The students of Class 1-A and 1-B were in the Heights Alliance dorm, talking about upcoming projects in their work-study.
"Eri will be staying with us?" Ochako asked happily.
Hilda nodded. "Yup, Mom figured that since we're the closest people to Eri, she's moving here to keep watch along with Aizawa-Sensei."
"We've noticed it's been starting to grow again," Izuku said. "I got word from All-Might and Tsunade that they spoke with the Oyabun of the Shie Hassaikai, who explained that from what he understood, the growth of Eri's horn that produces her Quirk is tied to her emotions."
"I think that's a great idea," Momo smiled. "We all basically see Eri like a little sister. And if any place could help Eri to harness her incredible power, it would be UA."
Just then a knock came at the door. Tenya opened it, revealing some familiar faces.
"Your feline fantasies are here!"
"We're here to lend a helping paw!"
"We're champions serving up justice with our tails!"
"Purr-fectly cute and cat-like beauties!"
"WE'RE THE WILD WILD PUSSYCATS!"
Sure enough, the Wild, Wild Pussycats were present. They were in their civilian clothes so it was weird to see them shouting their signature role call like that. What was also weird was that Ms. Joke was there wearing a pair of fake cat ears on her head and posing for Pixie-Bob...who was a distance away.
"Seems you kittens are doing well! You're growing into fine felines." Ragdoll smiled.
"Mandalay, Pixie-Bob, Ragdoll!" Izuku cried in relief. "Are you okay? After what All For One did to you a few months ago."
"It's fine. We've learned to live without our Quirks." Mandalay said. "Tiger has been doing the heavy lifting, though it's a bit disheartening not being a team anymore..."
"And Pixie-Bob?" Mipha asked worriedly. All the students had heard about what Parten had done to her specifically.
"She's recovering," Tiger said softly. "What that...MONSTER did to her has left some scars that are taking longer to heal than most...she's completely given up on finding a mate. In fact, she's terrified of men that aren't me or Kota now."
Tiger said 'Monster', clearly referring to Parten, with pure venom in his tone. It was painfully obvious that he wanted to rip the deranged maniac apart limb from limb more than anything. An anger that was perfectly understandable, given what Parten had done.
"Speaking of Kota, how is he?" Ben asked.
"He's snapped out of that cynical worldview, that's for sure. It helps that me, Ragdoll, and Pixie-Bob have effectively retired and have been spending more time with him, but it's also because you helped him out with Muscular at the Training Camp." Mandalay said. "He especially looks forward to the day you guys are on the news at a near-constant basis."
Hilda gave a big belly laugh. "Well, knowing the stuff we've been getting into, that won't be too far away!"
"Is Deku here?"
Everyone smiled when they saw Kota himself walking in. Izuku especially beamed when he saw the shoes Kota was wearing were identical to his own.
"Oh, he knew he wanted to get those shoes when we were going shopping a month or so ago." Mandalay smiled. "He said he just had to have them. After all, they were worn by his Hero."
"DAAAAAAWWWW!" Hilda gushed, picking up Kota and hugging him. "We've got our own #1 Fanboy, Zu!"
Kota blushed as he squirmed in Hilda's soft blubbery yet deceptively well-muscled hold. Izuku just gave a playful chuckle while the rest of their friends smiled. However, there was something troubling that Tiger needed to bring up.
"And also...regarding Parten's...'assault'...on Pixie-Bob..."
"She's pregnant...and it's been confirmed to be his child." Ragdoll finished, knowing Tiger couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Uh...c-congrats?" Minoru nervously asked, wincing at the disapproving looks on his face.
"She's decided not to abort the baby, that's a relief." Mandalay sighed. "Still, we don't know what we're going to do with it when it comes."
"Well, I'm sure you guys will be able to handle it. Despite everything, you still have each other." Ben softly said.
Meanwhile, Dabi was led to a dark room by Merciless, Murder Machine, and Dr. Ujiko, where a hooded Nomu was resting.
"So...this is the High-End Nomu that you've got primed and ready, huh?" Dabi asked Ujiko, who nodded.
"Yes, the others are coming along swimmingly, but this beauty shall be the test driver!" The mad doctor crowed. "I got his body from a prizefighter in an underground fighting ring that Sensei attacked for the variety of Quirks he could steal many years ago. I believe Miruko was a participant when she was still just a student back then if I'm not mistaken."
