-62-

Unpleasant Talk

Izuku stretched slightly, stopping only for a moment as he exited the dormitories of UA High School. Oliver had called him an hour ago and told him to head over to the Justice League Agency. He would be attending a meeting today with Nighteye and several other agencies and wanted him to be present for it. He said he could wear his school uniform as his hero costume wouldn't be necessary today, and after the meeting he would be returning to class.

Izuku could hardly wait, but also felt nervous. This meeting would be unlike anything he's attended before, as Bruce often kept things short and informal in all the mission briefings he attended. He rarely worked with other agencies as well, so he had little experience working with others outside the Bat-clan and his fellow students. What's more, these would be seasoned professionals he would be working with.

He paused as he noticed Kirishima standing at the base of the steps, turning to face him in surprise. "Oh!" He said. "Good Morning, Midoriya! Are you off to your work study, too?"

"Yeah," Said Midoriya. "I just got called in again."

"Same here," came a voice behind them. Uraraka and Asui were both standing at the door leading into the dormitory.

"Let's walk to the train station together," said Asui. Once they got there, they would part ways to their various destinations, but they could at least enjoy each other's company while they could. However, as they got there, they noticed that they were all going to the same location. Not just them, but many other heroes as well, most of them in costume. Izuku knew it was not a coincidence, and that they must have been tapped by Oliver to assist in the Hassaikai case. His assumptions were correct as they all approached the Justice League agency. Izuku was surprised to see not just Togata, but also Amajiki and Hado waiting for them as well. So many heroes were participating in this case, it was astounding to Izuku. It meant that this case was more complicated (and probably more dangerous) than he could have anticipated.

As the students entered into the agency, they were floored to see it was filled to the brim with heroes. Izuku recognized almost all of them, such as Fatgum, Ryukyu, Rock Lock, and various others. He was also shocked to see that Aizawa was among them, talking with Bubble Girl and a smaller, older hero in a yellow jumpsuit that Izuku wasn't familiar with.

"You're here too, Mr. Aizawa?" Said Uraraka.

"I got roped into this at the last minute," Aizawa replied. "They haven't been very forthcoming yet, but I have a rough idea of what it's about."

"So should you," said Ryukyu, walking up beside them. She was accompanied by Black Canary, and the student's bowed respectfully.

"Glad to see you all could make it," Said Black Canary. She turned to Nighteye, who was standing next to Green Arrow. "Looks like we're all here."

"Very good," Said Nighteye. They all took a seat at a large conference table, with Nighteye, Green Arrow and Black Canary standing at the head of the table. Izuku looked around at all the heroes in amazement. Whatever was happening had to be big. His eyes drifted over to the older, yellow-clad hero, who Izuku just noticed was actually staring at him. Izuku quickly looked away uncomfortably, but could still feel the old man's eyes on him.

"Thanks to all the information you provided, our investigation has progressed substantially." Said Nighteye. "We have gathered you all here today to a shared conference where we can discuss all the intel we have acquired regarding the Yakuza group Shie Hassaikai."

"I feel like I'm missing something important," Said Kirishima. "Who are these guys?"

"A small-time organized criminal syndicate," Said Green Arrow. "The Yakuza has been quiet for a long time, mainly dealing with small-time rackets such as gambling or drugs, but we believe this group may be moving into larger, more dangerous ventures, so the Justice League and Nighteye agency have been monitoring their activities."

"What prompted this investigation?" Said one of the heroes.

"An accident involving a gang of thieves called the Reservoir Dogs," replied Nighteye. "The police believed it to be an accident, but there were a number of details that did not add up, so we began tailing them. We have discovered that over the past year, the Hassaikai have made contact with several groups outside of their organization, including groups who have less-than-reputable business practices."

