Hey y'all, I'm back again with another chapter. I've been doing some thinking on what exactly I should call this chapter in terms of where it fits into this story. We're nearing the end of this mini-arc I've been writing ever since Peter got "kidnapped," but we're not quite finished yet. There's still another chapter or two after this one before we move to the next arc.
Also, I recently realized that there are a lot of similarities between the MHA universe and the "The Boys" universe. It's never really shown as far as I know, but think about the plane scene with Homelander. I'm willing to bet something like that has happened in the MHA world. A hero who couldn't save everybody, so he or she let them die instead to keep their image clear. Considering how many people become heroes just for money or fame, it doesn't seem very unlikely. And while their goals aren't exactly the same, the villains who follow Stain, like Spinner, would be like Billy's group, because of their obsession with removing the fake heroes, while Billy's group is after all supers in general.
I don't know. I just think they're pretty similar.
By the way, I don't know why, but this chapter gave me a lot of trouble. First, I thought I'd write a chapter about Spinner's group trying to be vigilantes which would bridge back to the main group, but only after spending two days planning it out and another two days actually writing it did I realize that I didn't like the idea. So I scrapped the chapter and tried again.
Then I didn't like that chapter either so it got scrapped as well. Then I tried again.
And I scrapped a third chapter.
This chapter is my fourth try. It took a long time to find one I was satisfied with, so it's about time we get to the finished product. And I figured since I've been gone for a little while, I'd give you a really long chapter as an apology. I'd love to get right into it, but first...
It's time for a recap.
… Oh, what? It's not? They left a note this time.
Um… okay, I guess there's no recap this time. According to my assistant here, the nameless narrator is trying to shoot Deadpool because he made too many ex-wife jokes. I'm supposed to tell you they're on vacation. So, uh…
Deadpool and the nameless narrator are on vacation.
Back to That Story:
"What do you guys usually do for fun around here? You've got video games right?" Peter asked curiously. After the others had left, he had remained in the TV room with Dabi, Twice, and Toga, who still looked like him. She seemed unwilling to give up on her transformation until she ran out of time.
Thankfully, after spending several minutes teasing Peter, Dabi finally decided to go to his room and grab a spare shirt and a pair of pants for "Peter" to wear. The clothes weren't exactly her style and they were pretty uncomfortable, but at least they weren't as stuffy as the heavy blanket Peter had thrown over her.
"Video games, TV, or we just fight each other for the hell of it. I don't really feel like doing any of that right now though." Dabi responded. He had long since sunken into his seat, looking as if he wanted to go back to sleep even though he wasn't tired. "All I want to do right now is sit, maybe talk for a little while, and I wouldn't say no to something to drink."
"Do you keep any drinks in here?"
"Nah. It was one of Kurogiri's rules. You can bring drinks in here, you just can't store them here." Toga explained.
"That… sounds dumb. If he didn't care about bringing them in here, why couldn't you keep drinks here?" Peter wasn't sure he understood the shadow man's thought process.
"It is dumb. But since he's gone now, there's nobody to stop us from moving stuff in here. Anybody want to help?"
"Ooh, ooh, me!" Twice excitedly raised his hand, bouncing in his seat like an excited child. Toga smiled and shook her head.
"Alright, come on Twice."
"YAY!" The ninja practically leaped out of his chair and dashed to the door. Toga followed behind him, albeit at a slower pace.
"... Hey Dabi, can I talk to you about something?" Peter waited until his friends left the room before he began speaking.
"You're already talking, aren't you? Just ask your question."
Peter took a moment to consider his words. He didn't want to set the scarred man off.
"You mentioned before that you're here because you want to get revenge on somebody. Is that-"
"I figured you'd ask me that." Dabi groaned in annoyance. "Listen Peter, I get that you're some model hero and that you probably think revenge is bad, but it's none of your concern. This is my business, not yours. The things that have happened to me because of him… he needs to be punished for them. Talk all you like, you won't change my mind."
Peter was a bit taken aback by his friend's harsh tone.
"I… I know it isn't my business, but if you're really after revenge, then it will be my business eventually. Revenge tears you apart Dabi. It controls you, ruins your life. It can mess with your mind and make you do things you'll regret. You can't let it control you. I don't know why you have these feelings and I probably don't want to know, but if you let them lead you around, I will have to stop you. Please don't make me do that." Peter pleaded. He had been down this road too many times. The last thing he wanted was to fight another one of his friends who let a thirst for revenge control them.
"I know. Do you think I'm an idiot? I knew right from the start that if I went after him, I would have to fight you eventually. And you know what? I don't give a damn!" Dabi slammed a hand down on his recliner's armrest. A few small flames emerged from his palm, slightly singing it. "You've beaten me before and you'll probably do it again, but I'll do it anyway. This is too important to me to let it go. If you want to stand in my way, I'll fight you too."
"..." Peter was unsure of what to say.
"This could be another Shigaraki situation. If I wait too long to do something, people could get hurt. But it doesn't look like he'll give me any details. Even if I do something now, I won't find out who he wants to go after or why he wants payback. What if it's somebody who deserves it? Somebody who should be arrested?"
After nearly a minute of deep thought, Peter came to a decision.
For now, he wouldn't do anything. There were questions that needed answering before any moves could be made. And like Dabi said, Peter had already beaten him before and could likely do so again. As long as he stayed on top of things, it would be possible to find the man Dabi wanted revenge on and restrain both of them before something dangerous happened.
