BEN 10 DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. MY HERO ACADEMIA DOES NOT BELONG TO ME. I TRIED MY HAND AT BEING A VILLAIN LAST WEEK, AND I GOT LAUGHED OUT OF THE BOUNCE HOUSE I TRIED TO TAKE OVER.

I think it's time we took a step back from our beloved heroes, and check in with the villains. I know a lot of people don't like the My Villain Academia arc, but I have to admit that I love it. And I'll be ringing it in with a new intro!

(Merry-Go-Round—MAN WITH A MISSION, TV Version)

The music starts, and we see the dial of the Omnitrix; it then pans out, and we see Midoriya, his hand hovering over the dial. The scene pans out further, and we see the Rising Stars behind him, followed by the rest of Class 1-A, and then the teachers of UA. Midoriya activates the Omnitrix, and after a flash of green light, the Heroes are all replaced with the League of Villains, with Shigaraki at their head, and Gigantomachia looming over them all.

We then cut to Nezu, Gran Torino and Tsukauchi standing over a map, and several open files. Gran Torino points to a file that has Gigantomachia's picture, and then to a spot on the map. The scene zooms towards the spot…

… and changes to Shigaraki charging into a horde of people, leaving a trail of destruction in his wake. Spinner and Slice leap over him to slash at more attackers, while Chimera, Nine and Dabi stand over a pile of burning rubble. The scene changes again to Toga, who drinks several vials of blood, then falls to her knees with a wide grin as her Quirk begins to take effect. Behind her, Twice covers his face with his hands, while tears leak through his fingers.

The scene switches back to All Might, who is leaning over a desk. He shifts to his muscle form and smashes it to splinters, and a photo of Midoriya drifts to the floor. Behind All Might, the Big Three share worried looks with Melissa and Sir Nighteye.

Everything goes dark for a moment, and then it's Shigaraki's turn to step out of the shadows. He is covered in blood, and the severed hands are gone, but he is grinning wildly as he reaches out for Re-Destro, who crosses his arms and smirks, and then everything goes black.

My Alien Academia

Chapter 52

Shades of Evil

Chimera took a long drag from his last cigar, and glanced at Spinner. "He finally asleep?"

"Yeah." Spinner winced as he poked his bruised arm. "Why did All For One have to stuff Machia with so many Quirks? Everything we do to that monster regenerates by the time he wakes up again."

Chimera didn't mind Spinner's use of the word 'monster'. After all, they were both Mutant-types, and if anyone had claim to that word, it was them.

"It's been a month since Shigaraki started this mess," Chimera grumbled. "At this point, I just want someone to win."

"At least we get to sit out the next round," Spinner reminded him. "Those were the rules Shigaraki and Gigantomachia agreed on—every other round, we help out in the fight."

"Good, because I could use a break; I think I sprained my tail." Chimera blew away the smoke from his cigar, and sniffed the air. "Toga and Slice are back."

Spinner tensed slightly. "What about Twice?"

"Dunno." Chimera rose to his feet. "Let's find out."

The two women of the League were in a chipper mood as they returned to the camp. Maybe it was because they looked clean, and wore fresh clothes, unlike everyone else. Chimera opened his mouth to speak, but Slice tossed him a box of cigars, followed by some food.

"I was about to be mad at you, but now I'm not," Chimera said, and happily stuffed the cigars into his coat pocket. "When did you have time to get cleaned up?"

Slice grinned, and ran a hand through her shimmering hair. "Toga got the blood of a hotel worker, and the keys; she got us inside a vacant room to shower in, and got us some clean clothes."

"And you couldn't do that for the rest of us?" Dabi asked.

Toga gave him a look. "C'mon, Dabi, Slice and I are the only ones who don't raise suspicion."

"All I have to do to blend in is tuck my hair into a jacket and act timid, and Toga can look like anyone." Still, Slice handed Dabi a new coat. "The rest of you… stand out, shall we say."

"I don't," Mr. Compress protested. "And I could have used my Quirk on everyone else to sneak them inside."

Slice raised an eyebrow. "Let me put it bluntly: the ladies wanted some time to freshen up."

Chimera sighed. "Yeah, okay, we get it. But where's Twice?"

"Ooh, I know that one!" Toga raised her hand. "He told me he was going to check in with Giran and Kurogiri, see if anything is happening that we should know about."

That got a few nods from the rest of the League; Giran was their main contact with the rest of Japan's criminal underworld, and responsible for getting whatever supplies they needed. At first, payment had been an issue, but after word spread that Shigaraki had manipulated the Eight Precepts into destroying themselves in a battle with the Heroes, plenty of smaller organizations were willing to kick up a portion of their profits as protection. All Shigaraki had to do was send out a few clones, courtesy of Twice, to draw off anyone who might threaten his underlings' operations. After that, the money flowed like water.

…

Bubaigawara Jin, better known as Twice, cautiously opened the door to Giran's latest refuge. He changed locations often, so that the Heroes couldn't figure out his patterns. It was annoying for his customers, but they'd rather have a minor inconvenience than lose out on the best underworld broker in Japan.

To Twice, Giran was more than just a broker; he was the one who had taken him in when he had been at his lowest. He had also been the one to introduce him to the League, which had resulted in his psychological recovery. As far as Twice was concerned, Giran was his closest friend outside of the League, and he owed the man everything.

So when he found Giran tied to a chair, bloody and broken, Twice had two thoughts at the same time. The first was the fear that he had lost the man to whom he owed so much; the second was the rage that came with knowing that whoever was responsible was going to die.

"Giran!" Twice managed four steps, and then the focus of his anger stepped out of the shadows.

"Don't move, Bubaigawara," the man said. He was wearing expensive clothes, and a long coat draped over his shoulders like a cape; his forehead was marred by several large scars, but otherwise, he was quite handsome. "Do anything I disapprove of, and your friend won't survive."

Not too long ago, Twice would have needed his mask to keep himself 'together' in a situation like this. Thankfully for him, he no longer needed it to know who he was—and at that moment, he was an angry Villain.

"You're gonna tell me why you did this," Twice snarled. "And then, I'm gonna rip you apart. That's the only thing that's gonna happen!"

The man spread his hands wide. "By all means, come at me, but do you want to risk the broker's life? You're powerful, and I promise that I am as well; if we were to battle here, the collateral damage would be immense."

Twice's eyes darted between Giran and the stranger. He knew how fast he could make clones of himself; he could flood the entire building in seconds. However, he didn't know the stranger's Quirk, or his goals, and he couldn't risk Giran's life; he needed to play for time, until he found an opening.

"Okay, no fighting right now," Twice said carefully. "Why don't you tell me who you are, and what you want?"

The man smiled. "You can call me Amplivolt. As for what I want… well, I needed the broker as he is in order to ensure that we can have a peaceful meeting. Oh, and I needed one other thing."

Twice barely noticed the glint in the shadow before a tranquilizer dart hit him in the neck. Before he could even think to make a clone, he was on the floor. Amplivolt knelt in front of him and grinned.

"I needed you distracted."

…

"What about Kurogiri?" Nine asked; out of all of them, he had been the calmest during Shigaraki's trial against Gigantomachia, and had been keeping them in line.

"He's lying low," Slice said. "Apparently, Giran heard rumors that the Heroes had a way to track his Warp Gates, so until we get confirmation, he has to use his Quirk sparingly."

Spinner kicked a loose stone. "You know, I get the plan to have Machia on our side. He's as strong as they come, but do we have a plan for afterward? I didn't sign up with the League just to occasionally annoy the Heroes."

"Gigantomachia is a part of that larger plan," Nine said. "Shigaraki hasn't told me all the details, but I do know that he plans to turn society on its head. That requires power, and the dismantling of the current system."

