Tomura, August, Parten, Rudbornn, and Thrax were walking to the meeting point Overhaul had indicated.
"He seemed a bit agitated over the phone," Tomura noted, scratching his neck.
"What is it that he seeks?" Rudbornn pondered.
"Guess we're gonna find out." Parten shrugged as they arrived at the hideout.
"Good of you to come. Hope there's no hard feelings from our last meeting." Overhaul greeted.
"I wouldn't say that. But I am willing to put them aside for the sake of cooperation." Tomura clarified.
Overhaul and his crew led the five through a series of corridors. Soon, they came to a small meeting room, where they all sat down.
"Keeping secrets much, Overhaul?" Tomura asked.
"Yeah, I don't like being led in circles," Parten muttered, digging through his ear.
"It's necessary since not all guests have the best intentions." Overhaul explained. "Besides, we don't know who may be watching."
"It's how we've survived for this long."
The one who spoke was Joi Irinaka AKA Mimic, who was using his Quirk, [Mimicry], to inhabit a tiny doll.
"Why invite us if you need secrecy to survive, then?" Rudbornn asked.
"Because a few of your allies may be able to aid in our cause." Overhaul explained. "And I knew if I requested their help behind your back, I might as well be asking for another bloodbath."
"Alright then, but on two conditions," Tomura said, holding up two fingers. "We'll strictly be working with you, not under you. Don't forget how easily my gang tore apart yours the other day."
Mimic suddenly sprouted his real large arm from his doll body to try and punch Tomura while Overhaul's right-hand man Chronostasis aimed a gun at his head. Parten transformed his arm into a large sickening bone-like blade and aimed it at Chronostasis' throat while Rudbornn drew a sword and poised it at Mimic in retaliation.
"Stand down! I just got through saying how I'd like to avoid another bloodbath." Overhaul barked before addressing Tomura. "We can work in a joint partnership if you prefer. And the second condition?"
"You mentioned a grand plan to remove all heroes. I'd like to know the details."
"Fair enough." Overhaul nodded. "Since you know that much already, it can't hurt to reveal a bit more; We found the means to produce a compound that can temporarily shut down Quirks. The long-term goal is to perfect it so that it can remove them permanently. Unfortunately, we recently lost our primary asset in this regard. That's why we need your help. To turn this treatment into a cure."
"So you're basically using the same method that All For One used when he was still in his prime?" August noted.
"Obviously no one in my gang can steal Quirks," Overhaul admitted. "But this is a more fine-tuned method. I'm hoping some of your members can alter it to suit our needs more."
"And how will you even know if we're actually trying to alter this formula for ya?" Thrax asked.
"I have a subordinate with a Quirk that can force people to tell the truth," Overhaul offered. "I'll have him brought in so that there's no tricks."
"There's something else to consider; Some heroes use armor for their costumes designed to resist bullets." Rudbornn pointed out.
"Yeah, the delivery system isn't perfect. That also needs to be refined." Overhaul admitted. "But the needles are unbreakable, and that can have unexpected consequences."
"I can imagine a few..." August hummed, stroking his beard.
"The formula right now is imperfect. Any Quirk it erases will slowly come back over a few hours, as the chemical is processed through the body." Overhaul explained.
"And why do you need us to help you perfect it?" Tomura asked.
"This society is suffering from a pandemic of the worst kind for the past hundred years," Overhaul said darkly. "And I intend to deliver the cure."
"Oh really?" Parten asked, arching an eyebrow as two men came in; Freakshow and Shin Nemoto.
"Are either of you at any point planning on betraying us?" Shin asked, activating his Quirk, [Confession], which forced people to answer his questions honestly.
"Of course not." Tomura said.
Unbeknownst to everyone, August's staff was glowing yellow, harnessing the power of the Mind Link to put a subtle suggestion in Shin's head that they were telling the complete and honest truth.
"Okay, and now for the important question." Overhaul began, gesturing for Shin to continue.
"Would you be able to alter the formula to make it permanently remove a Quirk?"
"We have nobody in our ranks who can do so." August said. "And even then, it wouldn't bear any fruit. Those with recorded Disease Manipulation Quirks can only do just that, manipulate that."
"My Quirk actually provides some diseases here and there. Things like viruses, bacteria, and even certain genetic defects. But not Quirk factors." Parten added.
Overhaul's eyes widened. "But... But that can't be... Quirks are a disease... It's been documented that..."
"That they came from rats spreading virulence like the Black Plague?" August finished with a laugh. "I've heard that old wives' tale too."
"It's been long debunked. And for someone who's an obvious germophobe, it must be the ultimate nightmare." Rudbornn said.
