~Flashback~
Twice and Toga sat in their shared Yakuza room, both depressed after a week spent complimenting people they hated, pretending to be won over as Deku had ordered. Even now, both struggled to believe that their leader had really sent Toga to the frontlines; he'd been so protective of her since Dabi's demise. Had they misjudged his care for them? Were they really a family?
Since they'd arrived, Toga had been extremely careful not to draw attention to her stomach. Thanks to how fit she'd been pre-pregnancy and still having several more months before giving birth, her baby bump wasn't obvious beneath her loose-fitting clothing. But one slip-up would reveal her secret, and that terrified her.
She could see it in Twice's expression, even beneath his mask. He was struggling to understand what Deku had been thinking too, sending her to such a dangerous place… What was his plan? How long were they going to be forced to stay here?
-Clink! Clink, clink, clink…-
Abruptly, their thoughts were pulled from their fears and doubts, and both looked at the floor in confusion. A small marble had come bouncing out from under Toga's bed, rolling to the center of the room. Immediately after it stopped moving, the small ball morphed into a tightly rolled slip of paper—this was Compress's quirk.
Their comrade's hand came out from beneath the bed next, touching Toga's ankle and deftly catching the shiny blue marble she'd been made into before it could hit the floor. It retracted right after, leaving Twice in a state of shock and confusion.
He scrambled to his hands and knees, looking beneath the bedframe only to find the area completely empty. The note was his next priority, nearly ripping it as he impatiently tried to unroll the miniature scroll.
*Heroes attacking tomorrow. Make a copy of Toga pre-pregnancy. Time to make them pay.*
Tears brimmed in Twice's eyes as he read the carefully written instructions. He still didn't understand why they didn't just do this from the beginning, but he was grateful his precious friend and her baby would be safe… and that they were finally going to put these Yakuza thugs in their places.
~End Flashback~
~0.0~
Bakugo was able to pinpoint Mimic's location as his anger got the better of him, and his deranged shrieks gave away his hiding place in the ceiling. Just as Bakugo blasted his way up to catch the falling mobster, his heart momentarily stopped. "The League of Villains…" he gasped, making eye contact with Twice and what he concluded must be a copy of Toga.
Having been told about the girl's pregnancy and an approximation of how far along she was, there was no way the person who attacked Rocklock and Eraserhead was the real Toga. She was too agile, her stomach too flat… Basically, lacking all the signs of growing a baby inside her, just like the version he was seeing now.
"The League betrayed the Yakuza?" Eraserhead questioned upon hearing his student's voice, noticing the devilish smiles peering down at him before they retreated into a dark tunnel.
"Seems so," Nighteye replied. "And they used us to aid in their scheming."
Bakugo internally groaned, realizing that his intuition had been correct and Deku did intend to use the heroes as his personal attack dogs, taking down the rival villain organization for him.
It made sense now why Twice was there with 'Toga.' Bakugo figured Deku had played nice, offering members of his group to the young head of the Shie Hassaikai to gain his trust and infiltrate the organization, gaining intel and priming the League to reap the benefits of the hero's hard work.
Shuddering from the thought, he turned back to the direction Mirio had run, his desperation to catch up surging. No matter who won—Lemillion or Overhaul—his boyfriend would swoop in and defeat them when they were worn out and their guard was down.
Would Deku kill Mirio, though? Bakugo wanted to believe that he'd show mercy, but Lemillion was strong and could be considered a future threat. The young villain wasn't one to pass up an opportunity to kill multiple birds with one stone.
He had to hurry; he had to catch up to them before Deku made his move.
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Bakugo's jaw tightened painfully as he took stock of the situation he was in now. Mirio had lost his quirk, Aizawa had been hit by Chronos' long hand and subsequently kidnapped, Nighteye was skewered with a massive rock, and all of the other Pro heroes and police were nowhere to be found. It was complete chaos, and Deku hadn't even shown up yet!
"Give up. I've already told you how this ends. You're all going to die!" Chisaki warned, ready to attack.
"Heh," Bakugo laughed, smiling despite the ominous warning. "Yeah? Well, even if that shit has already been decided, set in stone, or whatever the fuck else, I'll just blast that future to hell and you along with it!"
He raised his arms for a full-force explosion, knowing that Overhaul was as dangerous up close as he was far away. If he didn't knock the bastard out cold, he'd just put himself back together.
Similarly to how his fight had gone with Todoroki during their Sports Festival showdown though, Overhaul was adept at blocking the brunt of his quirk. Jagged rock pierced the air from all directions, preventing his attacks from hitting the villain while simultaneously putting him on the defensive. On the ground or in the air, he wasn't safe, not so long as Overhaul was able to touch something.
