and sat down, facing away from the others. "I know we're training to be heroes, but I was still worried about everyone! And the fact that some of us got turned into Smash, just, well-"
"Tch, worried? Heroes don't 'worry'," Katsuki sneered, as Machiko glared at him. "Heroes only have one thing to do: win."
"Win? Win!? This isn't a game!" Machiko snapped. "These villains were-"
"When the fuck did I say it was a game!? You 'win' fights, you dumb scaly bitch! And we didn't 'win', we let that Faust fucker and those League losers escape!" Katsuki snapped back. "They're just going to lick their wounds and come back!"
"Hey, it's not like we'd do any better! There've been pro heroes that've tried catching Faust, and they haven't done it!" Genta pointed out. "Even the government's had a hard time!"
"Like those low ranking losers can call themselves heroes!" Katsuki retorted.
"Then what about the Top 10 like All Might and Endeavor?" Setsuna asked. Katsuki stopped in his tracks, and glared over at Izuku's group. "All of them have been trying to catch Faust for months, but they haven't caught them either!"
A number of the students muttered in agreement, as Katsuki attempted to find his words again.
"Yea, it isn't always about winning a fight," Itsuka added. "It's about making sure as many, if not every, people are safe. And considering the fact that we're all are still here standing, I think we still won."
"Exactly," Machiko agreed, rubbing her head. "We're all alive, we're all fine, save for some temporary Quirk loss. It's the best that we can ask for right now..."
"Well it's-"
"Thank god you're all okay!" Sento shouted, as he opened the door all of sudden and startling several of the students. "O-Oh, sorry about that! But I came here as quickly as I could after Principal Nezu sent me the message! I'm sorry that I wasn't there to help, I-"
"Wait, why weren't you with us if you're our Heroics Science teacher?" Chiaki asked.
"Something important came up, and I had to take care of it," Sento answered. He walked over and began looking over them, observing them for any potential injuries or signs of fatigue. "But enough about that, I need to make sure that you all are alright-"
"I-It's alright, Mr. Kiryu," Izuku said, raising his hands.
"We are all unscathed from this experience!" Tenya replied.
"Yea, we're all okay. Got the clean bill of health!" Mina said, with a somewhat strained smile.
"Well, some of us did," Denki said, sadly as he stared down at the ground and at his hands. They twitched a bit as he tried to make a little spark fly, but nothing.
"... I don't know if it'll be any comfort, but Principal Nezu talk about canceling classes tomorrow," Sento sighed. The students muttered amongst each other upon hearing that, and Sento stood up straight and adjusted his trench coat. "But Nebula Gas injections like that last for two to three days, with the length of time depending on the individual, so I suggested it be extended until next Monday, which he agreed to. Otherwise it would be difficult to determine who'd be able to participate in the Heroics classes. Not to mention that the ones who've been exposed directly will be experiencing permanent Quirk boosts, so it'll take some time to adjust to that."
"Wait, why do you know so much about that gas stuff they use?" Sen said, eyeing Sento.
"I've been doing research on Nebula Gas for quite some time," Sento stated without missing a beat. "I'm familiar with some aspects in that regard. I've had suspicions about it for the longest time, but it wasn't until working with some of you that I could confirm some of what I theorized."
"What about us?" Rikido asked, pointing to himself, Hanta, and Taiju. "We inhaled that gas stuff, and we didn't turn into Smash."
"Wait wait wait, what?" Sento said, staring at them. "You three got hit by the Nebula Gas?"
"Yea, it was weird!" Taiju laughed. "I'm not sure why, but I guess like a friend of mine said, an idiot can't get sick!"
"This is... I..." Sento said, as he rubbed the back of his head in thought, before snapping himself out of it. "In any case, I think the best thing for me to do here is schedule you all for appointments with me and Hound Dog on from Friday to Sunday. We need to make sure that you all are doing alright, mentally and physically, before you return to classes on Monday. Not to mention to test how exactly the Nebula Gas has affected you. That goes for all of you, even if you weren't injected with Nebula Gas."
"Bullshit, I don't-" Katsuki protested.
"It's required, and we want to make sure that you're all okay," Sento said, adjusting his trench coat. "Just think of it as like... a health checkup. A pro hero still needs to get them, too, you know. No shame in that."
The door opened again, and Detective Tsukauchi came in, looking as Makino and Sun'Ichi, the last two students to be interviewed, walked in. "Oh, you must be Mr. Kiryu, the Heroics Science teacher."
