It finally happened; one of the better MHA stories I've been following has come to an end…kinda. I am Not Done isn't technically over, just this first book, which covers an alternate timeline until they've just about reached the end of season 4. They've made it clear they want to continue and will just after they take a well-earned break and finish planning out book 2, which I can totally get; as a fan-fic writer, I know for a fact plotting stuff can prove difficult, and some ideas you have either need to change or need to cut out entirely.

But as a reader, I want more! Is that petty? Yes. Is it childish? Also, yes, but it's how I feel. Still, with it on break, I can read my other favorite stories, which I've neglected partly because I'm juggling six stories right now. I've also accepted a commission to boot. That said, the commission is turning into a really…really funny one to plan, though, so I have even fewer reasons to complain.

Chapter 48: Curtains

The Wild Wild Pussycats had chosen a spot close to well-used hiking trails in case they were needed, but they were still relatively isolated. That was what the boss, Shigaraki, had bet was why U.A. chose such a remote spot for their summer training camp. Because of that, the boss was incredibly eager when he gave them their assignment as their League's newly formed Vanguard Action Squad.

The night air would have been a wonderful thing this far from civilization. Still, Dabi's handiwork meant that the summer forest scent was slowly being replaced by smoke and ash. If Magne could smell Mustard's handiwork, she would run in the other direction.

That was if she could put some distance between her and Tiger, but damn, was the hero not letting up. He wasn't slow for a man of his size, and his hits were no joke, as she had to focus just to block them.

"No fair, I can't be expected to fight at my best hand; give me a second to equip my gear," Magne complained, having been forced to drop her magnet by Tiger minutes earlier. But if the pro believed in fairness, he wasn't showing it.

She wasn't the only one getting frustrated with the progress as no matter what Tiger did, his strikes just weren't connected even as he kept up the pressure, evening with his quirk, which allowed him to bend and strengthen his body in ways that would simply be impossible otherwise, he couldn't surprise his foe and land what had to be a finishing blow.

'Dammit, how he predicted my cat combat?' Tiger started to sweat, both from how intense he was keeping up the assault and the worry for their students. They had sent the ones they had with them away, but they had no means of checking if they made it to camp. Not to mention the many in the forest that was currently in flames. Ragdoll could be on the scene, but Mandalay couldn't reach her.

Mandalay couldn't even take the time to try again in the hope that Ragdoll had just been sleeping on the job, as unlike her as that would be, because her opponent was proving to be just as much of a pain as Magne, swinging his giant mockery of a blade at her.

"Is that," Spinner hardly seemed winded despite how long they'd been fighting with him equipped with a stupidly large weapon. "The best you got?" He recovered quickly from his failed swing, pivoted, and came at her again as Mandalay jumped back. The blade crashed into the ground with a thud, the many blades making up the weapon acting like hammers and shovels as they dug up the earth.

"Jeez, you're persistent." Mandalay leaped to the side, trying to position to strike at him, but Spinner let out a laugh as he pulled his blade free of the dirt and chased after all, blade held high to flatten her.

"I must be if I'm to carry out Pyre's will!" Mandalay was already in the air and had few options to dodge other than shifting her body so that momentum would do the rest. Still, she couldn't clear the weapon as its jagged edges dug into her right shoulder and upper arm, the numerous blades shredding her flesh to the bone as she let out a cry of pain.

"Mandalay!" Tiger turned to her, Magne punishing him for his lapse of attention with a mean haymaker to the side of the head. It wasn't enough to knock the man out, but it dazed him so she could land a couple more blows before she dived for her support item.

"I'm fine!" Mandalay winced as she held her wounded shoulder, the area being bloody and uneven. Moving wasn't impossible, but it would be slower and weaker than her left. As someone who specialized in rescue, her mind was already trying to estimate how long she could keep going in this fight now that she was bleeding pretty badly; it wasn't like she had time to bandage up, and the adrenaline could only carry her so far.

Spinner laughed with victory, holding his blade up with just one hand. "Well, looks like big sis Mags isn't the only one who can claim hero's blood tonight." He flicked it to the side, sending bits of flesh and drops of her blood splattering across the clearing. His eyes carried no mercy for his opponent as he gripped his blade in both hands and prepared for his assault against the wounded foe. "But by the end, this blade blessed by Pyre will see you improve,"

"Or fall!" Spinner leaped for her at the same time as Magne, who was equipped with her item, and charged Tiger.