"Sounds good to me," Toga said cheerfully. "I just want to live in a world where I can do what I want, and if Shigaraki gives that to me, then I'll cut up anyone he asks."

Chimera was about to agree, but an unfamiliar noise made his ears twitch. "Speaking of sounds, something is coming."

The other Villains tensed—even Nine charged up beams of energy on his fingertips. Rather than a human intruder, it was a small drone, barely bigger than a small dog. It wasn't a military drone, and none of them could see any weapons; the only thing that was suspicious was the small package dangling from underneath the machine. Before anyone tried to attack the drone, it detached its cargo, and quickly zipped away.

"Should we go after it?" Slice asked.

"It's already gone," Nine said, and looked down at the package. "Spinner, wake up Shigaraki. Whatever this is about probably has something to do with him."

Spinner sighed. "He won't even get his three hours of sleep."

A few minutes later, Shigaraki was following Spinner up to their camp. He was an absolute mess; his clothes were ragged and filthy, and he looked like he was a few minutes away from death. However, his gaze was sharp, and it was clear that his willpower far outweighed his exhaustion.

"Open it," he rasped, pointing to the package.

With a flick of her hair, Slice tore open the box, revealing a cellphone. As soon as Shigaraki picked it up, it started to ring.

"Who is this?" Despite not having a good night's sleep in weeks, Shigaraki managed to keep his voice even.

"Good morning, Shigaraki Tomura." The voice on the other end of the line was cultured and confident. "How was your latest bout with Gigantomachia?"

"Well, I'm not dead, so I'd say I'm still in the game." Shigaraki gestured to the others to remain ready, just in case. "And you haven't answered my question."

"Ah, my apologies. You may call me Yotsubashi Rikiya, or Re-Destro, if you prefer; the latter is more appropriate for matters such as these."

Shigaraki had never finished school, but he had access to common knowledge. "Re-Destro? What, you some kind of Destro fanboy?"

"Something like that," Yotsubashi said with a chuckle. "As for the reason for my call, I'm afraid that I must insist on a meeting."

"You're gonna have to wait. I'm busy right now."

"Yes, I expected that response, which is why I procured… incentive, shall we say. Your associates, Bubaigawara and Giran, are both in my possession. I am aware of how important they are to your organization, so let me be frank: if you do not agree to this meeting, I will kill them both in three hours. You have until then to come to Deika City."

"Why?"

"Pardon?"

"Why are you doing all this? As far as I know, I've never done anything to you, and you just attacked us without provocation. What gives?"

"Hmm… I suppose you deserve an explanation. You know of Destro, and his attempted revolution? Well, we are his successors, the Meta Liberation Army. Our goal is nothing less than the free and equal use of Meta-abilities across the world, where the strength of one's Meta-ability dictates their place in society."

"You still haven't told me what that has to do with the League of Villains."

"Patience, young man, I'm getting to that. You see, our revolution has been slowly building in the shadows, and would have stepped into the light to become a prominent political party in just a few years. However, your appearance on the stage has thrown our plans into flux; you've managed to gain quite a bit of popularity, and garnered the approval of people we've wanted on our side for some time. To be frank, you are becoming a rival party. So that is why I invite you to Deika; one way or another, this rivalry must end."

Yotsubashi had him by the throat, and they both knew it; Twice was too valuable to lose. Shigaraki was tempted to destroy the phone, but checked his reflex at the last second.

"Where in Deika?" he asked.

"Literally anywhere," Yotsubashi said smugly. "The entire city is populated by warriors of the MLA. It is the battleground of my choosing, and the rules are simple. You and your warriors against mine. If you reach me in my tower and defeat me, Bubaigawara and Giran are yours to reclaim, as is the future of the Meta Liberation Army. If my warriors defeat you… well, you'll all die. Oh, and if you simply choose to do nothing, know that my company has multiple satellites tracking you, and I can have your location sent to every Hero in Japan within minutes. Even with your friend, Kurogiri, there is nowhere on this planet that we cannot find you."

At that point, Shigaraki's fraying temper snapped, and he disintegrated the phone. "Pack up. We're going to Deika."

"We're rescuing Jin and Giran, right?" Toga asked worriedly.

Shigaraki nodded. "And we're killing anyone who tries to stop us. Nine, call Kurogiri and get us a warp gate to the Doctor."

"Hang on a second, Shigaraki!" Spinner tried to block his path. "It's just us against an entire city, right? Without Twice's army to back us up, we'll be overwhelmed!"

"Speak for yourself," Chimera muttered.

"No, Spinner is right." Shigaraki sat down on a rock and thought. "We need an edge, something this 'Meta Liberation Army' wouldn't expect. Re-Destro said that he knew we were fighting Gigantomachia… huh. As far as he knows, we're still enemies."

Toga blinked. "But… aren't we?"

"Which means that he would never expect him to be on our side." Shigaraki smiled. "I have an idea. Machia can smell where I am, no matter the distance. He's sleeping now, but he's been eager to fight for weeks. If he doesn't see me immediately, he'll track me down, and destroy anything in his way."

Nine's eyes widened. "If you are in Deika, he'll go right there, and fight his way through the Meta Liberation Army to reach you."

"And if they're serious about a revolution, they'll probably be somewhat competent fighters," Dabi continued. "Which means that a few thousand Quirks hitting him all at once might slow him down…"

"And that'll give me the opportunity to finally beat him, and force him into line," Shigaraki finished. "We get our monster, and defeat our rival, all in one fell swoop."

"Quite an audacious plan," Compress said. "Do you think Re-Destro knows that Machia sleeps for three hours, or did he just give an arbitrary number?"

"I think he knows about Machia's schedule, but he's also got some kind of honor," Shigaraki said. "He's known our location for a while, so he could have attacked us at any time, or just called the Heroes on us. We'll take advantage of that; Kurogiri will take us to the Doctor, and we'll rest until just before the time limit. After that, we'll attack Deika, and get back Twice and Giran."

Most of the League was just happy that they would be cutting loose against an enemy that wasn't unstoppable. Nine nodded in approval of Shigaraki's plan, and Spinner just looked relieved that Shigaraki had a plan.

"Make the call, Nine," Shigaraki ordered. "We have work to do."

…

"You made a huge mistake," Twice said around a mouthful of blood. "Shigaraki isn't someone you walk away from after you pick a fight."

Yotsubashi chuckled. "Your boss is used to killing street scum and petty criminals. He has no experience fighting someone like me."

Now it was Twice's turn to laugh, though he had to spit out more blood first. "What, a guy who likes to hide behind an army of minions before getting his hands dirty? Shigaraki used to be you."

"Then he's suffering a drop in intelligence." Yotsubashi adjusted his cufflinks. "A true commander commands."

"Shigaraki does that, but he's also not afraid to lead from the front." Twice grinned. "You're not a commander; you're just a coward."

Yotsubashi slowly walked behind the bound Twice and reached down. "You have no idea who I am, Bubaigawara-san. I am usually quite personable; even the people whose fates I hold in my hands would find me quite charming. However… when I am angered… I can become quite… cruel."

Twice felt a crushing pressure on his hands. Then he began to scream.

…

"You look well, Kurogiri," Slice said as they stepped through the portal. "Enjoying your little vacation in Dr. Frankenstein's laboratory?"

"It is not unpleasant," Kurogiri replied. "Though I do admit that I miss my bar. It was quite fulfilling."

"And I miss the wonderful martinis you made," Compress said. "Truly artful, my friend."

"Speaking of friends," Toga cut in, "what are we gonna do about Jin and Giran!?"

"It's simple," Shigaraki said as he sank into a chair. "We go to Deika, and we kill anyone who gets in our way. Then, once Gigantomachia wakes up, we watch as he slaughters everyone between us and him, and when he's tired, we finish our game. We win, and everyone else loses."