"That's correct," Sento replied, walking over to him (though not before giving Makino and Sun'Ichi a quick lookover). "I assume you want to talk to me about something, right?"
"Sort of. All Might asked me to bring you to him to talk to him," Detective Tsukauchi said. Before the two left, he looked to the students. "You all are free to go now. We'll have pro heroes and police officers ready to escort you all home if you need it. Even if you don't, we suggest that you all go back to your homes in groups."
The students nodded, and all of them got up, splitting up into groups of their choice, though some like Katsuki, Togaru, and Shoto chose to go alone (much to the dismay of Tenya and the other class representatives). Soon enough everyone had left, save for the Team Build teens and Tsuyu and Machiko. The two approached Izuku and Setsuna while they were behind the rest, and pulled them away to whisper to them.
"So where's that explanation, Midoriya?" Machiko whispered. "I get that this is a big secret and it's not ours to tell, but I really don't like lying or misleading everyone."
"Me neither," Tsuyu looked down to the floor, as if she was ashamed. "I often speak my mind, and while I know that this secret isn't mine to tell, it still bothered me."
"I'm sorry, A- I mean, Tsuyu," Izuku replied. "It's... really complicated to explain."
"Yea, it'll be better if we talk about it in a more private place," Setsuna interjected. She pulled out two business cards for café nascita and handed them over. "Let's meet tomorrow at around 2 at this address. Don't let anyone else see this, because it's a secret."
"... Then why do you have business cards for it?" Tsuyu asked.
"That's... something you'll have to ask the owner," Setsuna admitted. "Either way, it's the best place for you to learn about what's going on."
UA Nurse's Office
All Might sighed as he laid in bed, staring at the ceiling. While he was thankful that all of the students were alright, it was his fault that the villains even got as far as they did. What was worse was that Faust was there, and Smashified even more of the students! If Sento and Ryuga weren't there, Izuku, his successor, would've been the only one able to extract the Nebula Gas, and Kamen Rider or not, he would've been overwhelmed. His fists clenched tightly and gritted his teeth so hard that he could easily crack ten walnuts in one go with the pressure.
"Stop being so tense, you numbskull!" Recovery Girl scolded, snapping All Might out of his thoughts. "Anymore and you might just open up that wound again."
"Sorry, Recovery Girl," he apologized, when there was a knock on the door. The Number One Hero was about to change into his muscle form when a voice said, "It's me, Tsukauchi. I got the Heroics Science teacher you asked me to bring. I have to go back to the precinct to turn in the report."
"Oh, Tsukauchi!" All Might said, relieved. "Yea, let him in."
Sento slid the door open, and waved the detective off. He went over to check on the Number One Hero, but was stopped by the diminutive nurse.
"I've looked over him three times already. Besides the puncture wound, all he did was overexert himself like the fool he is," Recovery Girl chided, shaking her head. "And don't worry about any cameras or microphones, the nurse office is one of the most private rooms here in UA. I make sure of it."
"I see," Sento sighed, hand over his chest. "Still, how are you feeling, All Might?"
"Just a little sore, no worries," All Might assured, giving him a thumbs up. "I've gotten up from worse scrapes than that. Still, I have to thank you for being able to get there on time to save the Smashified students."
"I wouldn't have to hurry if I wasn't tricked into chasing after a fake Box..." Sento grumbled. "The person we really have to thank is Banjo, since he's the one that was there to begin with."
"... Speaking of, how did he get to the USJ?" All Might asked.
"Apparently he was walking around in some alleyways away from the café when he came across a bunch of thugs that were warped into the USJ," Sento said, shrugging. "What's more concerning though is that Asui from 1A and Toyoda from 1C saw Banjo and Midoriya transform, so they're in the know. We're going to need to explain everything we can to them."
All Might inhaled. That was... certainly a complication. As well as the next part he had to say.
"... we're going to need to add a third person to that," the emaciated pro said.
"What!? Who!?"
"Detective Tsukauchi."
"You mean that detective that led me here?" Sento asked.
"Yes, he's my police contact, as well as in the know about the true nature of my Quirk," All Might explained. "If I can trust him with that secret, we can trust him with Team Build."
Sento rubbed the back of his head for a few minutes as he thought it over before coming to an answer. "... Alright, I trust you. After all, you got Prime Minister Himuro involved to some capacity, and if your police contact knows that, that's a big enough testament about his character."