"We believe they intend to expand their organization," Said Black Canary. "Most significantly, they have made contact with the League of Villains through one of its members - Jin Bubaigawara, Alias: Twice." An image was projected onto the wall, showing a photograph of the villain Twice entering a car with Chisaki. Izuku clenched his fists. He was one of the villains that was present at the training camp when he was captured. Seeing him brought back unpleasant memories.

"They were wary of being followed, and we lost track of them," Said Green Arrow. "But we were able to learn of an altercation that happened between the two groups." The image on the wall changed to a warehouse, where the outer wall looked as if it had been smashed open."

"That's when Detective Tsukauchi, Batman and I were contacted," Said the Yellow Hero. "They figured we'd be able to assist, given the League's involvement." Izuku was surprised to hear his mentor's name being mentioned by this hero. Bruce had not told him of his involvement in any investigation, but he always kept such things on a need-to-know basis.

"Where are Batman and Tsukauchi?" Asked one of the heroes.

"Tsukauchi is interviewing eye-witnesses," Said the Yellow Hero. "Batman was unavailable, but he sent the next best thing in his stead: his ward." The Hero nodded over to Izuku, who jumped slightly in surprise as everyone looked at him.

"A child?" Said Rock Lock. "You can't be serious. I don't care if he is his student, why did Batman send this kid instead of coming himself? Or does he not take this seriously?"

"Batman takes everything seriously," the Yellow Hero continued. "We had a feeling that things were going to get ugly with the League of Villains involved, and though he's young, Midoriya has more experience with the League of Villains than most of us here. None of us can deny that. Or have you forgotten exactly what this boy has been through?"

"Midoriya has been extremely helpful in this investigation," Said Green Arrow. "It's because of his quick-thinking and foresight that we were able to gather valuable data on the Hassaikai and their leader, Kai Chisaki. Through this data we were able to gather that their main source of income is from illegal drug sales. There's two drugs in particular that concern us the most."

The slide changed, and the image before them caused many in the room to gasp in horror: a grotesque creature, at least ten feet tall, with large, misshapen muscles ripping through it's skin as they grew faster than it could handle, with bones and foul objects protruding from its skin. Izuku jumped to his feet, recognizing the creature immediately.

"Titan!" He whispered. It seems Professor Shield's worst fear had been realized. The Titan formula had somehow gotten out of Gotham, and was now being sold in the streets here in Japan.

"What is that thing?" Said one of the heroes.

"This," Said Green Arrow. "Is a new breed of quirk-enhancing drugs, known as Titan. It was created by Professor David Shield, originally as a way to help All Might recover from his injury and prevent his retirement. However, he was manipulated into making it by The Joker, and about a month ago there was an incident in Gotham that caused the drug to flood the streets. As you can guess," the slides changed, showing Gotham after the Titan attack. "Gotham has suffered quite a bit of casualties."

"Hence Batman's unavailability," Said the Yellow Hero.

"We recently found evidence of this drug in Esuha City,'' said Black Canary. "When Red Riot, one of Fatgum's Work Study students, came across and helped to subdue the creature." She gestured over to Karishima, who scratched his head in embarrassment. "These creatures are fiercely dangerous. Along with increasing the subject's physical prowess exponentially, it also increases their quirk's natural abilities in the same way. And unlike other quirk-enhancing drugs, which wear off after an hour or two, Titan is lethal if the antidote is not administered within a certain amount of time."

"So there is an antidote?" Said Rock Lock.

Black Canary nodded. "The Justice League has partnered with WayneTech to mass-produce and distribute the Titan Antiserum to all hero agencies now that it has been confirmed to have reached Japan."

"How did it get here in such a short amount of time?" Asked one of the heroes.

"The Joker only had a portion of the Titan formula from his correspondence with Shield," Said Green Arrow. "We believe that he shared this formula with all interested buyers weeks or months before the events in Gotham Transpired."

"The second drug we are concerned with," Said Nighteye. "Is one that we have not seen before: one that has the power to nullify quirks." A series of gasps echoed around the conference room, followed by concerned chattering. Fatgum stood and cleared his throat.