Toga grimaced, but as she played with the knife in her hands, the thought of so much bloodletting calmed her down. "Good."

Nine hesitated, but when he saw that Shigaraki was already asleep, he stepped in. "We'll split up into teams of two. Some of us won't be able to fight at our best if we all group up. We don't know what kind of Quirks we'll be up against, so that's the best we can do."

"I'll stick with Shigaraki," Spinner volunteered. "I'm almost as fast as him, and I'm plenty rested."

Nine nodded. "Everyone else, divide as you see fit."

Slice patted Toga's head. "I'll go with you, sweetie; between the two of us, we'll cut up anyone who gets between us and Jin."

Toga hugged her. "Aw, thanks! I love you!"

"Not so much that you'll cut me up, right?"

"I'm too mad at those Meta jerks to think about that right now."

Compress swept off his hat and bowed to Nine. "I don't suppose you'll mind if I tag along with you?"

"Do what you wish, just don't get in my way," Nine said.

Dabi glanced at Chimera. "Bet I roast more of these guys."

Chimera smirked. "You're on; might as well stick with you, so you can't lie about your score."

"It's wonderful to see you all getting along." The League collectively spun as Dr. Garaki walked into the room. "However, I really do need to check up on Tomura; he's had a rough few weeks."

The rest of the League filed out of the room to find a place to rest until the attack. As soon as they were gone, Shigaraki's eyes snapped open.

"You don't care about the attack," he accused. "The only reason you'd be here is because it's ready."

"Partially," Garaki admitted, and held out four syringes. "Your body can only hold one more Quirk. If you want the others, you'll need to go through quite the procedure. Which of these would you like?"

Shigaraki glanced at the names on each syringe; one name in particular got his attention, and he tapped one finger against it. "That one."

Garaki smiled behind his mustache. "Good choice. However, it may take some time for a foreign Quirk to bond with your system. You may not be able to use it in the coming battle."

"Even if it doesn't, I won't waste any more time." Shigaraki grabbed the syringe and plunged it into his arm. "Make sure nobody knows about this yet. I don't want anyone getting any bright ideas."

Garaki nodded. "As you wish… Your Majesty."

…

At just over two hours and thirty minutes after the MLA had contacted the League, Shigaraki led his followers out of a portal, just on the outskirts of Deika City. Calling it a 'city' was a bit misleading; by modern standards, it was more of a large town. The unnerving part wasn't that it was apparently entirely made up of enemies, but how quiet it all was. If Chimera hadn't picked up the smell of humans, they would have thought that the city was deserted.

"Hello, honored guests!"

The League readied themselves for a fight, but it was unnecessary. The man sliding—literally, like his feet were unaffected by inertia—towards them was obviously a Hero. He was a tall, heavily-muscled man wearing a formfitting, purple costume, with a green cape and gloves. Even Nine was thrown off at how welcoming the man's smile was; he looked like he was greeting old friends, not hostile invaders.

"This guy isn't a top Hero, is he?" Spinner asked. "I feel like I've seen him somewhere."

"Slidin' Go," Compress said. "I've seen him on more than a few commercials for Detnerat. His performances were always hammy, so I don't think I've ever finished watching any of his ads."

"I'll take that criticism into consideration for my next performance," Slidin' Go said cheerfully. "I may be a Hero, but I'm still a loyal soldier of the Liberation. Why don't you follow me to the starting point, and I'll tell you what the Grand Commander has in mind."

"This is weird," Chimera commented, even as the League followed the traitorous Hero. "Why don't we just kill this guy and get on with it?"

"Because Twice is too important to the League," Shigaraki said. "The enemy leader knows this, so he gets to write the rules of this game. Besides, it won't matter in the end."

It was obvious that Slidin' Go could hear them, but he didn't react. Perhaps he thought they were insane—and, to be fair, many of them were—so he didn't think their confidence meant anything. However, he also didn't seem to have anything on his person to relay their conversation. Maybe the entire MLA was just that overconfident.

If so, Shigaraki would make them pay for their arrogance.

Slidin' Go stopped at the edge of town. "This is where I take my leave."

Dabi scoffed. "What, you're not gonna try fighting us with your friends?"

"My role in the Revolution is that of eyes and ears within the Heroes' ranks," Slidin' Go told them. "Only a few Heroes have joined our ranks, but I am the most important."

"Whatever you say," Chimera said dismissively. "You mentioned that you'd tell us the rules of your little game?"

"Ah, yes, of course." Slidin' Go pointed at the tower in the distance. "That tower is where the Grand Commander is keeping your comrades. There are over a hundred thousand warriors of the Liberation Army in this city; in order to reach the tower and defeat the Grand Commander, you must get past our army. It's as simple as that; no tricks, no lies."

"If you really believe that, then you must be lower on the totem pole than you think," Shigaraki said. "Your boss is a rich guildmaster who thinks he's a fancy strategist; I'll eat my shoe if he doesn't have a wrench to throw into our plans."

"That's your opinion, and you're entitled to it." Slidin' Go bowed, and then slid away. "Enjoy the festivities!"

Seconds after he was gone, crowds began to pour out of houses and businesses; in just a few moments, there were easily hundreds of people blocking their path. Some carried weapons, while others were brazenly using their Quirks, and all of them were coming at them with the intent to kill.

"Stick with your partners, and get to the tower," Shigaraki ordered. "Don't stop for anything! We need that army between us and Machia!"

Shigaraki sprang forward, and instantly disintegrated the first person he touched. Spinner was right behind him, slashing furiously at anyone who managed to slip by Shigaraki.

"You heard him," Nine said, even as he skewered a dozen Liberation soldiers with his finger-beams. "Don't get bogged down."

"Fine, whatever," Dabi sighed, his arms alight with blue flame. "But I'm still gonna have some fun today."

…

Yotsubashi raised an eyebrow as he watched the battle from the observation deck of his tower. Already, the League had pushed past the first battalion sent against them, but they weren't slaughtering them wholesale. If anything, they were just trying to get through as quickly as possible.

"Interesting," he said. "From your analysis of their psychological profiles, Skeptic, I would have thought they would be doing damage and needless slaughter. Instead, they seem more mission-oriented."

Skeptic, a pale, thin man with long black hair that covered his eyes, looked up from his laptop. "If you recall, Re-Destro, I mentioned in my reports that that information was out of date, and Shigaraki's dominant personality could have forged them into a greater weapon."

Yotsubashi nodded; he knew better than to accuse his lieutenant of being wrong, if only because it would derail the conversation. "Still, I must say I'm surprised it happened so quickly. It seems Bubaigawara's belief in his bonds with his friends wasn't unfounded."

"That bond is a weakness to exploit," Skeptic said, already sending orders to other officers. "All we have to do is take down one or two of them, and they'll fold."

"You are certainly correct there." Yotsubashi's eyes darkened. "Loyalty to a person is ridiculous. Only ideals deserve true loyalty."

…

Toga cackled as she sliced a woman's throat open; she wasn't very pretty, and Toga hadn't had time to get to know her latest victim, so she didn't bother taking some of her blood. At least the corpse was prettier while dripping all that red.

"Good cut," Slice praised. "It was a little high, though; if it hadn't gone deep enough, she would have lived."

"Lower and deeper, got it." Toga twirled another knife, and hurled it through the eye of a man who was trying to sneak up on Slice. "Is it just me, or do these guys kinda suck?"

Slice butchered another group before answering. "I'm sure they've been training for their revolution, but they're civilians with jobs, so they probably don't have as much time to practice."