"I think not." A stern, uncompromising voice cut through the battle as a familiar capture weapon wrapped around Spinner's buster sword, Spinner's waist, and Magne's arm. Both villains were too slow to react to being dragged away from their fights and having their heads smashed into each other, leaving both seeing stars as the giant sword was thrown to the side.

Eraser, not done with them, pulled them close and punched Spinner in the gut, nearly making him throw up his lunch while a spinner kick to the head rocked Magne's world. Not even a moment later, both were down for the count and restrained by the fresh-to-the-fight Eraser, whose quirk was active and focused on both villains.

"Eraser!" Mandalay cried out in relief, only to stumble with a hiss, her hand not doing much to stem the bleeding.

Eraser glanced at both, locking onto Mandalay, who Tiger was already rushing over. He pulled out a small field med kit but doubted the big man had enough to deal with such a grievous wound. "Glad to see you two still standing. Are these the only two villains?"

Mandalay bit back a curse as Tiger cleaned her wound with a disinfectant. "That we know of, but with how much things are happening."

Eraser had hoped for better news, but logically, that was wishful thinking. If Mandalay, of all people, knew more, she would have broadcast it by now. "I figured I ran into problems on the way here, but I got good news from Uraraka. She was able to rescue Kota and should be back at camp with him by now." His words relieved the woman of a great burden on her as she let out a sigh, a near sob of relief.

"The villains are targeting the students, and I know that much, so trying and protecting them is pointless." Aizawa relayed to the two, needing little time to realize why he would bring that up.

"You mean-" Tiger asked, reaching for more wipes as his teammate's wound was far too large for just a couple. He had to be sure it was done correctly, as God knew where that damned monstrosity of a sword had been.

"Yes, under my authority, the students of class A and B have permission to engage the villains in combat to protect themselves and their classmates. Get that out to everyone." Eraser replied, his gaze firmly on Mandalay, who had reservations but could see the rationale behind it. Besides, they were down half their fighting strength, Ragdoll was unresponsive, and Pixie was still down.

"Everyone! In the name of the pro-hero Eraser, all students in classes A and B have full permission to fight the villains to protect themselves and each other! I repeat, use your training; you may fight!" Across the summer camp, students, whether they be fighting against Slice and Chimera at the main camp, rushing through the forest, or otherwise dealing with villains, have already heard the response.

With the permission given, Bakugo and Tokoyami shared a look before they nodded, as that meant they could finally deal with the bastard trying to skewer them on his bloody teeth. With Todoroki, he had already been fighting to keep his life. Still, with permission, he could go for…fiery means of keeping this blonde crazy from getting more cuts in. Yaoyorozu and Aoyama were too busy to worry about permission, while Kendo and Tetsutetsu had already decided on their action. At least they wouldn't need to explain themselves as they charged deeper into the gas.

"Oh, that'll make things harder." The teachers turned to their captives, Magne still looking smug despite spitting out a tooth that Eraser had knocked out.

"Would it? These heroes only have half the story." Spinner grunted, spitting as he could tell he would feel that gut check come the morning, though he was more focused on his weapon.

"What's that supposed to mean, villain?" Eraser demanded, only for the two to share a glance and then smirk back at him.

"Who can say?" Spinner replied, but after all the stuff he had seen, not just tonight but through his semester. He wouldn't be denied answers so quickly, and with his two blows to them, he was sure that they weren't made of muck like the flame user had been.

"Let's see if a few broken bones won't loosen up your tongues."

"You heard her, bird brain! Wreck that bastard!" Bakugo, with his passenger in hand, dived for the side, out of danger as Tokoyami let Dark Shadow out.

His quirk didn't so much bleed as burst out from it, rushing out like a rapture in a pipe, forming into a giant, swirling best of darkness and shadow, his typical bright yellow eyes an ominous red. "Hehe…I like you…" Even the quirk's voice was different, deeper, denser somehow. Carrying with it a sense of amusement at the pain of others, but for now, it turned to the nuisance that had been trying to kill its host and the other human for a while now.