"Good, I have just the target I wanna set this thing loose on..." Dabi smirked as he turned to Merciless. "Call it getting some closure, if you will."
Merciless nodded. "If you are targeting who I obviously know you're targeting...then I shall not stop you. You at least deserve this much, Toya."
"Why the long face, Endeavor?" Atomic Samurai asked, having gone out for drinks with the Flame Hero along with Hawks, Bang, Garp, and King.
"It's nothing..." The new #1 Hero sighed. "Just reminiscing about the past."
"It's about Toya, isn't it?" Garp frowned at his old pupil. "You made your mistakes, Enji. You're learning from them now. That's all you can really do."
"You know, I owe you a lot, Endeavor." Hawks said as he took a swig from his drink. "You nabbed my crummy old man when I was a little kid. It was pure luck that you came across him and took his ass down...though that left me and my mom struggling to survive and me being taken in by the HPSC but I still looked up to you. When you confessed to the pain you put your family through...I couldn't hate you because I saw the pain in your eyes and knew it was real."
"In spite of it all, I'm glad Shoto has managed to come into his own."
Suddenly, King got a call on his phone and answered while taking a drink...which he spat out when he heard what was going on.
"WHAT?! Another Nomu?! Oh crap, oh crap, oh crap...we'll be right there!"
Hearing the word 'Nomu' caused the other Heroes to spring out of their seats in alarm. Quickly, they raced to where the crime was happening, making sure to leave some money to the waiter before leaving.
The six met up with several other Pro Heroes who were working to deal with the Hooded Nomu.
"Good to see you here." Metal Knight said. "My analyzing database has identified this one's Quirks; [Super Regeneration], [Muscle Augmentation], [Transforming Arms], [Shoulder-Mounted Jets], [Power], and [Storage]."
"BAHAHAHAHA! That's all?! This'll be child's play!" Garp laughed.
"He's been sending out weaker Nomu with the [Storage] Quirk." Tanktop Master said. "It's been spreading our numbers thin trying to contain them."
"Don't worry, I'll give this beast a knocking he won't soon forget!" Garp smirked as he pulled his fist back and lunged forward. "GALAXY FIST!"
Combining Conqueror's Haki and Armament Haki, Garp punched the Hooded Nomu hard in the face, creating a massive shockwave. The other Heroes braced themselves and were stunned to see the Hooded Nomu still standing.
"Damn, it's tough!" King cursed nervously. "Sure Garp was holding back a lot to avoid collateral damage, but that should still have been enough to down any normal person."
"These Nomu aren't exactly normal people..." Best Jeanist noted.
The Hooded Nomu hissed and shapeshifted his arm into a blade-like shape to try and stab Garp, only for Endeavor to tackle the beast and carry him into the air with his flames.
"Strong...so strong!" The Nomu growled out. "You are...strongest?"
"It doesn't matter how strong one is...it only matters that they have the will to defeat you!" Endeavor snapped as he threw the Hooded Nomu to the ground. "PROMINENCE BURN!"
Using his strongest move, Endeavor released a massive blast of white-hot flames that incinerated the Hooded Nomu to atoms. However, it had ripped off its own head and thrown it to the side to avoid being completely destroyed and regained its body.
"That regeneration is gonna be a problem..." Atomic Samurai muttered. "Come on, y'all! We gotta hold that sumbitch down!"
As the Hooded Nomu got up and prepared to attack again, it was suddenly stabbed by multiple razor-sharp feathers courtesy of Hawks' [Fierce Wings] Quirk. As the creature tried to recover, it suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure coming from King.
"Oh man, my heart is beating out of my chest!" The S-Ranker said nervously, his Quirk, [Strong Emotion], causing his quickening heartbeat to be projected as a powerful wave that cast an illusion that he was unleashing Conqueror's Haki when he only actually really knew how to use Observation Haki.
"Who knew being cowardly was King's greatest strength." Metal Knight chuckled before firing metal bracers that attached to the Hooded Nomu's arms and expanded into shackles that chained it to the ground via energy chains.
"Good! This shall be the final blow!" Endeavor said as he came rocketing down and punched the Hooded Nomu through its gaping maw, releasing a massive burst of flames from his arm that engulfed its entire head. The Flame Hero did not stop until nothing but a charred stump remained, the headless body going still.