He took his Build Phone out, and opened up the special messenger app. "Best tell the others- oh, seems like Midoriya and the others are already planning to do a meeting at the café tomorrow at 2-ish to tell Toyoda and Asui. That's good. We'll tell the detective to come to there, then."
"... I suppose we'll need to tell those two about One for All then," All Might muttered.
"That depends, actually. While it would be advantageous to have them in on both, we can manage to keep it within the circle of people who already know, since they only know about the Kamen Riders," Sento said, rubbing his chin in thought. "On the other hand, there might be a point where they do find out, and be upset by the fact that we didn't trust them enough for that secret as well. For now, let's take things slow. We'll have to talk to the teens more about this before Toyoda and Asui meet them tomorrow."
"Sounds reasonable," All Might admitted. "Hopefully no more people find out about us from this point on."
"Agreed, but at the same time, we can't get too upset at everyone who finds out," Sento reminded him. "We need allies, but not too many after all. Especially since Faust roped in this new League of Villains..."
All Might muttered in agreement, as his thoughts drifted back to everything that happened at the USJ. "Faust and the League picked the wrong group of future heroes to miss with... they might've targeted me, but all they've done is encourage a new generation of heroes to become the mightiest we'll ever see."
"But just what did Faust have to gain to even align themselves with them?" Sento said, asking the unsaid question in the pro hero's mind. "Night Rogue claims Faust is to protect Touto, Blood Stalk says that they're trying to make more Kamen Riders, and Meta Bolt says that he wants to experiment... they do have a habit of infighting, but still, what's Faust's angle here?"
Elsewhere, in a bar away in a dark dingy alley...
"Agh, fuck, fuck, fuck..." Tomura grumbled, as Kurogiri gently laid the injured villain onto the floor. He looked at his hands, and stared at the bloody stumps where his right middle finger and his left pinky once were. Never mind the fact that he was very much losing a lot of blood from his calf. "That fucking asshole! I can't use my Quirk anymore now! FUCK!"
"What's this that I hear?" a voice said from a monitor nearby on the bar counter. "You've lost usage of your Quirk?"
"Some fucking jackass with a gun shot a finger off on both my hands! Not to mention my thigh..." Tomura hissed, as Kurogiri quickly went and grabbed bottles of vokda, water, and towels. "You don't happen to have something to regenerate them, do you Teacher?"
"Alas, I do not. The good Doctor and I would've used something like that for myself a long time ago," Tomura's Teacher replied. "Super Regeneration only works if you had it already implanted in you before the injury took place, and we do not have any Quirk that can reverse the damage on us, unfortunately."
"I guess I should've grinded a lot more before- AW GODDAMMIT!" Tomura swore, as Kurogiri poured the vodka onto his hands before rinsing it out with water and tying the towels tightly around them.
"I am terribly sorry for the way things have turned out, sir," Kurogiri said. "The Nomu was launched out of the USJ, and without its exact coordinates, I cannot warp and retrieve him. I would've warped directly to you and the Doctor to take care of Shigaraki's injuries, but I had already opened a Warp Gate to the bar when he lost his fingers. I'll warp to you both as soon as I stop the bleeding."
"What!?" a different voice cried from the monitor, absent of any concern for Tomura. "That was one of my finest works yet! You mean to tell me that you lost that as well?"
"It wasn't my fault! All Might hacked the game, he still had all his strength points!" Tomura whined. "And those Kamen Riders, too! They got in the way of everything! Those Faust fuckers-"
"Yo," Blood Stalk said casually, sitting at a table with a newspaper in his hand, with an empty coffee cup sitting on a saucer in front of him and a full pot of coffee.
"- did jack shit to help and only sat there-" Tomura said, before snapping his head to Blood Stalk and realizing that the cobra armored man was there. "YOU!"
"Seems like you got used as target practice, kid," Blood Stalk said blithely, eyeing the pool of blood underneath the hand-covered man. "Gonna need a lot of water to clean all that blood."
"You think you can come here and- AGH FUCKING HELL!" Tomura swore, as Kurogiri poured vodka into his thigh before rinsing with water and wrapping it with a towel.
"Hey, it could be worse. The bullet went straight through, right?" Blood Stalk replied, flapping the newspaper in his hand to straighten it out. "Be lucky that you don't have to get surgery to get it pulled out."
"Don't you fucking say a single fucking thing, you used that stupid Smash gas and made everything go into the shitter!"
"Oh? You used Nebula Gas? On whom?" the Teacher asked.
"Just a few of those UA students, and one of their teachers, Eraserhead," Blood Stalk replied.
