"I... I don't have anything to say to you, you evil bastard..." said Sumire as she tried to avoid looking at the man that was staring her down through his hideous mask.
"Now that's not a very heroic thing to say to someone that just saved you from your original kidnappers. Their connections ran pretty deep, I must say. The League of Villains is in a much better position now for having taken advantage of their deal. Were you aware that their group was responsible for the deaths of your parents? To think that they'd be so careless to blabber on about their entire history with you as if we needed to know it! Oh, I take it by that expression on your face you weren't aware of just how your parents met their end? That's too bad, but that just goes to show you how flawed this 'hero' system truly is."
Sumire had recently learned that her parents hadn't died in an accident like she had grown up believing but were killed by some group that wanted to take advantage of their Quirks. She hadn't known just who was responsible, at least not until now if this man was telling the truth. "I didn't know it was them, but that doesn't mean I'm grateful for your intervention nor do I owe you anything as a result. My parents died protecting me, heroes in every sense of the word. I don't see the flaws you claim exist. I don't know much about my mother and father, but they didn't waver in their convictions and stood against evil."
"I'm wondering just how much of that is true. You see, I know someone that has a very similar Quirk to yours. Now it's possible that it's just a coincidence that you two happen to have similar abilities. But I think the possibility that you're related to him is at least worth exploring. And if it turns out to be false, then your Quirk could still prove quite useful to our cause."
"I will never have any part of your group. A long time ago, I believed that the world I knew was made up of those who break and those who fix. What I've witnessed today has only reaffirmed my belief in that idea. So no, I'll never help you to break this world apart. I'll fight with everything I have to be the one to fix things." She had calmed down during their conversation, growing accustomed to the look of the man before her. To her surprise, the skinny and pale man started laughing at her.
"Hahahaha! That is an interesting concept; it keeps everything so damn simple! Can't you see, girl? Can't you see that this world HAS to be broken if there's to be any hope for improving it? This society must be broken down to its most basic form to give us all a chance to start anew! There's an imbalance in this world that gives an advantage to those with Quirks that are considered heroic. What about the people with Quirks that set them up to just look like villains based on their nature? By something they were born with and couldn't help? Those people get isolated and shunned to the point where their only option is to become what society already condemned them to be. We're not going to let it happen any longer. I will 'break' this Hero society and then 'fix' it myself. You claim that you'll only fix things, then join us and accomplish that."
Sumire grew angry with him, taking her own belief and twisting it to fit his evil plans. "I've said all I need to say, I'll never join you and I won't be used as part of your plans either!"
She reached for her hands to remove her gloves, her only barrier against activating her Quirk. Before she could completely remove them, however, Shigaraki reached out and touched her first. Searing pain raced up her fingers and into the palm of her hand, radiating through her forearm. Instinctively she drew back her hand from his touch. Through the holes in her glove she saw spots on her fingers and hand where her skin had been stripped away, exposing the tender flesh beneath.
"I suggest you keep those gloves on, dear. I'd hate for you to let such promising power go to waste. Or for you to have to use it with your feet." Shigaraki stepped away from the girl as she braced her injured arm against her chest and stumbled backward against the wall. Horrified by the damage he had inflicted on her with such ease, she sat down against the wall once again, her tears flowing and heart filled with fear. She didn't think other monsters in the world could compare to Kihara, but as she watched the man with the disembodied hand gripping his face laugh at her, she realized that she was wrong.
Evening, August 27th, 2011
All Might looked around the room at the teachers, the students that had witnessed Sumire's abduction, as well as the two Espers from Academy City. Normally strangers wouldn't be involved in this kind of meeting. However, All Might felt that it was necessary to include them since the girl was important to them.
"Now that I see we're all here, we need to discuss what we're going to do about young Sumire's situation. To think that those villains would take one of our own right at the front gates like that... But fear not, we won't rest until she's safely within this school once more!"
Aizawa followed up with his own comment, "It's obvious that the same villain that was responsible for the USJ incident is the one behind her kidnapping. It was Kurogiri's Teleportation Quirk that was used both times. Which doesn't leave us with much to go on as far as where the other side of that gate took them."
"The police have been working closely with the Pro Heroes and teachers since the USJ incident to develop some leads on potential hideouts for this League of Villains." A map of the city was put up on the wall display, with five areas circled. "We should assemble any available bodies and raid them simultaneously to give us the best possible chance of finding her without giving them a chance to warn the others and escape," the police liaison Tsukauchi Naomasa reported to the group.
All Might nodded, "Thank you, sir, I also feel that would be the best course of action."
"We'd like to volunteer for this mission, sir. We all want to do what we can to ensure Sumire is brought back safely. Please give us the opportunity, sir," said Todoroki as he bowed before his teacher and the other adults. Midoriya and Uraraka did as well.
Accelerator stood at the back of the room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossing his chest. His current mood after being unable to get to Sumire in time was hostile at best. "Volunteer? Ask for permission if you kids want, I'm going to find her no matter what they say."