There were a lot of "if's" there, but it was the best course of action overall.
"We can't just talk things out if it comes to that?" Could the situation be somewhat defused?
"No." Dabi immediately shot down the notion. Peter sighed at his response.
"Well… then I guess I'll get ready for our rematch."
Toga POV:
"My head hurts again." Toga placed a hand on her temple, cradling it lightly. For the past few hours, her body had been doing its best to make her miserable. Her head pounded, she constantly fluctuated between being too hot and too cold, and her skin felt tingly and itchy at the same time, particularly her fingers.
Still, it wasn't anything the vampire wasn't used to. She had drank the blood of sick people a surprising amount of times, which of course meant she got their symptoms, only worse. Headaches, messed up temperatures, screwy skin, she had experienced all of it before.
Just not to this degree.
"Is Peter sick? Does he need medicine? Should I rob a pharmacy? No, wait, we're supposed to be vigilantes now. Mmm, but that sounds so boring."
Toga's head continued to ache as she thought, making it hard to collect her thoughts properly. She was so absorbed with trying to gather them all that she barely even noticed that she had walked into the kitchen. When she saw where she was, she felt genuinely surprised for a moment.
"When did I get here? Why didn't I notice?"
"What are we grabbing? SODA! But I want lemonade. TO HELL WITH BOTH OF YOU, WE'RE BRINGING KOOL AID!" Twice was in the middle of pulling open several cabinets, arguing with himself about what drink to bring back. [1]
Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Toga joined him in the center of the kitchen. She wasn't looking for anything in particular. Whatever she saw first was what she would grab.
Incidentally, the first thing to enter Toga's sight was in fact some kind of energy drink called "Max Energy." Shigaraki had bought it a few weeks back, claiming he needed it for when he pulled all-nighters gaming. Toga liked the color, but the taste wasn't her favorite.
Reaching out a hand to grab a pouch of the mixture, Toga had to catch herself when one of her knees buckled. She barely saved herself from falling by grabbing the edge of one of the counters.
That had also been happening a lot. It gave her some trouble when she tried to walk around.
"Is something wrong with me? Or am I just not staying on balance?"
Using the counter to support herself, Toga rose to her feet and reached out once more, this time grabbing the cans. Sighing in relief, she set them down next to the door and turned to look at Twice. He was still busy arguing with his other personalities.
It made Toga a bit happy when this happened, which in turn made her feel guilty. She knew her friend struggled with his issues, but whenever this happened, it gave her a chance to help him.
Something she enjoyed very much.
"Having some trouble Twice?" She asked kindly.
"This jerk keeps saying that Kool Aid sucks! FRUIT PUNCH IS BETTER! What?! I'll kill you!" Twice raised a fist and angled it towards himself as though he fully intended to punch himself in the face. Before he could do so, Toga stepped in. Gently taking hold of his fist, she pushed it back to his side and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Hey now, both are good in their own way. If you can't agree on one, just grab both."
"WHAT ABOUT MY LEMONADE!?"
"You can take that too." Toga sounded like a mother comforting a small child. It honestly felt as if she was sometimes.
Twice's personalities took a minute to argue amongst themselves before reaching an agreement. One by one, Twice opened each of the cabinets and grabbed several cans and pouches from each before moving on to the next. Toga decided she would help him after she took her own loot back to Peter and Dabi.
Taking hold of the small, cardboard container, Toga felt another throb of pain coming. Bracing herself on one of the counters, she pressed a hand to her head and gritted her teeth when the pain came. She would definitely have to take some medicine later.
*Thunk*
A faint noise drew the vampire's attention. It sounded like somebody had stepped into the main bar a few rooms down. A few more heavy thuds came soon after, followed by quieter thuds, likely footsteps. Curious, Toga called out.
"Big sis Mag? Are you back already?" The footsteps stopped almost immediately. Toga received no response.
"Mag? Spinner? Magic Man?" There was still no response, though the footsteps had resumed.
"That's… weird." Toga thought aloud. She was about to push the door to the hallway open, but stopped herself before she could. Turning around, she glanced at the knife rack hanging above the oven.
"... Something weird's going on here." Toga walked over to the rack and grabbed several of the knives. She tucked them into Dabi's heavy coat to hide them from sight, just in case there wasn't anything wrong. If it was just Magne and the others screwing with her, she didn't want to jump out at them with a knife. If there really was danger, she could just pull one out when necessary.
Now feeling prepared, Toga placed an ear on the door. She could hear the door leading to the bar opening on the other side. Pulling her head back, she put a hand on the doorknob.
"3… 2… 1!" Toga pulled the door open and stepped out into the hallway. On the other side of the hallway was…
"..."
"..."
"..."
There were 3 boys. One with blonde hair, another with blue hair and glasses, and a third boy with hair that was both red and white, and a scar on the left side of his face.
"... Peter?" the blonde asked.
Toga felt confused. She didn't look anything like Peter, so why was this guy calling her…
Oh.
"Uh.. I-I…" Toga tried to form words but couldn't. What did she do? These were the kids from the USJ and the sports festival, and from the looks of things, they were here for Peter.
"What are you wearing? Wait, why are you walking around? Shouldn't you be locked up and under watch?" The bespectacled boy asked.
"I…" Toga tried again, but was still unable to form words.
"Peter…" The final, dual-colored boy asked. "Are those energy drinks?"
Toga looked down. She was indeed still holding the cardboard case of drinks in one hand. Looking back up, she saw that all 3 of the boys had skeptical looks.