"The event happened to Amajiki here during the fight with the Titan creature," He said. "He was shot with a projectile containing some sort of kind of drug that completely erased his quirk."

"Whoa, Amajiki," Said Togata, standing suddenly. "Are you okay?!"

"I'm fine," Said Amajiki, transforming his hand into a cow's hoof. "The drug wore off while I slept. I can use my quirk just fine now."

"So the effects aren't permanent?" Said Rock Lock.

"No," Said Nighteye. "But Eraserhead has some insight into this."

"It doesn't function like my Erasure does," Said Aizawa. "It is well-known by scientists that there are certain genes in the body that are responsible for the production of quirks. For lack of a better description, these 'quirk-genes' are essentially the cause for quirk expression in homosapians."

Izuku had heard this before, and knew that this was the common consensus among scientists. However, he also knew that they did not have the whole truth. While it was true that the mutated genes were behind the manifestation of quirks, scientists had yet to discover the cause of these mutated genes, and simply attributed it to the next step in human evolution. However, the true cause of this mutation was through Braniac's exobytes. Very few people were privy to that information, and for good reason. The exobytes were designed by Brainiac to hide in a host's body for an unspecified amount of time while it gathered biological, genetic, genealogical and various other information on its host. They were designed with a cloaking mechanism that made them indistinguishable from normal cells found in the body. Once the exobytes had gained all the information Braniac required, he would recall the exobytes and collect all the data gathered from their hosts. This was how All For One was able to extract and transmit quirks upon his followers. When the exobytes containing the information of a certain quirk were introduced to the body, the host's genes would mutate to express the quirk. Once removed, the genes would no longer express the quirk, and the body would return to its previous state.

"My quirk," Continued Aizawa. "Shields the expression of those mutated quirk genes, but it doesn't change them in any way."

"After Tamaki was shot, we took him to the hospital," Said Fatgum. "And after running tests it was discovered that his quirk genes were no longer present in his body. It was as if he never had a quirk. Thankfully, his quirk seemed to return after a few hours, but we're unsure as to why that is. Nothing other than his quirk was affected by the drug."

"What do we know about the drug that he was shot with?" Asked Nighteye.

"Next to nothing," said Fatgum. "The guy who shot him has clammed up and won't tell us anything. And the round that hit Amajiki was totally spent. However, Kirishima managed to jump in front of Amajiki before a second round struck him. We've recovered the round, and it provided a viable sample."

"I did that?" Said Kirishima, surprised.

"Great job, Kirishima!" Said Uraraka.

"When we analyzed it, we discovered something disturbing," continued Fatgum. "It contained human blood and cells."

Izuku felt his heart grow cold at the sound of this. This meant that the substance inside the drug was engineered using the blood samples of another person. In essence, the Hissaikai were packing a quirk that was capable of destroying quirks in easy to fire rounds.

"So how did you connect these two drugs to the Hissaikai?" Asked one of the heroes.

"Though drug distribution channels have shrunk since the old days, many still remain open," said Fatgum. "And the perpetrator that Kirishima took down, the one who had used the Titan drug, was connected with a known drug trafficker who, after thorough interrogation, confessed to moving both drugs. He then was able to confirm that the Hissaikai were responsible for bringing the Titan formula to Japan, having purchased it through one of their criminal networks connected to the Joker. He was unsure if they had manufactured the second drug, but was sure that they had a hand in its development."

"Don't you have anything a little more concrete in implicating them?" Said the hero.

Green Arrow changed the slide to reflect a profile image of Kai Chisaki, the man who Izuku and Togata had bumped into the other day. "Kai Chisaki," Green Arrow said. "Criminal name: Overhaul. His quirk of the same name allows him to completely break down matter and reassemble it at will. It doesn't take much to place two and two together: a man whose quirk can break down matter, and a bullet that can break down quirks. Additionally, when Togata and Midoriya came across Chisaki the other day, they noticed he had a daughter with him. There is no record of her birth or existence that we can find."