Moonfish saw the quirk forming from the trees, towering over them to match where he had himself elevated by his teeth. The madman feels no fear at the beast's presence, only rage that it would dare interfere in his hunt or, worst, rob him of his prey. "I…I need to capture…you! But…I need to taste your flesh!"

He didn't hesitate as he launched an attack, sending several jagged but wickedly sharp blades toward it to rip and tear it to pieces to return to his hunt. Still, he was sorely mistaken if he thought mere blades could harm a being made from darkness and gloom.

The blades did piece Dark Shadow, but with no blood or organs, all they did was sink in and grow stuck when Dark Shadow 'flexed' locking them in place before casually shattering them, Moonfish not having time to even be surprised as the next moment, Dark Shadow's long arm came swinging towards him, its clawed hands so large they could grab cars as if they were toys.

"You're nothing, you're just an ant, so just be crushed!" Dark Shadow belittled him, not punching the villain-that would be too good for him. He slapped the man, but it didn't just stop with the slap as its hand carried through, smashing the villain through several teeth, utterly destroying his remaining teeth before, with a final, dismissive swipe, sending Moonfish flying into a tree with a hard thunk.

The villain, seemingly impossible for the two students to defeat, was left knocked out, missing all his teeth and, without a doubt, several broken bones and other injuries from a short yet brutal showdown with the living shadow beast.

It was too short for Dark Shadow as it roared into the smoke-filled skies. "Not enough, it's not enough!" The quirk spotted movement to the side, turning to see Bakugo jumping up to its level, propelling himself via his explosions. Finally, having a chance for revenge after the Sports Festival and all the times he had blasted him with light tonight alone, Dark Shadow was ready to smite him.

"Stun Grenade!" Bakugo shut that down with a giant flash of light so bright that others nearby could see it if they didn't hear it. The move did its job with a screech. Dark Shadow was zapped of his power and shrunk till it was back to his manageable size, Tokoyami on his hands and knees as he collected himself.

"Thank you…" He gasped as that sort of power from his quirk was next to impossible to control.

Bakugo grunted as he walked over to where he set class B extra for safekeeping. Grabbing the still unconscious guy, he threw him on his back. "It would been annoying dealing with you otherwise. Now, what the hell do we do with him?" He nodded toward Moonfish; the man slumped on the ground like a fallen sack of potatoes.

"We should…restrain him and then make our way to camp," Tokoyami suggested as he finally got up and walked over to the man.

"You are an idiot? You heard her; we're not just running back to camp like some scared losers; we can go after these villains and show them what we're made of!" Bakugo replied. The idea of running again was as pleasant as listening to Midget Perv talk about girls' bodies.

Tokoyami replied as he fashioned his jacket into some sort of restraint. "And yet we don't know where they are, bar the one possibly creating the gas, but we don't have any protection against it." He pointed to the gas they could still make out around them, but much thinner than when they started the chase.

Bakugo grunted, but he focused on the task at hand. He didn't know why the villains left the flesh-obsessed man in a restraining…actually, he could guess, but he wouldn't complain as he tied the man to the tree with his jacket. Hopefully, his teeth didn't regrow when he woke up.

"Also, there was what that villain said. They aren't just here to maim or kill us; they have people they're seeking to capture, and you're one of them." He walked over to Bakugo again, sans his jacket and displaying the plain black tee he had worn for the night.

"And that's exactly why we should fight them, your moron." Bakugo replied, biting back a curse and forcing himself to admit, "I…I need people watching my back, and you can't do that when your quirk could go on a rampage. Odds are we go to a fight, and we'll find people I team up with while smashing some skulls in."

Tokoyami felt slightly insulted that he wasn't considered protection enough, but…his brow creased as he could understand. Right now, he was ticking between an asset and a liability. Bakugo couldn't be the only one who could keep it in check should he become a problem.

Their conversation was interrupted when they saw the 'foom' of flames and then bright orange fire cresting the treetops a distance away.

Both could immediately recognize who's handiwork that was and how said person would be a boon for their little counter-attack squad. "And it looks like that damned icy-hot's not too far. Let's go." Bakugo turned and rushed in the direction of the flames.

"…Right." Tokoyami gave reluctant chase. He wasn't sure about getting into fights. Still, he could admit that for all his issues, Bakugo was someone with a steady head on his head in battle, at least when he wasn't letting his anger get the better of him.