"For god's sake, say something! AND MAKE IT CONVINCING!" Toga screamed at herself.
"I… they all left. I'm here by myself right now. I guess they didn't think I would be able to break out. Stupid villains." Toga chuckled. Perfect. No way would they suspect anything now.
"So instead of escaping, you raided the kitchen for energy drinks?" The bi-colored boy didn't even sound disbelieving, he just sounded annoyed.
"..."
"Crap."
"Um, ye-yes. I figured it's one thing to escape undetected, but it'd be better to hurt their pride. What better way to do that than to raid their kitchen on my way out. Plus, I was thirsty." Toga reached into the container and pulled out a can. Cracking it open, she took a long sip.
"Disgusting." The horrible taste made her want to gag.
The 3 boys didn't seem convinced. For a moment, Toga was afraid that she might have just taken a sip of that horrible drink for nothing. Then, a miracle happened.
"Damn it Peter, do you know how long it took us to get here? And now that we're finally here, you're sampling the drinks?" The moody boy sighed in frustration. "Just… whatever, let's go." The small group turned back to the door they entered through, ready to leave.
"They actually bought that? Peter, how do you act at school?" Toga wanted to feel happy, but then she realized that if they bought the story, now she had to come up with an excuse to stay.
"Wait!" The 3 rescuers looked back at Toga. "We can't leave yet."
"Why?" The blonde questioned. "If all the villains really are gone, this is the perfect opportunity to leave. Plus, we're kind of on a schedule here. The sooner we get out the better."
"R-right, but, I mean…" Toga searched for an excuse but came up short. Then she noticed something.
*ting, ting*
Above the door leading to the bar, there was a small vent. There was a faint ringing noise coming from within, a noise so quiet Toga could only hear it because she was listening closely.
To her surprise, one side of the vent was pushed away from the wall and dropped down, leaving only one side screwed in. With the cover partially removed, Toga could see inside the vent. She had to pinch herself to keep from saying something.
"Peter!? How did he- wait, could he hear us? He did say his hearing is enhanced." Toga did her best to not stare as Peter silently removed the vent cover completely and dropped to the ground behind his friends. Waving a hand to grab Toga's attention, he pointed at himself, then to the glasses boy and the dual-colored boy, then to her and the blonde. She understood. He would take the first two while she handled the other.
Toga subtly reached behind her and under the coat where one of her knives was stashed.
"Oh, wait, I should probably just knock him out."
Peter slowly crept closer. Toga was trying to do the same so she could do her part.
"I… I just think we should maybe stay a little longer. If there are 4 of us, we can probably handle them when they come back. We could arrest all the villains ourselves." Toga stalled for time in an effort to keep the others from turning around.
"No. We can't turn them in without being caught ourselves, and some of us need to be out of here soon. Also, it isn't just us. We've also got-" The scarred boy stopped talking, both his eyes widening slightly. Peter, who was now directly behind him, froze where he was, his eyes also widening. Toga could see fear in them.
"Uh, what's wro-" The disguised villain jumped in surprise when the moody boy slammed his foot into the ground, creating a small group of ice spikes that shot past her left side. There was a sound like shattering glass and dull thuds barely a second later. Toga felt a bit spooked by how close she had been to being impaled.
"Hold on, who was his target?"
Slowly, she looked behind her. She saw Twice standing there. His arms had been full of dozens of cans and pouches, many of them now scattered on the ground around him. Toga could clearly see his face and legs, but his torso was partially obscured by the icy spikes.
The spikes that were covered in red liquid.
"TWICE!" Toga screamed. Did… did her friend just die? Had this boy killed him?
Absolutely furious, Toga didn't hesitate to reach into her coat and pull out a knife. She was a heartbeat away from leaping into the small group and stabbing all 3 of the boys, but before she got the chance, a familiar voice cut through the small hallway.
"NOOOOOOO! MY KOOL AID!" Twice screamed in a shrill voice. Toga whirled back around to face him. The man had fallen to his knees and seemed to be crying behind his mask. In front of him was a broken cup with traces of red in it.
"...Kool Aid? I freaked out… over this?" Toga was happy her friend was fine, but also angry that she had panicked over something so minor.
"Twice, you jerk!" She shouted at the crying ninja.
"Huh?! Can somebody explain what's going on here?" The blonde boy half-yelled. The bespectacled boy opened his mouth to answer, but he never got the chance. Two hands, one reaching for him and the other reaching for the ice boy, grabbed both of their heads and smashed them together. The blonde jumped in fright, backing away from his passed out friends. Then he saw the culprit.
"Pet-" His sentence was left unfinished. He had backed up directly into Toga, who violently chopped the back of his neck. Just like that, he joined the others on the floor.
"Are you both okay?" Peter asked as he stepped carefully over his friends' bodies.
"I'm good. But, I don't think Twice is alright." Toga answered honestly. Behind her, Twice was still crying, with occasional breaks between his sobs for his other personalities to laugh at him. It was a very strange sight.
"Who are they?" Toga pointed at the knocked out high schoolers, an indifferent look on her face.
"These are my friends from school. Well, some of them are my friends. I'm not sure where I stand with Todoroki. They must have come looking for me. Sorry guys. I figured it'd be better to just knock you out instead of fighting you." Peter sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.
"What the hell is going on back here? You told me to wait in the room then jumped into the vent. Maybe give me an explan-" Dabi shoved his way into the hallway, looking annoyed. Upon seeing the new ice sculpture and the knocked out students, his annoyance was replaced with confusion. Then, with a perfectly blank face, he stared directly at Peter.