Izuku felt his stomach drop to his feet. He exchanged looks with Togata, who seemed to be thinking the exact same thing he was. His thoughts flashed to Eri, the small child with Chisaki. She was covered in bandages and was terribly frightened at the time they had met her. She was obviously trying to escape whatever situation she was facing with Chisaki, and Izuku was desperately hoping that it didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"Midoriya was successful at planting a listening device on her before she went back with Chisaki," Green Arrow continued. "And before communication was severed for unknown reasons, we managed to get this message." Arrow clicked a button and Chisaki's voice was projected through the speakers.

"You shouldn't run off like that, Eri," the voice said. "People always get hurt when you disobey me. Remember, you're the key to my plan, to all that I'm trying to accomplish."

Izuku's worst fears were confirmed. "He's using her to produce these bullets," He said, horrified.

"Could he really do something so horrible?" Said Ryukyu.

"Unfortunately, yes," Said the Yellow Hero. "In a world of superhumans, if it can be dreamed, it can be done."

"At this point, the efficacy of the bullets are questionable," said Nighteye. "It's possible that they are still in the testing phase. While we still have little evidence, we know that he is using these drugs to gather allies and funds from across the nation."

"You've seen what can be done with both drugs," said Green Arrow. "Imagine if he is able to perfect both the Titan and quirk-destroying drug. Imagine an army of unstoppable monsters with quirks more powerful than anything you've ever seen, all the while being unable to stop them because your own quirks have been destroyed by the enemy. Imagine the devastation that he could bring."

"Would have saved a lot of trouble if these two amatures would have taken her away from him when they had the chance," Said Rock Lock, nodding to Izuku and Togata.

"I take full responsibility," said Nighteye. "Both of them acted in the best way they could in this situation, risking their lives while attempting to rescue her, even without foreknowledge of the plan. Midoriya even provided some valuable intel regarding Chisaki and her involvement. Without it, we would not have gotten this far in the investigation. I assure you, no one is more frustrated than they are that they could not save this poor girl when they had the chance."

'Frustrated' wasn't a word Izuku would have chosen to use. His blood was boiling. He could feel himself shaking as he replayed the mind in his head. He wished desperately he could go back in time and blast Chisaki down to molten ash before he had another chance to harm such a sweet, innocent child. The kind of monster that he was, to use someone so vulnerable to do something so evil made him angry beyond belief. He could almost feel the same coming from Togata next to him. His usual cheerful smile and demeanor was gone, replaced with a cold anger and dark shadow over his eyes.

"We won't fail again," said Izuku. "We'll take the fight to Chisaki, we'll get Eri out of there, and we'll make sure he never hurts her again."

"Indeed," Said Nighteye. "That's precisely what we've come here to discuss. Because Eri is at the center of his operation, and she has been seen by two heroes, we can't be sure if he is going to be keeping her in one place. If we make an assault on his compound and she isn't there, it's unlikely we'll be able to find her after that. This makes our first strike crucial, and we need to know exactly where he's keeping her if we are to be successful."

The image on the projector changed to show a geographical map of the main island of Japan with several points selected on it with the symbol of the Hissaikai. "Each coordinate on this map is a location with known Hissaikai connections," said Green Arrow. "We need all of you to investigate these areas that are closest to your respective home agencies. Right now I also have several of my sidekicks canvassing the area as we speak. Send back any data you have on the Hissaikai, no matter how insignificant. The Justice League will compile and clean this data and analyze it to find out where the girl is located, and narrow down our additional targets."

"I didn't take you guys to be such careful planners," said Fatgum. "Nighteye, who's worked with All Might for so long, and Green Arrow, the most gung-ho League member they have. We should just take the fight to them now! While we're taking out sweet time that poor girl's still out there!"

"We can't do this like All Might would," said Nighteye. "If we are meticulous in every detail in this plan from the outset, we will have the highest chance of saving her."