"That's true," another woman's voice said, and the League members spun around; a woman with dark eyes and blue skin was standing in front of another large group. She wore expensive clothing, and she looked like she spent more time lounging with the rich and powerful than anything else. "Our warriors may not have as much experience in fighting, but they make up for it in numbers, and devotion to the cause."

Slice's eyes narrowed. "You look familiar. Do I know you from somewhere?"

The woman smiled. "Well, I have been told that I'm quite striking."

"No, wait, I do know you!" Slice smirked. "You were that tabloid journalist who spread those rumors about that politician's daughter a few years ago! Kizuki Chitose!"

"Please, call me by my Liberation name: Curious." Still, the comment about her past made her eyes tighten. "And I stopped rumor-mongering a long time ago. I'm a legitimate reporter now. Speaking of which, you two are among those in the League I want to interview the most! Care to make a statement?"

"Not really," Slice said. "I've got a gesture, though."

"Oh, please, there's no need to be so combative, Hasaki Kiruka." Curious' smile widened when Slice flinched at the use of her real name. "Shall I start with you? The woman who butchered her fiancé when she found out he was cheating on her, but only after spending eight months holed up in your home, unwilling to face the world! How sad."

Slice's hair lashed out wildly, carving up a part of the street. "You shut your goddamn mouth! You have no idea what you're talking about!"

"Oh, but I do," Curious said. "I spoke to his family, and they admitted to his indiscretions, but they weren't surprised that you killed him. After all, he complained to them many times that you weren't stable, that you needed help, and that he was looking to break things off—"

Slice screamed, and her hair stabbed forward, aiming for Curious' face; one of the Liberation soldiers dived in front of the blow, and was impaled through the chest. Rather than go limp, or look horrified, he grinned, and then abruptly exploded. Slice's hair withdrew, but the ends were shorter, and smoldering.

"My Meta-ability," Curious explained. "It's called Landmine; I can turn anything I touch into a pressure-activated bomb, even a living person. Quite the useful counter to your power, Hasaki-chan."

"It won't stop me from ripping you apart," Slice promised.

Curious just smiled, and glanced to the side. "And don't think I haven't forgotten about you, Toga-chan. The girl who stabbed a classmate in the middle of a hallway, and drank his blood in front of her friends! Oh, I have copies of the picture of your face when you did it—the glee, the ecstasy! I read every quote from your friends and family, how they all called you a monster and a freak, but I have to know—how do you feel about what you've done? What's going on in your head?"

Unlike Slice's blind rage, Toga's face had gone eerily blank, so much so that some of the Liberation soldiers took a nervous step back.

"You wanna know?" Toga very deliberately drew a knife and aimed it at Curious. "What I'm thinking about right now is how much prettier you'll look after I skin you alive."

The two Villains split up; Toga went left, and Slice went right. Toga nimbly twirled around a Liberation soldier, though she left another knife buried in his heart. Slice's hair might have been singed, but she was still more than capable of slaughtering a dozen men in as many seconds. However, just as she stepped onto the corpse of her latest kill, it detonated, and she was sent tumbling back.

"Slice!" Toga cried out.

"I'm fine," Slice said, even as she fell to one knee. "Just gut that bitch!"

Toga took a step forward, only for Curious to toss out a few pebbles; Toga stepped on one, and it exploded. The blast sent her flying onto several more of the landmines, and when the smoke of their detonations cleared, Toga was bruised and bloodied.

Slice tried to go to her aid, but the remaining Liberation soldiers with Curious rushed her, and she was forced to desperately fight them off.

"Oh, don't go dying just yet," Curious said, crouching by Toga. "I still have to know everything going on inside that head of yours. If you tell me everything, I'll be sure to give you a wonderful obituary."

Toga cracked open one eye; with so much blood on her face, it was impossible to tell if the other eye was bruised, or outright destroyed. With trembling fingers, she withdrew a vial of blood from her bag; miraculously, the sturdy material of her bag had kept the plastic vials intact.

"I do… what I want," she gasped out. "All I've… ever wanted… was to be free to be me. I want to cut the people I love, and then be them."

"How interesting," Curious said, even as she backed up warily. "What a twisted goal. No wonder you don't fit in with normal society."

"Normal?" Toga tipped the vial back and drank the blood inside. "Why would I ever want to be normal?"

Toga's Quirk took effect, and a moment later, she looked like Asui Tsuyu. She still wore the same bloody clothes, but her own bleeding had stopped; the pressure of her disguise on her own skin was acting like a bandage.

"Hoping to use the frog-girl's form to escape?" Curious asked. "Too bad you can't actually use the powers of the people you copy."

The smile on Asui's face was sick and twisted, and had no business being there. "Are you sure about that?"

From the moment Toga had transformed, she knew something was different about her Quirk. She could feel it in her bones, her blood, even if she didn't know what it was. All she knew was that her Quirk wanted her to do something, and she was going to do it.

"Ribbit." Toga opened her mouth, and Asui's tongue extended out like a bullwhip, cracking across Curious' face with enough force to tear off her ear.

Curious barely had time to scream before Toga jumped with the proportional strength of a frog, leaping over the handful of Liberation soldiers that tried to stop her. She landed behind Curious and pulled out another knife; injured as she was, she couldn't completely maintain her transformation, and the left half melted away to her true form. Curious whirled, and saw half of Asui's face and half of Toga's grinning madly up at her.

"I. Am. Me."

Curious had enough time to consider that a profound headline, and then Toga tore her throat out.

…

Dabi sighed as he roasted another group of Liberation soldiers. He took a moment to shake his hands, and then shoved them into his pockets.

"Yeah, I'm kinda bored too," Chimera complained, even as he caught another soldier by the face and broke her neck. "Are all of these guys so weak?"

"Kinda makes sense," Dabi said. "If they were strong, they would have been recruited as Heroes, right? These are all the nobodies who don't even have the guts to be Villains."

Chimera felt something hit him in the side; an old man had turned his arm into a spring that launched his fist forward. Too bad for the old man, the actual blow had little force behind it, and Chimera backhanded him into a wall. Before he had time to confirm if he was dead, Chimera was attacked by three more soldiers.

"Their only strength is in their numbers," Dabi went on, and set another man on fire with a quick burst of flame. "And we have to hold back, since we need at least some of these morons alive for Machia."

Chimera growled. "Now I really wish Twice wasn't captured. He could have made an army of clones to keep these idiots busy until then."

"Truth, brother." Dabi frowned. "Hey, is it getting colder, or did I finally burn out my last nerves?"

A shadow fell over Chimera, and he looked up; looking down at him was a young man wearing a thick coat, his other features concealed by a hood. He was towering over them on a pillar of ice, and it was clear that he was regarding them with disdain.

"Dabi and Chimera," the young man said in a monotone voice. "You're two of the strongest members of the League of Villains. Certainly strong enough to defeat our regular soldiers."

"You say that like you're a much higher caliber than these losers," Chimera grunted.

"I am, because unlike everyone else, even the Grand Commander, I threw away everything—people, school, even every other goal other than that of the Revolution—to push my Meta-ability to its absolute zenith." The man gestured, and chunks of ice reared like cobras. "I am Geten… and I am going to kill you."

Dabi scoffed. "All I got from that was 'blah, blah, blah, I'm an enormous tool'. I get that right?"

Chimera barked out a laugh, but rather than comment, he fired a beam of heat from his mouth that vaporized the ice Geten fired at them. Dabi added to the attack with his own inferno; the extreme heat mixed with the cold, causing an explosion that sent Geten rocketing back on a much smaller platform of ice.

"Well, crap," Dabi muttered. "I was hoping he couldn't control the ice if it wasn't touching the ground. Guess I was wrong." He raised what was left of an eyebrow when a few pieces of ice drifted onto his arm. "Hey, that feels kinda nice. Thanks for cooling me off, punk."