"Yeah, I'm definitely gonna need an explanation for this."
"Todoroki? Iida? Kaminari? Is everything okay?" A new voice shouted from the bar.
"Who's that?" Toga asked curiously. Peter was staring at the door in shock.
"Oh crap. He's here too." He said cryptically. Before Toga could ask him to elaborate, the door was forced open and two new boys entered the hallway. One had messy green hair and the other had spiky red hair. The redhead had odd skin. It looked as if he was made of rocks.
"Hey! There's nobody out front. What's all the noise?" The redhead kept his eyes on the bar as he talked. It wasn't until he finished talking that he finally turned around and saw the chaos within the hallway.
His group was out cold, there were two villains, one of which had lifted part of his mask to lick some kind of red liquid off of Todoroki's ice, only to get his tongue stuck. But perhaps the strangest thing of all was that there were two Peters.
For several seconds, nobody said a word. The green-haired boy was the first to make a move. His fingers seemed to glow orange and white as he shifted them into a flicking position and pointed his hand straight down the hallway.
"Nobody move!" He ordered. Nobody tried to. They had all either watched the sports festival or been present for it. They knew exactly what he could do and weren't eager to be on the receiving end of his quirk, especially not in a cramped space.
"Peter," Both Peter and Toga said "Yes?" at the same time.
"..."
The greenette didn't seem to know what to do.
"Hold on Midoriya, I know that guy. He was at the USJ." The redhead pointed at Twice, who was still trying to remove his tongue from the ice. When he noticed the spiky-haired boy pointing at him, he waved and tried to say hello, but it came out more as "Hwewo."
"His quirk lets him make copies of people. One of these Peters is fake."
"Which one?" Midoriya asked. His friend just gave him a clueless shrug.
Toga glanced at Peter. She could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to think of a way out of this.
"Midoriya," he began. "There's a lot going on here that you don't understand. I realize this looks bad, but you have to let me explain." The greenette looked convinced for just a split second, then suspicion filled his eyes and he moved his hand slightly to point it at Peter.
"I think that one's the fake Peter."
"Same. Which means…" Rock boy turned to Toga. "Peter, don't worry. We'll get you out of here soon."
"But… I don't want to leave." Toga thought.
"I don't want to have to attack any of you. Just give us Peter back, and we'll take our friends and leave." Midoriya tried to play the diplomat and defuse the situation, but Dabi was having none of it.
"Yeah, I'm gonna have to say nah to that." The scarred man casually walked forward with his hands in his pockets. "You're precious little heroes in training, aren't you? I doubt you'll be willing to fire off your quirk if there's a chance of catching your friend here in the crossfire. That said…'' Dabi lashed and wrapped one arm around Toga's neck. His free hand was placed next to her head, a small blue flame appearing in his palm. "You, power down. And I know that armor of yours isn't permanent, so how about you get rid of it for me?" Dabi spoke calmly and confidently. It was the tone of somebody who knew they were in control of the situation.
The redhead gritted his teeth and muttered something under his breath. Reluctantly, he did as he was told and his armor-like skin disappeared, becoming normal. Midoriya looked nervous, but refused to drop his hand.
"Oi, you think I'm joking kid? Drop your fucking hand or he's gone. Or maybe I should start slow. Why rush things, you know?" Dabi sounded angry, but Toga knew better. It was the voice he used when he wanted to make his opponent nervous or to make them comply with his demands. That didn't mean she was happy about being his hostage, even if it was just an act.
But still, Midoriya kept his hand raised.
"If I power down, what's to stop you from killing all of us? If it's all the same to you, I think I'll stay like this." Peter looked surprised by the boldness of Midoriya's statement. Dabi looked marginally impressed, though he still didn't let up.
"I don't think you understand the situation you're in. Your friend here is like my own personal meat shield. Even if you fire a shot off, you'll only cripple yourself and hurt your friend. As for me? I'll be just fine. So, I'm gonna ask you one last time." Dabi pressed his hand even closer to Toga's head. "Cut the shit and depower or your friend is fucking dead."
"I'll take my chances." Midoriya barely flinched. Toga knew that would only make Dabi angry for real.
"Then I guess we're in something of a stalemate."
"No, we're not. Everything's in my favor." Midoriya responded coolly. Dabi looked shocked by his response.
"What!?" he demanded.
"My friends are behind me, so they should be okay, and Peter could tank my hits and walk away. I could fire this off in his face and he would probably be fine. Now, give me my friend back or I will let go." Midoriya's teeth were gritted. It was obviously becoming difficult to hold the power of his quirk in his fingers for so long without releasing. Sooner or later, he would explode.
And that wouldn't end well for anybody.
"Midoriya." Peter tried again to reason with his friend. "You've gotta trust me. This is not what it looks li-"
"I know you aren't real." Midoriya didn't even look at Peter. This was the first time he had ever seen the greenette so serious. He was always so timid and nervous. Who was this person standing in his place?
There had to be a way to get him to calm down. Some way to calm things down.
"Wait a second."
Toga began to laugh. It started quietly, a few soft chuckles. Then it became full blown laughter. Everybody looked at her like she had gone insane.
"Your name is Midoriya, right? Just a fair warning, you're about to feel really stupid in a second." Offering no further explanation, Toga deactivated her quirk. Her skin deformed into grey sludge. Dabi recoiled away from her, shaking his hands in disgust. A few seconds passed and the sludge had reformed into skin, muscle, and bone.