"Yea, and they ruined everything! That Eraserhead Smash cast a silence spell on all of the Quirks nearby! I couldn't use mine for shit, and Kurogiri couldn't let us escape early! If it weren't for that, Nomu could've killed a few of those brats at least!"
"And you didn't think of using it on any of the villains we're hired?" the Doctor questioned.
"Hey, not my fault you guys only hired low tier thugs," Blood Stalk pointed out. "Only thing going for them was their stupidity and willingness to be fodder. Not gonna waste any Nebula Gas on those losers when we're looking for Kamen Rider candidates."
"Then why not on me!? Or Nomu!? Or even Kurogiri!?" Tomura said.
"I already told you before, Smashifying the person with a disintegration Quirk is a bad idea," Blood Stalk answered. "We're not desperate enough to do that. And Nebula Gas needs regular brain activity to have an effect, and what do you know, walking corpses don't have that. Not our fault that those kids had more going for them."
"But there's still Kurogiri-"
"Oh please, the guy follows your every command. He's already in one foot in the grave 'cuz of that."
Tomura grumbled while Kurogiri paid no mind to the remark. "And your other friends?"
"They've been busy with their own jobs. Can't always have the Three Amigos in one place all the time. Remember, Meta Bolt's role was to distract Build long enough for your little revenge plot to last as long as it did. Was just bad luck that the other two were unpredictable factors."
Silence quickly fell upon the room, save for the little humming that Blood Stalk made as he flipped through the newspaper pages.
"Hm, while it isn't ideal how this had gone, you have made your points before, and I cannot blame you for that reluctance," the Teacher finally said. "We simply misjudged what we needed to do here. Those thugs were quite unremarkable to being with, and a Disintegrator Smash would've been too much at once."
"Fine, I get it," Tomura said, as Kurogiri helped him up. "Now if that's all the help you can give us, then piss off and never come back."
"Now now, there's still a lot we both can get out of this whole alliance thing," Blood Stalk said, folding up the newspaper. "After all, your little League of Villains worked alongside Faust, so what little notoriety you'd get from breaking into the USJ has to have at least doubled. Not to mention that those kids didn't get off completely scot-free, since I managed to inject quite a bit of Nebula Gas into several of them. It might take a couple hours, but the news won't let bait like that off the hook."
"And with the Skywall and Faust's existence already destabilizing Touto, our goal of uprooting this 'hero' society is so much closer," the Teacher said. "So I see no reason to end this alliance so soon."
"And I haven't had the chance to see how the Pandora Box affects Quirks!" the Doctor added. Though the call was audio only, there was a certain manic glee in his tone, and if anyone listened closely, you could swear that the man was excitedly dancing at the thought of his experiments. "If the gas that the Skywall emits is potent enough to affect Quirks and induce a transformation process via Smashification, imagine what direct exposure to the Box could entail!"
"Only when we get all of the Fullbottles, mind you," Blood Stalk pointed out. "We're still got a number of them that need to be made and purified. Not to mention gathering the ones we hid. And the Box isn't at full power yet without them."
"Right right, of course! Otherwise that observation team would've been affected by it after all that time working with it," the Doctor noted.
"Just how do you know so much about the Box anyway..." Tomura asked, eyeing the Faust executive suspiciously.
"Let's just call it a... scientist's intuition for now," Blood Stalk offered, waving him off. "Now, I think that you might want to see the Doctor now to get stitched up. Otherwise, you might just die from blood loss."
"He brings up a good point, let's get you fixed as soon as possible," the Doctor said, as Kurogiri opened up a portal.
"And that's my cue to leave." Blood Stalk neatly folded the newspaper and laid it onto the table, before pulling out his Transteam Gun. "Don't worry, we'll be having more chats in the future. Ciao!"
The cobra man swept his gun as smoke bellowed from its barrel and covered him, vanishing from view as Kurogiri and Tomura stepped through the portal and found themselves in the presence of a bald old man with glasses.
"Come come, let's get you prepped for the surgery," the Doctor said, leading Tomura to a surgical table with straps. "We'll figure out what to do about your... induced Quirklessness later. For now, I'll sew your wounds up and prepare you for your eventual prosthetics."
As Tomura grumbled at the reminder, the Doctor slipped a sleeping gas mask onto him, and soon the villain was knocked out, letting the old man to proceed with surgery. Kurogiri stepped back to give them their space, and his attention moved towards a man sitting in a chair away from them. Though the room was dark with only the lights of monitors and the surgical light that hung above the table where Tomura laid, one could see that the man's eyeless 'face' was almost nothing but scar tissue that stopped just shy of his upper lip.