Geten seemed unfazed by his situation. "So, the theories about you are correct; you can't regulate your body's temperature when you use your power, so it burns you."

"There are theories about us?" Chimera asked. "What, like the kind in online chatrooms? Because that's kind of pathetic."

"We have entire think tanks devoted to unraveling your powers, so that we may best defeat you," Geten said.

"Well, you sure as hell didn't do a good job, idiot," Dabi snarled, and raised his arms. "Ice melts, remember!?"

Just before he could launch more fire, jagged spikes of ice erupted from the ground that would have skewered Dabi, had Chimera not pulled him back in time.

"I don't just control ice," Geten explained. "My power lets me change the temperature of water, turning it into more ice. And underneath every city is a near-infinite supply of water from all the pipes."

"He's attacking us with frozen sewage," Chimera growled. "Now I'm pissed."

"Same." Dabi's eyes went wide for a minute. "Wait, I've got an idea. Give the little punk a show while I get ready."

"Got it." Chimera removed his coat and transformed into his even more bestial state. "Come on, runt! Your boss said that he wants a world where the people who rule have the strongest Quirks, so I'll show you where you'll be when all is said and done!"

Geten's features were hidden by his hood, but Chimera liked to think he looked mad as he hurled more ice. Chimera vaporized some of it with his heat-beam, and smashed apart the rest with his bare fists.

"You won't stop me forever," Geten said, and created an enormous serpent out of ice. "So long as water exists, I'll never run out of power to fight you."

"Real full of yourself, huh?" Both Chimera and Geten turned to find Dabi standing behind the latter, one hand hovering over a ruptured sewer pipe.

"What are you doing?" Geten asked.

Dabi smiled; with his burns and stitches, it was a disturbing sight. "You pulled all that water from the sewers, but I noticed that the ice didn't smell bad. I'm guessing your Quirk separates the water from everything else when you use it."

"Your point?"

Flames grew around Dabi's hand. "My point is that even though it's leaving the pipes now, there's still plenty of methane around… and you're standing right over it."

Geten immediately tried to move his ice-platform away, but it was too late. Blue fire erupted, and the flames traveled down the pipes, detonating as it went. The fire blocked his vision, but Geten could still hear Dabi's mad laughter before everything went dark and silent.

…

"Quite the performance," Compress said when the ground stopped shuddering. "Dabi can be quite the showman, though he does tend to overuse the pyrotechnics."

Nine raised an eyebrow. "His Quirk is all about fire."

"Well, yes, but some subtlety wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?" Compress looked around. "Strange that we haven't been attacked in a while. Perhaps they are too afraid of your strength to risk fighting you."

"I don't think that's completely accurate." Nine continued on his way to the tower. "I've been thinking about what little we know about these people. They hold the strength of someone's Quirk as their most important feature."

"Yes," Compress said slowly. "What are you getting at?"

"If their Quirks are so important to them, how terrifying is someone who can steal Quirks?"

Compress froze for a moment. "Ah, I see your point, but how would they know you can do that?"

"I've stolen my share of Quirks before, although it was never made public. Still, if Re-Destro runs Detnerat, I wouldn't be surprised if he could use those kinds of resources to uncover more than what the police reported."

"You are quite intuitive, Meta-thief!" Both Villains tensed as a van drove down the street towards them. Standing on top of the van was a man in a tailored suit and glasses, speaking into a megaphone. "If there is something the oppressors of Meta-abilities wish to hide, the Grand Commander makes it his business to find out what it is."

"Hanabata Koku!?" Only Compress' mask hid his open mouth. "I'll admit, I wasn't expecting the leader of the Hearts and Minds party to be a member of this… wait, he's always making speeches about how people should change the current system. If anything, I'm surprised he wasn't exposed by now."

Hanabata's van slowed to a stop; behind him, hundreds of Liberation soldiers gathered. "You are an abomination, Nine! You steal the natural rights of good people, and twist them to your own selfish desires! We will not allow you to rob anyone else!"

"I don't think they like you very much," Compress said.

"I don't care." Nine's fingers glowed as he readied to fire his Bullet Laser Quirk. "I'll thin their numbers. Deal with any who get too close."

It was a sign of how nervous Mr. Compress was—and a reminder that he wasn't nearly as much of a fighter as the rest of the League—that he didn't verbally reply.

With a wordless cry, the crowd around Hanabata charged. Dozens were cut down in seconds, as Nine's Quirk ripped through them, and plenty more were badly injured. The calm detachment with which he killed so many Liberation soldiers brought the survivors up short, and it looked like they might break and run.

"Do not be afraid!" Hanabata shouted, and now he was wearing a full-face helmet that looked like it had tiny speakers over the mouth. "Nine is the antithesis of everything we represent! No price is too great if it means stopping him, and those who fall will be remembered forever as true heroes of the Revolution!"

There was a shiver in the air, and Nine realized that Hanabata was using his Quirk. He quickly used one of his other Quirks, Scanning, to see what the politician was actually doing, and was impressed.

"He incites those who believe in him," he told Compress. "It boosts their strength and power, though it damages their bodies in the long term."

"A useful Quirk for leading an army of fanatics," Compress replied. "I can see why he would be given a higher rank."

"We need him out of the way, but I'm curious about his Quirk." Nine took a step forward. "If I immobilize him, can you keep him contained?"

"With pleasure; after all, the sooner we take him off the board, the easier it will be to deal with his followers."

"My thoughts exactly." Nine cut down more soldiers, but with Hanabata empowering them, they were able to take a few steps before their bodies realized they were already dead. "I'll cut a path through them."

Hanabata quickly realized what they were trying to do, and tried to have his van back up, but the seething mass of his own soldiers meant that he was effectively trapped. Nine unleashed a pair of Hydras from his back that smashed through not just the front ranks of the crowd, but also the engine block of the van. Hanabata tumbled to the street, only to get swept up by a Hydra and brought over to Compress; with a flourish, Compress turned the politician into a glittering marble. As they'd hoped, Hanabata's Quirk stopped working as soon as he was transformed, and the crowd became more fearful than aggressive.

"Your leader is defeated!" Compress shouted theatrically. "You now have three choices: surrender, flee, or die. Personally, I would choose one of the options that doesn't end up with you making a mess on the street."

Compress was disappointed when the crowd regained its collective nerve, roared, and charged right at him. Focused as they were on Compress and rescuing Hanabata, they didn't realize that the sky had become thick with clouds. Thunder roared, lightning flashed, and Nine unleashed his most powerful Quirk, to devastating effect. When the storm dissipated, almost all of Hanabata's soldiers were dead or badly injured, and the rest were finally fleeing.

"Now that was a showstopper!" Compress turned to congratulate Nine, only to see him fallen to one knee and breathing heavily. "Goodness, are you all right?"

"No," Nine wheezed. "My Quirk… I can't handle the power. It damages my body severely. That's why I need… a powerful healing Quirk… to counteract it."

"What about the one you have?" Compress asked.

"It's slow," Nine admitted. "I need time to rest and let it work."

"Then allow me to give you that time." Compress held out his hand. "I'll use my Quirk on you; it will keep you safe until things calm down and you can recover."

Nine said nothing for a moment, and then reached out. "Thank you."

"Of course, my friend." In a flash of light, Nine was turned into a marble, which Compress neatly pocketed. "Now, I suppose I need to continue on my way to the tower as a solo-act."

…

Spinner ducked under the blow of a man whose arms looked like cacti, and slashed his attacker across the chest. It was far easier to do now that he used a collection of regular blades, as opposed to the weaponized bundle he'd used in Kamino. Looking back, he wanted to kick himself for using something so inefficient and cumbersome; no wonder Stain never used anything like that.