"How did you-?" Overhaul began only to be cut off.
"You freaked out when Compress touched you." Tomura explained. "It was pretty easy to deduce from that alone."
"The truth is the Quirk factor is a beneficial gene mutation. One could almost call it the next stage in human evolution." August said. "Since when is a disease beneficial to the infected?"
"I mean, you can call ME infected but I made peace with that a LONG time ago." Parten smirked, leaning back in his seat.
A vein bulged in Overhaul's forehead but then he managed to calm himself down.
"Sorry, had to wrestle with my emotions boiling back up. Just when I thought I'd forced them down... Like I said earlier, I'd prefer to avoid a second bloodbath. But if that's the case, then we need to regain our primary asset. And quickly, before the heroes decide they want to raid us."
"I might know someone who can affect that..." Tomura offered with a smirk, already forming a plan.
As the two groups talked, Thrax noticed Freakshow gesturing for him to follow him. Curious, he followed and was led to what looked like some kind of medical room...and what he saw turned his stomach as he ran back out and slammed the door shut, Freakshow giving him an apologetic look.
"Phew..." Thrax breathed. "And that cat is calling US the diseased ones. He was sick before we even got here..."
Needless to say, Thrax had some things to tell Tomura and the others...and possibly bring in a new recruit as well.
"Jeez, it's like a freaking Kaiju movie over here," Katsuki noted, rocketing himself across the street, two kids being carried over his shoulder.
Right now, two Giant Villains were fighting each other, which was causing quite a bit of damage to the surrounding area. Already, the Royal Hero Agency as well as Sir Nighteye, Gang Orca, and Ryuukyuu's agencies were on the scene.
"Our rescue training is really being put to the test here." Shoto noted, using his ice to create a safe platform for civilians to escape from the skyscrapers.
Nejire flew in, charging up yellow spiraling energy in her arms with the power of her Quirk, [Wave Motion], which allowed her to channel her vitality into energy shockwaves, before sending it at the two giants.
"WRING WAVE!"
With the enemy's attention on her, Fumikage and Nia jumped in on them, Nia stabbing her chakrams into one of the giants' shoulders while Fumikage had Dark Shadow strike the other one.
"Heads up!" Nimona called as she turned into a whale, slamming down on top of one of the giant villains and slamming him into the ground.
"Okumura-Senpai! Deku! You're up!" Katsuki barked.
Haru and Izuku leaped from a nearby rooftop. Izuku harnessed the power of the [More-More Fruit] to enlarge a lead pipe in his hands to the size of a steel bar while Haru was surrounded by bizarre psychedelic colors thanks to her Quirk, [Psychic Dazzle], which granted her a large variety of psychic abilities, not as concentrated as Tatsumaki and Fubuki's powers but still with plenty of useful applications.
"PSYCHO FORCE!"
"MORE-MORE THIRTYFOLD BAR!"
Both giants screamed in shock as their senses got overwhelmed by Haru, followed by Izuku clobbering their heads with the giant pipe.
"Great work, team!" Ochako cheered.
"That'll teach 'em!" Nia smirked.
As the police moved in to arrest the perps, some of the captains spoke with the supervising pro heroes.
"Yes, they're here on work-study," Gang Orca explained, "Actually, they're already improving since I encountered them back at the Provisional License Exam."
"Nejire-Chan wanted to introduce some of them to me," Ryuukyuu said. "Uravity is turning out to be an amazing hero."
Zenkichi was helping to contain the villains using his Quirk, [Chain Link]. This allowed him to generate metal chains from his body. Clever use of this Quirk made it viable for both offense and defense.
"A successful takedown tonight. "We've confirmed no civilians were seriously injured or killed." Fumikage said as he looked around. "Shame we could only do so much to limit collateral damage."
"An unfortunate part of dealing with villains that have Gigantification-Type Quirks," Sir Nighteye noted. "But buildings are expendable. Human lives are not. And only an absolute sociopath would think otherwise."
Meanwhile, the ones who had gone to intern with Fat Gum were walking with the BMI Hero through town.
"There's a lot food vendors out," Tenya noted.
"With hero patrols getting more commonplace, food trucks and other such businesses get a big boost. We need the energy to keep up with patrols and be able to chase down perps, after all." Fat Gum explained while snacking on a large tray of takoyaki.
"I'm just glad we get this opportunity. A work-study like this should help build up our experience for later down the line." Eijirou said.
"You said it, man!" Tetsutetsu voiced in agreement.
"Personally I'm glad to have students eager to learn and grow. Tamaki is certainly promising, but his nerves can really get in the way at just the wrong time." Fat Gum said.