Bakugo became unnervingly aware of how quickly he'd have already been killed if his reflexes weren't nearly perfect. Despite his best efforts, he'd still been slashed in several places. The wounds weren't serious, but a split-second difference in timing and they would have been.
"Eri! Another person is about to die because of you!" Overhaul shouted, utilizing Nemoto's quirk. "Is that what you want?"
Panting and searching for an opening, Bakugo froze upon hearing the padder of small feet coming towards them. Soon, he found Eri fearfully returning. For her to be there meant Lemillion was down, and he was alone in this fight. It was hard enough trying to win without any distractions, but now he had to somehow keep the girl safe at the same time.
He needed backup, and soon. Had everyone else been taken down? Twice was here… but where the hell was Deku?
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Deku offered a hand as Twice's copy of Mr. Compress finished carving a tunnel out from under the Yakuza headquarters, helping the 'three' to their feet in the unsecured alley. With him was Todoroki, the dual user smirking with a clear 'I told you to trust Deku' expression.
Twice sweat-dropped and rubbed the back of his head with guilt. "Apologies, Deku…" I'm not sorry at all!
The young villain shrugged. "I'll give you a pass this time and even explain my thought process later, but don't ever doubt me again, Jin."
Nodding with gratitude and submission, Twice bowed before his leader, ashamed of himself. Deku had taken him in, given him a home, and helped him build a family within the Vanguard Action Squad. He'd trusted him with this mission even when Twice wouldn't give him the same respect in return. Of course, he wouldn't have let Toga or her baby be harmed.
"I won't, Deku. I swear. Thank you for accepting me and for keeping me around even when I go and mess everything up…" He promised tearfully, ready to do whatever his leader wanted him to.
After receiving a gentle pat on the head, he finally stood straight once more, wiping his tears away before letting the Toga-Clone readjust the handkerchief, ensuring it wouldn't fall off for the next phase of their assault.
"Here, Toga… Some blood from Bakugo to drink. It would seem he and the other heroes are having some trouble against Overhaul. Run around the front and get the Ryukyu agency to help them out, hm?" Deku offered, handing the clone a small vial.
Giggling, Toga gleefully slurped the thick fluid down, morphing into her leader's boyfriend. Then, as instructed, she did as Deku ordered, leaving the three men behind.
"The girl is our top priority. If we don't get the bullets, Magne, Spinner, and Compress are on standby to collect them. Right now, most of the heroes don't know we've been involved at all, so they're still focused on keeping the Yakuza busy." Deku explained, completely unconcerned by the crash and shockwave of the street collapsing.
After checking his watch, the teen flickered his eyes up to Todoroki, giving him a once-over. Though his quirk wasn't activating or out of control yet, he couldn't help but wonder how long such control would last. Standing around was one thing; engaging in combat was another… But if Shinso happened to make an appearance, that was something else entirely.
"Twice, you can release your quirk and go back to the hideout. The real Toga has been worrying about you all morning." Deku ordered, opening another portal for the villain to go through. "Shoto and I can handle the rest."
As soon as they were alone, Deku made his concerns clear, flicking one of the many bruise-surrounded puncture wounds on Todoroki's neck. "You can handle this, can't you, Shoto? No suppression medication today, and I won't warp you away if you lose control. I'll save myself, Eri, and Kacchan, but that's it. If you combust again, you'll end up killing a lot of people, Shinso included."
"I won't fail you, Deku," Todoroki promised, peering around the corner when another, much louder explosion reverberated throughout the area. Bakugo was soaring into the sky with Eri in his arms, the girl's horn shining in the residual smoke and dust.
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Ochaco stared up at the monstrous form Overhaul had created to pursue Bakugo and Eri with, her stomach sinking. Nighteye had said he'd seen Bakugo's death. That the girl they were trying to save would inadvertently weaken Bakugo and give Overhaul an opening, leading to him being punctured the same way Nighteye had.
"Then, he'll take the girl… You can't help, I'm sorry…"
Ochaco couldn't believe it, not Bakugo. He was by far the most capable student in their entire class, and there were supposed to be other heroes around to help. Though she herself didn't have strong feelings about the blonde, she did have thorough respect for and indebtment to Deku, who just so happened to love Bakugo more than anything else.
"We've got to try!" She insisted, struggling towards the crater opening even as she fell to her knees in exhaustion.
Ochaco could hear Bakugo shouting, his blasts louder than she'd ever heard them before. He was indeed fighting for his life just above her and was apparently running out of time. Losing Bakugo would have repercussions that stretched beyond losing a classmate—beyond Japan itself.
Not knowing what else to do, she pulled out her phone and texted her boss what Nighteye had said, desperate for aid. If anyone could rewrite the future, it was Deku.