"He's right," said the Yellow Hero. "We shouldn't rush. If we show our hand and don't end up rescuing her, then we'd just be throwing flames on the fire. For example, Stain's capture was a beacon for other factions to seek out and join the League of Villains."

"I have a question," said Aizawa. "I don't know the specifics of your quirk, Nighteye, so feel free to correct. But from what I've heard of it, your quirk allows you to see into the future. So why not use it on us? That seems like a logical step."

"I'm sorry," said Nighteye. "But I cannot. My Foresight has some limitations. I need a full 24 hours between activations. I get one person and then I'm spent for the rest of the day. Additionally, the image appears in my mind much like a filmstrip to a video player. However, everything I see is from a tight perspective on the pserion in question. This severely limits my capacity to interpret context."

That should still provide more than enough information to be useful, don't you think?" Asked Aizawa. "And it doesn't explain why you can't."

Nighteye adjusted his glasses uncomfortably. "What if I saw imminent death in your future," he said quietly. "Worse, what if it was a cruel, merciless demise?"

"Death is still information," said Rock Lock. "If we see it we can find a way to avoid it."

"You don't understand," said Nighteye. "What is seen in my vision may be unavoidable. I have not had a wrong prediction to date." He grew silent for a moment. Izuku knew why. He was reflecting back on what he saw in All Might's future. He was afraid to use his quirk to such a capacity again. If what he said was true, and all of his predictions to date came to pass exactly as he saw it, then, in a way, it is not implausible to think that he might be worried that it is his foresight that is causing the event itself to happen.

"No," said Nighteye. "My Foresight should only be used after we have confirmed the highest likelihood of success, then it can help us ensure our victory. It shouldn't be relied upon when there are still too many uncertainties."

"The most important thing here is that there is a child in trouble," said Black Canary. "We should get started."

"We're counting on your help," said Green Arrow. "All of you."

And with that, the meeting was adjourned.

Izuku, Togata, Kirishima, Uraraka, Asui, Hado and Amajiki all sat around one of the tables outside the conference room. Both Izuku and Togata were racked with guilt over letting Chisaki get away with Eri.

"I should have known," said Izuku. "Those bandages, how scared she was, I should have known that she was more important than just being his daughter. If I had taken her then, Batman could have taken her to Gotham with him, or the Watchtower with the whole Justice League there to protect her. Some detective I turned out to be."

"Aw, man," said Kirishima sympathetically. "That's frustrating. But you shouldn't blame yourself."

"We know you tried, Deku," said Uraraka.

"Gotham," said Asui suddenly. They all looked at her questioningly. "They said that the Titan monsters suddenly appeared in Gotham a month ago. Isn't that around the time you were there, Midoriya?"

Izuku jumped in surprise. He had forgotten just how astute Asui was, and just how unafraid she was to speak up about the elephant in the room, even when others were too uncomfortable to do so.

"You said that nothing happened while you were there!" Said Uraraka, standing up.

"I'm sorry, I lied to you," said Izuku, lowering his eyes. "It was an effort to keep news about the Titan formula from getting out of Gotham, although it seems that doesn't matter anymore."

"Wait a second," said Kirishima. "You were there to fight those Titan monsters?!"

"Yes," said Izuku slowly. All eyes were now on him around the conference table. He sighed deeply. He began to explain the details of his excursion into Gotham: David Shield, The Joker, The Titan monsters, even the Red Hood. His friends all stared at him in silence as he finished the story.

"You really fought the Joker?" Said Kirishima, amazed.

"Not really," said Izuku. "Not directly anyway."

"Do you think he's involved in this?" Said Hado.

"No, I don't see how he could be," said Izuku. "He's in a full-body cast in Arkham."

"What happened to the Red Hood?" Asked Asui.

Izuku shook his head. "I don't know," he said. "He disappeared."

"I can't believe you kept this from us," said Uraraka crossly.