And there was Toga. She looked ridiculous wearing Dabi's long coat and pants, both of which were far too big for her, but there was no denying who she was.
"What? Then, you…" Midoriya, whipped his head toward Peter, who offered a sheepish smile.
"Um, surprise? I tried to tell you, but… you weren't really listening." The volatile boy looked lost, his fingers still charged with energy. "Midoriya, please. I can explain everything. You're a good person, I know you'll listen. Just give me a chance." Peter begged.
Kirishima, who had been quiet for a while now, finally spoke up.
"Are you with them? Bro?"
"... I can't really say no, but I'm not 'with them' the way you're thinking. It's more like they're with me. Just let me talk, I promise everything will make sense."
Midoriya and Kirishima exchanged a look. Both looked confused, but while Midoriya looked uneasy, Kirishima looked like he was trying to not be angry.
Finally, some unspoken agreement was reached. The orange glow disappeared and the green-haired boy dropped his hand.
"Okay Peter, I trust you. What is going o-"
Before he could finish his question, Midoriya's eyes became glazed and he slumped to the floor. Kirishima tried to react, only to be knocked out as well by a punch to the face. He never even got a chance to activate his quirk.
"Unbelievable. I'm gone for 10 minutes and this happens. Are you all really so incapable?" Stain grumbled.
"Dude! They were calm! We could have talked things out!" Peter shouted.
"They are the least of our concern right now. We've got a bigger problem on its way." All eyes were on Stain now. "Follow me. And one of you close the curtains in the bar."
Throwing Kirishima over his shoulder and grabbing Midoriya by the back of his shirt, Stain wandered into the TV room. He carelessly flung both boys onto one of the couches before slumping into his recliner. Twice had gone to close the curtains while Peter and Dabi carried the other 3 boys into the room. Soon they were all together again, seated in the same places they were in before their group split up.
"Ugh, again?" Toga bent her head down and held it up with both hands. The headaches were getting worse. The pain was so bad she could feel her eyes beginning to water, and the tingly feeling had spread to her toes.
"What the hell is going on?"
"Are we all here? Good. Now shut up and listen. We've got a serious problem and unless you listen to me very carefully, we're all fucked." Stain explained gravely.
7 Minutes Ago, Stain's POV:
The hero killer had been watching the hero from afar for about 5 minutes now. Against his better judgement, he had decided to not kill him, but rather to observe.
"It would be better to get closer. He was communicating with somebody. If they call again, I need information to go off of." Grabbing his damaged katana and slinging it into its sheath, Stain stealthily crept across the rooftop. He couldn't risk digging his blades into a building. The noise could alert the hero, which meant he could only travel between buildings that were close together.
Forced to take the long way around, Stain ended up near the main road. Leaping off the building, he landed on a lamppost, his balance perfect. From there, he jumped to the fire escape of the next building over and made his way to the top. He could see the hero there, watching his new hideout carefully.
"Hm, an information gatherer. Smart, but he needs to watch his back." Stain muttered. He lowered himself into a crouch and crept over to the dirty man. The false heroes made good money, didn't they? Could this man not even afford a shower? Or was he just too lazy to take one?
Stain's critical thoughts were interrupted by a quiet buzzing noise. The vibrating of a cell phone. He heard the hero grumbling in annoyance as he reached into his pocket and withdrew a phone. The caller ID read "Detective Tsukauchi."
"I've heard that name before. He's one of the men investigating me."
"What do you want?"
"I've got bad news, Eraserhead. The city's screwed up right now." A tired voice emanated from the phone.
"'Messed up' how?"
"A lot of ways. After the Hosu incident, all the villains in Japan suddenly became bolder. There's too many crimes and not enough heroes. I've had to divert your reinforcements to more urgent assignments. On top of that, all the criminals running away and the battles waged between them and the heroes have left a lot of roads damaged. Travel has slowed down dramatically." The detective explained.
"Damn it. Do you need me there?" The hero offered.
"No. Keep an eye on the hideout and call me if anything changes."
"Fine. How soon until I can get some backup?"
"I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that with everything going on, at best you'll get help in an hour, but I'd expect it'd be closer to two."
"Wonderful. And the good news?"
"Many of the villains have popped up somewhat near your location. With any luck, we can get you a lot of backup all at once."
"So it's a long wait for a lot of help. Fine, just don't take too long." The hero groaned as he hung up his phone. Stain saw him turn off the vibration function before placing his phone down next to him.
"A full-scale assault." Stain grumbled. "Sounds a bit dangerous. The odds are a bit against us, aren't they?" Rising to his feet, he drew two of his oversized knives and stalked over to the hero. "What say I even the odds a little?"
Now directly behind him, Stain swung both knives down on the man. Through some ridiculous amount of dumb luck, the hero noticed him out of the corner of his eye and rolled to the side, barely avoiding the knives. His cell phone was not as lucky.
"Perfect. Now I've gotta buy a new one." Eraserhead sighed. Reaching up, he pulled his strange goggles down over his eyes and loosened the scarf hanging around his neck.
"The hero killer himself came after me? I'm flattered."
"I'm sure you are. Relax, you won't die here. You could say I'm on temporary leave from being the hero killer." Stain and Aizawa circled each other, Stain tossing and catching one of his knives as he walked.
