TheRedeemer1995: Greetings, prospective readers, and welcome back to The Venom Inside! Well, I don't really have anything to talk about, so let's begin!

Interlude Two

U.A. Principal's Office

When Nedzu woke up, he wasn't expecting much to happen that day. Well, with the exception of trying to find some answers as to how the U.A. security gate was destroyed and allowed the members of the press inside. This caused a panic in the school, making an absolutely disastrous situation even worse.

Instead though, he was greeted with the news that the terrifying new vigilante on the scene, the self-proclaimed Symbol of Vengeance known as Venom, had just made headlining news. The vigilante was something of a curious figure for the principal. After all, Venom had publicly stated that he stood up for the Quirkless and Villainous Quirked, a campaign most would not even dare to push without certain issues. That was not the case for Venom, as the latest news article had shown that Venom had both cleared his name of the murder charges that Nedzu had correctly deduced had been fabricated by the HPSC, and had also managed to expose the corruption within the commission. A truly great feat, only to also show the corruption and moral decay within several Top Heroes, including Endeavor and Hawks.

This was followed by his students being affected by these revelations. In particular, young Shouto Todoroki had become far less reserved and generally seemed much happier, like some great crushing weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. The principal wouldn't be surprised if this newfound change would finally allow him to work up the courage to "make a play," as the kids say, and begin dating Miss Yaoyorozu, who clearly had feelings for the young man.

Other students seemed less than pleased with what had happened though. Tenya Iida in particular seemed to be of the opinion that Venom was the bad guy in all this. He declared that even if he wasn't a murderer, he was still an active vigilante who should be made to answer for his crimes. Nedzu understood this perspective, but then Iida went further by saying the claims against the HPSC were likely being overexaggerated by the media, that it was impossible for the society that the commission presided over to be as horrifically corrupt as the media was portraying it as.

The sight made Nedzu sigh. He knew better after all. He knew that Hero Society was not without its flaws, especially with such awful human beings becoming Top Heroes while the Quirkless or those with impractical Quirks being treated as something less than human beings. Their futures were also being so severely limited, the Midoriya boy that young Uraraka had spoken to him about being a prime example.

Oh, how he desperately wanted to make Aldera Junior High burn for what they did to the boy among others, including young Bakugou. The teen was, from his perspective, just as much of a victim as the Midoriya boy, having been strung along into thinking that bullying the weak was a good quality for a hero to have. That kind of mindset had to be taught, something that made things truly terrifying for any future heroes from that middle school. However, the principal didn't have any concrete evidence, which meant there was nothing he could do.

Regardless, Venom, while he seemed like he had the best of intentions, and Nedzu personally wanted to invite the creature to U.A. for the finest tea, a handshake, a heartfelt thanks for exposing the corruption of the HPSC, and to see if he could talk him into becoming a Hero Course student, had made some serious moves that had the potential to destabilize the very foundations of society as they knew it. Not only that, he had ruined the careers of several Top Heroes, including Endeavor and Hawks, and there needed to be a discussion about what to do about the vigilante.

As such, he called a meeting at U.A., the principal filling up a conference room in the middle of the school day. In attendance was All Might in his skinny form, Midnight, Detective Naomasa from the MPD, Ectoplasm, and Eraserhead while the rest of the teachers were dealing with the students.

"I'm not entirely sure trying to get Venom to become a hero is a good idea in the long run," Eraserhead commented as he stared at a folder, the papers inside going over the various events involving the vigilante. "I will admit though, he does seem like he has good intentions. He certainly has what it takes to become a hero, rescuing Eri from Overhaul is proof enough of that. However, the fact remains that we know nothing about him. Heck, there's nothing but theories on his Quirk, and he's committed a full list of crimes."

"I disagree," Midnight chimed in, a firm look on her face. "I mean, have you seen him? He looks every bit the part of a villain, and he certainly has the skills and the Quirk to be a very deadly villain if he wanted to. But that's the thing. He doesn't want to be a villain. He wants to be someone that the people he believes the HPSC and the heroes of society have failed can believe in, someone to look up to. So, he turned to vigilantism." She shined a small smile at this, "If that's not hero material, what is?" Her gaze went to her boss, "Nedzu's right. I think Venom has more than proven he's real hero material, and deserves the chance to become one legally."