"Oh, so hot, so passionate!" Toga seemed to sing as he evaded another blast of flames. Her needle and knife were covered in blood as she giggled, so eager to continue their dance. Todoroki glared at her as she'd proven an impossible target so far. He would keep his attacks small for the sake of the forest and have no permission to fight, but Toga wasn't under such constrictions.

Or rather, she thrived in such a battle as she seemed to blip in and out of existence, and no matter how hard he strained his eyes and ears, he wouldn't be able to detect her. It was how she remained with little injuries outside her cardigan, being a little burned, while he was covered in cuts across his arms, back, and chest. His white undershirt and blue top were stained with his blood. He had burned the worst ones closed, but even then, the smaller wounds were getting on his nerves.

But he wouldn't let her continue to treat him like a practice dummy, for as soon as he got permission to fight, all bets were off as he seemingly fired off fire recklessly, setting parts of the forest around them on fire, but he had a plan.

He remained silent as he sent off a wave of ice towards her, first to her left and then to her right, trapping her. "Got you." Todoroki whipped his left hand back to send a volley of flames at her, but Toga smiled as she vanished. He didn't stop even if he had no clue where she was, sending the blast of hot, orange flames down range, keeping up the assault till instincts screamed at him again.

They screamed too late as Toga plunged a knife into his left side before pulling it out just as fast. He was momentarily stunned by it, his assault breaking as she knocked him onto his stomach, got on top of him, and plunged her needle into his thigh.

"Now I-!" Ignoring the pain, he had her in a good position as he reached with his right arm, but she grabbed his wrist, her grip tighter than her frame would suggest.

"I wouldn't move if I were you. I just punctured a major blood vessel; I kinda really like reading up on stuff like that. It wouldn't end well if you wiggled around too much and it was torn open." Toga warned as her item continued to drain Todoroki's blood, the girl's blush only getting more intense at their position. "I love it when people bleed, but it's no fun if it's all internal."

Todoroki, however, surprised her as most would be silent, glaring at her, or terrified at this point. Still, despite his many injuries and being pinned, he let out a laugh, a hard, amused sound, before he turned to her, his burned side faced up. "That's it…internal bleeding? I can handle that." Todoroki froze the needle even with it still in him, locking it in place as he flexed just enough to break it outside his thigh and, in the same action, threw Toga off, the girl partially frozen and only saved from being completely immobilized thanks to her instincts, in turn, screaming at her to move when they did.

Todoroki reached for the needle and pulled it out, wincing as he tested his leg, but luckily, he didn't feel anything off. Meanwhile, Toga pouted at him, her right arm partially covered in high, like her leg, which would slow her down. "Oh man, I just got this! Now that meanie Shigaraki's gonna yell at me," She only seemed to core for her broken item as it had multiple heads, but still. "But hey, friends forgive each other for stuff like that, don't they?"

"I see him; he's fighting someone!" Both turned down the path where they saw two people rushing towards them, the slowly spreading fire allowing the two sides to see each other.

"Ice-hot!" Bakugo yelled, about to pass over the extra on his back to Bird Brain to go after the villain, but Toga's eyes went sharp; a feline who realized they were near cornered as she blipped out of sight reappearing in the thick of the forest, leaning on a tree as she tried to break the ice off her.

"Too many people and I don't feel like getting killed; wait," She muttered as she gave Bakugo a second look. Oh yeah, he was on the capture list, wasn't he? She wasn't equipped to take him, especially with all the others there. "I was right, he's totally not cute, but I can't do anything about it." With that said, she turned and rushed off, leaving behind a chunk of ice she managed to smash off, but she was still slow.

"I'm going after all!" Bakugo called out, only for Todoroki to grab him and shake his head.

"Wait, she's too dangerous to fight alone. I don't know her quirk, but it resembles Hagakure's invisibility." He explained, a point proven when, before the shadows could take her, Tokoyami lost sight of her; it was like she had just…blipped out of existence.

"She can vanish from sight?" He asked, surprised and now wary that it was merely a feint.

"And hearing as well. Uraraka was with me earlier, but she left to check on Kota's location." Todoroki gestured to himself, and he looked like he had just gotten into a fight with an angry housecat with claws twice their standard size and lost. "As you can see, fighting an enemy you can barely see or hear isn't…easy."