"Is it so wise to cooperate with Faust, sir?" Kurogiri asked, as the mist flickered around his head. "If their actions hadn't proved them to be unpredictable, I believe that what happened today does."
"Do not fret, Kurogiri," the Teacher said, his fingers rapping against his chair's armrest. "While I suspect that they're anticipating that we'll betray them, it'll won't matter. And Faust's unpredictability is to our advantage. The Skywall Incident was already helpful in our quest to destabilize this society after all that work All Might did, and Faust has only continued to do so."
As he spoke, several monitors hummed to life, with multiple news reports, from as old as when the Skywall first appeared, to as recent as Faust's first public appearance at the Sludge Villain Incident. While most of them were matter-of-fact and neutral, several were scathing, criticizing the slow responses the heroes were making, and how in recent times the Kamen Rider, an unapproved vigilante, had been more effective in dealing with Faust's threat. "All we need to do is give Faust a little more support, and when they finish restoring the Pandora Box's power, we'll swoop in and take it for ourselves."
"Not to mention that we'll make more use out of the Pandora Box than those fools at the Institute ever did," the Doctor scoffed, as he cleaned up Tomura's wounds and began the process of closing them. "Too hung up on things like 'morals' or 'humane', bah! What a waste. The only one worth anything was that Katsuragi fellow judging from the rumors."
"Indeed. Quite the shame that we couldn't get our hands on him before his death," the Teacher muttered. "I have no doubt that he would've been eager to help with your experiments."
As the two spoke, Kurogiri ruminated on his thoughts. Something in his core was still unsure of their alliance with Faust. Whether it was their surprising knowledge about the Pandora Box that the Institute lacked or the fact that they're dealing with alien forces when they still yet to fully reach the peak of Quirk study, he didn't know. But whatever it was, he trusted the Doctor's and Professor's judgments more, and since they were certain that they can pull the rug from underneath Faust, then there shouldn't be any concern from him.
At the Prime Minister's Office
Gentoku sighed as he got up from 'his' desk, finished for the day. If there was one thing that he hated doing, it was the paperwork. It was the bane of his day as head chairman of the Institute, and it's the bane of his day as Acting Prime Minister. It was so monotonous, but it was a monotony that he could deal with, especially since his father should finish his recovery soon. But he couldn't let himself stew in monotony forever. Every passing day, Seito and Hokuto were preparing themselves for war, and he'll need everything for Touto to be ready for it. It pained him greatly to not be able to directly oversee Faust and their current progress, but there's nothing stopping him from quickly checking in-
"Sir!" an aide shouted, slamming the door open and startling Gentoku.
"Yes, what is it?" he said, quickly regaining composure. "There's something I'd like to check in on, and the day is almost over-"
The aide didn't say anything further, but rather pulled out a phone to play a news report (though it was more of a tabloid report than anything).
"Breaking news, villains have broke into the UA facility USJ while the first year hero course was visiting! This new group, calling themselves the League of Villains, were attempting to murder the Number One Hero All Might, who had taken a job as a teacher this year at UA!" A new villain group, huh? Could be an issue for Faust's activities.
"Hm, concerning, I'll have to-" Gentoku began to say, stroking his beard.
"The League wasn't alone, however, as Faust was there as well! While we weren't able to get an exact number, we can confirm that a few students and one teacher had been Smashified! With this alliance, is Faust attempting to shepherd in a new group of villainy!?"
Gentoku ripped out a few beard hairs mid-stroke, his teeth gritted as he registered the words. Once the news report finished, he took a deep breath, and sighed.
"... I'll attempt to contact UA to propose some ideas soon. For now... I still have to do that check that I intended to do."
Later, at one of Faust's hidden bases
"Yo, Himuro," Blood Stalk said, waving at Gentoku as he walked into the room. "Was wondering when you'd-"
"What the hell are you doing to my Faust!?" Gentoku screeched, grabbing Blood Stalk by his muffler. "Who gave you the right to work with villains!?"
"Hey, what happened to the whole 'become the devil' thing you were fond of?" Blood Stalk asked, nonplussed. "I thought you'd be fine with it."
"Faust was made to save and protect Touto, not throw it into chaos! We do not work with villains!"
"Not even if that villain is All for One?" Blood Stalk said. Gentoku froze at the name, allowing Blood Stalk to pry his hand off from him.