"Let's not forget how intelligent he is underneath that bulk," Toshinori added, "He knew exactly how to turn my Texas Smash to his advantage, and he even claimed to know how I think. He's clearly a talented analyst and tactician."

"Indeed. Seeing how he handled that overdosed thug before you confronted him, he clearly knows how to form a strategy and a plan of attack, outside of his plan being 'attack.' I have no doubt that he would excel as a student at this school," Ectoplasm continued.

Midnight and Ectoplasm nodded in agreement. They had quickly come to the conclusion that whoever Venom really was, he was most likely school age, perhaps even the same age as the Hero Course first-years. He was likely a late-bloomer who had been bullied extensively for his mistaken Quirklessness, as he wouldn't be trying to be a hero for the Quirkless otherwise. As for Toshinori, the vigilante reminded him of young Midoriya, if not for the fact that his mother had confirmed that he was diagnosed as Quirkless, complete with the x-ray of having pinky toes with multiple joints rather than just one. He remembered how his own mother had tried to cheer him up by telling him that maybe having pinky toes with multiple joints was his Quirk, but it was to no effect.

"Well, here's my thoughts on the situation," Naomasa chimed in, "Personally, I think Venom was fully justified and in the right for his actions, and he's done a tremendous amount of good for both Hero Society and the people he claims to stand for. Exposing the truth about the HPSC, Endeavor, and the other former Top Heroes is significant. Honestly, he reminds me of the heroes I would read about in American comic books as a child, who did the right thing because it was the right thing, and for no other reason than that. However, this isn't a comic book. The law is sadly still the law, and the fact remains that despite all the good he's done, he's a vigilante. He still needs to pay for his unlicensed vigilantism in some way, though not necessarily with jail time."

"You are not wrong, Naomasa." Nedzu replied while staring down at a folder, only to show a casual smirk as he put the folder down on the conference room table. "But I believe this is a prime opportunity. This is the best time to go and find Venom, offer him a chance to become a legitimate hero provided he plays by the rules, and go from there."

"And… what do we do if he turns us down?" asked Ectoplasm, the group all turning to the hero. Frowns soon followed this, realizing that was a legitimate question in this mess.

Nedzu however, just took a sip of his tea before he gave his response. "Then, as much of a shame as it is, we must take him down and bring him in to answer for his vigilantism."

In the Halls of U.A.'s Hero Department…

Shouto Todoroki, a young man with what seemed to be a scar on the left side of his face and hair that was white on the right side and red on the side with the scar, was currently smiling from ear to ear. He couldn't help it. Thanks to that incredible vigilante known as Venom, his father Enji Todoroki aka Endeavor, had been fired as a hero. Not only that, he was being investigated for his crimes against his own family, including child abuse against his siblings, assaulting Shouto's mother, the death of his older brother Touya, and for the cherry on top, he was being sued for literally everything he had. And after everything his father had put Shouto, his mother, and siblings through, anything the authorities needed from him to put his father away for good, he would be more than happy to provide.

Thanks to Venom, for the first time that he could honestly remember, he felt… free. Like he was finally free of his father, free to forge his own path as a hero rather than the one his father had laid out for him. He was free from the curse and the pressure of being known as "Shouto Todoroki, the fourth son of Endeavor," and finally able to be known as simply "Shouto Todoroki, Hero Student."

Those he had been fortunate enough to call his friends had also seen the change in his demeanor, and they were more than happy to see it. Hearing his mother, sister and brother on the phone being beyond cheerful that Enji had finally gotten what was coming to him felt truly good. Not only that, he was also humiliated by a vigilante, and it was agreed between the four that Touya would at last be able to rest in peace.

However, not everything was perfect yet. There was still one more thing he needed to do before he could call everything perfect.

