Happy Veteran's day, and thank you to everyone who's served in the armed forces both past and present!

Harley had been slowly introducing Rei to the rest of the group as one of them. For the most part, the drugs had been worked out of her system and she was starting to show signs of a backbone. However long-term trauma and abuse wasn't something you could get over in a few short months.

Touya was extremely protective of his mother, since Harley had made it clear that she would only got back to that 'house' over a dead body. Endeavor or Harley's was up for debate.

So when Endeavor began tracking them down via the outings Rei made with Toga getting the groceries and other minor supplies. He had a vast network and had been using the minor hero agencies to track her down for him.

Which was why Harley was setting up a trap to send a firm message to Endeavor once and for all...and if they played it right, wake up the slumping villain inside Rei.

Dabi was not happy, but he also planned to stick close to his mother. Like hell was she ever going back to that bastard.

Harley woke up and just knew today was when the confrontation would happen. There wasn't any overt sign, but she simply knew it for a fact.

To that end, she had everyone get ready. Most of the important stuff was sent on with the non-combatants and vital members who handled the little stuff, but weren't actually part of the combat crew.

Dabi was just itching for a chance to deal some damage to his asshole of a father. Rei was aware something big was happening, but not what.

Seeing the blast of flames that were all too familiar, she froze behind Toga.

Rei watched as Harley and the others fought Endeavor's group.

She flinched when he touched her, and then he went to blast her son with those thrice damned flames of his.

Something inside Rei snapped violently. Like hell was she going to let him harm her child. Harley had been slowly coaxing that other part of herself to the surface, bit by bit while helping her reconnect with her first born.

The first clue something was about to go horribly wrong was the fact he felt a sudden chill. Ice began to creep up around him which shouldn't happen with his flame quirk.

Too late, he looked down to his wife who's quirk he had always dismissed due to how weak it was in general.

The sheer rage and hatred in her eyes was staggering. Gone was the submissive woman he had married and forced to bear his children.

In her place was a woman who wouldn't hesitate to murder him and his allies and would lose no sleep over the fact.

One of the men beside him screamed, lacking the innate protection Endeavor had with his flames.

Dabi stared at his mother used her full power over ice and the cold to kill three heroes in a single blast without even a hint of remorse on her face.

"Holy shit..." said Dabi without thinking. Watching his mother kill people like a total badass was...amazing. It also caused a few conflicting emotions he firmly shot because that was his mother.

Harley cackled.

"Killer Frost is back, bitches! Let's show these heroes who the real power is here boys!"

Out of nowhere, Harley pulled out...a massive fucking hammer that she wielded with brutal efficiency.

Seeing Endeavor forced to retreat after losing well over half his men on top of a third of the people who had come when he called to deal with the Harlequins and take his wife back was incredibly gratifying.

Dabi stared at his mother, who's demeanor had gone from submissive to a complete bitch who wasn't afraid to kill someone who pissed her off.

"More heroes inbound!" shouted one of the watchers.

"Boss?" asked Dabi.

"We kicked ass today. I say we go celebrate this victory and Frosty's return with some booze! Drinks are on me tonight boys!" said Harley.

That got a rousing cheer from the Harlequins.

They vanished before the reinforcements had a chance to find them.

Several hours later...

Killer Frost, formerly Rei Todoroki, felt slightly conflicted. In her last life, she had been a lone wolf of the highest order.

To top it all off, she owed Harley of all people a massive debt.

Touya...or rather Dabi...was still in shock at how ruthless his mother truly was. However that didn't stop them from forming a proper mother-son bond over their shared hatred and desire to murder Endeavor as brutally as possible.

"Where's Harley?" asked Rei.

"Pretty sure I saw Toga drag her into their shared room after several drinks."

"...So not our problem?"

"Absolutely not our problem," agreed Dabi.

Rei considered this, then remembered how Toga usually acted and snorted. The girl was a slightly less psychotic and vicious version of Harley in her last life.

"Well as long as he isn't around, I'll not comment. It's not like anyone cared about her and Ivy after all...especially when either of them were done with those that did disparage them."

"Ivy?" asked Dabi.

"Poison Ivy, a villain who had plant-based powers. She was the one to convince Harley to finally dump her asshole ex-boyfriend, and good riddance. The man was a menace even among villains," said Rei. "And the sheer level of obsession he had over that one hero...it's a miracle Harley stayed with him as long as she did."

Dabi made a point to talk to Harley about this 'ex' that she occasionally referenced.

Harley had an odd expression on her face as she dealt with the hangover. She was a lot more relaxed than Dabi was used to, and he firmly stayed away from the reason why for his own mental health.

It was fragile enough as is, and he wasn't enough to stick his dick in crazy thanks.

"The guy Frosty mentioned...is Mista J, or Joker to everyone else. He's the one who turned me into the pretty little psycho that I am today," said Harley.

Dabi listened as Harley told him the full story. How she had fallen for a villain that was on par with Endeavor on being a complete dick. This Joker sounded like an asshole, and he had an unhealthy obsession with the vigilante calling himself Batman of all things.

"Wait, wait, wait...the other heroes let this guy run around turning underage kids into vigilantes...and the pro heroes let him?"