"I'm sorry," said Izuku. "But you can't tell anyone about this."

"Seriously?" Said Kirishima.

"Seriously," Izuku said. "Not even my mother knows. If she did, she would never have let me come back to UA. Please."

"We won't say anything," said Togata. "But don't you think you should say something to Sir? Maybe it could help."

"I don't think so," said Izuku. "Batman already briefed the Justice League on the event, and anything I would know the Green Arrow would already know."

"I guess so," said Togata.

Everyone looked up as they heard the door to the conference room open. Green Arrow and Aizawa walked through the door towards the students. "What is this, a funeral?" Said Green Arrow.

"Mr. Aizawa, Mr. Arrow!" Said Uraraka, standing and bowing.

"Call me Eraserhead outside of school," said Aizawa.

"Don't get me started on this 'Mr. Arrow' nonsense," said Green Arrow, laughing. "It's 'Oliver' to my friends."

Aizawa sighed, scratching his head. "Here's the thing," he said. "Before you got involved in all this, I was going to recommend your work studies be suspended."

"What?" Said Kirishima, standing. "Why would you do that?"

"Were you not listening when they said the League of Villains were involved?" Replied Aizawa. "That changes things."

Izuku could hardly believe what he was hearing. It was his fault that Eri was back in the hands of that monster, and now he was about to be prevented from correcting that mistake. He would do anything to help that poor child escape her monster of a captor.

As if reading his mind, Aizawa sighed again. "Listen," he said. "You lot haven't fully earned our trust back. And even though Midoriya wasn't to blame for the Kamino Ward incident, he has a knack for getting into dangerous situations. I'm positive that if I try to stop you now, you'll do something reckless and attempt to take things into your own hands. So I'm gonna watch you. If you're going to see this through, you'll need to use your head."

"I'll be with you too," said Green Arrow. "Batman will never forgive me if something were to happen to you."

"I'll only say this once, just to give you a little peace of mind," said Aizawa. "Just because you didn't hold onto her this time, doesn't mean you didn't give Eri hope. And it doesn't mean that the next time you'll fail to rescue her. So keep looking forward."

"He's right, Midoriya," said Togata. "Next time, we'll definitely save her."

"So, that was the would-be successor, eh?" Said Gran Torino, watching the kids walk away from the window of the conference center. He was standing next to Sir Nighteye. It felt like a lifetime ago since they had worked together, since All Might's injury and All For One's fall. The dissolution of their partnership had been hard on them both, though neither of them would admit it, and he hoped one day they would see past their foolishness and mend things, though that looked more and more unlikely as the years went on.

"Yes," said Nighteye. "It's serendipitous that he should be working together."

"You're not really surprised are you?" Said Gran Torino.

"No," said Nighteye.

"So what are your thoughts about him?" Said Gran Torino. "The actual truth?"

"I think he and All Might are very similar," said Nighteye. "Especially when it comes to the madness living deep within. The one I could never understand. The only other person besides All Might I could see that was in. . ." he trailed off, growing silent.

"Batman," Gran Torino finished for him.

"Yes," said Nighteye. "But it is unlikely that he will accept One For All, and time is running out."

"You mean your vision?" Said Gran Torino.

Nighteye nodded. "If All Might should perish before One For All is transferred, then it will die with him."

"But he won't give it to anyone but Midoriya," said Gran Torino.

"Precisely," said Nighteye grimly. "He won't listen to reason."

"You're both stubborn," said Gran Torino, chuckling. "But the only thing we can do is trust that he knows what he's doing."

"I suppose," said Nighteye.

"So, about this case," said Gran Torino. "You really think we should wait on using your quirk?"

"I do," said Nighteye.

"Rock Lock and Eraser aren't wrong," said Gran Torino. "It could provide some valuable insight into the case."

"No," said Nighteye firmly. A long silence stretched between them before Nighteye finally broke it. "But there is someone else I can go to for help."