"A hero killer that doesn't kill? I'll believe it when I see it." Eraserhead threw his scarf at Stain, who slashed at it with one knife. To his surprise, the cloth didn't cut. Instead, it wrapped around his knife and continued flying toward his chest. Acting quickly, Stain released the knife and dove to the side before he was caught. By the time he stood up, he was already holding a new knife.
"Just what I need, a villain that's actually capable."
Again, the scarf was launched at Stain. Instead of trying to cut it, he rolled underneath and ran straight for the hero. If he relied on his equipment, he was likely hopeless at close range.
Twisting to the side to avoid another attempt at restraining him, Stain spun around the hero's back and prepared to strike him with his elbow.
Only for it to be caught.
"Hmm?"
"What? You didn't really think I'm only good with my capture scarf, did you?" Eraserhead taunted. Stain growled in response.
Twisting his elbow out of the shaggy man's grip, Stain spun in place, gradually lowering himself as he did so. When his head was level with Erasherhead's waistline, he lashed out with a kick and struck his opponents thigh. Before he could recover, Stain leaped straight at him, crashing his shoulder into the hero's chest.
Aizawa was pushed back by the rough attack, though he still managed to stay on his feet.
"I'll admit, you're no one-trick pony, but your skills need work." Stain chuckled dryly.
"You sure about that?" Eraserhead asked. Stain felt a tug on his leg. Looking down, he saw that his right leg had been almost entirely wrapped in the capture scarf.
"When did- oof!" The hero killer was pulled to the ground. He felt the wind get knocked out of him when his back crashed onto the rooftop. He tried to stand, but the hero was already pulling him over. Now standing over him, he dropped to the ground and snaked underneath Stain, forcing him into a choke hold.
"Do me a favor and don't struggle. Make my life easy for once."
Stain grasped the hero's arm in an effort to pull it away from his neck, but he wasn't budging. Switching strategies, he reached for one of his knives, only for the scarf to once again restrain him.
The world was growing dark. It was hard to breathe.
"No. I have so much left to do, so much to accomplish. I will not be beaten by some dirty hobo calling himself a hero."
One last desperate effort. Once chance to win the fight.
Stain lifted both legs and bent his knees before slamming the soles of his feet onto the roof. With sheer willpower, he pushed his body forward and slowly rose to his feet. He felt the grip around his neck tighten but he didn't care.
The hero killer was standing now. Slowly, he stumbled over to the edge of the rooftop, pausing just before he walked over the side.
"Let go. Now." He demanded in a hoarse tone.
"Or what?"
"Or I jump. I'm stronger and more physically fit than you. I could easily force you underneath me so that you hit the ground first. Which of us will walk away alive, I wonder?" Stain laughed.
"You're bluffing." Eraserhead didn't sound impressed.
"Oh, you pathetic false hero. You underestimate my drive. My willingness to do whatever it takes to accomplish my goal. If this is what it takes to defeat you…" The world was nearly pitch black by this point. Before he lost consciousness, Stain took a step off the roof. "Then so be it."
There was only air around Stain. Gravity took hold and both he and the hero plummeted to the ground below.
"You crazy bastard!" The hero muttered. Releasing his grip around Stain's neck, he unwrapped his capture scarf from the villain's limbs and flung it at the top of the building. His airway unblocked, Stain took multiple deep breaths as fell through the air. Looking up, he saw that Eraserhead had thrown his scarf back to the rooftop. Growling, he twisted around and grabbed his leg before using his momentum to yank the man down.
Just before Stain grabbed him, the scarf took hold on something. The two only stopped free-falling for the briefest of moments before gravity took hold once more. If it weren't for that, they would have fallen the full 8 stories to the ground below. Thanks to the miniscule moment of decreased velocity, they only began falling again about 2 stories above the ground.
Hero and villain wrestled each other in the air, trying to force the other underneath them. Stain grabbed Aizawa's head and used his free hand to viciously punch him in the face twice. Now dazed, he lacked the strength to fight back when Stain forced him underneath him. He felt the ground approach as he got closer. Finally, he came into contact with the ground.
He could swear he felt some of his ribs crack, and probably some other bones as well. It wasn't enough to knock him out though.
"You really shouldn't have come here." Stain groaned. He was on top of the hero, but the impact still affected him. Reaching for his belt, he drew one of his knives and pressed it to Aizawa's throat.
"As much as I would love to kill you here, I told you before that I'm on a bit of a break from being the hero killer. All because of that student of yours. You should say 'thank you' next time you see him. He just saved your life."
Stain sheathed his knife. Aizawa's eyes widened behind his goggles.
"Peter?"
Stain didn't respond. Instead, he reared back his fist and punched him one last time in the face, finally knocking him out.
Dusting himself off, the hero killer used the hero's capture scarf to tie him up. Placing him on his shoulders, he carried the scraggy hero inside the hideout and tossed him on top of one of the tables. He had done enough for the man by not killing him. He didn't have to be gentle with him now.
A shout drew Stain's attention. It was an unfamiliar voice, one that came from the door in the back of the room.
"Unbelievable. They've already been infiltrated?" He complained. Stomping over to the door, he wrenched it open and prepared to knock out whoever was on the other side.
Present Time, Toga's POV:
"You beat up my teacher?" Peter put his head in his hands.
"He tried to choke me out. I consider us even." Stain shrugged.
"So what you're saying is that we've got two hours at best before a small army of douchebags turns up at our doorstep?" Dabi pressed.
"Yes. That is the situation we find ourselves in."