"Each pro hero had a specific city they kept an eye on, with strict limits placed on new guys or temps who were there to give the hero a break," said Harley. "Gotham was Batman's despite the fact that the police hated him as much as they did the villains."

Rei walked in on this.

"This shit is why I was a free roam villain," scoffed Rei. "Worst I had to deal with was that idiot Flash, and even he wasn't as full of shit as the Batman."

"Oh no, worst we had to deal with was that bitch Waller and her shitty Suicide Squad, remember?" said Harley.

Rei made a face at the reminder.

"Whatever happened to her?"

"She got a permanent stay in Hell, last I checked. That stupid card she sent us after got used up before she got her claws into it to someone more deserving," said Harley.

"Do I want to know?" asked Dabi.

"You know that super max prison that the worst villains get sent to? Imagine if someone with high enough clearance and political power formed a team of villains under the 'promise' of taking time off their sentence to do dirty work they can't send pro hero teams in because it would ruin their image permanently to be associated with," said Rei.

"And every single one of those missions had a near one hundred percent mortality rate and were deemed suicidal, which was another main reason why they used villains instead of heroes," said Harley sarcastically. "If that wasn't enough, the 'handler' also implanted tiny bombs in their neck to force them into complying and completing the mission and would blow their heads off if they even dared to object or try to turn away."

"Don't forget how she'd threaten the families of the villains too," said Rei. "Remember how she pissed off her own support team by threatening to ruin that one kid's life because her dad objected to cleaning up after the mess the government made, and her own team clocked her with a club?"

"How the fuck did she get away with this?" said Dabi, looking at them horrified. Because he honestly could tell they weren't lying.

"She had too much blackmail on people and no one cares about the villains," shrugged Harley. "Nobody liked that bitch."

"So what about this Joker character?"

"Joker was an asshole on par with the sort of things I've heard about All for One," said Rei. "Maybe worse. He used to treat Harley like absolute shit, had her twisted around so that she thought she 'loved' him and kept coming back despite the abuse he put her through. If not for Ivy, she'd still be in that toxic relationship."

Harley was silent on the matter. Whatever feelings she had for Mista J were long since dead, and she had genuinely loved Ivy until she died. Ivy had been good for her, had gone the extra mile to show her exactly how toxic Joker was as a person. She had also built Harley back up from the depression she had been in once she walked away.

"So what are your plans now, Frosty?" asked Harley, firmly changing the subject.

"I'll stick around with the Harlequins for a while, maybe sound out the other villain groups. Though I won't be joining All For One after the crap he's been pulling with the Noumu. Anyone who can steal my powers and give them to one of his lackeys isn't worth working with," said Rei. "Besides...sticking with you guys means spending time with my son. Would be interesting to see how fighting next to him."

Shouto was highly conflicted. After his mother was taken from the hospital, his father's attitude only worsened with each passing day. His classmates tried to be sympathetic, but they had no idea what it was like.

And then...his mother turned into a villain and killed over twenty pro heroes without any remorse or hesitation. Endeavor had made a point to tell him the name of everyone she killed in that raid, as if that would deter him from even considering seeking her out once he was legally an adult. As if it was his fault that she went on a rampage and embarrassed him so badly.

He could hide it as much as he liked...it would get out sooner rather than later, since the Harlequins weren't exactly subtle or quiet.

Bakugo had a particular hatred for the leader of the group, who was a girl about the same age as them. He got particularly pissy whenever he overheard people talk about the sort of things Harley did.

They never did get the full story behind that, though the others were insanely curious how Bakugo knew her.

The teachers suspected he knew the true identity of Harley, but whatever he told them hadn't come up with anything.

So you could imagine his shock when as he was heading back to the house, a car pulled up out of nowhere and someone grabbed him without any warning. There was a cloth shoved against his face, and the chemicals knocked him out cold.

In an undisclosed location

Shouto woke up slowly, as the drugs worked their way out of his system. The first thing he saw made him wonder if he was still sleeping, because his eldest brother had disappeared years ago.

Touya looked terrible with the stitches on his face, but Shouto still vaguely remembered his elder brother.

"Touya-nii-san?" he said slowly.

"I swear, the boss has the most fucked up ideas on how family therapy is supposed to be," he complained.

Shouto rubbed his eyes, trying to wake up.

It took him exactly three seconds to realize he was in the base of the Harlequins, surrounded by villains. It took him another five to register the familiar face of his mother, who looked far more relaxed and happier than he could ever remember seeing her.

Then he remembered the comment his brother made and stared at him.

"Did your boss seriously kidnap me so I could reconcile with you and mom?" he asked in disbelief.

"Boss is big on family. She probably did this to test out where you fall on the hero-villain thing because Endeavor is a bastard," said Touya.

Shouto stared at him, waiting for the punchline. There was none.

He felt arms wrap around him and a voice cooing at him.

"Awww...so this is Frosty's baby? He's too adorable!"

"Toga, put the knife away," said Touya exasperated.

Shouto stared at the sharp blade that had been close to his arm and then at his brother. His expression said volumes.

This...was going to be one awkward as hell conversation.