"No shit," Bakugo grunted but backed down. Besides, it would be pointless to chase her with her out of sight and apparently able to leave no sounds. He bet she was planning on that if she was just pretending.

"What about you three? Did you run into any villains?" Todoroki asked, only noting after the statement that their third, someone from class B, was out cold. What was that about?

"Just the one, but we took care of that bastard," Bakugo replied.

"We left him unconscious and restrained not too far from here. Please listen; we need your assistance in protecting Bakugo. We don't know much, but villains are targeting him for some reason." Tokoyami added, and Todoroki started to converse.

"That girl said something similar about Uraraka; she claimed Shigaraki wanted her dead," Todoroki revealed, which only made Tokoyami all the more worried as it was awful that the villains were out for blood, but if that were the case.

"Dead? But the villain we encountered seemed to wish to capture Bakugo." Tokoyami replied, as while the man had clearly been insane, he wouldn't have kept mumbling to himself that Bakugo wasn't food if there was a kill order on him.

Todoroki thought about it and came up with a possible reason. "Could be two different types of lists; we can figure out the why who is on what later, we need to find others and…wait, where did Bakugo go?" He looked up and saw that Bakugo was just…gone.

"He wouldn't just rush off without saying-!" Tokoyami turned, sighing as if maybe Bakugo had just lied and was hot-headedly chasing down that girl, but…he didn't hear him leave, nor could he hear the familiar pops and blasts of explosions. Looking at the ground, they couldn't even see a trial he left behind as both looked back the way the two had come and could track their steps, Bakugo's just end.

"Nice trick, isn't it?" Their heads shot up to a tall tree, where perched on one of its taller branches was a new unknown, a masked man in a trench coat and top hat, of all things. "I swiped your rather temperamental friend with my magic."

In their hands, the new threat played with a little blue marble; their attention focused on it as they realized that whatever he just did, that marble was Bakugo. "It's a shame, isn't it? A talent like his would be squandered if he were cast as a hero. Rest assured that we'll provide him with a far better role.

"Get back!" Todoroki pushed Tokoyami out of the way and sent off the glacier towards the villain to try and hit him, but the villain proved to be a nimble one, almost as much as that Toga girl, which only got on Todoroki's nerves.

"My, why the aggression?" Compress asked, holding onto his hat as he dodged the first strike with a graceful jump. Flipping mid-air, he righted himself and landed on some tree branches. Todoroki started to regret his prior attacks as the smoke made it hard to see, and the villain was making ample use of that. "We only wish to show the young lad that they're options beyond the fanatical world of heroes."

"Choosing the path that aligns with your core values is important." He continued to play with the marble in his hand as if it were little more than a toy, aggravating the two students even more.

Even in anger, Todoroki didn't stop thinking about how they ended up in this mess. 'He snatched Bakugo without making so much sound and was quick enough that Bakugo didn't even notice. He's dangerous.' A glance told him that Tokoyami also realized that, but there was an issue.

'Are all these villains capable of just sneaking up on you?' Todoroki wished that these two were just the outlier. "If you were smart, you would have run before we even noticed you, but instead, you're here gloating because you think you've won."

"It's a bad habit, I'm afraid; I was once an entertainer, and the showman's bug bite doesn't just vanish overnight." The villain, who had yet to give them a code name, sighed as if saddened but resigned to his mistakes, though neither student bought it.

"Moonfish, he might look it, but is a dastardly death row convict." Instead, the man shifted focus, Tokoyami realizing that there was only one person he could be talking about, and with that, the notion that this villain didn't just appear but had been tailing him and Bakugo at least since their fight with Moonfish and yet neither had detected him. "He's one of our strongest players for this night's performance, and yet you, my young avian friend, managed to defeat him with as much ease as one would crush a fly."

"You talk too much!" Todoroki fired off an even larger burst of ice, the flames smothered to his front by the intense cold and ice as pillars of ice taller than buildings shot into the sky. Todoroki quickly heated himself up after such an intense move.

"My deepest apologies!" Again, their foe dodged it, seemingly suspended mid-air as he looked down on them. He momentarily vanished behind a pillar of ice, reappearing later with his hand in his pocket. "Sleight of hand and escapology are my specialties, not combat and certainly not against U.A.-approved students."