Tamaki slumped. "Damn it... I swear he scouted me just to have someone to torment..."
"Have some dignity, man!," Tenya called out. "You're one of UA's Big Three! You should be carrying yourself a little higher than that!"
"I dunno, with the amazing fight between Deku, Hilda, Ben, and Mirio, we might be seeing a change in the roster of the Big Three before long."
"Help! A fight's breaking out!"
"Looks like it's game time, kiddies!" Fat Gum said.
Several thugs in suits were running along the street, arguing about something involving stolen goods. Fat Gum immediately increased his already large mass and caused the thugs to run into him like he was a crash mat, his malleable body enveloping them all at once.
Two managed to slip out using their Quirks, but Ochako managed to tag one with her Quirk, causing him to flail helplessly in midair. Tamaki then sprouted tentacles from his fingers to grab the second one using his Quirk, [Manifest], which allowed him to grow special features on his body depending on what he had eaten.
"Good thing this place has so many food stalls."
Tenya suddenly noticed something gleaming in the crowd. He turned to see one final thug with a gun in hand.
"Everyone get down! That man has a gun!"
The thug opened fire but instead of bullets, strange needles were shot out. One of the needles merely bounced off Tenya's armor and rolled into the crowd. Tamaki quickly dove in front of them using large bird wings. But once the needle hit, the wings seemed to disappear almost instantly. The thug fired a second shot at Ochako, but Eijirou and Tetsutetsu dove in the way with their Quirks active, the needles easily deflecting off their skin without doing anything.
In a panic, the thug threw his gun to the ground and bolted for it. Fat Gum quickly hurried over to check on Tamaki.
"You okay? It doesn't look like a normal bullet wound."
"That was no bullet. A regular bullet would have left an impact on my armor." Tenya said as he picked up the casing. "It's some sort of needle injector. Amajiki-Senpai, can you feel your Quirk right now? I saw the wings you had disappear."
"S-Something's wrong...I-I can't feel my Quirk!" Tamaki panicked.
"A Quirk erasure? And that second shot almost hit me!" Ochako gasped.
"Uraraka, keep on eye on Amajiki. The rest of us will chase down that villain." Fat Gum said.
Tenya was already racing after the thug, Eijirou and Tetsutetsu right on his heels. Just when it looked like they had cornered the thug, he injected himself with some sort of chemical. That's when numerous blades shot off the guy's body. Eijirou and Tetsutetsu quickly hardened their bodies while Tenya raced back to get several onlookers out of the way.
"What was in that vial?! Kirishima! Tetsutetsu! Are you alright?!"
"We're holding strong! He can't bypass our manly power!" Tetsutetsu reassured.
"Was that Trigger?!" Eijirou wondered. "That guy's Quirk is super-charged now!"
The two boys were doing their best to resist the onslaught of blades, Eijirou gritting his teeth as he kept up his hardening.
"Harder...I gotta get harder...! HARDER!"
Tetsutetsu looked out of the corner of his eye and was amazed to see Eijirou's form become more jagged, spikey, and monstrous-looking. The blades were now breaking off and shattering like glass off his body.
"Whoa...Kirishima-Bro...!"
"My body and spirit...ARE UNBREAKABLE!"
Eijirou then rushed at the thug, breaking through all the blades he tried throwing at him and delivered a mighty punch to his solar plexus, sending him sprawling.
"That...was so manly!" Tetsutetsu cheered, stars in his eyes.
Eijirou smiled but then noticed the thug convulsing, his body bulging and glowing in certain areas. It was then that the image processed itself to Eijirou and he quickly moved to get Tetsutetsu out of the way.
"BACK UP!"
Eijirou kept up his hardening, Armament Haki forming over him and increasing his already nigh-impenetrable defense as the thug exploded, splattering blood, bile, and other unspeakable substances everywhere.
"Holy crap, he blew himself up!" Tetsutetsu cried.
"Guess that was a bad batch of Trigger..." Eijirou muttered.
"Everyone, the police are here!" Tenya called out.
"And I think they may want to investigate what was in those bullets..." Ochako added, looking as the police sealed one of the needle casings in a plastic bag.
"Luckily, Amajiki's Quirk seems to be recovering too!" Fat Gum added before noticing the mess. "Man, I've seen bad deals but this is something else!"
Everybody didn't know was that this would lead to something even bigger than they could possibly imagine...
I'm starting to lose love for this story. I might stop it soon after we finish a special arc I have planned in the future. I don't know if you guys wanna continue this but if you want, feel free to do so. Just credit me if you can.