"Hey, Momo!" Shouto called out to Momo, causing the black-haired girl to spin around. The sight of the girl caused a lump to form in Shouto's throat as she now stared at him. The truth was, he had been smitten by Momo Yaoyorozu from the moment he had laid eyes on her, but had kept his feelings to himself because of his father. He knew if the man had found out about her, Enji would do just about anything to the girl in order to push Shouto into becoming his proxy as the Number One Hero.

That was about to change though as Momo saw the nervous look on his face. She smirked at the sight, only for her smile to quickly vanish as she mentally said, 'About time, Shouto.'

In truth, Momo had been nursing a massive crush on Shouto Todoroki ever since she first met him, but had been put off from acting on it in fear of rejection. How she had longed to take the burden that Shouto clearly carried on his shoulders, as she knew what the burden of her own family had done to her. But with the news of his father's downfall, it seemed that Shouto's burden had been lifted. Whoever or whatever this Venom creature really was, he undoubtedly had her support.

Shouto cleared his throat before he spoke up, "I… I was wondering, if, maybe you'd… if you'd… like to go and see a movie together sometime, or go and grab dinner somewhere sometime."

Momo responded with a small smile, "I'd love to."

Out in the U.A. Grounds…

"Really Tenya? You're gonna say that, even with everything I told you about Izuku?" asked Ochako as she, Mina, Tsuyu, and Kyouka Jirou, a young woman with black hair and earphone jacks infused with her earlobes, sat on the ground, eating their lunch.

Tenya Iida, a young man with short black hair and glasses, heaved a long heavy sigh. "Look Uraraka, I'm not saying that what happened to your boyfriend wasn't the result of society. I understand that some of the Top Heroes becoming corrupted and twisted is something that happened, but I'm also saying that it isn't the HPSC's fault. Their job is to keep things like what happened to him from happening, and to hold heroes accountable for their actions. They're not the ones who let society get this bad for the Quirkless, Weak Quirked, and Villainous Quirked."

"Okay, for one thing, Izuku is not my boyfriend-" Ochako started to say.

'Yet,' Mina, Tsuyu, and Kyouka added in their heads.

"-and another thing, if the HPSC is supposed to hold heroes accountable, how do you explain them letting Endeavor get away with manslaughter on more than one occasion?! How do you explain the bribes that Hawks took to look the other way?! How do you explain all those Top Heroes getting away with being terrible people?!"

"She's got a point, kero," Tsuyu added. "It's not all black and white with what happened."

"Yeah!" Kyouka continued, "The evidence is there. The HPSC have been letting the Top Heroes get away with everything just shy of murder. It was on all the news channels, including all the leaked stuff."

Tenya heaved another frustrated sigh. "Like I keep saying, Venom was acting as a vigilante when he got that evidence. That alone calls it into question," he began to chop the air with one of his arms, "He might have even fabricated the evidence for all we know."

Mina shook her head, "Ladies, I believe this here is proof that denial is not just a river in Egypt." This was followed with Ochako, Tsuyu, and Kyouka laughing, much to Tenya's annoyance.

"Look, Venom is trying to destabilize the country with this drama to make it easy pickings for villains! Can you not see that?!" Tenya yelled, only for the girls to all roll their eyes at him.

At a local bar…

The burned, stapled, and skin grafted wreck formerly known as Touya Todoroki, now known as Dabi, was feeling particularly peeved at the moment. Granted, there was a slight bit of peace in his mind as well, as one couldn't exactly fault him for feeling both ways. He had faked his own suicide to try to ruin his father, only to achieve jack shit as a result. Then along comes some upstart vigilante with a drive full of evidence, gives it to the media, and suddenly Endeavor loses his job. Not only that, he also became the subject of an investigation into what he did to his mother and siblings, his faked suicide, and is getting sued for everything he owned!

How the hell was that fair?! What did this vigilante have that he didn't, that allowed him to rob him of his life's purpose, and actually succeed in where he had failed?!

It burned him to not know the answer to that question. He needed the answer.