Reaching for his mask, he tapped the side of it where his earpiece was, connecting him to the rest of the League. "Vanguard Action Squad, I've acquired our target. The play has officially ended; it's time we meet for the final curtain and exit the stage in the next 5 minutes."

His words didn't reach everyone, as Kendo and Tetsutetsu had just managed to take down Mustard, the kid knocked out with his earpiece, having been lost when the steel-covered student had punched him in the face. Moonfish couldn't respond if he wanted to as he was still out cold, and the same was true for Muscular.

Spinner heard the orders, but not Magne as Eraser, after he broke both their arms to get them to talk, managed to learn of the earpiece and had taken Magne's, the man biting back a curse when he heard the news, Spinner smirking even with both his arms busted.

"As if we'll just let you escape, let's go!" Todoroki chased after the villain, who turned and fled.

"Dark Shadow, be ready to strike at him!" Tokoyami called to his quirk but didn't let him out. They might just have the chance to do this once, as this one was too fast for Todoroki to have the time to keep Dark Shadow in line long enough to fight. They needed to get close enough that their target would be caught up even if he did slip.

At the campsite, things had been looking grim for the students. They had managed to weaken Slice thanks to Ashido's acid. Still, the woman quickly teamed up with Chimera, the bulking beast of a man, who promptly offered her protection so she could easily strike at them while retreating behind him.

Kaminari and Shoji had already learned the hard way that they couldn't get past the man. The electric user had been knocked out when he was thrown through a wall, and Shoji had taken a serious beating of his own. Only Vlad's presence kept the villains from completely overwhelming them thus far. Still, the mood shifted with news hitting the villains and the hero.

Chimera cracked a smile. He was wondering how long it would take to capture one brat, but there was no mention of anyone on the kill list getting done. Oh well, that was Shigaraki's issue. "Well, looks like we should wrap things up then."

"Dammit, just what is this guy made of?" Ojiro kept his guard up, but like most students who tried to fight, he was covered in bruises and welts from their attempts to overwhelm or surprise this villain.

"That's the least of our worries; it's like we can't land a hand on him!" Monama yelled as the guy had been cautious with him, never letting the copy user touch him. Whenever he got close, he would use debris and anything or anyone else as protection or weapons. Clearly, they knew of their quirks. The best he could do was cycle through Acid and Frog to attack from a distance and keep out of reach.

Vlad felt the same as his students, only he knew something they didn't. Mandalay had just relayed what she, Tiger, and Eraser had learned, which was dire. 'This is bad, they've captured their target, what…or who? All my students and several of Eraser's are still in the thick of it.' She couldn't tell him who the target was, but with so many possible targets, he could be anyone. "Damn it all."

Vlad tried to attack again, creating a wall of blood spikes and firing them, copying Slice's earlier attacks with the woman blocking what she could with her hair as Chimera stomped the ground, breaking a part of the concrete and fell into a sort of ramp which covered them from the rest.

Kicking it aside, the villain advanced against them, ready to end this fight. "You're gonna have to try harder than that."

"Smash!" Chimera felt it before he heard it, a heavy right hook to the side of the head, sending the surprised villain flying back into the ruined main building, crashing into the wall hard enough to collapse, showering him in debris. Vlad didn't hesitate as, with her partner down, he charged Slice and landed a heavy blow to her gut, robbing her of breath before he threw her to the ground and restrained her with his blood.

All that thanks to their sudden arrival of a new fighter. "Uraraka?" Jiro asked as Uraraka landed, Kota hanging onto her back for dear life after she made that last-second charge.

Uraraka looked slightly banged up but much better than their fighters did as she placed Kota down now that the area was safe again. "I got here as quickly as I could. I already met up with Aizawa-sensei, and he told me to get Kota back to camp, but then I saw the fight. Is everyone all right?"

"Mostly." Sato offered a thumbs up, nursing a couple of his bruises. Vlad was about to ask for more details when the debris shifted, and they heard a groan.

"Damn…that got me good…that's about my limit." Chimera slowly rose, the fur where he had been punched ruffled, but that was hardly noticed when his body started falling apart, becoming little more than a brown muck.