"We're not willing to risk putting other students in danger with this mission. This League of Villains is just too unpredictable to allow for that. Sorry children, but you are forbidden from joining in on this operation, understand? And that includes our two guests from Academy City as well," said All Might.
"What?! But sir, we held our own against the villains during the USJ attack. Each of us here was able to provide support for the teachers during that fight. We're capable of doing so again, sir I know it. Just..." Todoroki's appeal was cut short by Aizawa this time.
"The answer is no, Todoroki. This is not some training drill, this is real life combat, and it's no place for first-years. If you attempt to interfere with this operation in any way, there will be severe penalties. The fact that you were included in this meeting at all was just to be sure you knew the gravity of this situation so you wouldn't do anything stupid. If that point has been made, then you're dismissed."
"No! I refuse to accept that decision! I could..."
Midoriya grabbed hold of Todoroki and stopped him from continuing his argument. "Stop, Todoroki. They've made their decision; we need to leave before we're put in even less of a position to be of help. Come on, let's go." He reached for Todoroki's hand and managed to lead the troubled boy out of the room. Uraraka followed behind them, leaving Touma and Accelerator behind.
Accelerator glared at the two teachers that were leading the meeting. "You can order those small fries around all you want, but if you think you're going to keep me contained, then you clearly don't know who you're dealing with. I have no equal here, and I sure as Hell don't have to answer to any of you assholes!" He took a good look at the map that was still up on the viewscreen before walking towards the door. "Just don't make the mistake of getting between me and whoever took her." Accelerator glanced back once more before leaving. Touma, unsure of just where he should be, decided to follow him out without saying a word to the group.
"That boy is going to be a problem, sir," All Might said to the principal. "I saw him in action the other day against young Todoroki. His power is quite impressive to be sure. But his attitude..."
"Yes, I'm aware that he could cause some issues for us. We'll just have to do what we can to prevent any interference and carry this mission out quickly. Honestly, I'm not sure what we could do to defend against his Esper powers if he turned against us. Avoiding a confrontation is our best course of action concerning Accelerator. His personality flaws aside, at his core, he just wants his friend returned safely."
Outside of the school, Todoroki was sitting down with his head in his hands. Midoriya and Uraraka sat next to him, unsure of what their next step should be.
"I'm still going you guys. I recognized a few of those targets on the map. They can't stop me from doing what I can to bring her back!" said Todoroki as he clenched his fists.
Accelerator and Touma exited the building and approached the group. "So, you just going to sit there or what?" Accelerator asked the three students.
"We... we're not sure just what our best options are, but if the heroes are going to split up between the five locations, they may not have enough at each location to pull off their strike. Remember, the officer reporting the plan said 'any available bodies,' which makes me think that they're already short on manpower," said Midoriya.
"Which makes their decision make even less sense. We can handle ourselves!" Todoroki cried out.
Accelerator shook his head, "If you guys thought you could handle it, you'd already be on your way to the first location. You think a little pep talk is all you'll need to face whatever enemies are out there? You're better off staying on that bench."
Todoroki's anger was rising; his patience was getting dangerously close to its limit. He took several deep breaths and stood up. Before he could step towards Accelerator, Midoriya began muttering to himself like he usually did when he's analyzing a situation.
"We should split up, each of us takes two possible hideouts and then meet up at the fifth one if the other four are a bust. The teachers were right about the unpredictability of the villains. There's no guarantee we know just who is going to be waiting in those places and what Quirks they'll have. We should only do surveillance of each target to identify where Sumire is located. If we can just look into the building and confirm she's not there, we can get away without having to fight and move on to the next one."
Todoroki shook his head, Midoriya's carefully thought out words helped to calm him down. "I agree. So which of us is going where?"
"Well, I think two groups of two would work best. Uraraka, would you mind staying in a central location to relay information between the two teams?" asked Midoriya.
"Sure, you guys had better be careful, okay?"
Accelerator had enough of listening to their plan. Time was growing short on their chances of bringing her back safely. And if anyone dared to harm her in any way, he'd show them no mercy. "I'm taking the two western locations," he said as he started walking away.
Midoriya and Todoroki looked at each other nervously. "I think it'd be best if we split ourselves up Todoroki. That way there's someone that knows the layout of the city on each team."
"I was afraid you were going to say that, Midoriya. Fine, I'll follow him. But I will leave him on his own if necessary," said Todoroki as he sighed and started to follow Accelerator.
"I guess you're with me then, Touma. We'll be in touch Uraraka, let us know if you see or hear from any of the teachers or heroes!" The two boys waved as they set out to their area.
"You've got it Deku! Be careful and bring Sumire back to us safe and sound!" She smiled and waved to them, then started looking around for a decent place to keep an eye on things. A taller vantage point could be useful, so she activated her Gravity Quirk and floated up to a nearby building's roof. She had to pause along the way, fighting nausea that accompanied the use of her ability, but eventually made it to the top.
"And now we watch and wait," Uraraka said as she sighed deeply.