"Then we leave." Toga spoke as if it was obvious.
"We can't just leave, girl." Stain looked at her as if she were an idiot.
"He's right, we can't. We need a hideout that can hold all of us, and we can't exactly go house shopping for a place that's hidden, doesn't get visitors, and can hold this many people. Plus, Spinner and the others aren't here. What happens when they come back and see that we're gone? Are they supposed to just wander around by themselves? Peter explained.
A small groan caught everybody's attention. The high-schoolers were beginning to stir. Before they could wake up completely, Peter webbed them all to the couch. Ignoring them, Dabi spoke up.
"What then? We're supposed to fight off an army with half our manpower? Here's what we've got Peter. We've got a mostly useless idiot, a wannabe ninja, a vampire, a happy-go-lucky hero, and," Dabi pointed at himself. "A pyromaniac." The scarred man paused for a moment before laughing happily. "I like these odds. I figure I can take out about fifteen on my one, but after that I'm gonna need some help."
"We can't 'take them out' Dabi." Peter sighed.
"Ugh, boring. Can we at least use the hostages to our advantage?" Dabi's gaze swept over the knocked out students. When he caught sight of Todoroki, he stopped. His eyes widened a bit, only to then narrow almost instantly. Todoroki, now partially awake, glared back. He wasn't sure what the villain's problem was, but he wasn't going to let the man scare him.
"I'll be right back. I need to get changed out of these clothes." Toga excused herself from the conversation and left the others. Heading back to her own room, she grabbed some clothes out of her closet and changed into them.
"Finally, I can take this stupid coat off." Toga sighed in relief when the weight of the heavy jacket disappeared. That was one small problem dealt with. Unfortunately, there was still the matter of the major problem.
Unlike the other times, nothing was going away.
The headache? Still there.
The tingling? Still there.
The uncomfortable hot flash? It wasn't just a "flash" anymore.
On top of that, new things were coming up. She wasn't sure how to explain it, but Toga's blood hurt. Every time her heart beat, she felt pain course through her veins, as if her blood had been replaced by acid.
"I can't wait anymore. I need medicine."
Toga stumbled to her bedroom door. Walking made her legs ache to the point that she was seriously considering crawling to her destination. Suddenly, it happened.
A single, huge throb of pain shot through her head. It took everything Toga had to keep herself from screaming. She nearly lost her balance and had to slam her body into the wall to keep herself from falling down.
Limping down the hall while using the wall to support herself, Toga pressed her whole body into the kitchen door to open it. This meant she had nothing to put her weight on, so when the door opened, she fell face first into the ground.
Strangely, it didn't even hurt.
The past few hours had just been gradually increasing pain all over her body, but somehow, a face plant directly into the linoleum did nothing.
Deciding to just be thankful, Toga forced herself to stand up and grabbed hold of the cabinet they kept the medicine in. But when she tried to pull it open, the knob broke off.
"Oh come on, really? Why now?" Toga groaned, only to regret it immediately. Apparently, talking made her headache worse. Angrily, she tossed the broken knob through the open door and into the hallway.
Digging her nails into the gap between the cabinet and the cover, she pried it open and grabbed every pill bottle she saw.
"Headaches… fevers… pain… screw it." Toga took two of every pill and threw them all into her mouth. They all tasted weird, but if they helped with the symptoms, then whatever.
"I probably look like a wreck right now. Didn't Kurogiri keep a mirror in here?"
Looking around, Toga saw that there was indeed a mirror hanging above the sink. Slowly dragging herself over, Toga put both hands on the sink to keep herself upright. Looking straight ahead, her suspicions were confirmed. She really did look like hell.
The skin around her eyes was faintly turning black, making it look as if she desperately needed sleep. The rest of her skin had grown noticeably paler and every vein in her body was popping out, clearly visible through her skin. The whites of her eyes had become slightly bloodshot and her normally gold irises had grown clouded. They now appeared to be a murky brown. To top it off, she was unusually sweaty. Multiple strands of her hair were stuck to face, giving her a wild look.
"Oh god. What the hell is wrong with- agh!" Again, a huge pain shot through her brain. Toga screwed her eyes shut and tightly clamped her head in both hands, hoping the pressure would do something.
It didn't. But that wasn't the worst part.
When Toga finally opened her eyes, everything looked odd. It was like she was cross-eyed.
"Why… why is everything so blurry?" She couldn't look at herself anymore. Toga felt as if the longer she stared at her reflection, the more new symptoms would spring up.
Turning on her heel, she staggered out of the kitchen and into the hallway. Rounding to the corner, she made her way back to the TV room.
Time felt like it was moving slower. Every step took minutes to reach the ground and the door looked like it was getting farther away. After what felt like years, she finally slammed her side into the door and forced it open, much to the surprise of the others.
"Toga? Are you- TOGA!?" Peter jumped to his feet, his voice laced with concern. Even he could see how bad she looked.
And that was it. She couldn't do it anymore. The blurriness turned to darkness and Toga passed out on her feet.
Peter's POV:
Seeing the light leave Toga's eyes, Peter sprinted across the room to catch her before she could fall to the ground.
"Toga!? Hey, hey! Can you still hear me?!" Peter set the vampire girl down gently before he began fussing over her. His first thought was to press a finger to her neck. She still had a pulse and she was still breathing. At least she was still alive.
"What's wrong with her?" Dabi leaned forward to get a better look, only for Twice to shove him aside. The crazy man dashed across the room and slid across the floor to Peter and Toga. For once, all of his personalities seemed to be in agreement on what to see.