The cactus-man fell to the ground with an agonizing scream as he tried to staunch the bleeding. Spinner was barely more than an amateur with a sword, but even he could tell that the wound was fatal. That was the fifth kill he'd claimed today… and ever. He'd tried to kill people in the past, but he had either failed, or only set his would-be victim up to be finished by someone else in the League. Even Compress had a higher body-count than him.

And yet, now, he was able to cross that line. Since the battle had begun, he'd been trying to figure out what had changed, but couldn't land on a definitive answer. Until then, he continued to stay by Shigaraki's side.

"Swing harder," Shigaraki ordered, even as he turned three soldiers to dust with a single sweep of his hand. "A dying man can still hit back."

Spinner thought he felt a jolt of electricity run up his spine, and he swung his sword harder than he consciously wanted to. That single blow cut clean through a man's arms, and then his neck. Spinner was panting from the effort, but when Shigaraki spared a moment to nod at him, he felt rejuvenated, and pressed on.

If Spinner was introspective, Shigaraki was hyper-focused on the task at hand—that task being the slaughter of everyone between him and the tower holding Yotsubashi. He moved with superhuman speed and reflexes, to the point that most of the Liberation soldiers who attacked him were dead before they realized what had happened.

Shigaraki's body wasn't the only thing that had gotten stronger during his constant fighting with Gigantomachia; his Quirk had also improved, to the point that even the barest touch of all five fingers reduced a target to dust in an instant.

"We're almost to the tower," Spinner commented. "I'm kinda surprised we've only fought their grunts so far."

"They think they can overwhelm us with numbers, since we don't have Twice with us." Shigaraki paused, then removed the hand on his face and threw up; that was the third time he'd done so in the last ten minutes, a sign of his exhaustion from constantly fighting Gigantomachia. "Too bad for them, they're not actually fighting to kill."

"They aren't?" Spinner glanced back at the wounded and dead Liberation soldiers behind them. "They seemed to be going at us pretty hard."

Shigaraki waved his words off. "Nah, they might have been training, but I doubt many of them have actually killed someone before. Until you get that achievement, you're always gonna hesitate in a fight."

Spinner hesitated, but since they weren't being attacked at the moment, he felt that this was a good opportunity to ask. "Say, Shigaraki… who was your first kill?"

Shigaraki paused, and then looked down at the severed hand he carried. "That's… a story. Most of it was an accident, until my father came into the picture. I couldn't control my Quirk, so he tried to stop me by hitting me across the face with a pole."

"Oh, god, sorry I asked." Spinner's relationship with his own family had never been great, but at least nobody had abused him.

"Looking back, my father was the cause of a lot of my problems," Shigaraki said, and shrugged. "As soon as I killed him, I felt so much better."

"Well, I never liked abusers, so you probably did the world a favor." Feeling brave, Spinner continued. "So… what's with all the hands?"

Shigaraki grinned. "Trophies."

Spinner blinked. "Wait, are you saying those hands are your—"

"This one is my father's," Shigaraki said, placing the severed hand back on his face. "That's all you get today. Come on, we've gotta get moving."

"R-right."

The two continued on towards the tower; Spinner cut down the rare Liberation soldier that got close, but most of those who attacked them were killed by Shigaraki. What had Spinner confused was just how Shigaraki was killing some of them; it almost looked like Decay was spreading to anyone close to those Shigaraki directly touched.

Did he go through a Quirk Awakening? Spinner wondered. I mean, he's been pushing himself like crazy for weeks, and Quirks can evolve if you push them hard enough, but it's still rare. Did I miss something when I was taking a break between fights?

Spinner almost tripped when Shigaraki abruptly stopped and pointed. "Well, it's about time a miniboss showed up."

Spinner peeked around Shigaraki, and saw a man with a long coat draped over his shoulders like a cape. His face was heavily scarred, and he carried a taser in one hand. Despite the disintegrating corpses all around him, he seemed remarkably calm.

"Well, well," the man said around the cigarette in his mouth. "It seems that I have the privilege of killing Shigaraki Tomura. How fortunate for me."

"I'd ask who you are, but I'm too tired to give a damn." Shigaraki took a step forward. "And because I'm tired, I don't want to waste time killing you, when I still have your boss to look forward to. So, one-time deal only: get out of my way, or die."

The scarred man smirked. "Oh, I think you have time to learn what my subordinates call me: Amplivolt. As for your 'generous' offer, I'll have to choose a third option—I kill you, and deliver your head to the Grand Commander."

Spinner raised his sword. "Pretty cocky for someone I've never heard of."

"Fame has nothing to do with skill," Amplivolt sneered. "After all, your comrade Twice is considered one of the most dangerous Villains in the country, yet I defeated him handily."

Shigaraki raised an eyebrow. "You know, I was wondering if I'd ever run into the bastard who actually did that. Congratulations, you're right under your boss on the list of people I want dead; you've moved up in the world."

Amplivolt chuckled. "I feel so honored."

Spinner finally had enough; here was the man that was directly responsible for kidnapping Twice, and he was close enough for him to rush. He moved to attack, but only managed a few steps before Amplivolt turned on his taser and fired a bolt of electricity directly into Spinner's chest, and everything went dark.

…

With a roar, Gigantomachia burst out from underground and immediately reached out for where he thought his master's so-called successor would be. Instead, there was only empty air; cautious, but also annoyed, Gigantomachia took a deep sniff, and caught Shigaraki's scent. It was far away, but not so far that he couldn't be tracked.

"Coward?" Gigantomachia wondered to himself. "Wasn't a coward before. He was getting fun to fight."

His curiosity grew, but so did his irritation. The fight against Shigaraki was the closest thing he had to fun, if only because it was the first time in years that he'd really tried to fight. Until Shigaraki proved himself worthy or died, Gigantomachia wasn't ready to let it end.

With a roar, he followed the scent.

…

"Spinner. Hey, Spinner, you alive?"

A foot dug into Spinner's side, and his eyes cracked open. Standing over him was Shigaraki; the visible eye behind the severed hand narrowed as he glared down at him.

"Oh, man, that really hurt," Spinner groaned. "What hit me?"

"A really friggin' big taser," Shigaraki said. "But you're fine now."

Spinner blinked. "What? How can I be fine if I… was…" he looked down, and saw that he was completely unharmed. "How am I not hurt? Shouldn't I be hurt? And did I miss the entire fight?"

"Pretty much." Shigaraki stepped aside, and Spinner stared at the absolute devastation around him. Three buildings had been turned to dust, and there were huge craters in the ground; in other places, giant spikes made of stone jutted out in different directions, many of which were topped with the impaled bodies of Liberation soldiers. How had that happened? Had someone's Quirk hit their own side?

"Oh my god," Spinner breathed as he got to his feet. "Wait, where's that Amplivolt guy? You kill him?"

"I wish," Shigaraki growled. "Once he saw what I was doing to his minions, he ran off. You should have seen his face when I powered through his Quirk."

Spinner was impressed; that bolt of electricity had taken him out in one shot, and he was far more rested than Shigaraki. However, when he looked closer, Shigaraki looked… different. The dirt and grime from weeks of constant fighting was gone; in fact, he looked almost refreshed, if not for the bags still under his eyes.

"Hey, boss, are you—"

"Come on," Shigaraki interrupted. "We still have to find Re-Destro and put him in the ground. Well, I'll probably do that, but you should find Twice, make sure he's not dead."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Spinner decided that he needed to focus on rescuing his friend; he could ponder the mystery of his miraculous healing later.

To their surprise, the tower wasn't guarded on the inside, but that just made them more cautious as they went up the stairs. They could have used the elevator, but that was an obvious trap.

"How dangerous do you think this guy is?" Spinner asked.