"That's a relief. Good thing we were working together." Atomic Samurai smiled. "Some of us didn't even have to lift so much as a finger."
"Awww, come on!" Miruko whined as she crashed in, her fat yet deceptively muscular body making a depression where she landed. "I wanted to fight that thing too!"
"We'll save the next one for ya." Garp laughed. "Still, that was some good teamwork, Enji. Glad to see you're opening up to working with others now!"
"Well, well. Gotta say, this test run was a lot of fun to watch."
Everyone got on guard when they saw Dabi strolling in, hands in his pockets. Endeavor glared as he knew exactly who the Villain truly was thanks to Murder Machine's leaks.
"Toya..."
"Nice to meet you again, dear old dad." The Villainous Todoroki smirked. "Let's just say I've found my people. They may be a bunch of assholes keeping me on a leash, but they at least appreciate what I can give...unlike you."
"Toya...I'm sorry for what I put you through." Endeavor said, looking twice his age in that moment. "I understand if you will never forgive me. I fully accept that you hate me with all your heart...but please, you don't have to do this."
"Well, at first, the League was just a means to an end to me..." Dabi chuckled. "But after getting some lessons forcefully beaten into my head by the Dark Knights...I realized that embracing being a Villain is much better revenge. Here I am, the immortal reminder of your greatest failure...and you'll never be able to forget it no matter what you try!"
"Time to go." Murder Machine said, appearing from a Boom Tube as Dabi backed away, giving an extravagant yet mocking bow.
"Just keep doing what you're doing and don't go dying on me now, Pops! I want to relish every single second you have to live with the crushing guilt knowing you made me into this!"
With that, Dabi and Murder Machine disappeared through the Boom Tube, Endeavor tiredly falling to his knees as Hawks and Garp moved to support him, Miruko clicking her tongue in anger.
"Damn prick..."
Meanwhile, Tomura was discussing things with his team.
"We'll need to pull out all the stops if we're going to get Gigantomachia on our side. It won't be easy, and I dare say we'll fail a few times but what's failure if not the best teacher?"
"I heard on the news that Drive Knight and Genos worked together to capture some guy who was inspired by the works of Destro to strike against the company that treated him so badly," Thrax said.
"His Quirk, [Shame], required him to be suitably embarrassed to enhance his physical characteristics. He resorted to stripping off his clothes to become get the right amount of shame to do so." Magne said. "Some people just have the worst luck."
Dabi came in along with Murder Machine, the latter quickly leaving after dropping the arsonist off.
"What did I miss?"
"Just writing up plans on how to convince Gigantomachia to join our cause," August explained.
"It's gonna be a challenge for sure, but with our combined powers, we shall bring him to heel." Scarepion said confidently.
Parten looked lost in thought as Airi and Spinner noticed.
"Hey, you okay man?" Shuichi asked.
"I heard from the grapevine that Pixie-Bob is pregnant...with my kid."
"Oh, when you fucked that pedophile bitch so bad that she swore off creeping on little boys forever?" Magne smirked. "Well, I guess one would say congratulations."
"MAZELTOV!" Twice exclaimed, throwing confetti in the air along with Micha and Saiko.
"So, what do you want to do about it?" Tomura asked.
Parten shook his head. "Leave them be. I had my fun. No need for the child to be burdened with the knowledge its father is a monster..."
The Cronenberg User looked at his hand, the fingers twisting into eldritch shapes as an unblinking eyeball formed in his palm before closing itself back up. He then clenched his fist and chuckled, shaking his head with both amusement...and self-disgust.
Endeavor already knows Dabi is Toya here and since he's been getting some private lessons from the Dark Knights, he's learned to curb his hatred for his old man and is now putting it into something constructive...by relishing in the role of a Villain so he can eternally taunt Endeavor over his greatest failure.
Also, my pal Zeroth17, who also was the one who first came up with Parten, suggested that Pixie-Bob be impregnated with his child after he...forced himself on her back in the Kamino Arc. What drama will this bring about? I'm not sure, Zero is better at the grimdark stuff than me.
Anyway, Happy Easter, everyone! Stay frosty and make sure you let the people you love know that you're there for them.