Looking at their surprised eyes, the clone couldn't help but get one last dig in. "Nice hit, kid. I hope you meet the real me and duke it out sometime." With that, he turned into a mud puddle; Uraraka's blow wasn't so decisive that it one-shot him, but with the rest of the damage he had taken, it had been enough to put him down.

"Wait, what the heck?" Sero asked, as that didn't make sense.

"Just like with the villain outside, he was a fake!" Mineta pointed out, Hagakure and Koda nodding as they quickly explained what they saw when they arrived, Vlad cursing that he hadn't inquired about it even if only in hindsight they could suspect the villains had someone capable of making clones.

The one he had restrained was now a suspect of such, something she could tell from how he looked at her. With no point in lying, she came clean. "Yeah, I'm a clone, which doesn't do you any good. You can do whatever you want with me; I won't talk."

"Though with the targets captured, our job here is just about wrapped up. Seen you…well, you'll see the real me soon enough, little heroes." She wiggled to give herself just a little room. Her hair was still pinned, but she didn't need it as with as much force as she could muster, she slammed her head into the unforgiving pavement; the severe concussion she gave herself more than enough to get over her damage limit and join her fellow clone as little more than muck.

"Dammit, this is not how I wanted my night to go," Magne complained as she was left tied up in Eraser's capture time; the man had rushed off to find the other villains now that they knew they were retreating.

"Shut up, villain! What you want no longer matters; it's about what you deserve for all your crimes." Tiger barked back at the man.

"This is how it ends for you. Whatever goals you have, we'll stop them. Do you hear me?" Mandalay's arm wasn't in the best shape, but Tiger did a good enough job that it should hold till she could see a proper doctor.

Spinner didn't seem to care for her words, only laughing at them as if she had told him a joke. "You think you can? Even if I fall, others will surely rise to see that the world Pyre envisions is birthed through fire and stone." Spinner finished with his laughter growing before he managed to contain himself.

Mandalay glared at the man as he came off as one of the worst types of villains, the fanatic who didn't value their lives or those of their obstacles. 'This guy's a total fanatic, but…if Pyre is a member of the League, why wasn't he here? Were they concerned his pyromania would burn the forest before they could escape?'

'No, it can't be that.' Pyre wasn't so consumed by his madness that he wouldn't pause in his desires for the sake of a mission; he had been pretty active over these last few months, and the rest…of…oh no.

"Well, this wasn't good," Both she and Tiger looked up as an ominous black fog formed, one with sickly yellow eyes. Immediately, they realized who it was. "But not unexpected," Kurogiri noted, creating a portal. Not a moment later, several spears and blades of hair shot out.

"Tiger!" Mandalay dived for cover, but Tiger wasn't so lucky. He was stabbed through the forearm and thigh, the blades retreating after finding their mark and leaving the muscle of the Pussycats on a knee, his left leg unable to support his weight.

"It's a good thing he picked me up first," Slice walked through the portal, her hair ready to do as her namesake was to both heroes. "Looks like you two need some help?" She looked towards the two, her hair shooting out and trying to shred the capture scarf around the two.

Now free, Magne got up. "Oh darling, you are a lifesaver. Those heroes are brutes, I tell you. Absolute brutes." She thanked Slice as Spinner grunted, being much slower to get up as he could only rely on his lower body and head.

"You're not the one with two busted arms." Spinner reminded her he had been the first and only one Eraser had put through his 'questioning' method. Magne had folded and talked when Spinner's second arm was busted.

"And I felt every part of your pain. No need for me to let that man get his hands on me too." Magne sang but ultimately helped him up, the two heroes being able to act, both because of their injuries and because Slice was still present and keeping an eye on them.

"You can chat all about it later. Kurogiri still needs to pick up the others, and I will pick up our pay." Slice reminded them as a portal opened, which Magne and Spinner went through, though not before he asked her to retrieve his weapon.

An odd request, but considering Pyre sighed it for him…Kurogiri did the fetching for her, a portal opening beneath the sword, the weapon falling through it before Slice backed up into the portal she came through, leaving the two wounded heroes to stew in their defeat as they hoped that others had better luck than they did.

Nothing to say here, just that this came down to the wire with uploading last week.

The next chapter will be out on February 26th

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