"No clue, but if these guys think the power of a Quirk is how society should be organized, then he'd have to be pretty damn strong." Shigaraki frowned. "Still, he might just try to talk us to death. If he gets really chatty, maybe we can find out where Twice is; if we can, you go get him."

Finally, they reached the top of the tower; rather than open the door, Shigaraki put his hand against it and turned it to dust. Waiting for them were four men; two of them were familiar, and unconscious, but of the other two, one was nervous, while the other was calm.

"Ah, you're here," the balding man said—and now Shigaraki had a face to go with the voice of Re-Destro—and inclined his head. "Welcome to my tower. You got here faster than I anticipated."

"You threw a bunch of low-level summons against high-level players," Shigaraki said calmly. "You don't need to be a genius to figure out that that doesn't usually end well."

Re-Destro shrugged. "I thought the conviction of my followers would equal your savagery, but I was wrong."

Shigaraki slowly flexed his fingers; he didn't fail to notice that the spot on Yotsubashi's head was writhing, and growing at a steady rate. "Okay, jackass, here's what's gonna happen: we're taking Twice and Giran back, and if you try to stop us, I'll make sure you die slowly."

"And what happens if I don't stop you?" Re-Destro asked.

Shigaraki smirked. "Oh, you're still gonna die, but I'll make it quick."

Spinner glanced at the other Liberation officer present; the man was cowering behind his laptop, and was muttering under his breath about how impossible this all was. If Shigaraki could keep Re-Destro busy, Spinner didn't see any problems with dealing with some techie before rescuing his friends.

"Get going," Shigaraki said to him, despite not taking his eyes off Yotsubashi.

Spinner raised his sword and headed towards the long-haired man, who wisely backed off. Though he kept one eye on the man, most of Spinner's attention was on Twice—more specifically, his hands. They were crushed to a pulp, and barely hanging onto what was left of his wrists. Only some professional first-aid treatment had kept him from bleeding out, but without extensive reconstructive surgery or a powerful healing Quirk, Twice would never use his hands again.

That was a problem for two reasons. One, because Twice was now crippled; two, because Twice needed his hands to use his Quirk. Spinner saw red; first, because someone he saw as a friend had been so badly hurt, and second, because Twice had devoted himself so completely to the League, but without his Quirk, he was all but useless.

Before he quite knew what he was doing, Spinner had driven his sword through the long-haired man's shoulder, and pinned him to a wall.

"You bastard!" Spinner growled. "How could you do that to him?"

"I-it wasn't me!" Skeptic whimpered. "Re-Destro saw Bubaigawara as a threat, and when he insulted us…"

Despite his fury, Spinner couldn't bring himself to kill someone who wasn't even trying to fight back. Instead, he punched him until he sank into unconsciousness; by the time Skeptic hit the floor, Spinner had all but forgotten about him, and was back to checking on Twice. If anything, his injuries looked even worse.

"Come on, Shigaraki," he muttered as he tried to do anything to help his friend. "Make the bastard pay!"

…

Dabi raised an eyebrow when the ground began to tremble. "Do you feel that?"

Chimera puffed away at his cigar for a moment. "Smelled him before I felt him. The big guy is on his way."

Dabi glanced around and did a rough estimate in his head. "I think we went a little too far. There might not be enough of these guys to slow Gigantomachia down."

"That… that monster is headed here?" a familiar voice gasped out.

Dabi looked down at the half-burned Geten. "Oh, you're still alive? Coulda sworn you got fried to a crisp. Anyway, yeah, he's on his way to fight Shigaraki, but he'll destroy anything that gets in his way. I'm guessing that includes your boss."

Geten's hood had fallen away, exposing the face of a young man with long white hair. He forced himself to his feet, and formed another platform of ice out of the water from some leaking pipes.

"Re-Destro!" he cried out desperately. "I'm coming! I'll stand with you!"

Chimera chuckled as he watched Geten fly off. "I don't really feel like fighting Machia again, but I kinda want to watch that kid get pummeled into paste."

"Same." Dabi looked around, and spotted a convenience store. "Wanna see if they've got any good snacks we can take with us?"

"Oh, hell yes."

…

"Before we begin this little scuffle, I must ask you a question; two, actually."

Shigaraki flexed his fingers. "What?"

"First, if I had merely challenged you, instead of kidnapped Bubaigawara, would you have fought so viciously?"

"Probably, but not right now," Shigaraki admitted. "I've been busy, and I wanted to finish up one quest chain before starting another."

"I can't say I'm much of a gamer, but I understand the context." Re-Destro glanced out the window, where he saw several chunks of the city demolished or in flames. "As for my second question… what makes you think you have the right to lead anyone? I am the descendent of Destro, the revolutionary who created this movement. I have been groomed since birth to bring about an enlightened era. What right do you have to take that from me?"

For a moment, Shigaraki was quiet. "Honestly, you and I have similar goals. We both want to change this society, this world. But our styles are different; you fight when you have no other choice, but I see being a leader as someone who has to earn their team's loyalty every day. If we'd been more compatible, one of us would have wanted to team up."

Re-Destro frowned. "Since that is not the case, we will do battle, and find out whose methods are truly superior."

Rather than continue speaking, Shigaraki lunged, one hand outstretched. To his surprise, Re-Destro's spot spread across his entire body; his flesh bulged, and he grew to nearly twice his original height, and several times his mass. He was also faster than he appeared, because he was able to backhand Shigaraki into the far wall before Shigaraki could react.

"I hid my Meta-ability from the records," Re-Destro said as Shigaraki pulled himself free of the cratered wall. "My stress is contained in that spot on my forehead, and when I unleash it, it becomes pure power. Being a CEO is quite the stressful profession; I had to sacrifice my hairline, but that's a small price to pay for an almost limitless source of stress."

Shigaraki stumbled and fell to one knee. Most of his severed hands had been crushed to pieces, except for the one on his face; blood leaked from his mouth around that one, and Shigaraki pulled it off so that he could spit out more.

"Well, that hurt," he said, and rose. "My turn."

He charged again, but when Re-Destro tried to smash him aside, he nimbly dodged. Despite the danger he was in, he almost looked bored.

"I've been fighting every day against someone bigger, stronger and faster than you," he said as he slid across the floor, narrowly avoiding every strike. "Compared to what I've been through, you're practically standing still."

Re-Destro grimaced as his Quirk made him even larger and more monstrous. "Don't go thinking I'm fighting at my full strength, boy!"

"Please, quit acting like you're an endgame boss," Shigaraki scoffed. "I mean, you didn't even notice what I just did."

Re-Destro blinked, and then realized that Shigaraki had been sliding across the floor, while dragging his hand the entire way. A section of the tower started to crumble, and took Re-Destro with it; he shouted a wordless denial as he fell out of the tower. Despite the height, and the debris raining around and on top of him, his Quirk protected him from all but a few bumps and bruises.

"That tricky little bastard," he grunted as he pushed himself free.

"Well, damn," Shigaraki said as he slid down a steep ramp. "I was hoping that fall would take you out."

Wait a second, Re-Destro thought, where did that ramp come from? It's not part of the tower's architecture, and neither Shigaraki nor the lizard have Meta-abilities to create that, so what's going on?

Shigaraki grinned. "You're wondering about the slide, right? Let me show you what I did."

He placed one finger on the ground; an instant later, a spike of solid stone lunged up, and nearly skewered Re-Destro through the heart.

"Good reflexes," Shigaraki praised.

"How did you do that?" Re-Destro demanded. "Your power only destroys whatever you touch!"

Shigaraki grinned. "Remember Chisaki Kai? His Quirk is called Overhaul; it let him disassemble and reassemble anything he touched, in just about any way he wanted. And now… so can I."