"ARE YOU OKAY!? IS SHE OKAY!? WHAT'S WRONG!? WHAT HAPPENED!?" The voices were different, but the questions were all similar.
Peter had no idea what the problem was. He wasn't a doctor, he was a scientist. Chemical formulas, blueprints, nuclear fission, that was his area of expertise. But this? What could he do here?"
"Wonderful, now we only have four people. What are we supposed to do now?" Stain threw both hands up in exasperation. He was clearly more upset about being inconvenienced than he was about Toga's condition.
"Is… is she okay?" Midoriya asked, concern evident in his voice. He may have been captured, but there was still a person suffering in front of him. He had to at least ask if she was alright.
"I have no idea." Peter answered honestly. Carefully, he lifted Toga off the ground and moved her to the free couch. Everybody could see her clearly now. Stain and Dabi barely quirked an eyebrow at the sight of her. Midoriya and Iida both looked very concerned, Kirishima looked a bit worried, and even Todoroki seemed somewhat concerned.
Twice was still panicking.
"As much as I would love to be worried about her, we've got bigger problems. Peter, what. Do. We. Do?" Dabi asked slowly.
Peter didn't take his eyes off Toga. A lot of things were on his mind right now, but most of them were plans for how to help Toga, not the group as a whole.
For two solid minutes, he didn't respond. Then, finally…
"We stay. We fight."
"What?"
"Boy, have you gone mad?" Stain growled.
"No. It's our best option. Leaving was a bad idea before and it's an even worse idea now. We can't move her around too much or she'll get worse, and we'll have to move even slower to make sure she doesn't get hurt. If we leave, it'll only be a matter of time before we get caught. If we stay here, if we set up a defense, we can drive off the heroes then take her to a hospital."
"A hospital? You think they'll let a group of villains walk through the door? At best, they'll help her and call the police. At worst, they'll flat-out deny us help and call the heroes. This is a terrible-"
"WELL WHAT DO YOU WANT ME TO DO DABI!?" Peter whipped around, yelling angrily. "WE DON'T HAVE ANY OTHER OPTIONS HERE! WE CAN GET TOGA HELP OR WE CAN STAY OUT OF SIGHT, BUT WE CAN'T DO BOTH!"
"Then why not leave right now?" Midoriya offered. The others all looked at him critically, making him look down nervously. "I-I mean, I don't understand what's happening, but if she really needs help that badly, why not just run to the hospital now?"
"We can't. We don't know where Mr. Aizawa's reinforcements are coming from. We could end up walking straight into them. If we stay here, at least we have an area to defend and we won't be caught in the open. And if there really are more criminals appearing in the area, we could walk right into an active robbery or something. Our best bet is to defend the bar and sneak out when we have the chance." Peter explained.
"Three villains and a vigilante against an army of heroes? Who ever heard of a gamble with worse odds?" Dabi sighed. Despite his dismal thoughts, he couldn't keep the big smile from spreading on his face. "Ah, hell with it. Worse case scenario, we get arrested. I can break out of any prison easily. Besides, how many people can say they did something this bat-shit crazy?" Standing up, he walked over to Toga and placed a hand on her forehead.
"Sleep tight little devil. When you wake up, we'll have one hell of a story to tell you. Heh, I can't wait to see Spinner's face when he hears about what he missed.
"This is the worst plan I've ever heard." Stain said bluntly. "But… if it hurts the false heroes, then I see it as an opportunity." Like Dabi, he too walked over and placed a hand on Toga's shoulder.
"Rest well soldier. When you return to us, you're going right back to work fighting the false heroes."
Peter smiled at both of them. He smiled extra wide at Toga, as if she could see him through her closed eyes.
"I'll get you help as soon as possible. I'm a hero, remember? It's my job to help people."
"Peter…" Twice asked, somewhat nervously. "What exactly is our plan?"
The young hero refused to drop his smile. The odds were heavily stacked against their small group, yet still he smiled.
Peter pointed at Dabi. "We've got fire."
Peter pointed at Twice. "We've got clones."
A finger was raised in Stain's direction. "We've got the element of surprise."
Peter placed his hand on one of the couch's armrests and crushed it effortlessly. "We've got muscle. And, most importantly…"
Peter pointed at the ground and fired a small web straight down.
"We've got traps."
One last time, Peter turned to Twice.
"What's our plan? Simple. We've got an hour and a half until a hero army turns up at our doorstep. That means we've got ninety minutes to turn this place into the most defendable hole in the ground this city has ever seen."
Peter pointed to the clock hanging above the doorway. It was exactly 3:10.
"And that's exactly what we're gonna do."
I have a feeling some of you have already predicted exactly what's going on with Toga. There's the two obvious answers, but then there's the less obvious possibilities. I live in the grey area between likely and unlikely.
Oh, and to anybody who knows what the significance of it being 3:10 is… well, I can't give you anything, but how about a crisp high five? I'll slap my laptop screen if any of you can guess correctly, just be ready to receive.
[1]: I've never actually had Kool Aid. Yes, I know, I'm a disappointment to the 2000's kids. In all seriousness though, is it any good?
I know none of you want to wait too long for the next chapter, I get that. I know I would be absolutely pissed if I read a story and the author made me wait a long time for the next chapter after a cliffhanger like this. Don't worry, you won't be waiting long.
Thanks for reading and remember to leave a review.
Aren signing off.