"... All for One is dead. All Might killed him," Gentoku replied, eyes narrowed.
"Nah, I'm pretty sure that the League's leader is All for One." Blood Stalk rubbed the chin of his helmet as he pretended to theorize. "You probably don't know it, since the news doesn't know either, but they had a little 'toy' called Nomu. Had multiple Quirks, was incapable of thought, had a super modified body-"
"Multiple Quirks?" Gentoku gawked.
"Yep, and you and I both know that there's only one person who's capable of doing something like that with ease," Blood Stalk stated. "Gotta say, I have to thank you for telling us about him to begin with, otherwise Bolt and I might've never come across him to begin with. And it puts us in a nice position."
"... What do you mean?" Gentoku said, curiosity getting the better of him.
"Think about it. This little 'alliance' of ours will let us stay in the know about the League's and All for One's activities, and another plethora of resources we can use," Blood Stalk said, turning around and putting his hands on the Nebula Chamber. "We'll keep track of what All for One's doing, let him think we're just useful pawns, and when it comes down to it, we'll knock him out of the running."
"... You do realize that he and his League will anticipate our betrayal, right?"
"Yea, but that means we're anticipating their betrayal as well, too," Blood Stalk pointed out. "It'll be more or less a race to see who betrays who first, and when. A little back-and-forth, a game of 'No, You'. I bet he's gonna love that."
"And you're certain that we'll come out on top?"
"Trust me, we've got plenty of things that they don't know about," he assured him. "Nothing they can plan for logically."
Gentoku gritted his teeth. Just what Blood Stalk was referring to, he himself didn't know. Most likely it had something to do with the Pandora Box, though what it was exactly was a mystery. Regardless, as both the leader of Faust and the head of the Institute, they did have the most information about it, and it won't be like they'll divulge everything they know to the man who crippled Touto's Symbol of Peace. And the Rider System could potentially be a match against All for One with its equal versatility, and its potential to grow in strength over time...
"Alright, you've made your point," Gentoku said, stroking his beard in thought. "It would be to our advantage to know of All for One's movements, and to take advantage of his resources. He doesn't know of Faust's connections, does he?"
"Hmph, don't worry, he doesn't. Most he knows about them goes as far as Utsumi's. No suspicions about good ol' Acting Prime Minister Himuro," Blood Stalk said.
"Hm... And what of Meta Bolt? Is he aware of this?"
"Oh please, who do you think is the one who got him in the first place?" Blood Stalk answered. "All for One was practically salivating behind his screen when we told him we had an agent on the inside."
ORIGINAL AO3 NOTES:
- Finally, a new BUAH! chapter. Sorry about the wait and all. Real life, as always, took priority, not to mention that Pokémon Scarlet and Violet got released, and I've been playing that with my siblings, as well as general procrastination. Also just been kind of bummed about Kevin Conroy, Jason David Frank, and Ichiro Mizuki dying. Three more big figures that I admired have passed away. Rest in peace to them, and my condolences to their families and friends.
- Relatedly, I appreciate people wanting more, but I'd like not be asked 'when's the next chapter' for this (or any of my fanfics really). I like writing at my own pace, got my own real life to focus on, and in the end these are mostly fun fan things for me to do. Doesn't mean that I don't put any effort, but again, just something for fun for me personally. And being asked/told to update is not a fun thing, let me tell you.
- Going to remind everyone that I've gone ahead and changed the names of some of the 1C students to make them referential characters rather than transplants. Will be creating a small data sheet for them and Goldminer eventually.
- Totally forgot to add Tsuyu's 'ribbits' whenever she talks. I'll admit that I'm not usually one to consciously remember character tics like that and I tune them out when I write, so that's on me for not doing it enough. Will have to go back and add them in her scenes eventually. Speaking of rewrites, in light of the recent MHA chapters, I think I'll have to go back through my previous fanfics and change 'mutant' to 'heteromorph' to better fit the direction MHA is going through (though I also think that they don't use the term 'mutant' because of the X-Men as well).
- Was debating on including Machiko and Tsuyu into the One for All secret, but considering that there wasn't any sort of indicator for it in the previous chapter, I decided to keep them in the dark for now. Might be better this way.
- I had planned on writing more after the end, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked the Faust being the ending scene. So I'm going to take what I got after that and use it as the beginning for the next chapter. So this is a lot shorter than I initially would've liked, but either way, was also getting tired of how long I spent on writing this. So hopefully it won't take long writing that chapter since I already have a beginning for it.