Yotsubashi felt his blood run cold, even as his stress increased by levels he hadn't thought possible. "You stole his Meta-ability?"

"Technically, no." Shigaraki placed a finger on his own chest, which briefly exploded as he repaired the damage Re-Destro had done. "I just stole his hands, and a friend of mine copied his Quirk, which he gave to me."

"Th-that's… impossible…" Re-Destro backed up on unsteady legs.

"What's the matter?" Shigaraki taunted. "You were so confident a second ago. Is it because you thought I was just some punk throwing a tantrum? A psychotic killer that's not so afraid of actually living up to expectations and hiding for generations?" He took a step closer. "Tell me, Re-Destro… what do you really think of me?"

With his Quirk active, Yotsubashi was more than twice as tall as Shigaraki; even so, the aura of sheer malice and willpower made the younger man seem to tower over him. His face disappeared in shadows, but his eyes glowed with otherworldly light; his grin stretched inhumanly wide, and the ground itself seemed to writhe in terror.

All that lasted for only a second, but the inhuman charisma Shigaraki displayed reached into the souls of everyone who saw him. That included not just Yotsubashi, but also the League members and Liberation soldiers that were arriving on the scene, and even Gigantomachia as he stormed up.

"It's over," Shigaraki said; his hand hovered over Re-Destro's face, and the defeated man absently wondered when he had fallen to his knees. "I was gonna kill you, but now I want to ask: what do you want to do? Do you want to die for your ideals, or live for mine?"

Yotsubashi's Quirk melted away, and he honestly considered Shigaraki's question. The MLA had been slowly growing in power over generations, with a definitive goal in mind, but without an official timeline. They had just been waiting for the right time to step out of the shadows… at least, that was what Yotsubashi had told himself for years. Until now, he had never considered that he might have been stalling, too scared to actually take that next step.

But the League of Villains… their goals of destruction had always been ambiguous, but they had done more to further their agenda in just a few short months than the MLA had done in years. What was the best decision to make?

"If…" Yotsubashi swallowed nervously. "If I surrender, and place myself under your command, would you throw away our ideals?"

Shigaraki thought about it for a moment. "No. You say you want to rebuild society where those with the strongest Quirks rule, right? Well, that's not too far off from what I want. I want to tear down this world, and rebuild it where we can do whatever we want, and the only ones who can stop us are those who are stronger. I just plan on being the very strongest. Whether you get a seat at the table, or a hole in the ground… that's up to you."

"Master…" The ground shook as Gigantomachia knelt.

Shigaraki raised an eyebrow at him. "Not calling me the successor anymore, hmm?"

"Never again," Gigantomachia rumbled. "You have his drive, and your power is growing closer to his. You are my master."

"And mine," Yotsubashi quickly added, and even prostrated, much to the shock of his soldiers. "It would be foolish—nay, suicidal—to stand against you, when serving you creates the world I was too frightened to fight for."

Shigaraki nodded. "Tell your men to stand down, and explain that you're all working for me. My people are all here, so they know that we're not fighting anymore." He stopped. "Oh, right, there's the matter of Twice."

Yotsubashi nodded hurriedly. "I have access to the best doctors in the world, Grand Commander. We'll have him fixed up in no time!"

"I'm sure they can," Shigaraki said, but grinned and held up one hand. "But aren't you forgetting what I can do now?"

…

Twice slowly cracked his eyes open, only to see a face he was worried he never would again.

"T-Toga?"

"Jin!" Toga was covered blood, sweat and grime, but at least she didn't appear injured as she grabbed him in a hug. "How are you feeling?"

Twice was about to say that he felt awful, but that wasn't the case. In fact, he felt great, like he'd gotten a week of sleep and good food; he couldn't even remember the last time he'd felt this good. That was weird, considering the last thing he remembered was—

"Oh, crap!" He snapped up to a sitting position. "I got captured by those weirdos! You guys came to save me?"

Toga grinned and gestured behind her. "Yep! We all did!"

Twice looked to where she pointed, and saw the entire League of Villains, as well as Giran; most of them looked like they had been in a fight, but though their clothes were dirty and torn, none of them appeared injured.

"Good to see you awake, Twice," Shigaraki said; Twice noticed that he was now only wearing the hand on his face, and that the others were gone. "I was starting to think I'd have to Overhaul you again, in case I messed up."

Twice blinked. "Overhaul? What? Did I miss something?" He pointed to a face he didn't recognize. "And who's that guy wearing Dabi's clothes?"

"It's me, moron," Dabi's voice said through an unfamiliar mouth. "Shigaraki fixed my burns, is all."

"Oh." Twice blinked again. "Wait, what!? Since when could he do that!?"

Shigaraki chuckled. "You missed a lot. I'll fill you in when you meet our new army."

"I thought I was your army."

Spinner grinned and clapped his shoulder. "Well, now we got another."

"Okay…" Twice rubbed his temples, trying to ward off a headache. "I really did miss a lot."

…

Word trickled down to the thousands of Liberation operatives across Japan about the battle in Deika City. Within an hour, the organization knew the details before the media got the first whiff of a story. With the backing of Re-Destro, Shigaraki Tomura and the League of Villains had inherited—not usurped, which Re-Destro had stressed—the entire Meta Liberation Army.

In his office, Hawks read the coded message for the third time, before finally destroying it. He looked down at his trembling hands as he contemplated the enormity of the development. The MLA had been a looming threat, yes, but they had also been predictable, and other than their numbers, they had been considered fairly weak.

With the League in the mix, things were now in flux. Even the most stable of the League—which was debatable—was difficult to predict, and Hawks had heard rumors from those within the MLA whose trust he'd earned that Shigaraki had more than one Quirk.

"This… just got a whole lot worse."

Hey, look, I'm back! Sorry this took so long to update, there were a few scenes that just did not want to be written, especially near the end. But while we've reached (largely) the same end, the means were pretty different. For starters, the League was much stronger than in canon, mostly because of Nine, Slice and Chimera; that was because a stable Twice is a much bigger threat than Giran ever would be. And now, Shigaraki has Gigantomachia, a second Quirk, and an army of fanatics not afraid to use their Quirks in a fight.

Toga still got her Quirk Awakening, by way of the stress of almost dying, only this time, she killed someone with Asui's power. And a knife, but mostly by the power of Frog.

This was also the first time I used Slice's real name. There's literally no information on her past in canon, so I made one up. Cheating on your significant other is already really bad, but cheating on someone with superpowers is just suicide with extra steps.

And now that Shigaraki has Overhaul, he's earned even more loyalty by repairing those of the League who weren't doing so well, like Twice's hands. Oh, and Dabi no longer looks like burned toast. I'm sure that won't be an issue later.

And, finally, we see who Hawks was infiltrating all this time. While stressful, he didn't have to deal with the psychopaths in the League, which is going to change very soon. Good luck, Hawks!

As always, please consider buying my book, Alpha Sanction, by Josh Gottlieb. You can find it on my website (link in my profile) as a PDF, or on Amazon in both eBook and physical format. Sales really help boost my desire to write more!

Another thing that helps is donations via P-atreon (link in my profile). High-tier patrons get chapters early, and even a free copy of my book! And, since I now have a much-reduced income, I need all the help I can get.

Speaking of which, I'd like to thank the following people for helping me stay financially afloat:

Serious Muffins: Nimrod009, Aaron Meek, Matthias Matanovic, Red Bard, Lokthar, Hakuryuken, Anders Lyngbye, Kristen Tyler

Incredible Muffins: RaptorusMaximus, Crazyman844, CherryGoesBoom

Ultra Muffins: RangersRoll

Next Chapter: Midoriya goes back in the field, but unbeknownst to him, shadowy forces decide on his fate.

Plus Muffin!