'Maybe it was because of who Touya Todoroki was,' thought Dabi as he took a swig of his drink. 'Maybe it was always going to be this way. Maybe… no matter how hard I tried, nothing I could've done would have brought Endeavor down. Touya Todoroki was too close to Endeavor, who had long since branded him a failure, to have taken him down. This vigilante, this Venom… he's an unknown. He's a variable no one, not even Endeavor, could have predicted. Maybe there's something to this whole vigilante thing. Something more than being a villain…'

Dabi had thought about accepting the invitation extended to him by a group going by the name "The League of Villains," thinking that perhaps by styling himself as his father's archenemy, he could at last ruin him once and for all. But Venom, a vigilante, had changed that. Venom had succeeded where he had failed. That meant he needed a new method to humiliate his father…and Venom was showing him the answer.

'Could vigilantism work? Heck, I could show I'm a better hero than Endeavor ever was if I did that.' he thought as he took another drink. 'Would that work? I mean, it could let me get back to mom…and the others. Though being a big brother after all this time seems crazy.'

Though he would deny it until the day he died for real, the part of Dabi that was still Touya Todoroki couldn't help but think that notion would be nice.

At an undisclosed location…

The Hero Killer known as Stain was feeling conflicted by the recent news that had dropped. He didn't like feeling conflicted. Emerging from seemingly nowhere, the vigilante known as Venom had fought and forced All Might to flee from him. That alone would have put Venom on his hit list, except he had absolutely nothing to work from. Well, apart from the fact that he was apparently a murderer. So, he decided that he would wait until more information about Venom became available.

Then just this morning, he had learned that Venom had leaked evidence to Front Line Communications that exposed corruption in the HPSC, as well as exposed the dirty laundry of several Top Heroes, destroying their careers in a single stroke. Venom may not have killed those heroes, but with their lives completely ruined, they were as good as dead. Especially once Stain got his hands on them.

The Hero Killer couldn't contain his satisfaction, or his laughter.

Regardless, Venom's standing with him became complex as a result of this news. The black-clad creature clearly despised just how obsessed people were with these false heroes who existed only to serve themselves. It was something Stain agreed with, as heroes were supposed to protect and help others for no other reason than it was the right thing to do. And now Venom had unmasked several of those frauds for who they truly were, and even the HPSC had been revealed as corrupt, which likely meant that a number of people who had been set up to take falls for the HPSC were likely being released from prison.

And as thought went through his head, Stain made his decision. He needed to learn more about Venom, and the only way he could do that was to go to Mustafu and observe Venom in action.

Besides, he needed to head there anyway so he could have a… chat… with Endeavor.

At The Toga Residence…

Himiko Toga, a young woman who had a number of bruises and partially healed bite marks on her silky skin, was sitting on the floor of her bedroom. Her long blonde hair hung loosely around her shoulders as she wore a white tanktop and black shorts, and she was currently staring at phone in her hands. On its screen was the hottest thing in the news right now: Venom.

And Venom was really something else from where she was sitting. Those muscles… that tongue… it certainly got her hot and bothered under the collar. It was what others called a Villainous Quirk through and through, and it was sexy to her.

Not only that, many people were lauding Venom as a hero now, despite the fact that he was technically acting as an illegal vigilante. That alone was crazy to the girl. The idea of someone that monstrous looking could be called a hero. It made her wonder if someone like her, someone with a "villainous quirk," could become a real hero like he was. An idol that protected people who cried out for a savior.

'I wish Venom would come save me and Ashi from our parents…'

And as that thought entered her mind, the world around her vanished as what she had taken to calling The Thirst suddenly came over her full force. That, and a certain sense of desperation that came afterward. The first time she had felt The Thirst overwhelm her, she had come to find herself sucking the blood out of her childhood best friend like a leech or vampire. Ever since then, her parents had…

Before she could finish her recollection, Himiko spoke. "Soon comes chaos… chaos soon comes…" she said before sinking her fangs into her own arm in the hopes of relieving The Thirst.

TheRedeemer1995: And that's a bingo! If you liked what you saw here, then be sure to fave, follow, reivew, and join us next time for the USJ Incident! See you then!